A third way for Christians to engage with Muslims

Some Christians regard Muslims as the enemy, and are quick to link them all to terrorists.

Other Christians are just as eager to paper over differences between the faiths and focus on, say, their common connection to Abraham.

Joshua Ralston, a professor at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Va., sees a third way for Christians.

To approach Muslims with honesty about disagreements. With the love Jesus calls on his followers to have for their neighbors. And with a freedom that allows adherents of both faiths to bear witness to their beliefs – including Christians’ claims about Jesus and Muslims’ claims about the Prophet Muhammad.

“If we’re going to improve our encounters with one another, we have to create this space for us to both share what is deepest about what we believe,” he says. “Friendship isn’t always marked by agreement. It’s marked by honesty and exchange and trust.”

Ralston, who lived in Egypt and the Palestinian West Bank in 2011-13, will speak at 4 p.m. Sunday (Feb.8) at Charlotte’s Union Presbyterian Seminary, 5141 Sharon Road. The event is free. Here’s some of what he told me in an interview.

On the charge that moderate Muslims don’t condemn terrorism: “Islam is a diverse religion – just like Christianity – and there are numerous Muslims who have issued fatwas (Islamic rulings) against suicide bombings. There is a massive statement signed by the heads of many major Islamic institutions against ISIS. There are Muslims who are continually standing up against these terrorist militant groups. And Muslims are the ones who have been killed more than anyone else.”

On Christian amnesia: “I don’t want to justify at all what happened with the burning of the pilot from Jordan (by ISIS). But I keep seeing all these Christians posting, ‘What religion would ever do this?’ As if we’ve totally forgotten the Salem witch trials. As if we (Presbyterians) totally forgot that John Calvin – one of the main founders of the Reformed Presbyterian tradition – allowed for the burning of a heretic in Geneva. That doesn’t justify it. But Christians – our hands aren’t clean historically. And they aren’t clean right now: In the Central African Republic, Christian militias are killing Muslims.”

On Duke University’s plan – later reversed – to let Muslim students use the chapel: “There are issues that need to be discussed: Is Duke’s chapel a Christian space or a university space? But the virulent anti-Muslim backlash became the main issue. And yet when they decided to do the call to prayer (outside the chapel), there were Christians from Duke Divinity School and local pastors there there in support of the Muslims. That story needs to be told as much as the Franklin Graham (reaction to Duke’s plan).”

Being Christian in the Middle East: “You can’t be a Christian in Saudi Arabia publicly. But I think in our minds we think all of the Arab world and all of the Muslim world is like that. That’s not the case. I lived in Ramallah (in the Palestinian West Bank) for almost two years. I went to church publicly, On Easter, Muslims would come out and celebrate with Christians. And Christians would celebrate Ramadan with Muslims.”

On Franklin Graham’s claim that Muslims worship a different God: “Christians and Muslims both speak of the same God, but we speak about God differently and on some of those points we disagree. Most Christians have this belief in the Trinity. (Muslims don’t.) But neither do Jews. And I’m sure Franklin Graham thinks Jews worship the same God.”


-- Tim Funk

Religious liberty or discrimination? Think on these cases

We Americans are a divided lot these days. The problem: Too many of us seem eager to fight first and think later.

Take religion, a subject where you’d expect some thoughtfulness, even prayerfulness. Instead, the news is filled with war-like language over everything from same-sex marriage to Islam to persecution of Christians.

So let me ask you to cool your jets for a few minutes and ponder the following cases – some real, some hypothetical. Here goes:

• A bill was introduced this week in the North Carolina Senate that would allow magistrates and registers of deeds who object to marrying gay couples to recuse themselves for religious reasons. What do you think? How about, say, Catholic magistrates and registers of deeds who may object to marrying people who have been divorced?

• The mayor of Atlanta dismissed the city’s fire chief this month after he called homosexuality “vile” in a book he self-published and distributed to employees. What do you think? What if, say, the chief had written that Jews were bound for hell if they don’t believe in the divinity of Jesus?

• What would you think about a Muslim public school teacher who wore a hijab, or head scarf? How about a public school teacher who wore a necklace that prominently displayed a Christian cross?

• In a case involving Hobby Lobby, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that corporations with religious owners cannot be required to pay for insurance coverage for contraception. What do you think? What about a company whose owners had religious objections to, say, blood transfusions or even hospitalization?

• Duke University recently sparked an uproar when it planned – than canceled plans – to begin a weekly Muslim call to prayer from the campus’ Christian chapel. What do you think? What would you think if a mosque or synagogue refused worship space to a Christian student group?

• Saying employees are expected to abide by Catholic doctrine, Charlotte Catholic High School recently severed ties with a popular teacher after he used Facebook to announce plans to marry his male partner. What do you think? What if the high school had severed ties with a teacher because he and his wife practiced birth control – also a violation of church doctrine?

• Does the violence of abortion clinic bombers and the Ku Klux Klan color your view of all Christians? Does the violence committed by radical jihadis color your view of all Muslims?

• What do you think of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad? How about cartoons making fun of Jesus?

My point: Us-vs.-them thinking often blinds us to the other side of an issue. If you want others to respect your identity – religious or otherwise – start by respecting theirs.

-- Tim Funk 

Looking for (faith) things to do? Here's list of speakers and more.

Like other news outfits, the Observer does surveys to see what our readers want more (and less) of when they open the paper or visit our website.

Well, survey says … you want more info on things to do.

On the faith & values beat, I interpret that to mean more about upcoming speakers and events.

Below are several I think may have wide interest. But first let me ask you to share with me any lectures, celebrations, seminars and whatever that you think would have public appeal.

Send them to tfunk@charlotteobserver.com

OK, ready with your calendars?

• Poet/theologian/artist/author Edwina Gateley will speak at 9 a.m. Saturday (Jan. 24) at St. Peter Catholic Church, 507 S. Tryon in uptown. Her topic: “Discipleship – Giving Birth to God in a Contemporary World.” Free. Register here.

• Temple Beth El’s 18th annual Comparative Religion Series will continue Tuesdays at 7 p.m. through Feb. 24 at the synagogue, 5101 Providence Road. This year’s focus: “Religion and Science – Can they coexist?”

Here’s the schedule: Tuesday (Jan. 27), the Buddhist perspective from Ryusho Jeffus, Shonin, Myosho-Ji of the Wonderful Voice Buddhist Temple; Feb. 3, the Catholic perspective, from Brother Guy Consolmagno of the Vatican Observatory; Feb. 10, the Islamic perspective from Syed Rizwan Zamir, assistant professor of religion at Davidson College; Feb. 17, the Baptist perspective from the Rev. Russ Dean, co-pastor of Park Road Baptist Church; and Feb. 24, the medical/religious perspective from Dr. Derek Raghavan of the Levine Cancer Institute and Rabbi Jonathan Freirich of Temple Beth El. Free.

