(UNDATED) When Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders in Omaha, Neb., broached the idea of trying to construct a shared facility, they shared one common early fear. It wasn’t politics, fundamentalism or even doctrinal differences.

“It turned out the biggest fear they all had was evangelism,” said Nancy Kirk, director of the two-year-old Tri-Faith Initiative, “that one group would try to get another group to cross the line.”

Yet once a “no proselytizing” rule was in place, leaders from the three congregations gave the green light toward creating a space where all three groups could grow to appreciate — and even respect — each other’s traditions.

Omaha’s Tri-Faith Initiative was established in January 2006 as a partnership between Temple Israel, the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture. Plans are in the works to build a mosque, a temple and a church on one campus, all nestled around a shared interfaith center.

About 1,000 supporters came out recently (March 27) for the project’s “Dinner in Abraham’s Tent” that featured prayers from all three Abrahamic faiths: a Jewish Shabbat service, Episcopal evening prayers and a litany of Muslim afternoon prayers.

The following discussion, “Conversations on Peace” featured Ingrid Mattson, an ex-Catholic convert to Islam who heads the Islamic Society of North America; Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori; and Rabbi Peter Knobel, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

“We didn’t want the lowest common denominator; we wanted the authentic experience of each group,” Kirk said.

Although the actual campus is still in the drawing-board stages, leaders have already placed bids on two pieces of property on Omaha’s west side and have signed a Boston architectural firm. Kirk expects the first building to be completed two to three years after the land is purchased.

Officials readily acknowledge the challenges of creating a safe space for all three faiths. “If it were easy it would’ve been done many, many times before,” said Bob Freeman, chairman of the Tri-Faith Initiative board.

Most opposition has come from fundamentalist strains with each of the three groups, Kirk and Freeman said. “There are some Christian groups who don’t want to recognize that non-Christians could have an approach to God that is legitimate,” Freeman said.

However, despite accusations that the effort can only result in the watering-down of each faith, Freeman says the project has had the opposite effect.

“In order to engage in these conversations and to go know people of other faiths, most of us find that we need to be more secure about our own faith,” Freeman said.

While shared-space arrangements are rare, sometimes they can and do succeed. Two projects in greater Washington, D.C., offer a way forward. At the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, parishioners have carved out space on Friday afternoon for downtown Muslims — including many taxi drivers — to pray.

Meanwhile, in suburban Bethesda, Md., a liberal Jewish congregation has shared facilities with Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church for 46 years. In 2002, the two groups inaugurated new space that is shared by both groups.

Which is not to say there haven’t been issues, said Sunny Schnitzer, the hazzan, or spiritual leader, or the Bethesda Jewish Congregation.

“Very orthodox Jews won’t visit us because there’s a cross outside the building,” Schnitzer said.

Even so, Schnitzer said that sharing a roof with the Presbyterian congregation has allowed both sides to work together on social action work in the community without ever compromising the principles of either faith. Such interfaith relationships, however, can’t be rushed.

“It takes a long time to develop,” Schnitzer said, “and it has to develop organically.”

Jane Rips, who helped plan the “Conversations on Peace” event in Omaha, acknowledged “bumps along the way” for the interfaith group, but said sharing traditions and opening homes to one another has provided room for personal growth.

“When we get to know each other face-to-face, one-to-one, we’re no longer `the others,”‘ Rips said.

Kirk agreed, saying that the foundations for interfaith understanding and dialogue are ultimately more important than any bricks-and-mortar facility the groups hope to someday share.

“Even if we never build the campus, the group is committed to staying together and continuing the process, working together collaboratively,” Kirk said. “It’s not that we have the answers, but we feel that we’ve figured out some of the questions.”