|
Ecumenical & Interfaith
|
| -
Linking People, News, Information, and Resources - |
Resources Useful for Ecumenical and Interfaith
| Current special emphases | Local dialogue and mission | Learning cross faith communities | | Citizenship, health | Environmental and poverty issues |
Guides for local dialogue and mission Faith Forum program supports local conversations across denominations x
Local ecumenical and interreligious guides provided by Lutherans "Your Guide to inter-Religious Life in the ELCA" Planners can work ahead toward 2012 World Interfaith Harmony Week
Ingrid Mattson, director of Hartford Seminary's Duncan Black Macdonald Center for Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, says, "... [P]reachers and religious leaders often have little time to deliver vital messages to their congregations, and this is why devoting one week a year to interfaith harmony is practical and powerful. When one preacher’s message is echoed around the world, it has great resonance and power. With one sermon or lecture a year, together we can set a new standard for religious leadership and harmony." See what Presbyterians in Atlanta contributed to the 2010 observance there: Columbia Seminary professor of spirituality emeritus Ben Johnson led an immersion weekend of visiting worship spaces of four religions. A Presbyterian congregation hosted a luncheon at which a distinguished interfaith panel spoke. Participants from World Pilgrims trips, in which Presbyterians have been very active, celebrated an evening reunion.
Learning across faith communities Children of intermarriage get books to help them learn the Jewish tradition Young children of religiously mixed marriages are among the target group served by a program called PJ Library. While anyone can subscribe to the library's services, the goal is to support families who want to raise Jewish children but are not prepared for the task or are disengaged. With the help of library books, parents can snuggle pajama-clad children onto their laps and have a Jewish book to read. (The PJ in the program's title does indeed refer to pajamas.) A recent study shows that 55% of all Jews in the U.S. marry non-Jews. A Reform Jewish task force on intermarriage has proposed that rabbis' efforts should go to encouraging mixed-faith couples to be active in Jewish life. The web site for Reform Judaism has a section on interfaith families. Organizations help interchurch and interfaith families A number of organizations exist to help families whose members remain in different faith traditions: • The American Association of Interchurch Families (AAIF) assists couples of two Christian traditions who marry while each remains actively involved in his/her church tradition. It holds regular conferences. • The National Association of InterChurch and and Interfaith Families supports, educates, and befriend couples and families in mixed relationships. See its extensive list of resources. • The Mothers Circle is a national program created by the Jewish Outreach Institute to help non-Jewish women who are raising Jewish children within an interfaith marriage. See a video about it online. • The Dovetail Institute for Interfaith Family Resources is an independent organization offering publications, certificates, lists of local interfaith groups, etc. • Interfaith Community is neutral place for Christian-Jewish families to connect in a number of cities. Presbyterian ministers serving on its advisory board include Robert Brashear, Anne Conroy, Charles Henderson, and Michael Lindvall. x Pluralism Project case studies open issues for discussion The Case Study Initiative of the Pluralism Project has developed a study of local interactions when the Muslim cab drivers at Minneapolis airports refused to accept passengers who were carrying alcoholic beverage(s). The Pluralism Project has partnered with Presbyterian-related Auburn Seminary in use of the case study learning method, which Auburn has offered to seminary students across the New York region. They point to research showing case studies more effectively teach critical thinking than lectures. Another case study, one of the first developed by the Project, explores the controversy in Palos Heights, Illinois, that unfolded in 2000 around the acceptability of a mosque. This study was used at the Fordham University School of Law in New York City at a time when there was controversy going on there concerning a mosque being established near Ground Zero. A new case, “A Nomination to Controversy,” explores the controversial appointment of Parvez Ahmed to the Human Rights Commission in Jacksonville, Florida; some alleged that Ahmed had links to terror while others thought there was an issue of growing Islamophobia. For more information, contact Elinor Pierce at Harvard. Fremont, CA residents look at religious diversity five years after a filming 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 there; Fremont's diverse Buddhist community has established Thai, Chinese, and Burmese temples. Fremont is also the locale where an Afghan-American Muslim woman was killed while walking along a street. Five years after the Pluralism Project filmed a documentary, "Fremont, USA: A City's Encounter with Religious Diversity," its continuing pertinence was underscored by a free showing at the local Centerville Presbyterian Church, sponsored by the Tri-City Interfaith Council and followed by a panel discussion. The film promises to "make the challenges of religious diversity vivid, visible, and accessible for discussion." A DVD of this award-winning 57-minute film and a study guide are available. See the Centerville Church information on its Bridge Building to Muslims program.