• Davidson College professor Douglas Ottati will speak 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 28) in the school’s Alvarez College Union (Smith 900 Room). His topic: “Love Your Enemies – The Teaching of Jesus & Dynamics of Reactionary Violence.” Free.

• In February, several Catholic churches in Charlotte will host courses as part of the winter semester of GIFT (Growing in Faith and Theology). Fee: $30 or $20 for Catholic school teachers and parish catechists. Brochures, course descriptions, dates, places, and registration forms are here.

The courses include: “Three Sacred Pathways to God (Franciscan, Benedictine and Ignatian)”; “Mercy, Jesus, Pope Francis and Me”; “World Religions”; “Short History of the Catholic Church in North Carolina”; “Brew Like a Benedictine”; and, in Spanish, “Los Sacramentos – Fuentes De Sanación." (This last course is free).

• Poverty expert Donna Beegle will speak at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3 at Wingate University in the Batte Center's McGee Theatre. The school is in Monroe. Beegle lives in Oregon and is the author of "See Poverty. Be the Difference."

She was born into a migrant family, married at 15, was homeless for 28 years, and is the only member of her family who has not been incarcerated. She went on to get a doctorate and is now president of Communication Across Borders.

Want a good movie about real religion? Go see 'Selma'

If you're looking for a movie with real religion -- as well as historical context, emotional complexity, political savvy and inspiring humanity -- I have a recommendation.

Go see “Selma,” the Oscar-nominated film about the civil rights marches that brought voting rights to African-Americans in the South in the 1960s.

Like the best films about religion – “Dead Man Walking,” “Shadowlands,” “Of Gods and Men” – “Selma” centers on imperfect people struggling to walk the talk of faith.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (played superbly by British actor David Oyelowo) clearly shines as a leader with vision and moral courage. But gifted director Ava DuVernay also lets us see his behind-the-scene battles with doubt, indecision and the tension in his marriage to Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo, also British and also excellent).

Such burdens give rise to a private dream, voiced by King in the opening scene, of a life away from the limelight, as the pastor of a small church in a university town.
But this Baptist preacher, his wife and his lieutenants soldier on, looking to God in those moments of hopelessness, despair – and awe.

Feeling drained and discouraged one night, King calls and wakes up gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, telling her he needs to hear the voice of the Lord. Obligingly, and movingly in the film, she sings over the phone, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.”

Then later, after a helmeted Alabama state trooper shoots and kills Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young civil rights worker, we see King, tears brimming, try to console the martyr’s 82-year-old grandfather at the morgue. “God was the first to cry,” King tells the grieving old man, “the first to cry for your boy.”
“Selma” will make you tear up, for sure. With sadness at the evil humans are capable of, but also with joy at the faith-based solidarity so many display.

Take the scene where we see the result of King's call for reinforcements for the 54-mile march to Montgomery. Many thousands from around the country drive and fly to Selma, including Jewish rabbis, Catholic nuns, a Greek Orthodox archbishop and the Rev. James Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston who was to be murdered by racist thugs.

Biblical epics and churchy dramas are fine. But for those clamoring for movies that convey the positive power of religion, I say: Go see “Selma.”

Upcoming events

Two of the many Charlotte events marking Dr. King’s upcoming holiday testify to the religious roots of the civil rights movement:

• The Rev. Clark Olsen will speak Sunday (Jan. 18), 9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., at Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte, 234 North Sharon Amity Road. Olsen was a young UU minister in March 1965 when he answered King’s call for clergy to come to Selma and march. And he was there when his friend, the Rev. Reeb, was beaten to death by a white mob.

• Former NAACP President Benjamin Jealous will be the keynoter at 8 a.m. Monday (Jan. 19) at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte’s 21st annual MLK Holiday Prayer Breakfast. More than 1,100 people are expected at the Charlotte Convention Center’s Crown Ballroom in uptown. Jealous plans to challenge the audience by asking: What is that one big thing you are going to change in your community before you die?

-- Tim Funk

Charlotteans worship God in these languages, too

In how many languages do people in Charlotte worship God these days?

I listed 20 that I knew of in a column last month. I should have said 21 because – as some of you pointed out – I failed to include what’s still the most prevalent worship language in town: English.

Oops! (Since the 1930s, that’s been an English word for acknowledging a blunder.)

My other mistake: I should have said that Haitian congregations here have services in Creole, not French.

I also invited you to alert me about other worship languages here that I was not aware of. Thanks to those who told me about:

22. Burmese. And 23. Hakha Chin.

Refugee congregations from war-torn Myanmar have been worshiping at Park Road Baptist Church and at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church.

24. Portuguese.

Brazilian members have services at Cokesbury United Methodist Church.

25. American Sign Language (ASL).

At Chapel for the Deaf, housed at Ascension Lutheran Church, worshipers pray and sing with their hands.

26. French. 27. Nepali (from Nepal). And 28. Tamil (from Sri Lanka and India).

Jehovah’s Witnesses have meetings available in many languages, including these.

Mass en Español

Speaking of language, I also ran across this fascinating factoid in my reporting:

Nearly 30 percent of Catholic parishes now celebrate Mass in a language other than English – a 7 percent increase since 2000, according to “The Changing Face of U.S. Catholic Parishes” study from the Center for Applied Research at Georgetown University.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, waves of Irish, Italian, Polish and other immigrant groups found refuge in a Catholic Church. The descendants of that first generation of immigrants have long since become part of the broad American mainstream.

But today, new waves of immigrants, particularly from Latin America, are again enriching the Catholic Church in the U.S.

To be sure, many immigrants from traditionally Catholic countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are finding spiritual homes in non-Catholic churches – Pentecostal, evangelical, mainline Protestant and Mormon.

By 2050, Hispanics are expected to account for 60 percent of Catholics in the U.S. They already make up about half of the more than 340,000 Catholics in the 46-county Diocese of Charlotte.

-- Tim Funk

Moses in 3-D -- special effects drown out theology, drama

Over the years, some clergy have confided to me that there are passages of the Bible they find difficult to accept, much less preach about.

To our modern ears, for example, some of what Paul wrote in the letters that became part of the New Testament sound sexist (“Wives, be submissive to your husbands”) or blind to systemic evil (“Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly”).

Then there are the stories in the Hebrew Bible where an angry God decides to punish or destroy, with fanfare, those who sin or stand in the way of God’s will.

You could argue that some evil people deserved to feel God’s wrath. But, as is the case with wars, a lot of innocent people who got in the way suffered, too. In Genesis, the Almighty decides to flood the world and, in Exodus, God inflicts plagues on Egyptians, including death to their firstborn children.

And that brings me to Hollywood, where biblical epics are back in style.

Some of the same passages considered difficult, even troubling, by those in the pulpit are irresistible to filmmakers with millions to spend on expensive actors and eye-popping special effects.

