Ecumenical & Interfaith
Network - PCUSA

Resources for Ecumenical and Interfaith

Work Where We Live

"Imagine Peace," new Advent material invites

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Jubilee Sabbath/Sunday coming on December 13-14

Jubilee USA has materials available for a Jubilee Sabbath worship that prays for justice and an end to the bondage of debt. A second program from Jubilee USA can be incorporated into a Jubilee weekend -- "Picture an End to Global Poverty." The campaign's web site enables finding other groups within a given geographic area and indicates many ways to get involved.

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TV specials coming in December, January

The National Council of Churches will present several one-hour TV specials, under the auspices the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission. Michael Kinnamon will host "The Voices of Christmas," due to air at 11:35 p.m. on Christmas Eve on CBS. "Christmas at Cadillac Jack’s," a dramatic presentation, will be broadcast on Christmas Day on NBC affiliates in cooperation with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. "Everybody Prays at Holy Etchmiadzen" will premiere nationally on December 7 on local ABC affiliates. Produced by the Armenian Church in North America, it looks at the Armenian's mother see. ABC affiliates will also premier "Finding Hope in Recovery: Families Living with Addiction," produced by Mennonite Media, on January 4. Check local listings for these programs.

Local immigration ministries given attention

"Who Is My Neighbor? A Faith Discussion on Immigration," a four-session study for local use by congregations, is available from the Colorado Council of Churches. The PC(USA) Presbytery of Peaks and Plains contributed financially to the curriculum's development. The National Council of Churches has opened a web-based "clearing house" on immigration issues. Church World Service (CWS) offers web information on its extensive ministry with refugees, including availability of a DVD on "A Future with Hope: Welcoming Refugees." The November 2008 general assembly of the NCC and CWS adopted a joint resolution on immigration.

Church World Service advocates funding for nations caught in climate change

As part of its Enough for All campaign, Church World Service (CWS) has advocated for proposals calling for foreign assistance to help developing nations adapt to the consequences of climate change. CWS director for education and advocacy Rajyashri Waghray (picture) says many vulnerable economies that have contributed little to global green house gas will be among the hardest hit and need help. A leader of an international CWS partner, Christian Aid, says that climate change threatens to make poverty permanent. CWS is using its Speak Out Network , an e-mail system for reaching local advocates on a variety of public policy issues. An interpretive item on climate change, "Healing the Nations," is available for download and local printing, or it may be ordered as a print resource.

What can be done about the world food crisis?

James Bond movie provides a window into water resource issue

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A new James Bond movie, "Quantam of Solace," features Bond fighting to stop a ruthless man from trying to control strategic water resources in a developing country. In an interview, the coordinator of the Ecumenical Water Network talks about water as a human right – and about how cinema and reality may have more in common than we think. x

Documentary highlights grassroots activism

The documentary,"Pray the Devil Back to Hell," is intended to motivate grassroots activism. The film chronicles the story of courageous Liberian women who came together, Muslim and Christian, to oust their country's former president, end a bloody civil war, and elect the first woman head of state in Africa. A video clip is online. Group rates are available for showings in some major cities. There are also special events planned by interfaith or justice organizations. Showings include December 5, Boston; December 12, Berkeley, San Francisco and St. Louis; January 16, Portland; February 6, Seattle; February 27, Minneapolis.

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| Local mission | Learning across faith communities | Citizenship, health  | Environmental and poverty issue |

Local mission

Paulists offer four-day renewal retreats for local congregations

The North American Paulist Center's office for ecumenical and interfaith relations has announced that it is offering four-day renewal retreats to be co-sponsored by three to eight local congregations in a locale of the U.S. or Canada. The retreats bring Christians together for worship, community, and mission.

Local ecumenical and interreligious guides provided by Lutherans

"Your Guide to inter-Religious Life in the ELCA" and "Your Guide to Ecumenical Life in the ELCA" are downloadable brochures that can be useful to others outside the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which produced them. The lists of things that can be done at the local level are particularly helpful.

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Learning across faith communities

Mothers Circle helps non-Jewish women who are raising Jewish children

Created by the Jewish Outreach Institute, the Mothers Circle is a national program to provide help to non-Jewish women who are raising Jewish children within an interfaith marriage. In addition to local circles, there is a national listserv through which women can share experiences and questions, and a course offering. See a video about Mothers Circle online.

