Somali Organizer, Blake Road Church Build Bridges Together

When and other Somali women approached Shepherd of the Hills about using the Edina church for an after-school program, Senior Pastor Scott Searl was happy to open the doors to them and Weli was happy to accept.

But many in the Somali community remained suspicious of their Christian neighbors. The other women with Weli were scared to have the program in a church and one of them even ran away, she said. The church’s follow-up offer to use space in a separate building didn’t change their minds because the Muslim women worried about the Christian symbols inside.

Weli wasn’t deterred, though. The Hopkins resident apologized for the others’ response—but boldly asked Searl if the church had office space she could use in her role as executive director for The Isuroon Project.

Since that time six or seven months ago, Weli has been using space donated by Shepherd of the Hills for her work with the Somali women’s health program. On Sunday, she stood before the congregation to talk about interfaith cooperation.

“I said, ‘Look, we’re not that different—meaning Christians and Muslims. We care about the old, the sick, the poor, our neighbors,’” she recalled. “Everybody wants to love and be respected and be comfortable in their homes.”

Building bridges between the two communities isn’t always easy—a point emphasized by the reaction of many in the Somali community who didn’t know what to think when they saw Weli had set up shop in a church. They were convinced Christians didn’t like Muslims and feared the church would try to convert them.

“They said, ‘What, are you out of your mind?’” Weli recalled. “Everybody sees Rush Limbaugh and his group, so there is this wedge when you see a church.”

But Weli and Searl thought working together could connect the two communities. Shepherd of the Hills was already involved with the Blake Road Corridor Collaborative, a group that addresses concerns in the diverse area. Welcoming Weli was another way for parishioners to reach out to their neighbors.

“This was an opportunity to demonstrate that we’re all human and we all care for one another,” Searl said. “We are really excited about what she is doing.”

The arrangement still had its challenges. Although Weli encouraged the Somali community to visit her office, some were still reluctant to go inside a church and she spent much of her time working from home.

But she and the church staff got to know one another on a personal level. Weli found the congregation gracious in the way it opened its space to her.

Said Searl: “I think we all ended up being kind of friends.”

In doing so, Weli also served as an example for the rest of the Somali community. It started a conversation and demonstrated that the two sides could put aside distrust and get along.

“My job as a leader is I venture to the unknown territory and find out what the reality is and convey that to them,” Weli said.

After six or seven months in Shepherd of the Hills, Isuroon is moving on to a suite in South Minneapolis’ Sabathani Community Center—where it will have space for health education, skill building and other programs. But even though the arrangement was short-lived, Weli is convinced that it was an important step.

“What we have started is something new, and we don’t know where it’s going to go,” she said. “I think what we’ve done is open a new door.”

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Isuroon’s new office is located at: 310 East 38th St., Suite 211; Minneapolis, MN 55409. Click here to learn more about the organization.

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