In this year’s “Noah,” starring Russell Crowe, director Darren Aronofsky drowns most of humanity, with hair-raising scenes of people crying in terror as the ground below them is rapidly submerged.

And in “Exodus: Gods and Kings” – now in a theater near you – I watched with awe through my 3-D glasses as director Ridley Scott and his CGI team waged apocalyptic war on the Egyptians.

Swarms of locusts rain down on Pharaoh and his subjects; frogs galore hop into their homes, even into their beds; monster-size crocodiles turn the Nile red with blood from all their human food; and, in a climax that’s more visually arresting than suspenseful, the waves of the Red Sea come crashing down on the Egyptian soldiers, sending them, their horses and their chariots into the deep.

Scott, the Brit who gave us the Oscar-winning “Gladiator,” must have felt a little like You-Know-Who as he presided over all this computer-generated doom and destruction.

The film purports to tell the story of how a faithful God sent Moses to lead the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt. Actor Christian Bale, who was perfect as Batman, is an OK Moses. And there are some intriguing scenes in which Moses, a reluctant hero, is prodded by a hyper-articulate boy who is supposed to be either God or God’s messenger.

But the drama and most of the theology are, yes, drowned out by the real reason for this 3-D movie: The “oohs” and “ahhs” from the audience every time the director commands “Action!”

-- Tim Funk

In increasingly diverse Charlotte, God goes by many names

Two newsy items I came across recently got me wondering: In how many languages do people in Charlotte worship God these days?

I counted at least 20 – not a surprise when you consider how diverse our faith community has become. And I bet some of you could add to my list. (And hopefully will – see below.)

Those two newsy items:

• At 7 p.m. on Thursday (Dec. 11),  thousands of Spanish-speaking Catholics are expected to converge on Bojangles Coliseum, 2700 E. Independence Blvd., for the annual celebration of the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe – or “Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.”

• A Polish-language Mass will be celebrated at 3 p.m. on Dec. 21 at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Parkway.

To be sure, most local houses of worship still send their prayers up to “God.”

But, all over town, the Supreme Being is increasingly invoked by other names: “Dios” (in Spanish); “Gott” (German); “Elohim” and “Adonai” (Hebrew); “Allah” (Arabic); “Deus” (Latin); “Bóg” (Polish); “Theos” (Greek); “Dieu” (French); and many others.

I consulted a few folks in town who chart Charlotte’s growing diversity – including historian Tom Hanchett of the Levine Museum of the New South – and came up with a list of the languages of worship in the Charlotte area:

• The Catholic Diocese has parishes where some or all of the Masses are in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Latin. A few parishes periodically host Masses in other languages, including Polish and Tagalog (from the Philippines).

• Orthodox Christian churches have services that are partly or totally said in Greek, Russian, Serbian, Armenian and Arabic.

• The Jewish synagogues include prayers in Hebrew.

• Muslims attending masjids, or mosques, are led in prayer in Arabic.

• Various Protestant denominations – Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist – have immigrant congregations that worship in German, Khmer (the language of Cambodia), Korean, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Tagalog.

• Buddhist temples are the spiritual homes to immigrant communities that speak Chinese, Lao (from Laos), Vietnamese and Khmer.

• The sacred language at the Hindu temples is Sanskrit.

• Haitian churches have services in French.

• Immigrant churches with congregations from African countries worship in such indigenous language groups as Akan (from Ghana) and Amharic (from Ethiopia).

OK, that’s our list. What languages have we left out? Email them (and any related houses of worship) to: tfunk@charlotteobserver.com

-- Tim Funk

Services for those who suffer during the holidays

The cues to turn that frown into a smile are nonstop: “Merry Christmas!” “Happy Hanukkah!” “Ho-Ho-Ho!”

For many, though, the holidays can be a dispiriting time. Maybe they – maybe you – battle loneliness or depression, have lost a job or a loved one.

Faced with all the parties and the gifts and the caroling, those suffering often “wish the world would stop being so happy and recognize that there are brothers and sisters who are in pain,” says the Rev. Gary Butterworth, rector at All Saints Episcopal Church in Gastonia.

So Butterworth’s church is inviting those coping with sorrow, loss, pain and isolation to attend a “Blue Service” on Dec. 19.

It’s the third year All Saints has held this gathering, which features an inclusive liturgy.

“It’s the one time of the year that we get people of all faiths and denominations as well as the un-churched,” he says. “And there are lots of tears.”

Those who attend are given strips of cloth and a Sharpie pen. They’re invited to write down their pains, struggles, broken relationships, the names of those they’re remembering. During the service, they are asked to bring those strips to the Christmas manger “and give them to Jesus,” Butterworth says. The strips remain in the manger until the feast of the Epiphany in January.

In his past Blue Service sermons – he calls them meditations – Butterworth has acknowledged the pain of those who have come and then spoken of Scripture as “God’s love story with humanity, including lots of struggle, pain and joy.”

“We honor and affirm where they are,” he says, and then offer them this message: “There is hope.”

The 45-minute service is 7 p.m. at All Saints, 1201 S. New Hope Road, Gastonia.

 Details here. You can also call 704-864-7201.

Remembering children

The Charlotte chapter of the Compassionate Friends will be there next month for those bearing a special pain: the loss of a child.

Parents, family and friends are invited to a candlelight service at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Parkway. It will held in the small chapel on the Rea Road entrance.

Names of the children being remembered will be read. Those who come are invited to bring a picture.


Details: 704-315-6913 or email sam3arm@aol.com.

-- Tim Funk

Looking for uplift? Attend Tuesday's interfaith Thanksgiving service

If you’re distressed, as I am, by all the acrimony at home and abroad, I have a suggestion that could bring you some peace and uplift.

Show up Tuesday night (Nov. 25) at Mecklenburg Ministries’ 39th annual citywide interfaith Thanksgiving service.

You’ll find people of various races, cultural backgrounds and faith traditions praying and singing together – not judging and bad-mouthing each other.

The event will start at 7 p.m. at The Park Church, 6029 Beatties Ford Road. Get there early – it’s one of the best-attended events in Charlotte. (Last year, more than 1,000 people were there.)

In fact, come at 6:30 p.m. for the musical prelude.

As always, the night’s accent will be on gratitude. Delivering that message from the pulpit will be a trio of women clergy: Rabbi Judy Schindler of Temple Beth El, the Rev. Ophelia Garmon-Brown, M.D., of Novant Health, and the Rev. Christy Snow of the Spiritual Living Center of Charlotte. The title of their talk: “Committed to Love Amidst Paradox.”

Among the other speakers: Bishop Claude Alexander, who pastors The Park, and Imam John Ramadan of Masjid Ar-Razzaq. Ramadan also chairs the board of the sponsoring Mecklenburg Ministries, an interfaith group with about 100 member congregations.

