It was in this unassuming little church, that boasts a modest new fellowship hall with unremarkable white walls and fluorescent lights - a very efficient 21st-century room - that a prototype of 21st century religious relationships was quietly unveiled.
A Muslim, a Methodist, a Catholic and a Buddhist - all local East Texas men - came to the little church, not to agree with each other, not to start a new religion, but to share what was the deepest desire of their hearts: Their quest for God. For five hours they answered any and all questions, often starting their presentations with brief remarks, opening up discussion almost immediately.
There was no lack of questions or talk.
The motivation for the meeting was for nothing less, said event organizer Rev. Jack McMahon, than the ultimate preservation of the planet, hope for mankind and a future for those whose future is precarious. McMahon is pastor of Smith Chapel in Hoard.
"Everyone carries a stigma, or labors under a stereotype," he said. "We tend to think 'if people believe 'this,' than they think 'that' and it's so often wrong. I didn't ask people to believe what these men believed," he said. " I asked them - and all of us - to listen and to learn in a spirit of respect."
It was in this posture of learning that the people discovered a very real, very spiritual and very palpable truth, he said.
The people genuinely liked each other.
"That, right there," McMahon said, "was one of the main reasons we organized this get-together in the first place. The Muslim speaker was a little apprehensive because he's been greeted with animosity before. We just loved him," he said. "The Catholic speaker grew up in India, and he hadn't been exposed much to Protestants before he came to Texas. This was a growing time for him, too."
The whole point is to move forward, said McMahon.
"If we're going to get along on this planet," he said, "if we're going to work together to solve the worst global problems we see, then we're going to have to be able to start a dialogue between ourselves," he said. "Problems like starvation go beyond any one person's religion. We're going to have to work together to solve these horrible situations we're facing. We need to stop hunger. We need to stop wars. This is just a small step in that direction."
It most certainly was small - only 20 people were present to listen to the four men - but there was something, said McMahon, birthed in the experience that may linger and touch others.
It could be described as 'relationship.'
"What happened is that a person emerged from behind his beliefs, as he explained himself. We didn't gather to debate, argue or contest what was said. We asked what was on our mind politely, just to hear and understand."
Another reason McMahon put on the seminar was to clear up misconceptions people in other faiths actually believed.
"We heard what each one had to say, and sometimes it was surprising," he said. "both in the questions asked, and what the misconception was. It was refreshing to hear, what these religions actually teach."
Meditation Center
Master Hughes explained that his title is not to be confused with who he is. He founded The National Meditation Center For World Peace in 1987 in Jacksonville to promote community development through youth and cultural advocacy. He and his wife Amie, a Filipino native, run the center together.
"My skill is in the martial arts, and that's where the word 'master' comes from," he said. "I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, a masters award in Judo and I'm a Karate instructor too."
Hughes said he understands why people want to know if his organization is legitimate.
Showing a copy of a commendation from Gov. Rick Perry for community service, Hughes said, "If you're a fly-by-night, than you're not committed to the community. We are."
Hughes has a master's of science and technology from The University of Texas at Tyler and a minor in intercultural relations, and a B.S. in criminology.
"There is a segment of East Texans who are Buddhist, and don't know about us," he said. "No one seeks to be a teacher when it comes to Buddhism. There is no Buddhist seminary that I know of in the United States. We started the center in Jacksonville not out of a desire to lead, but we see that Buddhists in East Texas have nowhere to go, and we want them to have a home."
After the five-hour discussion, Hughes was still fielding questions from an enthusiastic group crowded around him. He stayed until the last questioner had been satisfied. Attendees said they'd like to do it again.
Catholic View 
For instance, the Rev. J. Felix of Mineola, in response to a question, explained that the pope is not infallible everyday.
"Oh, no," he said in his native Indian accent. "There has been no infallible decree on the part of the pope since the 1950s. We do not teach that he is perfect human being that never makes a mistake and does everything without error. That is not what we believe."
Wouldn't it remove temptation if priests were not celibate, he was asked.
"Celibacy, yes," Felix said, considering the question. "Temptation is a problem that should be addressed in one's character before he becomes a priest," he said. "Sexual problems can be present, if you're married or not and being celibate does not create them."
"Look at what is going on today with (the Rev.) Gene Robinson," he said. "He was married, and yet, it did not solve the problem."
