Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page E8

refugees there. been pushback from people who oppose what Lutheran Social Service is doing, and that put the local Lutheran pastors on the she said. In meetings last summer, Brown heard a repeated request: pastors said their members did not have much credible information on Islam and they asked if we could So Brown went to work. She collaborated with the pastors to come up with a list of key questions about Islam. She took that to theologians and scholars, asking the academics to produce plain-spoken, fact- based chapters on the history and tenets of Islam.

The result is Neighbor Is a 60-page study guide complete with discussion questions. Starting late last year, it became available to St. Cloud area pastors to use as the basis of a multiweek adult education course. And starting to make inroads into the Twin Cities, including a course at St. Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi.

The Rev. Dee Pederson, lead pastor at St. Bethlehem Lutheran Church, is one of the clergy who met with Brown and requested the study. The interest in the course was so strong in her church that additional sessions were added to meet demand. people were wrestling with questions and they know how to respond when others spoke in inflammatory ways.

Without accurate information, hard to be discerning and change the tone of a conversation about our Muslim she said. Jane Oxton, a longtime member of Bethlehem Lutheran, took part in the series. miss a single she said. was a breath of fresh air to have a safe place where we could raise hard questions. I feel that the study showed us where our faith traditions intersect.

It behooves us as Christians to be Careful about tone Brown came to the project steeped in her lifelong Lutheran faith. Ordained 25 years ago, she previously worked as a pastor at several Minnesota churches, then in pastoral support at Luther Seminary. the oldest of three sisters who all heard the call to ministry; both of her sisters lead Lutheran congregations. As editor of Neighbor Is Brown was cautious in her choice of academic voices. I have mixed feelings about a resource about Muslims that is produced by Christians, but good research that shows that if church members have information from credible Christian leaders whom they respect, they will be more open to she said.

Minnesota, scholars at Luther College and Luther Seminary have an excellent reputation and those are the sources we The Rev. Eric Barreto, a New Testament professor at Luther Seminary, was one of them. heard this call for help and rallied folks around the vision to bring their expertise to it. a person who listens deeply to what God might be saying in the most unexpected he said. Barreto authored part of the chapter on what Islam teaches about violence.

Mary came to me with this idea, my first reaction was, is beyond our My background is in Christian he explained. we wrote from a Christian perspective and aimed to be faithful in describing the beliefs of others while holding our own convictions as followers of Jesus. We want to contemplate what it means to encounter these beliefs and listen gracefully without contradicting or embracing them. We can be hospitable to faith while remaining rooted in our Beyond words Brown worked with more than text; she shepherded Muslim members of the community into churches for face- to-face discourse. networked to reach out to Muslims who live near us to come meet with us.

We heard from young and old, men and women. We saw diversity in the way they practice their faith, just like there is with explained Sartell pastor Jeff Sackett. have Muslim friends now through this, on Facebook and with people I see around town. They know me as someone willing to befriend them and not be suspicious of Haji Yusuf paid visits to St. Cloud area congregations.

Of Somali descent, Yusuf, 39, arrived in Minnesota in 2006 to attend St. Cloud State University. Now a small-business owner, Yusuf is also community director of Unite Cloud, a nonprofit that promotes tolerance in central Minnesota. say, me anything, you offend a great start for breaking down said Yusuf. natural to be curious, to want to know who your neighbor is.

Sometimes people reach out because they think it would be impolite or make them sound racist if they ask questions. We must, so we can learn from each Brown watched as the central Minnesota pastors championed the coursework. study is free and easily Brown said. started telling their peers this was a helpful resource and other pastors embraced With an estimated 140,000 Muslims living in Minnesota, the relevance of the guide appealed to other denominations. been picked up by other worship communities, as well as civic and secular organizations, and is gaining traction across the country.

The Rev. Rebecca Craig is using the study as a teaching tool at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Palm City, Fla. a lot of curiosity because so much rhetoric about Islam and people say they know what to think. This is a good resource very she said. Brown also made sure that Neighbor Is was vetted by Muslim sources; the guide concludes with a recommendation from a Minnesota imam who reviewed the text for accuracy and declared it useful been an uptick in negativity in this politically charged environment, but what we hear from the media is that more people want to respectfully learn about their neighbors and have an open-minded dialogue with said Onder Uluyol, president of the Minnesota Islamic Resource Group, an organization that provides information about Islam and cultural guidance to schools, health care institutions and law enforcement.

Uluyol commends the efforts by Lutheran Social Service and let is not enough. Those of us who emphasize what we have in common need to be proactive in building he said. name is not found anywhere on the study that she edited; she is quick to credit the scholarship of professors and the initiative of the group of central Minnesota pastors for its viral success. Earlier this year, Brown left Lutheran Social Service to be director of development at People Reaching Out to People, a nonprofit based in Eden Prairie. But she continues to be involved in promoting Neighbor Is want people to know that something really great has come out of the experience in St.

Cloud. making a she said. opening dialogue, minds and Kevyn Burger is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer. BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOR NEIGHBOR from E1 COLLECTING CALENDAR OCCASIONAL SALES MAJESTIC OAKS BOUTIQUE: Home decor, vintage nds, gift items and more. Today -May 8: 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m.

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Majestic Oaks Boutique, 701 Bunker Lake Ham Lake. 952-944-7286. OLD HOTEL MARKET: Antiques, collectibles, garden pieces, old and new treasures and more. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.