The service will open with a Hindu Thanksgiving ritual prayer and include readings from the sacred texts of various religions. Sharing a story for the children will be the Rev. Sofia McGuire of Sufi Order International.

There will also be glorious music, led by 200-plus singers and musicians from the Interfaith Adult and Children’s Choirs and from the Queen City Ringers, the Gaston Choral Society, The Park Choir, and the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church Choir.

One last thing: If you’re coming, bring some canned goods to benefit Loaves & Fishes, which feeds our hungry brothers and sisters during the holidays and all year round.

More details: www.meckmin.org; 704-565-5455.

Also for your calendar ...

Here are some other upcoming holiday events:

• Dec. 5: Franklin Graham and others from Samaritan’s Purse will lead a celebration of the 2.4 million shoe box gifts prepared in Charlotte for shipment to kids all over the world. 10:30 a.m. at the Operation Christmas Child Processing Center, 7100 Forest Point Blvd.

• Dec. 12-13: The Choir School at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will present its popular Christmas concerts. 7:30 p.m. each night in the church sanctuary, 115 W. Seventh St. uptown.

• Dec. 16-17: The Congregation of Ohr HaTorah will mark the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah with two menorah lightings. 5 p.m. Dec. 16 at SouthPark Mall and 5:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at Trade and Tryon uptown.

--Tim Funk

Days before death, Sunday school teacher got to see her book published

For more than 50 years, Edith Collins taught young children at Myers Park Baptist Church.

And during those decades of Sunday school and Through-the-Week school, Collins filed away stories about these 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds whose first and maybe best memories of the Charlotte church were of gentle “Miss E.”

Collins’ dream was to fill a book with these stories.

About Allison, the precocious little girl who responded to a recording of “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by spreading her arms and “flying” around the room to the rhythm of the music.

About Adam, who riveted the class during Circle Time one Sunday morning with his report on a trip to the doctor and how the M.D. had said that his brain was boiling. (Translation: He probably had a high fever).

And about how, during the reading of “Jack be nimble ...,” one little boy taught the other children compassion by taking the hand of Judy, who had cerebral palsy, and helping her jump over the imaginary candlestick.

This dream-of-a-book was finally published this year, in April, as Collins, 87, struggled with illness.

Because of her declining health, her family and friends at Myers Park Baptist got the publisher, Lorimer Press in Davidson, to rush the first copy off the press.


When “Sprouting Acorns” by Edith Collins was presented to the author, “she just beamed and held the book,” says Myers Park Baptist member Ed Williams. “You could see the joy in her face.”

Four days later, Collins died.

But at 7 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 20) at Park Road Books, members of Collins’ church will gather to read from her book.

Among the scheduled readers: Bill Walker, retired WSOC-TV anchor; the Rev. Robin Coira, executive minister and the first woman ordained by Myers Park Baptist; poet-historian Mary Kratt; poet Kathie Collins; writer Lisa Rubenson; lawyer Ray Owens, the son of former Myers Park Baptist pastor Gene Owens; and Williams, former editorial page editor at the Observer.

They’ve now published enough copies of “Sprouting Acorns” to sell, for $12.99, at Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road, and at Myers Park Baptist, 1900 Queens Road.

Teacher Collins dreamed up that title because she considered her work to be turning tiny acorns into great oaks – or “sprouting children,” as she explains in the introduction.

“She just loved children,” Coira says. “And she had a magical quality that drew the children to her.”

The book’s stories, written with grace and wisdom and featuring the kids’ charming drawings of cats and birds and space rockets, offer a master class in how to deal with children, featuring an ever-curious and always-encouraging Edith Collins.

-- Tim Funk

Anonymous donor honors Pope Francis with Habitat house in Huntersville

Today (Oct. 18) at 10:30 a.m., Our Towns Habitat for Humanity will raise the walls on The Pope Francis House at 11908 Titan Ave. in Huntersville.

An anonymous donor wanted to honor the pope with a house built for a family in need.

Volunteer and additional monetary support is being provided by two Catholic parishes – St. Therese in Mooresville and St. Mark in Huntersville – as well as the Davidson College Habitat chapter and Catholic Campus Ministries.

The donor, according to Habitat for Humanity, wanted to salute the pope for his commitment to social justice, support Habitat and provide a “celebratory opportunity” for Catholic and non-Catholic volunteers.


You can volunteer here.

-- Tim Funk 

Muslim and Jewish women to gather to share stories and traditions

Need a break from all the dispiriting headlines about Ebola, ISIS and nasty election-year TV ads?

Check out this news item: Muslim Women of the Carolinas is inviting local Jewish and Muslim women to gather later this month for “Tea for Two.”

“There’s not very many opportunities for Muslims and Jews to meet,” said Rose Hamid, president of the Muslim Women’s group. “I wanted to create some space to just build connections, ask questions of each other and ease fears.”

The plan is for the women to share stories and traditions about their separate religious holidays – this month, the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and the Muslim holiday of Eid Al Adha fell on the same day.

There will be desserts and, as the event's name promises, tea --several types of tea, in fact. “Because Muslims come from all over the world, teas are a big part of their cultures,” Hamid said.

The event is 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Islamic Community of Bosniaks (they’re from Bosnia), 6200 Wilora Lake Road in east Charlotte.

Space is limited and organizers want a good mix. So, if you’re a Jewish or Muslim woman and want to go, RSVP here. 

-- Tim Funk

Pope Francis sends greetings to Charlotte

Every week, it seems, another group holds its national convention in Charlotte.

But how many of them get a video greeting from Pope Francis?



Just one that we know of: This month’s meeting of Catholic Charities USA – professionals and volunteers from dioceses around the country who work to reduce poverty.

“My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,” the pope, speaking in Spanish, began his video message. “I send you my warmest greetings of peace and abundant joy as you gather together in Charlotte, North Carolina.”

Or “Carolina del Norte” – North Carolina in Spanish.

The pope spoke for more than 12 minutes and stressed, as he has repeatedly in his papacy, the need to care for the poor.

“They will precede us into the Kingdom of Heaven, they will open the gates for us,” he said. “We are called to be a church, a people of and for the poor.”

He signed off with a blessing and this humble plea: “I also ask you to pray for me because I need it.”

Catholic Charities USA met in Charlotte Oct. 4-7.

(Video courtesy of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.)

-- Tim Funk

Q&A: Theologian coming to Charlotte to talk about treasures of darkness

Barbara Brown Taylor -- theologian, Episcopal priest, college professor -- lives on a organic vegetable farm in the Georgia foothills of the Appalachians.

It’s a perfect place to experience the natural seesaw between the light and the dark– and to ponder the metaphorical and theological aspects of both. Taylor, 63, writes about these things in her latest book, “Learning to Walk in the Dark,” which was the subject of a Time magazine cover story this year.

