A warm, welcoming atmosphere enveloped every table and chair inside the Fr. (Father) Louis Querbes Hall at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights on Sunday, Sept 10.
70 to 80 people, including but not limited to Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Sikhs, all mingled and shared kind greetings and well wishes, stories and jokes. Two back tables were covered from end to end with a host of ethnic foods and desserts people brought, and soon, the people served themselves and enjoyed a dinner together.
Father Corey Brost, the host of the gathering, cheerfully welcomed each guest as they walked in the door. Brost then took to the podium and delivered the opening speech and prayers. He officially started the gathering with three simple words:
“Salaam, Shalom, Peace.”
Laughter and smiles echoed through the large multipurpose room as young children, the elderly, and everyone in between discussed the commonalities among their religions and the cultural influences that inspired them to make the dishes they brought. It was a meal free of politics, stereotypes, and biases – simply a gathering of mutual friends.
“It’s important that we learn about other faiths so when someone says something that’s wrong, we can correct them,” Brost said. “What you can do is say, ‘hey, what you said isn’t true, let me tell you what I learned about Judaism, or Islam, or Christianity,’ or ‘let me tell you about my friend…’”
After dinner, three student speakers, two from St. Viator and one from Prospect, discussed their involvement with the Children of Abraham Coalition (COAC), a nonprofit organization created by Brost in 2011. The COAC’s goal is to educate citizens about religions other than their own and encourage people to actively dissuade the religious intolerance and bigotry prevalent in society. Since 2012, the COAC has hosted the annual Interfaith Potluck for Peace at St. Viator.
When the COAC was first established, its members hosted an outdoor prayer service at St. Viator to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sep. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It also raised awareness of the religious stereotypes that became more widespread due to the attacks.
“It’s really important that we train young people to stand up against recruiters who are trying to teach them, especially in this nation where Christians are the majority, that Muslims are terrorists and Jews are greedy and control everything,” Brost said. “That’s why it’s so important that we all know how to go out and speak up when we hear prejudice and bigotry or hate aimed at someone because of religion.”
While Brost does not recall the exact number of people who attended the original prayer service in 2011, he was impressed by how everyone seemed so genuinely interested to hear the COAC’s missions for interfaith peace and acceptance. The idea dawned on him to continue running the event in the years that followed, but as a dinner instead of a mass.
“Inviting people to eat together is a natural way to get them to talk together, and to have people bring their special foods is a natural way for people to appreciate different cultures,” Brost said.
Brost said that St. Viator supported the COAC’s interfaith work and generously donated the Fr. Louis Querbes Hall for them to use for the banquet, free of charge.
According to Brost, the community’s interest and attendance for the potluck grew as years passed, reaching its peak turnout in 2019, when 150 people took part in the feast. The event was unfortunately canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19 but was restarted in 2022. The event is still recovering from the pandemic, as roughly 75 people attended this year’s potluck.
In addition to his work with the COAC, Brost advocates for the welcoming of religious diversity in other ways. He has been a member of the Clerics of St. Viator, a Christian order of brothers and priests with a national headquarters in Arlington Heights, since 1987. For almost 20 years, he worked as a brother by leading one-to-three-day youth retreats, educating young Christian people about the best ways to live their faiths and engaging them in community service projects.
Brost became a priest in 2006 out of a desire to engage even more people in faith via speaking masses and hearing peoples’ confessions of their sins. He has been a priest at St. Viator Church in Chicago, St. Joseph Church in Springfield, and Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.
Since establishing the COAC in 2011, Brost’s work has reached far beyond the ever-growing potluck event. According to Coacpeace.org, the COAC also created a youth Peace Camp for sixth through eighth grade Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In the peace camp, students are given tours of local churches, mosques, and other sacred spaces by high school and college camp leaders. These leaders encourage interfaith discussions so everyone can learn about each others’ cultures and beliefs.
Through his various affiliations with the COAC, the Clerics of St. Viator, and various other Catholic Churches, Brost has helped spread lessons of compassion and education throughout the country.
“Right now, while we’re talking, there are hate groups recruiting especially young people, teaching them to hate Jews, Muslims, or Christians, or others, and what’s so important is that we stand for a different message publicly, that we love religious diversity,” Brost said.