Arizona family prepares savvy handbook for Muslim-American teens, others

Post-9/11 children's experiences provided the motivation for the American Muslim Teenager's Handbook (ISBN #10-0979253128 and ISBN #13-978-0979253126). Prepared by an Arizona Muslim mother and her two children, it has proven useful even beyond the Muslim community. There is an Islam 101, a guide to prayer and the hajj, tips on reading the Qur'an, thoughtful discussion on controversial issues, a reflection of the varying attitudes and practices among Muslim teenagers in the U.S. A chapter on the 4D's looks at dating, dancing, drinking, drugs.

"Fremont, U.S.A." presents religious pluralism issues

Fremont, California is home to the largest Sikh community in the U.S.; a Muslim mosque and a United Methodist Church have been built side by side; a diverse Buddhist community has established Thai, Chinese, and Burmese temples. Fremont is also the place where an Afghan-American Muslim woman was killed as she walked along a street. The Pluralism Project has filmed a documentary, Fremont, USA: A City's Encounter with Religious Diversity. It promises the " film will make the challenges of religious diversity vivid, visible, and accessible for discussion." A DVD of the 57-minute film is now available.

Film explores faith "in a non-western way"

The film, "Talking Faith," a Seattle church newsletter says, "consists of a free spirited series of conversations among Pakistani Christian and Muslim students. Their candid and often passionate points of view provide a unique window into Christian and Muslim faith issues completely outside a western cultural context." The documentary is a World Council of Churches internship project of its director, Naveen Qayyum. Her entire 30+ minute film is available for online viewing or downloading.

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Issues related to citizenship, health

Religious organizations remain bound together on torture issue

Some two hundred religious organizations bound into an interfaith coalition, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), have already called on Barack Obama to sign an executive order banning torture. The campaign continues to make materials available and to post online its Declaration of Principles for signature by web visitors. It observed a National Day of Witness in November that now can be followed up by appeals from local supporters.

Breaking Faith with Nuclear Weapons is a guide for religious communities

A National Religious Partnership is campaigning to cease funding the production of nuclear warheads. In addition to the NCC, the religious partnership includes the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism among its members. Resources include a toolkit from Faithful Security, Breaking Faith with Nuclear Weapons: A Guide for Religious Communities.   

Muslim organization provides local workshops on domestic violence

The Peaceful Families Project (PFP) conducts Islamically grounded workshops on family dynamics and domestic violence for Muslim communities across the U.S. It is supported by the FaithTrust Institute, the well known multifaith domestic violence advocacy organization founded by Marie Fortune and based in Seattle. Some PFP workshops address the Muslim community and others are geared for service providers and professionals. PFP coordinates with existing organizations -- both non-Muslim and Islamic -- when it provides workshops in a city, including the few shelters that exist to serve Muslim women's needs. PFP's web site provides information.

"Say No to Violence Against Women" locally and globally

The "Say No to Violence Against Women" campaign is a product of the UN's Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM. In addition to mounting an international petition campaign, it also provides links to local sites where activity is going on. Its web site gives ideas for ways to get involved. In the U.S., Religions for Peace has signed on to the campaign.

Material on beliefs and practices related to health care available

The University of Virginia Health System has an interfaith committee and a chaplaincy / pastoral education department. It has prepared Religious Beliefs and Practices Related to Health Care, including material on Buddhism, Christianity (Protestant and Catholic), Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. In addition to brief notes on their web site, there is a booklet that can be ordered in hard copy or downloaded after making a payment.

NCC health task force joins "Divided We Fail" effort

The National Council of Churches (NCC) health task force has learned through a survey that the majority of congregational health programs reach into communities. A web site now offers a variety of resources, including such things as steps a congregation can take to prepare for a pandemic or natural disaster. The task force is also commending the materials of the Divided We Fail campaign as being compatible with NCC commitments and useful to congregations and their leaders. The campaign has also received the endorsement of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).

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Environmental and poverty issues

"$10 in 2010" web site follows state news

An interfaith coalition is mounting a Living Wage Campaign under the slogan, "$10 by 2010" (a reference to the minimum wage it aims to see adopted). Its web site has a letter to be delivered to the new Congress in January 2009, which the public may sign. A Just Minimum Wage is a downloadable resource. Other resources online include a video. Locally helpful information, sorted by state, includes a breakdown of letter signatories, campaign contacts, and news of the campaign.