Taylor, named one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world by Baylor University, will speak this weekend at Charlotte’s Myers Park Baptist Church. The Observer talked with her Tuesday. Here’s the full transcript.

Q. In your writings, you have pointed out that the word “darkness” has become shorthand for every bad thing out there. But you also point out that many of the most important stories in the Bible occurred in the dark. Give me one or two. And what does that say about God’s supposed preference for the light?

A. The one I’m working on right this minute is Jacob wrestling an angel by the River Jabbok.  Not in the middle of the night, but all night long. And it changes his life. God gives him a wound and a blessing and a new name.

I don’t know anything about God’s preference . . .

Q. I'm referring to God saying in Genesis, “Let there be light.” And Christians like to talk about Jesus as the Light.

A. Yeah, that’s cause we like light. We want God to be the way we like. But Exodus 19 has God saying to Moses, “I will come to you in a dark cloud.” So God doesn’t seem beholden to our fondness for light. I think anyone who professes faith in one God professes faith in a God of the dark and the light, of the night and the day, who put the sun and the moon in the sky. So a lot of what I’m up to in my writing and in my talks in Charlotte this weekend is doing my best to retrieve the wholeness of the vision of God and how God works.

Q. Clearly, many churches and religious books today are selling certainty and a sunny spirituality. But there is this rich contemplative tradition in Christianity that says the darkness is where the soul will find God. Is that how you see darkness as well?

A. Yes, but let’s keep both in there. Because what I find is that (because) I travel with a book called “Learning to Walk in the Dark,” people think I’m setting up a new opposition. I’m keeping the same old battle between dark and light; I’m just switching sides. And I don’t want to be in a battle at all. I want to talk about the cloud of unknowing and the drive to know God. I want to talk about the dark night of the soul. And I want to talk about the bright light in the morning and embrace all of those as parts of our whole life. I’ll talk about learning to walk in the dark as learning to walk the way of unknowing, a sacred way of unknowing, but there’s a sacred way of knowing as well. I’m trying hard not to play into a new opposition, but to do my best to hang on to the full package.

Q. How does living on a farm shape your spirituality and your befriending of the darkness?

A. I think there’s a lot less protection here from the elements. From darkness. From hawks that swoop down out of the sky and take your favorite chicken. And a horse that falls in a hole and breaks its leg. It’s not more exposing than living in a battlefield or a refugee camp, but there are certainly ways that living on a farm leaves me open to a lot more grief and joy than living a more protected city life.

Q. We live in polarized times where everybody wants to cloak their side in the light and cast those on the other side as purveyors of darkness. Is this the way to truth or just to more rancor?

A. We all like to be right, don’t we? If we want to be right, we’ll go to the biggest symbols and totems for rightness we can find – light and sun and God and nation. It’s real hard to be a human being who wants to be right without all those things. So, sure, I think we recruit them for our side and then, if anything, what we’re living through now is the consequences of that. We’re mired in opposition.

Q. You live on a farm and teach at small Piedmont College. Yet this year Time magazine turned its national spotlight on you and your work. Does that feel like being bathed in the light or blinded by the light?


A. Yeah, blinded by the light is a good metaphor. I live here on purpose, I teach at Piedmont on purpose. And as grateful as I am for Time’s (exposure), I like living a human-size life. So I’m happy for the attention and really happy that people have a short attention span.

Want to go?

Barbara Brown Taylor will speak this weekend (Oct. 17-19) at Myers Park Baptist Church, 1900 Queens Road. There's limited space for her $60 Saturday (Oct. 18) workshop on “Lunar Spirituality” (call church phone number below). She’ll also be speaking:

-- Friday (Oct. 17) at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary. Topic: “The Wedding of Heaven and Earth.” Will include a Q&A. Free.

-- Sunday (Oct. 19) at 9:30 a.m. (free) in Heaton Hall and at the 11 a.m. service in the sanctuary. Sermon topic: “The Treasures of Darkness.”


Details: mpbconline.org; 704-334-7232, ext. 15.

-- Tim Funk

The Park's Bishop Alexander to preach from third campus

Starting Sunday (Oct. 5),  The Park Church will move its Sunday morning worship headquarters to what used to be the Charlotte Merchandise Mart off Independence Boulevard.

The megachurch pastored by Bishop Claude Alexander bought the 23-acre site in 2006 for $11 million.

Up to now, Alexander has done his Sunday morning preaching in The Park’s church on Beatties Ford Road or at its satellite campus in Pineville. For 10 years -- August 2004 to August 2014 -- he’s even appeared live at both, being driven back and forth to the two locations.

But from now on, the bishop will be presiding during the 8:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. services at the Independence campus. Both will be simulcast to the other two sites.

Got that?

So, to see Bishop Alexander preaching live (and he’s one of the best in the pulpit), show up at The Park Expo and Convention Center (the former Merchandise Mart) at 800 Briar Creek Road (its official address).

But you can also catch him on screen during the same times (8:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Sundays) at 6029 Beatties Ford Road in northwest Charlotte and 13733 Lancaster Highway in Pineville.


Multisite simulcasting has become routine for many megachurches, including Elevation, Forest Hill and Mecklenburg Community churches in the Charlotte area.

-- Tim Funk

Local Race for Cure sponsor apologizes to Charlotte's Jewish community

Don’t look for a big Jewish turnout at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday (Oct. 4).

The reason: The annual race to raise funds for breast cancer research is being held this year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and one of the most sacred days on the Jewish calendar.

That’s upset some, who have pointed out that the race’s namesake, Susan G. Komen, was herself Jewish.

Komen Charlotte has reached out to the city’s Jewish temples with an apology, saying the conflict was unintentional.

“We have an annual tradition of having the (race) on the first Saturday in October,” reads its message, which appeared this week in the Temple Beth El bulletin. “By the time we realized that due to the changing nature of the Jewish calendar, both Yom Kippur and our race fell on the same day, it was too late to attempt to move the race. We are incredibly sorry that so many of our friends and supporters could not be with us.”

One Charlottean who will miss the race: Moira Quinn, a breast cancer survivor who’s past president of Temple Beth El and a member of the Komen Charlotte Survivor Outreach Committee.

“It was too late to change (the race) without incurring expenses that I personally, as a Jewish survivor, found to be unacceptable,” she said. “I want every penny to be spent on research and survivor support, not costs to move a race.”

-- Tim Funk

Rev. Steve Eason: Time to leave, teach other clergy what he's learned in Charlotte

Scandal. Burnout. Illness. Division.

Those are the reasons you hear most these days when a senior pastor exits a big church before reaching retirement age.

But the Rev. Steve Eason says his decision to leave Myers Park Presbyterian Church next April is a “good news story.”

