by Mary Campagna
“My husband, John, and I have lived in the Roanoke area for 40 years,” said Katie Zawacki. The 71-year-old, Franklin Country resident sounds downright settled with that proclamation; however, she has also lived in New Jersey, New York, Chicago, Saint Louis, South Africa, Holland, Spain, the south of France, and Saint Lucia in the Caribbean.
“Well, yes, those are all places that have shaped my view {of the world},” Zawacki concedes with a slightly mysterious smile.
John Zawacki worked for General Electric for over 30 years; when he retired the couple took off for Saint Lucia as newly assigned members of the Peace Corps. Katie Zawacki had worked for over 14 years for Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare in Roanoke as a prevention specialist, so by the time the mature adventurers left for the Caribbean; they had accumulated a lavish repository of life-skills to share.
“When we first moved to Roanoke in 1968, I can’t say that we were welcomed,” Katie Zawacki said. “And there wasn’t much to do except to go over to Garland’s or Archie’s Lobster House.”
She was a new mother then and looked upon by a fair share of her Roanoke acquaintances as, “a Northerner.” But when the couple returned ten years later, things had changed. They moved into a young, sprawling residential neighborhood in Southwest Roanoke County.
“That’s when I was working for Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare and raising kids,” Zawacki said. “I started a peer mediation program in the county schools, and also did trainings in Roanoke City.” A one-day conflict resolution workshop opened her eyes to the possibilities of children learning to solve conflicts together.
“Then Voices of Faith started in 2008,” Zawacki said, “after we returned from Saint Lucia. We understood after that experience what it felt like to be the only White people in a country of Black people; however, they were really kind, once they got to know us.”
So having returned refreshed – still not spent- and eager to do more, the Zawackis began stacking up inspiring ideas like colorful building blocks. For example, if you don’t know somebody who is different from yourself, go meet them; if you live on the south side of town, go to the north side.
“We were still high on Saint Lucia when we first came back,” Katie Zawacki said. “It’s like we live in silos here. People go to work and come home every day to their own neighborhoods without ever seeing the other side of town. I know people who’ve said they didn’t know ‘that’ side of town existed!”
The Zawackis attend Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Church, a place where many Haitians and Asians are welcomed each Sunday. Diversity is the norm there, as is mission. “We decided to ask our minister, Father Joe Lehman, where we might fit in,” Zawacki said.
After the couple attended a slew of interfaith training meetings in Richmond sponsored by the Catholic Diocese, they took charge of the Voices of Faith region from Charlottesville to Richmond.
“Kirk Ballin, a Unitarian minister, was in charge of our Faith Relations Committee,” Zawacki said. “Together we compiled names for a mailing list to determine if Roanoke Valley religious people wanted to look toward interfaith meetings {and fellowship}.”
Perhaps astonishingly, 22 people responded favorably. Zawacki’s good friend at Beth Israel asked about doing a program about the Holocaust to put forth the question: why is it important to remember?
According to its mission statement Voices of Faith seeks “to increase mutual understanding between faiths, and to put aside false judgments; to have the freedom to express personal beliefs; to foster mutual enrichment through knowledge, experience and the sharing of spirituality, prayer life and personal faith journeys” (“Voices”).
“Through the connections we had made, we were able to develop a relationship with Hollins University,” Zawacki said. “Rev. Jenny Call, the chaplain there, assists us in setting up events and planning meetings. We discuss topics like sacred space and forgiveness; what these {ideas} mean for different religions.”
The group’s education goal is both profound and simple; get people to know one another as human beings.
“When you get to know someone as a human being, your fears subside,” Zawacki said. “That’s why we need to get to know our neighbors, even those across town. By the way, why is there an across town? I guess if you never see it, it’s hard to understand. ”
Zawacki smiles broadly as she muses that the Y.M.C.A. on Kirk Avenue is the most inclusive place in town. Voices of Faith are currently working on a potential partnership with the Y.M.C.A. The faith group includes members of the Muslim faith; the Christian faith; the Jewish faith; the Buddhist faith, and potentially others.
“The project for this year is: visit my house of worship or my faith community,” Zawacki announced with pride. “That means visit my mosque, my temple, my synagogue, my church, and/or my faith community. The idea is that each host will have an open house that is open to the public; the whole community. It’s informal, but we do ask for an R.S.V.P. because there are refreshments.”
Temple Emmanuel will host on September 18, from 2-4 pm. Zawacki said that a local women’s faith club had grown out of the fellowship initiated by Voices of Faith; 12 women currently meet monthly.
“The Women’s Faith Club was inspired by a book called The Faith Club,” Zawacki said. “The enrichment you get from knowing the truth about other religions is really important; so when something is said by the media or by another person about a particular religion, {and you know it to be incomplete or untrue}, you can speak out.”
Zawacki said that the idea of Points of Diversity grew out of Voices of Faith as members were discussing differences within this positive milieu. The group was also inspired by the ideals of the NCCJ.
“The National Conference on Communities and Justice (NCCJ) was held in Lynchburg in 1935,” Zawacki said. “Its mission was to promote religious and racial tolerance; to decrease racial prejudice.” The NCCJ’s Camp Anytown addressed leadership skills for high school teens.
“The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) took over the NCCJ programming in Virginia when it ran out of funding,” Zawacki explained. “Points of Diversity has become a program of VCIC.”
According to its mission statement Points of Diversity “supports the creation of an environment where people want to live, learn, and grow by working to ensure that all community members have the tools to succeed by connecting, engaging, and being educated in cross-cultural discussions and experiences” (“PointsofDiversity”).
A brochure on the organization published last year by the Fallen Creative Group says that “90% of students surveyed said they would like more opportunities to talk about differences in race, socio-economic class, sexual orientation, and religion.”
The group’s Youth Forum enlists teachers to sign up for “Equity in Education” workshops and other workshops that emphasize diversity and cooperation.
“Inclusion requires intention,” wrote the dynamic Points of Diversity member, Jonathan Zur in 2015. “If we are not intentionally inclusive, we run the risk of being unintentionally exclusive.”
The organization sponsors intense, community dialogue circles; discussion groups that meet weekly for four weeks and include people from all walks of life and from a variety of religious backgrounds.
“Last year we trained about 20 people to serve as facilitators for the small discussion circles,” Zawacki said. “We usually have 12 to 15 people per circle and we often meet at Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare; original partners for the group.”
Zawaki’s voice became tinged with emotion as she described a young man who had travelled to Lebanon to escape the Iraq War. He later came here as a refugee and had lived here for five years. Hesitantly, the young man began to demonstrate the deep beauty of some of his Muslim religious rituals such as prayer and forms of worship. He performed these sacred religious rites with great care in front of 53 teens.
“In 12 minutes 53 teens learned the truth about Islam,” Zawacki said. “He left feeling proud. That was a result of what I had learned in twelve years of this involvement.”
Other partners of Points of Diversity are Roanoke College, The Radford University School of Social Work and Voices of Faith.
“Still, we need more funding,” Zawacki said, “but I believe we will get it someday, somehow.”
Points of Diversity provide an opportunity for different kinds of people to gather together in a safe environment to talk about their differences.
“We do have safeguards,” Zawacki added. “They come from our people; the people who come to our groups come up with their own norms for a safe environment.”
Katie Zawacki believes that the best way to show your faith is simply by the way you live your life.
“Evil bothers me,” she said. “You can’t talk about inclusion (for example) and exclude someone from the very beginning.
