Fifteen years ago, the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies began its odyssey and inaugurated an extraordinary variety of educational programs. We engaged audiences who came in nearly every size and shape and color within the Jewish and Christian communities, here in Baltimore and in other regions stretching across North America. We made a virtue out of necessity, and as a result we lived a nomadic existence. We packed up our programs and moved from place to place. We were a traveling medicine show to some, a roaming circus to others, but we thought of ourselves as a moveable feast. Our time, energy, and resources have flowed almost exclusively into the preparation of programs high in fiber and rich in chal-lenge. Virtually every ICJS event was made possible because churches, synagogues, seminaries, universities, high schools, and community centers have generously extended their hospi-tality to us.

Now there is a movement afoot to find a home for the ICJS. Given the dreadful economic climate and the mountain of edu-cational difficulties yet to scale, why have our staff and board inaugurated a search for a permanent address? What would a sturdy house of learning enable us to achieve that we are unable to accomplish on the road?

The spiritual urge to build a house is derived from the biblical imperative to provide hospitality.

Every spirit builds itself a house, and beyond its house a world, and beyond its world a heaven.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Both Jews and Christians have traditionally understood the command to welcome the stranger and to offer sanctuary to those in need of replenishment as a vital ethical cornerstone. Jews and Chris-tians cannot embody their most central values unless they have a home that opens its doors to the world. To be homeless signals a condition of estrange-ment that runs counter to the intentions of the divine. Homelessness is "exile," and its curse resides in the fact that dreams cannot gorw without roots in the ground.

The weeks may turn to months, and we may continue wan-dering in the wilderness for the next forty years. Yet we are confident that there is a promised land just over the horizon where we can plant a bold vision. In our mind's eye, we see a center where Jews and Christians can discover the ideals and principles that animate the ICJS:

• a place where scholars, students, and lay leaders can experience the transforming power of study and reflection in a setting that pulls them outside of their insular surroundings;
• a home that welcomes guests to Preaching Colloquia, Scripture Forums, Mini-courses, high school training sessions, and educator seminars;
• a resource center with book, music, and video libraries and Internet access;
• an international hub where visiting scholars can pursue research and work in collaboration with ICJS scholars;
• an educational setting where clergy and educators, indeed all those who have given so much to their religious communities, find new momentum for their work.

As I sit at my computer, there is the ever-present background buzz, taking us back to the trauma of September 11. We are bombarded with images of collapse that leave us numb and uncertain. We do not know what dangers our world may face, and we wonder what steps we can take to secure a future worthy of our children and our children's children. Our intuition is that the health and vitality of our communities are inseparably bound to the health and vitality of our religious traditions. We need places where peoples of different religious convictions develop new habits of care and reciprocity, a haven where people discover the humanity of the stranger. We need a welcoming center where folks learn to honor one another in the midst of deep disagreement. We need a safe and secure setting where people encounter the ideals of mutual trust and daring study concretely embodied in a place that feels like home. We believe that there is no better way to disarm the fear and distrust of the fanatic than to create a society at home and at at peace with its diversity. The logic of Ralph Waldo Emerson will find expression when our friends and supporters build brick by brick a house on firm ground with hopes and dreams that extend to the heavens.