“No hidden agenda,” Eason, 60, told me after emailing his decision to the church’s 4,700 members this week. “Nothing is wrong here at the church. It’s not a story of burnout. This change is coming out of a position of strength and gratitude.”

After 12 years of leading one of Charlotte’s most prominent – and most generous – churches, Eason said he’s being called to take what he’s learned and share it with other clergy.

As director of consulting services with Atlanta-based Macedonian Ministries, he’ll teach, coach and organize workshops for ministers of various denominations.

It’s a group that desperately needs more support in an age when men and women of the cloth are called on to be there 24/7 for others.

“We’re in a situation where clergy are dropping out of this profession at an alarming rate,” Eason said. “Or not going into it at all.”

So Eason will try to pass along to his next flock – a group ranging from Catholic priests to Pentecostal preachers – what he’s learned about preaching, empowering lay people and more.

He’ll take his leave from a Charlotte house of worship that’s now the biggest Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) church in North Carolina and the fourth largest in the country. 

It’s one that’s blessed with enviable demographics: The largest age group at Myers Park Presbyterian, Eason said, is those between 30 and 40. That means young families with kids – a good predictor of growth into the future.

And it has deep pockets: members include developer Johnny Harris, former Bank of America CFO (and now top Carlyle Group executive) Jim Hance, and the Belks, the department store family.

But it’s also a church that gives in a big way: Under Eason’s leadership, it completed a $30 million capital campaign, then spent $11 million on everything from affordable housing in Grier Heights, a low-income neighborhood in Charlotte, to clean water projects in Malawi and the Congo.

“It’s a great witness for a church to make in this culture,” Eason said. “We didn’t raise that to spend it all on ourselves. I’m proud how mission-minded this church is.”

Eason also likes how Myers Park Presbyterian has weathered the intra-denominational battle over ordaining gays and lesbians – a change that prompted some big conservative churches to leave the PC (USA).

“We have conservatives, moderates and liberals, and they all end up together at the Communion table,” he said of his Charlotte church. “We disagree on things, but we don’t fragment and fight. … My job has been to not polarize the congregation.”

Eason will be around for seven more months, long enough, he said, to pastor his Charlotte flock through one more Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.

But the grieving has begun. Eason said he’s already gotten “a flood of affirming emails.”

The good feelings are mutual. “You have taught me so much,” Eason told members, “that I now can share with others.”

I’ll leave the last words to evangelist-author Leighton Ford, who’s been attending Myers Park Presbyterian with his wife, Jean (Billy Graham’s sister) for 20-plus years.

“He’s going to be terribly missed,” Ford said. “He’s loved. And the gift he’s given us – the clear, compelling preaching of Christ – has drawn in so many people.”

-- Tim Funk

Q&A: Jason Alexander talks 'Seinfeld,' Judaism, Charlotte, and more

He’s a Tony-winning song-and-dance man, but Jason Alexander’s main claim to fame is that he played George Costanza, Jerry Seinfeld’s balding buddy – and a poster boy for underachievers – on “Seinfeld” (1989-98). The classic TV sitcom about “nothing” also starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine and Michael Richards as the manic Kramer.

Alexander, born 55 years ago Tuesday (Sept. 23) as Jay Scott Greenspan, will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 21) at uptown’s Knight Theater. Although the show is a fundraiser for Temple Beth El and Temple Israel, two Charlotte synagogues, and the Levine Jewish Community Center, it’s open to the public.

Alexander talked this week to the Observer about a range of subjects: his one-man show, his Jewish upbringing, his last time in Charlotte, poker, magic, TV, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, of course, “Seinfeld.”

Here's the full transcript.

Q. You're bringing your one-man show to town this weekend to help Charlotte's Jewish community. Is this something you do around the country or is this a first-time thing?

A. You mean doing my show or helping Jews? (Chuckles).

Q. Well, let's take them one at a time.

A. I tend to do both, to tell you the truth. The show is a stand-up comedy/variety show that I've been doing for about a year and a half all over the place. And a lot of the time it is for things just like this -- either corporate events or organizations doing big fundraisers at a theater.

Q. It's being advertised as "An Evening with Jason Alexander . . . And His Hair." 

A. Indeed.

Q. It won't be that toupee that Elaine ripped off George's head in "Seinfeld," will it?

A. No, Elaine threw that out the window, I'm afraid. There was no recovering it.

Q. Can you give us a hint on how the hair will factor in the show?

A. You'll have to come. I mean, I can't give away the goods in the store. If you look at the poster for the show, you'll see what the hair looks like. It's rather, I've been told, dashing. It's completely bogus. Dashing and bogus, all in the same breath.

Q. You grew up in a Jewish household in New Jersey. I guess you had a bar mitzvah?

A. Yeah.

Q. Did you family take you to temple often? Were you Reform? Conservative? Orthodox?

A. We had an interesting relationship with Judaism. My parents were older than most of my peers' (parents). So they came up in the generation where households were pretty observant. Certainly culturally. The Sabbath was a factor in their lives. It was normal for them to go to Schul (synagogue).

By the time I came along, a lot of it was no longer practical for them. But they kind of went through the motions for their parents, more or less. There was a very strong cultural feeling in my family growing up -- you know, a lot of pride being Jewish, a lot of pride in the history and culture of the Jewish people. There was not a strong religious feeling. We kept a kosher house until after my bar mitzvah.

I hated Hebrew school, as most Jewish boys do. It did not speak to me. The metaphor I always use for the experience is: "They taught me to read Hebrew, but not to understand it." So, at the perfect time, I could have actually learned this language and have it become a part of my life. Instead, that opportunity was wasted for appearances, to be able to prepare me for my bar mitzvah. It was a conservative synagogue.

My bar mitzvah was, I think, more demanding than the average of what I see nowadays. And once it was over, I basically went to my folks and went, "I'm out. I'm done." I pointed out to them that, as far as I knew, the Torah did not say you could not eat the flesh of the pig and shellfish except in a Chinese restaurant, which is how we were practicing the (Jewish dietary) law.

So, at that time, my parents basically let go even of the kosher house. We weren't really observing the Sabbath. I did not go to temple every weekend. And I sort of moved away from the religious aspect of Judaism as a teenager. I put my sons through Hebrew school and they were both bar mitzvahed -- again, more for my parents. And I said to my boys as I did it, "The chain breaks with you. If you have a feeling for this and you'd like to continue the tradition, that's great. If you don't, do not do it for me."

My spirituality is certainly informed by Judaism. Of all the religions I'm aware of, I think Judaism is probably the finest. I just don't believe in organized religion. So that aspect of being a Jew doesn't particularly speak to me. Ironic, since I am coming to North Carolina in support of two very well established synagogues. I support religious Jewish communities. I think it's great. I think the people who benefit from it, I think that's great. And I think the good works that synagogues and Jewish religious communities are able to do, I think are fantastic. But the idea of being a congregant does not speak to me. That's kind of the nutshell of me and Judaism.