Religious community's contributions in environmental movement featured

The feature-length documentary film, "Renewal," presents for the first time the contributions of America's religious institutions to the environmental movement. The film explores eight diverse faith-based initiatives that exemplify the range and vitality of America's religious-environmental movement, from Evangelical Christians protesting mountaintop removal coal mining in Kentucky to a Muslim organization supporting sustainable farming. National groups such as Interfaith Power and Light as well as local organizers such as New Jersey's GreenFaith coalition are highlighted. The film has eight 10-minute segments that will enable local discussion. Interfaith Power and Light is selling the DVD for $5.00 when it is to be used in congregational or community settings.

Poverty and climate change interconnected in resource

The interconnectedness of poverty and climate change are highlighted in "The Poverty of Global Climate Change," a resource from the National Council of Churches (NCC). Available in a free download online, it contains material for worship, adult study, and youth activities. See the NCC's global warming resolution and its guidance on locally writing a letter to the editor to educate community and elected officials.

An interfaith statement lists a set of core moral principles that should shape our country's response to climate change. It represents a broad agreement involving the National Association of Evangelicals, the NCC, the Union of Reform Judaism, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the director of external affairs for the Orthodox Church of America.

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Water stewardship emphasized

To bring water concerns to local people in the U.S., the National Council of Churches (NCC) eco-justice program developed a downloadable resource, Water Stewards: A Toolkit for Congregational Care of Local Watersheds, in 2007. The material includes theological reflections and an adult curriculum. Other resources are available from Church World Service, the UN water web site, the World Water day web site, and the Ecumenical Water Network web site.  From the PC(USA) General Assembly, see Limited Water Resources and Takings, with study guide. See also a World Council of Churches statement adopted at its Ninth Assembly (2006).

The Green Bible uses a "green lens" to guide reading

A new dimension to scripture reading is coming with the Green Bible (ISBN #10-0061627992, ISBN #13-978-0061627996), which identifies passages related to creation by green highlighting. It includes a Bible study guide for seven weeks' exploration of "green" themes that are woven throughout scripture. National Association of Evangelical's Richard Cizik says, "This is exactly what the Church needs at this critical time." The translation is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), for which the National Council of Churches (NCC) holds the copyright. The NCC has an ongoing committee on Bible translation and utilization.

NCC releases resources on eco-justice for local use

To get resources for download at the NCC Eco-Justice web site, register for a network there. Items available include:

-- Environmental Racism: An Ecumenical Study Guide, a National Council of Churches (NCC) resource, offers local churches an opportunity to study the justice needs of the disproportionate numbers of people of color who live with environmental pollution.

-- "Bottom Line Ministries that Matter: Congregational Stewardship with energy efficiency and clean energy technologies,” released by the NCC in 2006, outlines how churches can reduce their energy costs and lower the carbon emissions that are a cause of global warming. Some of the information is provided on a state-by-state basis.

-- Building A Firm Foundation: A Creation Friendly Guide for Churches is a guide to support churches in building faithful, sustainable buildings, helping them to implement their intentions.

ONE campaign seeks to raise public awareness

Resources look at poverty and the Millennium Development Goals

Interfaith attention has recently focused on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that aim to eliminate extreme poverty in the world by 2015. September 24, 2008 marked the midway point in the MDG task, which requires massive mobilization of citizens. A group of international Christian leaders have sent a letter to Micah's Challenge for the U.S. saying that "your country has made only a little progress towards fulfilling its commitments" to the MDGs. Young adults will soon become involved in a program coordinated by Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) that will selecty thirty 18-25 year olds to mobilize young people of faith to work together to raise awareness of the MDGs. Various resources are available for use locally in education/action efforts:

• The NCC has a six-session study guide, Eradicating Poverty: A Christian Study Guide on the Millennium Development Goals, written by Lallie Lloyd. Or download another six session guide, God's Mission in the World: An Ecumenical Study Guide on Global Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals, free from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  
• Church World Service has produced the free downloadable Making Poverty History: Hunger Education Activities that Work.
• The UN's web site for the goals provides a basic structure for seeing them. The Presbyterian Hunger Program has posted materials, and the Episcopal Church's Global Good web site will be useful to others, as well.

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On this web site

• Ecumenical Publications: Listings of Presbyterian and other resources
•   Interfaith Resources: Listings of Presbyterian and other resources

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