Issues related to citizenship, health URI has posted suggestions for days between 9/11/11 and Day of Peace The United Religions Initiative (URI) prepared a tool kit for 2010 that still has useful helps toward 9/11/2011. The online kit, "Responses to Hostility Against Faith Communities," makes liberal use of material first prepared by the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). MultiFaith GROWs provides assistance for groups to start gardening
NRCAT addresses both national and state issues on torture in U.S. prisons The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) has included within its mission the ending of torture in U.S. prisons, with particular attention to long-term isolation. This will involve state by state legislation. NRCAT is also asking for letters to President Obama asking for investigation into use of prolonged solitary confinement. See the wide variety of resources on NRCAT's web pages and read a Sightings column on torture as a moral issue. Presbyterian minister Rich Killmer is NRCAT executive director; board members include Presbyterians David Leslie (executive director, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon) and George Hunsinger (Princeton Seminary professor). Interfaith coalition is raising issue of jobs as a priority
Local faith communities address gun violence Experts provide accessible resources on religion and public life Religious Expression in American Public Life: A Joint Statement of Current Law, a 32 page book prepared under the leadership of Melissa Rogers of Wake Forest University, is available for use online in interactive format and in printed form. It is the product of long effort by an interfaith group of generally well known church-state experts that included Skip L’Heureux, Jr. of the National Council of Churches religious liberty committee, the director of the Queens Federation of Churches. See the Wake Forest web site for information on other resources to accompany the new resource. x 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 offers ecumenical links on immigration issues. Its immigration task force includes Presbyterian José Luis Casal. Church World Service (CWS) has regular web information on its extensive ministry with refugees. Its DVD, A Future with Hope: Welcoming Refugees, can be ordered in single copies without charge. 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. 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. The woman who runs the Muslim shelter in Baltimore says it is important for Muslims to have their own shelter. In a shelter run by Christians, "what the people say is the reason why you're being beat is because of that religion. We do not want Islam to be the focal point of domestic violence."
Environmental and poverty issues Ample Harvest connects gardeners and food pantries
Religious communities tell their stories as part of environmental movement The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has said to faith leaders, "The world's great faith communities occupy a unique position in discussion on the fate of our planet and the accelerating impacts of climate change. You are the leaders who have the largest, widest and deepest reach." The feature-length documentary film, "Renewal," presented for the first time the contributions of America's religious institutions to the environmental movement by exploring eight diverse initiatives, each in a 10-minute segment that enables local discussion. They range 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 National Council of Churches Eco-Justice web site has extensive up-to-date suggestions for downloadable resources, advocacy, networking, and observance of special days. Users of the site can sign on to statements of principles: -- Christian Principles for a Healthy Body and Spirit -- Faith Principles on Global Warning In addition to the NCC materials on water, resources are available from Church World Service. The National Religious Partnership for the Environment -- an association of four major faith organizations, Jewish, Catholic, evangelical, and conciliar (NCC) -- has an extensive web site that can be viewed by reference to statements, activities, issues, stories of what is happening, or vehicles for involvement by various constituencies (such as congregations, youth, educators, religious agencies). This is the expression of common priorities that enable each group to be itself while being together with others. The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has praised President Obama for his plan to reduce dependence on foreign oil as the latest sign of its commitment to address energy issues. Its web site has resources as well as telling the story of AJC's determination to become one of the first Jewish non-profits in the U.S. to get green certification for its national headquarters building. Poverty and wealth will be highlighted in fall ecumenical consultation A North American consultation on "Poverty, wealth and ecological debt" will convene on November 5-9, 2011. It comes at the end of a process that has involved various regions globally in response to an action of the WCC 8th Assembly (1998) known as AGAPE ("Alternative Globalization Addressing People and Earth"). The background paper for the WCC's study process is "Poverty, wealth and ecology: The impact of economic globalization." Papers prepared by the WCC advisory group on economic matters are gathered together in a book, Justice Not Greed, edited by Pamela Brubaker and Rogate Mshana, ISBN #978-2825415481. The authors are economists, theologians, ethicists and sociologists. They offer economic analysis and Poverty and climate change interconnected in resource The Church World Service (CWS) Enough for All campaign is focused on climate change that requires those in wealthier nations to change how they live. See the resources and advocacy suggestions available. An earlier interfaith statement A climate change report from the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences was released, in its corrected form, on May 11 x Resources look at the Millennium Development Goals
• • The NCC has a six-session study guide, Eradicating Poverty: A Christian Study Guide on the Millennium Development Goals, written by Lallie Lloyd. • The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a six session guide, God's Mission in the World: An Ecumenical Study Guide on Global Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals • Church World Service has produced the free downloadable Making Poverty History: Hunger Education Activities that Work. • A selection of UN-produced materials is available through examining its web site. • The Presbyterian Hunger Program has posted materials, and the Episcopal Church's Global Good web site will be useful to others, as well. x On this web site:
x On the PC(USA) web site:
Items marked with |
and "
are downloadable brochures intended for members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Their lists of things that can be done at the local level may be helpful to others, as well.
Mark your 2012 calendars now for the first seven days in February, the days 
The MultiFaith Council of Northwest Ohio, co-chaired by 
The primary goal of Faith Advocates for Jobs is to support congregations as they provide personal support to the unemployed and underemployed, educate about causes of joblessness, and encourage advocacy on related public policy issues. "
Many local gardens produce more food than a single family—or even family and friends—can eat.
See also a paper that came out of a 2004 consultation held at the Stony Point conference center, "
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.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aim to eliminate extreme poverty in the world by 2015. Various resources are available for use locally in education/action efforts: 
© 2006 Ecumenical & Interfaith Network - PCUSA
| Material contained on the pages of this site are displayed for the use of persons seeking information regarding the Presbyterian Church USA, and other religious bodies, related to Ecumenical and Interfaith topics. The content of these pages and pages linked to this site, do not necessarily represent the Presbyterian Church, USA or of other governing bodies related to the PCUSA. |
| |
|
© EIF-PCUSA.ORG
All Rights Reservedl
