In Miami? In this tropical paradise, known more for its Miami Vice than virtue? In this city acclaimed for its extremes of eroticism, materialism, and individualism? Faith in Miami? Amen!

The Jesuits' Gesù Church in Miami is surrounded by eight historic and active Christian and Jewish congregations that became colleagues and friends when they banded together to form Faith in the City.

"We worship God differently but serve his people jointly" is the theme of the coalition, and Gesù's experience illustrates the benefits of interfaith witness and service.

In 1988, when Norma Orovitz, president of Temple Israel in Miami, brought clergy and lay leaders of congregations and organizations together to form Faith in the City, a new era of interfaith and ecumenical cooperation began. At our first annual celebration, she declared:

"The sacred spaces we share today and the other historic sanctuaries we call our own do not limit who we are and what we do. We celebrate our responsibility for this community as spiritual children of the same father, the same God. With God's help and yours, we shall continue to stabilize and energize and evangelize this city and those who call it home."

The downtown Miami congregations that belong to Faith in the City are First Presbyterian, First United Methodist, Gesù Catholic, Greater Bethel African-Methodist-Episcopal (AME), Mt. Zion Baptist, St. Agnes Episcopal, St. Francis Xavier Catholic, Temple Israel, and Trinity Episcopal. But membership also extends to other religious organizations, including the African-American Council of Christian Clergy, Catholic Community Services, Greater Miami Rabbinical Association, National Conference of Christians and Jews, and United Protestant Appeal, which have lent active support to our efforts.

Faith in the City's clergy and lay representatives meet monthly; the meetings in autumn provide a chance to review ongoing programs and plan new projects. Last October's meeting was no exception. After an opening prayer by the host pastor, Rev. John White of Greater Bethel AME, the meeting was called to order.

The first topic on the agenda was the report Fr. Thomas Madden, SJ, pastor of Gesù, gave of the church's ninth annual Spring Celebration held this year with the theme "Love One Another." He spoke about the procession of clergy and the choirs of adults and children; the variety of different religions, nationalities, and races represented; the prayers that were heard. The celebration was also a time for presenting awards to community leaders whose works aided the homeless and the elderly and for listening to one speaker's request that all prepare for the impact of welfare and immigration reform. The reception, hosted by Gesù's parishioners, presented the food, music, and traditional dress of over 25 countries.

Rev. Irvin Elligan of the African-American Council of Christian Clergy and Mr. James Howe of the National Conference of Christians and Jews take part in a meeting of Faith in the City, an organization of churches, a synagogue, and other religious organizations whose collective voice benefits Miami.

Was the event a hit? Oh, yes! But it also focused attention on a dilemma: how far should we go to accommodate interfaith solidarity? Here we were in this beautiful, historic church bearing the name of Jesus, and those believing in his actual presence could not speak nor sing his name. Rabbi Rex Perlmeter of Temple Israel had always insisted that we worship God the creator only, a position that caused Rev. Keith Blakely of Central Baptist to withdraw from the coalition.

Not mentioning Jesus' name was a tough decision, but it was an accommodation to interfaith solidarity, and while that has several arguments in favor, many hope for the day when our coalition can give respect and courtesy to someone freely expressing his beliefs. At a recent interfaith meeting here in Miami, Rabbi Mitchell Chefitz of the Greater Miami Rabbinical Association affirmed the value of a Christian or a Jew being able to express honestly his or her own faith without having to sanitize it for others. And Bp. Thomas Wenski said: "For Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, our enemy is not each other but a godless world that preaches moral nihilism and relativism."

The second topic at our October meeting was a social-action project. Over the past year we have examined the needs of our city to determine where Faith in the City can be most effective. The choice is clear: jobs. South Florida is an area of wealth but also of poverty; Miami is the fourth-poorest major city in the United States with twice the national unemployment rate. Our coalition, which has a track record of working successfully in an interfaith and multicultural environment, is throwing its weight behind a project we call CARE, Congregations Accessing Resources for Employment.

Though one of the youngest major cities in the world, Miami is one of the oldest Christian sites in the Americas. From 1567 to 1572, Fr. Juan Rogel and several other Jesuits evangelized Spanish soldiers and Tequesta Indians at a mission on the shores of the Miami River and Biscayne Bay. The Jesuits' Gesù Church in Miami. Throughout the 1870s, William Wagner, a Catholic farmer, welcomed those in the pioneer settlement to his home whenever an itinerant preacher came to celebrate mass. The chapel he constructed at the request of Bishop Agustin Verot of St. Augustine was the first house of worship in Miami. In 1896, nine congregations were established along an "Avenue of Churches." Oil and railroad tycoon Henry Flagler contributed property and funds to several, including Gesù. As the city progressed, these original churches and synagogues launched other congregations and ministries throughout South Florida. As "mother" church of the Archdiocese of Miami, Gesù claims 110 such "daughter" parishes. In 1953, disregarding threats of fire bombings, Gesù commissioned a mural over the main altar, showing Christ in the center of a multicultural people of God. Throughout the 1970s, following the decrees of Vatican II, Gesù hosted a series of interfaith events. But that process did not bring about joint community projects nor sustainable clergy friendships -- we needed the sense of purpose and unity that Faith in the City provides not only to Gesù and the organization's other members but also to Miami itself.

James Howe of the National Conference of Christians and Jews emphasizes the advantage CARE has over most public- and private-sector efforts: "We can work toward solutions on both sides of the problem, those who need jobs and those who provide jobs." Those on welfare and the working poor who find it difficult to arrange transportation and day care to get to social-service agencies can come to the churches to meet with case workers and to obtain counseling and training. On the other side of the jobs coin, through Florida's Work and Gain Economic Self-Sufficiency (WAGES), a public-private sector partnership, we will contact business leaders in the tourism, trade, transportation, and other service industries, including hotels and restaurants, lining up entry-level jobs for those in need.

Next up on the agenda was our annual Thanksgiving celebration of this most interfaith and American of all holidays. Rev. Jay Kowalski of First United Methodist suggested that this year we hold an outdoor music and prayer service at Wednesday noon for downtown workers, shoppers, students, tourists, and the homeless. The site was Bayside Marketplace, a lively attraction near the central business district. The Gospel Choir from Miami-Dade Community College sang, and each congregation supplied members for a common choir.

Rev. Frank Munoz of Trinity Episcopal handled the next item on the agenda when he reported on the new Faith in the City brochure that will show the location and services of each congregation. (All it took was one call to Ocean Bank to get a donation that covered printing costs.) This brochure was to be distributed to downtown office buildings, stores, hotels, and condominiums. We have learned that material from any one religious congregation may be refused, but when it comes from a coalition of churches, hotels and condos, for instance, usually accept it for distribution.

In the same way, corporations and agencies tend to deny funding requests from a single church, but doors open when a request comes from a coalition of churches, particularly one granted nonprofit 501(c)3 status by the IRS. This is exactly the reaction Faith in the City is getting from MetraRail, Miami's rapid-transit system, which expressed a willingness to accept posters from us for display in rapid-transit cars and on buses.

Though Faith in the City's efforts revolve around interfaith and ecumenical prayer services and joint projects such as CARE, its greatest benefit may be the personal and professional relationships it helps foster among clergy and lay leaders of different congregations. When members explain their faith, there is communication. When they share knowledge of community needs, there is creativity. When they combine wisdom and love in pastoral ministry and work with others in the Lord's vineyard, there is grace.

John Paul II wrote in his 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint: "The unity of all divided humanity is the will of God." Faith in the City of Miami? Amen!

Dolores Fernandez, former management consultant for international business, is the executive director of the Gesù Foundation.