11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun. Old Hotel Market, 441 Main New Market Township. 952-270-6056. HOUSE OF REFURBISHED ANTIQUE TRUNKS: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

May 5-7. House of Refurbished Antique Trunks, 7075 Laketown Waconia. 612-619-0996. ANTIQUES TERRY AND KIM KOVEL Antiques and design shows today often have attractive pieces of furniture that have been transformed by painting, decorating or removing the original finish. Today the industrial look is and shows have old workbenches, industrial tools attached to wooden tables, lamps made of old gears and gym lockers stripped of their original paint.

All have been given a modern look by exposing the original silvery finish of the metal parts. InCollect, the upscale website that sells expensive antiques, offered a long rectangular desk with a polished aluminum finish. The desk had been used during World War II. It is made of the aluminum used in airplanes in the 1930s and It was originally painted green (some of the paint is left in a drawer as a part of its history). The desk was hand-stripped and polished for about 80 hours.

It is more than a desk it can fold into a box to be moved, which was a wartime necessity. Look at some of the used metal furniture selling for offices or workshops, or scrap metal that can be changed in a do-it-yourself project into unique furniture. Toy sewing machine I got a Casige toy sewing machine for Christmas in the late 1940s or early in excellent condition with the original box. It was made in West Germany. Is this of any value other than sentimental? Casige made toy sewing machines from 1902 until 1975.

The company was founded in 1852 by Carl Sieper of Gevelsberg, Germany. It originally made locks for pianos and other furniture. The name of the company came from the combination of the first two letters of his first and last names and the town. His grandson, Carl Sieper II, began making small sewing machines for schools in 1902. Eighty-three models were made between 1902 and 1975.

Sewing machines marked were made between 1949 and 1975. The value of your toy sewing machine is about $50. Old books Are old books of any value? I have a copy of translated from the Greek by the Rev. Geo. Fyler Townsend and published by George Routledge and Sons.

The cover looks like leather and has two color pictures of children and drawings of leaves. Some old books are valuable, but it takes an expert to appraise them. The fables were first told about 600 B.C. and appear in print until 1557. Several editions of the version translated by the Rev.

George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900) were published in the late 1800s. They sell online for about $12 and up. If you want to sell your copy, take it to a store that sells used books. Antique cups My grandchild is named Sarah, a nice old-fashioned name. I wanted to buy an antique cup with her name on it, but after looking at antiques shows for months, I have found lots of other names.

Was a cup made in the 1800s? Mugs and small plates for children were popular in England but not in America during the 19th century. Many ceramic factories made them. Some were decorated with names like Hannah, Louisa, Sophie and yes, Sarah. Pictures from books, educational decorations like the alphabet or pictures and names of animals also were popular. Some had messages like hay while the sun The cups helped children learn manners and moral character.

You might be lucky enough to find Sarah through an Internet search, but the odds are against you. Blickensderfer typewriter I have an old typewriter made by a company called Blickensderfer of Stamford, Conn. On the side of the frame is a shield with patent numbers from July 15, 1890, to April 12, 1892. The letters and numbers are on a cylinder that rotates to the desired key when pressed. Is this of value? Is there a market for something like this? In 1891 George Blickensderfer invented a small portable writing machine that used a cylinder instead of striker keys to print letters.

It had a keyboard, but the order of letters was different from the keyboard used today. The machine was lighter, less expensive and designed to avoid the key of other typewriters. The user could change type styles by changing the cylinder without using a tool. The idea was similar to the IBM Selectric, which came along almost 75 years later. The first models were probably made in very limited numbers since none have been found.

The Model 5, nicknamed the was introduced at the Columbian Exposition in 1893 and was made for many years. Later models were deluxe versions of that design, though qwerty keyboards became available. company was successful, but he was hit by a car and died in New York City in 1917. Attempts to run his company failed and the company went bankrupt. In 1927, Remington bought the inventory and the intellectual rights and introduced the Rem-Blick, which was similar to the Blick 5.

Blickensderfer typewriters sell between $300 and $400. Terry and Kim Kovel will answer as many letters from readers as possible through the column. For return of a photo, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Write to: The Kovels, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th New York, NY 10019.

The website is kovels.com. Desk gets industrial chic makeover Cowles Syndicate This World War II desk has been changed to a modern-looking aluminum desk. The original green paint was removed to give it a current look. CURRENT PRICES Prices are from shows nationwide. Sewing pattern Vogue, No.

5121, 1960s, dress for casual to cocktail, size large, original price 75 cents, $8. Peruvian silver jelly dish cantilevered lid, Camusso, 1900s, 6 3 4 by 5 1 4 inches, $125. Advertising banner Old English Lavender, woman, basket, lavender, 1920s, 30 by 35 inches, $175. Toy boxers, two men, wheels, tin lithograph, clockwork, marked D.R.P., Germany, about 1920, 6 1 2 inches, $210. Sandwich glass cologne bottle blown molded, diamond point, translucent blue, about 1840, 6 1 2 inches, $350.

Stained-glass window slag glass, religious, gothic decoration, roundels, frame, about 1880, 51 by 29 inches, $360. Mirror George II, giltwood, pitch pediment top, crossed head crest, 1700s, 52 by 29 inches, $860. Rolex wristwatch Aviator, Sky Rocket, stainless steel, shockproof, manual wind, about 1936, 1 1 4 inches, $980. COURTNEY PERRY Special to the Star Tribune Saoudy Saoudy of the Islamic Center of Minnesota spoke about his faith at St. Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, part of an adult education series called Neighbor Is Muslim.

E8 STAR TRIBUNE VARIETY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2016.