Q. I did notice that you gave your sons Biblical names. Gabriel and Noah, right?

A. That's only because my real name is Greenspan. So when Gabe was born, we were looking for anything that sounded good with Greenspan. And Gabe sounded pretty good. And then Gabe actually named his brother. I think his thinking was that, if the baby cries, I could put all my stuffed animals in his crib and sing the Arky Arky Noah song and maybe he won't cry. And we went, "Ah, that's as good a reason as any," (chuckles) so  we named our younger son Noah because of that.

Q. You were in the movie, "Shallow Hal," which was filmed in Charlotte, so you have been here before. Any memories? It's a much cooler town now than it back then (in 2001).

A. Oh really? It was a pretty cool town then. I actually loved being in Charlotte. We had our weekends free and I will not remember the name of the sort of gorgeous giant lake that's not far from town. But I used to go out there with a lot of members of the crew and some of the cast. Every weekend, we'd rent jet skis and WaveRunners and we'd go out on the lake and it was gorgeous.

I got to go to some Hornet games. And Poison was playing in town when I was there (laughs) and I actually hung out with those guys. The whole Charlotte experience while making that film was really terrific.

Q. Well, you know we hosted the Democratic National Convention here in 2012 and Newman -- Wayne Knight -- came. And Jerry Seinfeld was just here with his stand-up act.

A. He's very good, that Jerry Seinfeld. He might work.

Q. My readers will kill me if I don't get a few "Seinfeld" questions in.

A. Sure.

Q. You stopped filming "Seinfeld" back in 1998. Now, 16 years later, the reruns are still all over the TV. Any theories about why it's still going strong? It's part of American cultural history rather than just a TV show.

A. I know. You know, if we really understood why it is so enduring, we could probably do it again. I think all of us are relatively surprised at the size of the success of the show. Certainly when we were doing it, we couldn't believe it because we started on nobody's radar. I mean, we were barely on the air when we began. And we just kept doing what we wanted to do. And then it caught on in an unimaginable way.

And it continues to create new audiences. My older son just graduated from college, my younger one has just begun college, and it's a huge phenomenon at colleges. It's a huge show around the world in places I would never have imagined it being seen or being successful. We don't know why.

I guess, at the end of the day, all we cared about when we made the show was: "Is it funny?" We didn't really focus on character integrity or learning or growing or hugging or any of that stuff. Is it funny? And oftentimes, what was funny in one generation doesn't translate to the next. But for whatever reasons I can't understand, "Seinfeld" continues to be experienced as a very funny show from generation to generation. I assume eventually that will not be true. But, for right now, it continues to be a phenomenon.

Q. Do you watch it and, if you do, are you able to laugh at the characters? Or do you just remember the making of it?

A. I never sit down to watch it. There are times when I'm flipping channels and I come on an episode and I'll sit and watch it out. What's amazing is that I don't remember even making most of them. People come up to me all the time and go, "Remember when you did such and such?" And I look at them with my jaw agape, and go, "Did I do that?" Whenever I watch it, I am reminded of the one defining truth of those years, which was: We were having a blast. 

Q. It looked like it.

A. We really enjoyed working together. We loved doing the show. And I think that is clear in every frame of every episode, that these four idiots are having a good time.

Q. How did you see George? As a lovable loser? Or a not-so-lovable loser? What's your take on him?

A. (Chuckles). You know, very quickly in the series, I understood -- not initially, but very quickly -- that George was an alter ego for (the show's co-creator/co-writer) Larry David. And I am incredibly fond of Larry David, with all his quirks and eccentricities. I'm completely charmed by the guy. And Larry used George to kind of explore -- most of the things that happened to George on the show happened to Larry in real life. And it was his way of doing what he wanted to do at the time or saying what he wanted to say at the time.

Q. Including the masturbation contest, right?

A. Yeah, Larry was really in that. That was a real thing. So, because of my affection for Larry, I don't see George as despicable as many could legitimately see him being. Was he a loser? Yes, if you think, well, he couldn't sustain a relationship, he rarely could sustain a job. He had many character quirks that would be considered undesirable (chuckles) or unappealing or unethical. But he was aware of it and somehow he was able to persevere through all of it. So, in that way, I kind of admire the little guy.

You know, he's caught having sex with a cleaning woman in his office. And when he's called out on the carpet for it, he actually comes up with an excuse like "Is that wrong? Should I not have done that?" (Laughs). I mean, that's a brilliant way to attempt to escape the responsibility of that indiscretion. So I adore the character and, apparently, the vast majority of the audience seems to.

Q. I saw you on Charlie Rose's show talking about "Seinfeld" and you seemed incredibly different than George. How do you figure out how to play someone who's not like you? Was it on the page?

A. First of all, yes, so much of George is on the page. The page gives you: what is he doing? What is he saying? What is his response? The stuff that I brought to the character was a keen ability to observe and distill. Most of my work as an actor has been character work and I have always been a student of human behavior. I love watching people. I have notebooks full of observations about different people -- how they move, how they talk, how they communicate or try not to communicate.

If you go back and look at the early episodes, my role model was Woody Allen. And I was really doing a fairly flagrant Woody Allen imitation for the first half dozen to 10 episodes. Once I understood it was Larry, I really began to observe Larry as best I could and then bring elements of some really funny guys that I have seen over the years that you've seen, too. There's a little bit of Jackie Gleason in George, there's a little bit of Phil Silvers in George. There's a little bit of Fred Flintstone in George.

My sense of humor is a compilation of lots and lots and lots and lots of funny people that I've been exposed to. When my career started bending towards comedy -- because it was not what I set out to do -- I actually studied great comic actors and comedians to try to learn why they were so funny. And there are things that they all have in common. So, you kind of come up with a palette of colors that you can use to kind of paint a new character. So George is a real conglomeration of my observations and intuitions about Larry, colored by a whole bunch of other people I thought would flesh him out.

Q. It seems like everybody has a favorite "Seinfeld" episode? Do you?

A. Not a favorite. They all had something going on, either in front of the camera or behind the camera, that made them special.

I think if you ask the four of us, was there one that kind of turned our fortunes around, it would be the masturbation contest. We were really just hanging on by a thread the first two seasons. That episode came around in season 3 in a very challenging spot. NBC finally put us on after "Cheers," which was the No. 1 comedy in television at the time. And if you didn't hold the "Cheers" audience, you were very quickly going to be taken off the air. We knew it was a sink-or-swim situation.

I think that was our third or fourth episode airing in that slot and it just destroyed the "Cheers" audience. We started at the same number that "Cheers" had. And by the time that episode was over, we had built on that audience. Because people were calling their friends and going, "You've got to turn this on. They're doing a show on masturbation." And our fortunes were rock solid from that point on.

