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Ecumenical & Interfaith
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Linking People, News, Information, and Resources - |
Resources Useful for Ecumenical and Interfaith
| Current special emphases | Local dialogue and mission | Learning across faith communities | | Citizenship, health | Environmental and poverty issues | Ecumenical Lenten resources focus on justice issues Violence against women Water
The Middle East
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" Course for congregations leads to an interfaith guidebook
Learning across faith communities Organizations help interchurch and interfaith families
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. See also the resources of the Dovetail Institute. Download a sample copy of Dovetail: A Journal by and for Jewish/Christian Families. "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 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. The Pluralism Project has filmed a documentary, Fremont, USA: A City's Encounter with Religious Diversity that promises to "make the challenges of religious diversity vivid, visible, and accessible for discussion." The Pluralism Project has been present for some screenings of the film that were followed by special discussions. A DVD of the 57-minute film is now available. x Pluralism Project case study opens story of Minneapolis cab drivers 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 points to research showing case studies more effectively teach critical thinking than lectures. Textbook material for teaching Hinduism from its own point of view Concerned that U.S. textbooks frequently teach about Hinduism from an external point of view, Hinduism Today magazine has posted teaching materials on the web, plus a series of textbooks used in India. Download is free.
Issues related to citizenship, health "Say No — Unite" campaign works to end violence against women The "Say No — Unite to End Violence Against Women" campaign is a global call presented by the United Nations' UNIFEM. It aims to be a global coalition of individuals, organizations, governments, and the private sector. It has amassed a large group of organizations as partners, including Religions for Peace, World Vision, the World YWCA, Church World Service (in Phase 1). Visitors may sign an interfaith pledge found on the campaign web site, download publications and an organizers' toolkit, or learn about a UN trust fund for countering violence to women. There are also action suggestions. "Healthy Principles for a Healthy Body and Spirit" ready for signatures The Presbyterian Witness in Washington Weekly of December 29, 2009, prepared by the Washington office of the PC(USA) has highlighted the "Healthy Principles for a Healthy Body and Spirit" web site that makes it possible to endorse the principles. This statement identifies the theological basis of our concerns for God's creation and outlines recommendations for governmental action. It was drafted collaboratively by the National Council of Churches and others, including the Massachusetts Council of Churches and the Maine Council of Churches. . The Law of Church and State in America available online Dean Kelley , a steady presence in the National Council of Churches' work on religious liberty for over thirty years, died in 1997 while his labor of twenty years, The Law of Church and State in America, a five-volume opus, was being prepared for publication. It was not published thereafter but has now become available online on the web site of the First Amendment Center in PDF files that can be freely downloaded. The volumes deal with The Autonomy of Religious Bodies, Outreach, Inculcation, Practice, and Shelters. The final volume's last chapter addresses Boundary Questions: The Riddle of Defining "Religion" and "Church." Document on principles of religious expression in public life released
Protecting the right to food is theme as the World Trade Organization meets In advance of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference ln Geneva on November 30-December 2, a letter went from faith organizations advocating respect for "the right to food" enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The letter, sent under the banner of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), speaks both about trade and the Millennium Development Goals. From the U.S., Church World Service (CWS) was a signatory. CWS has resources available on the issue of food security. "$10 in 2010" is slogan in the fight for a living wage "An adequate minimum wage is a bedrock moral value for our nation," said a letter sent early to the current Congress by a group of faith leaders. The letter was part of a campaign that is a project of Let Justice Roll, an interfaith coalition, under the slogan, "$10 by 2010." Resources for holding a local Living Wages Day are posted online. 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 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." Breaking Faith with Nuclear Weapons is a guide 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. Faith communities fight against use of torture Presbyterians have played key roles in two organizations fighting against the use of torture. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture, known as NRCAT, is directed by Presbyterian minister Richard Killmer and grew out of the pioneering work of Princeton Seminary professor George Hunsinger. See its web site, which provides numerous resources. The NRCAT board includes Presbyterian minister Carol Wickersham, who is president of No2Torture, a Presbyterian organization. See the NRCAT brochure's list of what can be done locally. 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 indicates it is important for Muslims to have their own shelter. In a shelter run by Christians, she says, " 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." Faith communities confront health care needs
The National Council of Churches (NCC) health task force 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 commended the principles of the Divided We Fail campaign as being compatible with NCC commitments. The campaign has also received the endorsement of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). As a stimulus toward actions that will improve health in the U.S., Health Rankings for 2008 are now available on the web in a series of charts that give information by state. The Kentucky Council of Churches has recommended two resources for a group to use in studying faith and health, Vision and Voice: Faithful Citizens and Health Care and Body and Soul: A Celebration of Healthy Eating & Living (especially geared toward African Americans). The University of Virginia Health System, which has an interfaith committee and a chaplaincy / pastoral education department, has prepared Religious Beliefs and Practices Related to Health Care, including material on Buddhism, Christianity (Protestant and Catholic), Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. Faith in Public Life works on justice and the common good
Environmental and poverty issues
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," presents for the first time the contributions of America's religious institutions to the environmental movement by exploring eight diverse initiatives. 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 film has eight 10-minute segments that will enable local discussion. See other video resources available on the Regeneration Project web site. The National Council of Churches Eco-Justice web site has extensive resources for downloading. Items available include materials on climate and energy resources, biodiversity, Earth Day Sunday, environmental health, environmental justice, food resources, and water. The web site also provides opportunity for making endorsement of acceptance of basic principles: -- Christian Principles for a Healthy Body and Spirit -- Faith Principles on Global Warning To go with the NCC materials on water, resources are available from Church World Service and the Ecumenical Water Network web site. From the PC(USA) General Assembly, see Limited Water Resources and Takings, with study guide. 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. 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, 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 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, An interfaith statement x Resources look at poverty and the Millennium Development Goals
x On this web site:
x On the PC(USA) web site:
Items marked with |
UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon launched a 
In the U.S., Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) has posted a 
and "
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.
Congregations in Mill Valley, California (in Marin County) prepared a course in world religions that led them to want a next step, an opportunity actually to get to know neighbors of other religious traditions. In the process, they related to Paul Chaffee, the director of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio in nearby San Francisco. Chaffee became the author of a guide, "
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.
© 2006 Ecumenical & Interfaith Network - PCUSA
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