Robinson, a 56-year-old Episcopal priest, divorced his wife and has lived in an openly homosexual relationship with a man for the last 13 years. He made national news when he was recently ordained a bishop of the diocese of New Hampshire by the church's convention in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Catholics don't worship statues, either, Felix said.
"We believe that the people who have died are not really dead, but alive in God's presence," he said. "We believe they are interceding for us before God, praying for us. The statue is nothing, it's just like a picture of the person who is alive."
Muslim Choices
The women at the meeting wanted to know from the spokesman from the East Texas Islamic Center why Muslim women dressed the way they did, hidden in head-to-toe garb.
Anwar Khalifa, a local builder who often represents Muslims said, "The way women were treated in Afghanistan, for instance, that was not Islam," he said. "True Islam does have a dress code but no one may compel another to dress in that way. It's a choice women make themselves, for modesty. They do it out of faith."
Khalifa's 15 year-old daughter recently made the choice to dress in traditional Muslim wear.
"It was completely her own decision," he said. "I didn't tell her what to do at all."
The other speakers were as intrigued in the responses as the audience was.
"This is interesting," said Buddhist Master Hughes, from the National Meditation Center for World Peace, in Jacksonville. "All we know is what we see on TV. You never hear that (dress) is a choice. The media is all we have to go on."
Hughes, who is an American, said he can relate to modesty choices.
"I can say for myself," said Hughes laughing, "that I'm tired of seeing (women's) bellybuttons. Buddhists even wear long sleeves into the temple as a sign of respect."
The misconceptions come from a variety of places, Khalifa said.
"In poor countries, where uneducated people follow a leader who may or may not have political ties, the followers are told things that are not part of Islam. TV is not giving the accurate picture of Islam, he said.
"What you see in the news is a lot of ignorant people who don't understand their religion," he said.
The meaning of Jihad for instance, was different from what was seen in the media, he said.
"The are two meanings of 'Jihad,' which means 'strife,'" he said. "It means anything that makes you a better person, to improve yourself on that day, in the daily struggle of life. It also means to help the oppressed. Jihad does not mean to fly into a building and blow up 4,000 people. That is just stupidity," he said.
"What if I reject your religion, do I go to hell?" one person asked.
"If you believe in God Almighty, than God is the judge," Khalifa said. "I can't say you're going to hell."
At the lunch break, Khalifa, Felix and Hughes had a chance to reflect.
"There is no intimidation at all, coming to something like this," said Felix. "I love to be exposed to things like this so I can know more about the people that live around me. I'm completely comfortable here."
"This is really great," Khalifa said. "The people are really nice here. It's not always like this when I go to speak."
He explains that Muslims like himself are wary of being too prominent, because they don't know how they will be portrayed.
"So many wrong things have been said about what we believe that it's like, you just give up after awhile," he said. "You just go on with what you do everyday and try to ignore it."
America is not the Great Satan, he told the gathering.
"I was in Egypt a few weeks ago," he said. "I asked people there, 'how can America be the Great Satan, if we (Muslims) live there?' They really didn't have an answer for that."
In fact, from an Islamic perspective, he said, America fits right in with Islam.
"What's the most Islamic nation in the world today?" he asked. "America is. This country has freedom of religion and that is a basic Islamic principal. I'm proud to be an American."
Khalifa came to the United States when he was eight, and grew up in Dallas.
"I'm a Muslim and a "mideast Texan," he said, smiling at the double entendre.
"If you can convince an East Texas congregation to dialogue about this, "said Billie Caffey, 79, "you can convince anybody. We need to do this sort of thing more often." Caffey was born in Mineola, and it was her grandfather that helped get Smith Chapel going, years ago.
"Jesus told us to love our neighbor," said McMahon, "and he didn't say 'if they love you back,' or even who they were. Showing love and respect is what we're supposed to do, and starting a dialogue and listening to people is the first step. We can't hide behind the trees in East Texas, we need to do this now, so we can save our planet."
Convincing others that you have the love of God can be done without words, McMahon said.
"It would concern me if people thought I compromised my Christianity by doing this," he said. " I am very fond of my belief that all roads to heaven lead through Jesus Christ. We need to come to a point, though, of human understanding. If you don't have a dialogue you have a one-sided view. If you converse, you can plant a seed. As Christians we are not promised a harvest, but we can plant seeds."
McMahon said he is prayerfully considering more 'dialogues' with the four men.
"We'll consider taking this to other places if it will help others," he said. "Enlightenment is what it's all about."
Patrick Butler covers religion. email: religion@tylerpaper.com