So I think we point to that one as a really pivotal show, and it was a great one and we loved doing it. But I don't know if it was our favorite. I don't think we have one.

Q. You told Charlie Rose that the four of you on "Seinfeld" will always be like the Four Musketeers -- when somebody thinks of one, they'll think of the others. Are you all still in touch? Do you get together ever?

A. First, I have to give credit where credit's do. That was Jerry's line. Before we would tape any episode, we'd be behind the set and would do this silly thing called the Circle of Power, which was really nothing. We'd kind of huddle up and wish each other luck. And on the last episode, Jerry made that comment. He said, "You know, for the rest of our lives, if anybody thinks of one of us, they will think of all four of us. And I could not have wished for three people that I'd rather have that be true of." It was an extraordinary statement, especially from Jerry cause Jerry is not known for his sentimentality (Laughs). So it was a huge thing for him to say and it really struck us all.

You know, the interesting thing about the four of us is: we were great work friends. We loved coming to work, we loved seeing each other, we loved playing with each other, and we enjoyed each other thoroughly. We never, in the nine years that we worked together, really had a habit of being social friends. At the end of the work day, Jerry would go back to the writers' room, Michael would go back to Mars or wherever, and Julia and I had families. Our children are almost the exact same age and we wanted to get home and be moms and dads. And we had other jobs.

So we never really shot a show on a Friday night and said, "Hey, let's have dinner tomorrow." So when the show ended, we had no history of being social friends. And we all kind of went very different ways. Jerry and Michael went to New York for a long time. I had a show, Julia had a show. We were doing different things. So we don't see each other all that much.

But I've had several lunches and dinners with Julia. We email each other when things are happening. I've asked Jerry a dozen times to help me out on something, do a benefit for something, join me in a project. Every time it's a yes. He's done the same thing with me, the same thing with Michael. When we see each other, it's always like no time has passed. The bond has not diminished at all. There's no sense of "Oh, Julia, you've won a thousand Emmys." (Laughs). It's us, the four of us. And that's a lovely feeling. But, no, you would not look at our day-to-day communication and think, "These guys are really close friends,"

Q. TV is hot now. Big actors are doing things for HBO and other cable channels. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a hit with "Veep." Would you be interested in going back to TV in a big starring thing on HBO?

A. Yeah! Listen, if I had one in mind or they had one for me, in a heartbeat, especially in the HBO model. What I'm not terribly interested in doing is going back on the big network TV. People are doing good work out there. But for the most part, the world of comedy has moved to cable and, particularly, to the Internet. And the really, really extraordinary dramas (are on cable.) Again, people are doing some wonderful things on the broadcast networks, but they're over-challenged. You have to pump 22 of them a year. In an hour slot, you have 40 minutes to tell your stories. There's barriers on language, there's barriers in behavior. And it has to play to as broad an audience as possible. So it's not easy to do profoundly good work on the broadcast networks.

I have a comedy in development that we're pitching now for some cable outlets. And I'm open and available as an actor. I've actually tried to move a lot of my career to the directing side. But, yes, I would happily do another series if it was the right thing. The thing about series is that when you go to sign your name on the contract, you're making a multi-year commitment. And if you don't think it's something that you're going to want to do in year 2 or 3, it's a scary thing. If you don't think the quality is going to be there.

You know, I don't anticipate another "Seinfeld." There will not be another "Seinfeld" for me. So what you want to do is something that is challenging, something that connects with people, something that is quality. If you're going to bring the "Seinfeld" audience to something you're doing, you're kind of saying, "I think this is worth your while." I'd like to feel like it actually is. And, unfortunately, those are few and far between. And one of the reasons is that the world thinks of me iconically as George. They don't know that there are lots of other arrows in that quiver. I show them occasionally and they go, "Oh wow!" But nobody has said yet, "Hey, let's build a series on Jason that isn't George."

Q. But you're a musical threat, too, right?

A. Yeah. And, in fact, a lot of what I'm doing right now is working on projects that would take me back to the theater in New York, which is really, truly, before "Seinfeld" happened, that's where I thought my whole career was going to be, very happily.

So, yes, I'm doing things like I'm doing in Charlotte. I am performing and working more than I care to. Life has not slowed down. It's just not often in front of cameras right now because most of what they give me in front of cameras is not that interesting to me. So I tend to say no because I have the luxury of being able to say no.

Q. Wikipedia says you're quite a poker player and you started out as a magician. Are those to talents linked in some way?

A. I wish they were. I'd be a far more successful poker player if I was a better magician. No, the magic is a hobby and a passion. The poker is, I just love the game. People give me a lot more credit at being better than I am. I'm a student of the game and it's a never-ending school. Very few people are maestros at the game of poker. I'm a good member of the orchestra, but I'm certainly not picking up a stick and leading the group. But I love the game. It's a great challenge and a great social game and I've met terrific people from playing it.

Q. Back to Judaism. Are you still active in OneVoice Initiative (which seeks out moderate Israeli and Palestinian voices to promote peace and a two-state solution)?

A. As much as I can be.

Q. Given what happened in Gaza, are you still optimistic about the peace process?

A. Well, yes on any given day. And no on any given day. I'm optimistic because there is no other outcome that is viable. Neither of these peoples -- the Israelis or the Palestinians -- are going away. Neither is giving up their cause. Neither is going to lay down and die. And the Israelis, thank God, are not willing, nor should they ever be, to obliterate the Palestinians. So it's not going to come to an Armageddon situation, all or nothing.

So, given that, there's only one other outcome and that is they've got to find a way to live side-by-side with each other in some sort of harmony and peace. I am optimistic that (Palestinian Authority President) Mahmoud Abbas is the real guy. He is wise, and I think he gets it and I think he sees the value of having a permanent peace with Israel and having a real Palestinian state. I think he is wise enough to know that, initially, he may need to make a lot of sacrifices and then build on the successes as peace becomes a reality.

I am not convinced that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is the best player in the game right now because every time he has an opportunity to further the relationship with Abbas he puts up a new settlement. And that makes Abbas' job with his own people much more difficult. So I do think that if the two right leaders are in office at the right time that there can be a very positive result. Is that the case today? No.

Q. Last question: Anything you're excited about that your fans can look for? 

A. Yeah, I think. I have a movie floating around the festival circuit called "Lucky Stiff." It's a musical. Could be fun. We loved doing the movie. It's a quirky kind of thing. I've done a lot of television guesting. There's a new show on Comedy Central called "Big Time in Hollywood, Florida" that you'll see me in. And, again, there's a lot of stuff on the burner that I'm not sure where it's going to go.

Q. Well, it looks like you'll have a birthday a few days after your appearance in Charlotte. So happy birthday…

A. Thank you, sir.

Q. And we'll look forward to seeing you see in Charlotte on Sunday night. It was an honor to talk with you.

A. My pleasure. Bye bye now.

-- Tim Funk