Ecumenical & Interfaith
Network - PCUSA

Interfaith Events

September 11-12: Religious Faith, Torture, and Our National Soul summit

Its web site says this conference in Atlanta, Georgia "aims to model a kind of discourse, Christian, interfaith, and otherwise, that opens doors for dialogue rather than closes them."  The conference's list of cooperating agencies suggests  that such an aim is possible, since it includes Evangelicals for Human Rights, Evangelicals for Social Action and the interfaith groups, National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) and Faith in Public Life (FPL). The involvement of the evangelical community in the issue is signalled by its Evangelical Declaration Against Torture, still collecting signatures, that has been adopted by the board of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). The registration deadline is September 1, and seating availability is limited. The PC(USA) is a listed member of NRCAT and Presbyterian minister Jennifer Butler is executive director of FPL.

September 29-30: "The Fullness of Time for the Muslim World" lectures

Presbyterian scholar J. Dudley Woodberry will deliver the 2008 W. Don McClure Lectures at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary on September 29-30 on the subject, "The Fullness of Time for the Muslim World. For information, contact the seminary.

October 12: Come to the Waters, pre-Parliament event

As part of the buildup for the next Parliament of the World's Religions, the Greater Madison Interfaith Association and the Holy Wisdom Monastery will be among sponsors of an all-day event, Come to the Waters, at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. The focus will be on environmental spiritualities with particular attention given to water -- its role in sacred writings and rituals and our daily lives -- and how religious traditions can work together to ensure access to this essential resource for all.
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November 5-15: Ethiopia travel seminar

In cooperation with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, PC(USA) interfaith relations office, and its World Mission Africa office are planning a travel study seminar in Ethiopia for November 5-15, 2008. The Mekane Yesus church has recently increased its membership by over 8% to 4.87 million and is now the second largest member church in the Lutheran World Federation. (ENI #08-0152) It is also a member of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. As part of the seminar program, the American travelers will join with Ethiopian seminary students for an interfaith relations seminar and will meet leaders of the Islamic Supreme Council of Ethiopia. Some Presbyterians will remember the presence of Ethiopian Christian and Muslim leaders in early Interfaith Listening programs. Contact Bryan Reiff for information.

Religious Communication Congress 2010 in its planning stage

The RCCongress 2010, a once-a-decade international multifaith forum planned by an interfaith North American committee, will convene in Chicago on April 7-10, 2010. The purpose is to broaden the perspective of professional communicators of religion beyond the possibilities of their specialized professional associations. The theme is "Embracing Change: Communicating Faith in a Changing World." Among the long list of cooperating organizations is the PC(USA) Communicators Network. Coordinator for the event is Shirley Whipple Struchen, executive director of the Religion Communicators Council.

"Building an Interfaith Community" available yearly at Bossey Institute

The Bossey Institute is now offering yearly a month-long program on "Building an Interfaith Community." The 2008 program is held on July 7-31, open to young adults. It gathers some 25 Christians, Jews, and Muslims from around the world for spiritual and academic exercises as well as sports, recreation, everyday living together, and participation in Geneva religious activities. The question around which they will work is "How can we affirm our religious identity not in separation or against each other but in relation to one another?"  A significant report on the 2007 event brings promise for good things to come, especially because the encounter is not only of different faiths but of different lived experiences around the world. After one presentation, a Muslim Kenyan spoke about fear of being proselytized while a Christian Pakistani asked how dialogue can happen when "partners are not equal in any sense." The young adults were surprised by their common experience of finding that their religious institutions are so enmeshed with tradition that they cannot meet today's experience.

Upcoming events

• Christian-Muslim Dialogue, NCC and partners, September 15-16, Chicago, Illinois
• Christian-Jewish Dialogue, NCC and partners, September 16-17, Chicago, Illinois
• International Day of Peace established by the UN, local vigils, September 21, 2008
• NCC Interfaith Relations Commission, October 23-25, Phoenix, Arizona
• Women in Religion Conference, a next step after a 2006 conference on Women in Religion in the 21st Century, November 10-12, 2008, Interchurch Center, New York City
• Days of Interfaith Youth Service, April 2009, locally based and resourced by Interfaith Youth Core
• NAINConnect, North American Interfaith Network, June 25-29, 2009, Kansas City, Missouri
• Parliament of the World's Religions, now receiving proposals and registrations. December 3-9, 2009, Melbourne, Australia

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© 2006 Ecumenical & Interfaith Network - PCUSA