Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara, debuted its newly-formed interfaith outreach project with a festive dinner in the parish hall Sept. 26, welcoming 30 guests from the Islamic Society of Santa Barbara (ISSB). The Rev. Elizabeth Molitors and Imam Wael Hegazy offered moving invocations before a total of 60 guests tucked into to a Middle Eastern spread catered by a local restaurant, underwritten by an anonymous donor.
A spirit of fellowship and mutual understanding pervaded the atmosphere, with discussion about planning events to build deeper relationships and promote interfaith peace among disparate ethnic and religious groups in the county. The Trinity Interfaith Outreach Committee (IOC) chose the Islamic community for its inaugural event to reciprocate for a visit twenty Trinity parishioners paid to the Islamic Society last year at Imam Wael’s invitation. Trinity members toured the mosque then stayed for Friday prayers at noon, after which the Islamic Society provided a lavish lunch. The memorable and moving experience was the first time most Trinity parishioners had entered a mosque, and they found the members warmly welcoming and ready to make everyone feel comfortable. During the prayer service, Trinity parishioners were delighted to hear Jesus’s name frequently invoked and honored as a prophet.
“We thank The Interfaith Outreach Committee of Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara, for inviting members of the Islamic Society…. We appreciate this inaugural social and fellowship event. We enjoyed having our friends for lunch at the Islamic Society last year in an opportunity to share our common humanity and our Abrahamic faith,” the Islamic Society posted on social media following the dinner.
Last Friday’s event included birthday cake for parishioner Paul Zink, who spent his milestone birthday with the group. Zink was one of the architects who designed the Islamic Society’s mosque, which is located in Goleta, just north of Santa Barbara. Construction of the mosque was first proposed in 2001, but because various anti-Islamic actors opposed its construction in the aftermath of 9/11, the mosque wasn’t opened until 2019. Imam Wael noted in a discussion during the interfaith dinner that “one of the biggest misconceptions is that people can’t visit, that we don’t welcome members of the public. That isn’t true; we have a monthly event where we welcome people to come and visit.”
Trinity’s IOC has also reached out to representatives of local Jewish groups to hold a similar event after the holidays, and plans to invite other denominations as well.
Though the IOC is new, Trinity has been engaged in interfaith activities for decades through its Middle East Ministry, led by parishioner Art Fisher. The new committee will merge with the Middle East Ministry, and Fisher will co-chair the committee with fellow parishioner Eileen White Read, who is a former trustee of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Both Fisher and Read served for many years on the late Bishop Jon Bruno’s Bishop’s Commission on the Middle East.
Representatives of the IOC and of the ISSB will be meeting on Nov. 17, 2025, to plan their next event together, a book-talk event in which participants will all read the same book, then come together to discuss with a facilitator. Anyone in the Diocese with suggestions for Trinity’s interfaith outreach project is invited to get in touch with Fisher or Read by emailing: eileenwhiteread@gmail.com or afisher100@yahoo.com.