Ecumenical & Interfaith
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State-based faith groups send letter to Congress on toxic chemicals

Presbyterian minister Marian McClure Taylor (pictured), the executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, points to Jesus, who "healed the sick and ministered to the poor." These are the thrusts behind a letter to members of Congress by nearly thirty state- and regionally-based faith organizations —mainly councils of churches but including other faith participants. The letter calls for "comprehensive federal policy to protect our children and vulnerable populations." It says, "By making sure all chemicals are safe for kids and that legacy chemicals are removed from low-income communities and communities of color we can guarantee a bright future for all God’s children and the whole of Creation."

An "Interfaith Statement for Toxic Policy Reform" was prepared earlier for online acceptance of local signatures. Original corporate signatories included the PC(USA) Washington Office. The statement came through the work of GreenFaith, the National Council of Churches (NCC) Eco-Justice Programs, and the Reform Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Washington Association of Churches morphs into Faith Action Network

The Washington Association of Churches (WAC) has given up its life to form the Faith Action Network: A Partnership for the Common Good (FAN), together with the Lutheran Public Policy Office. The kickoff event for the change will be in mid-September. A new board has been elected. A letter indicates that many organizational details remain to be determined but that the staff and directors of the two former organizations will remain in place for the first six months. Alice Woldt is the current WAC executive director. FAN's mission will be to serve as a "statewide partnership of faith communities striving for a just and sustainable world through community building, education, and courageous public action.”

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Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon honors Muslim leader

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon has presented an award to Salma Ahmad, the president of Oregon's oldest official Muslim organization, the Islamic Society of Greater Portland. In so doing, they have recognized her contributions to community peace, stability, and understanding through her activity in programs that strengthen relations between various ethnic, religious, and social groups. Ahmad, a native of the Philippines and long-time Portland resident, has traveled throughout the U.S. promoting interfaith understanding.

Long Beach churches come together to serve downtown youth

A new Long Beach [California] Youth Alliance is providing at-risk children and youth with program options far beyond what they had earlier experienced. This is happening because eight downtown churches have set aside differences in order to respond to needs created by budget cuts and, even more, the challenge of helping youth make constructive use of their time. One of the churches in the coalition is Covenant Presbyterian, whose pastor is Robert Langworthy.

Hindus clean up debris they left in New York's Jamaica Bay

A standoff between Hindus who insist on practicing their beliefs unfettered and environmentalists who are trying to preserve the marine life along the New York coastline reached a new stage when volunteers worked to clean up the area on Earth Day. As the area's Hindu population has increased, so has the debris—plastic flowers, statues, clothing items left over from use of the Jamaica Bay for rituals. "We call it our Ganges," one person remarked, but Park rangers for the Gateway National Recreation Area say that, unlike a river, the enclosed bay does not sweep away refuse. The rangers and concerned Hindus reached out to the larger Hindu community, asking their help. A ranger expressed amazement at the cleanup process, saying, "This just shows such wonderful turnout from the local community."

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In Omaha, three faiths working to produce a single campus for their worship

Omaha's Tri-Faith Initiative is bringing together a Jewish temple, the Episcopal diocese, and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture in a partnership to build a "religious neighborhood" on adjacent properties of a former golf course: a temple, church, mosque, and a shared facility. The three faith groups will buy property separately, share a single architect, and become a 501c.3 incorporation geared for a common capital campaign. A posted draft of its Memorandum of Mutual Understanding contains its vision statement: "In working together, our vision is to build bridges of Respect, Trust and Acceptance, to challenge stereotypes of each other, to learn from one another, and to counter the influence of extremists and agents of hate." In England, the University of Manchester is studying multifaith spaces as works of special architecture and agents for encouraging particular activities. It has begun a web site to which it invites readers as the study progresses.

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Demands of true "civility" highlighted locally and nationally

The East Jefferson [Louisiana] Interfaith Clergy Association responded to the lack of civility they have witnessed in public discourse by creating a "Faith Statement on Public Discourse" (page 4). The Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders say that “since we regard all human beings as God’s children . . . we regard an offense against our neighbor as an offense to God.”  The statement calls people to display respect for those with whom they disagree and to debate issues rather than demonizing opponents; not to misrepresent opponents’ views and not to circulate electronic messages that humiliate others. Presbyterian Claire Vonk Brooks—pastor of a multi-language, multi-ethnic church—is listed as a member of the clergy association's steering committee.

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West Texas Christians, Jews, and Hindus open dialogue

A Hindu physician in Texas asked her guru how she might conduct an event that would be "a discussion of a different sort between religions." His suggestion was that discussion of theological issues would not go far, so discussion should be on contemporary issues faced by all. An invitation went to several religious leaders asking each to submit a question regarding a contemporary issue, the purpose being to see how different faith groups each confront a situation on the basis of their philosophies and beliefs. A Baptist, a Catholic, a Jew, a Hindu, and an Episcopalian were speakers at the resulting public event in a Midland, Texas Catholic church.

Questions arise when Muslims use Christian church facilities

Aldersgate United Methodist Church has offered space for Friday prayers to a Muslim group while their mosque is being renovated. One of the church's members, a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Virginia, has told the news media that questions about this are the congregation's family issue, but a competing candidate has said no church should "cooperate or assist Muslims in their worship practices." Fox News correspondent Lauren Green describes the debate that ensues when Muslims use church facilities for worship. A member of Aldersgate tells her that their having offered worship space to a mosque is not contributing to Muslim proselytization. On the other hand, Alex McFarland, former president of Southern Evangelical Seminary, says that Christians cross the line from respect to endorsement when they make their facilities available. Green raises the specter of "Chrislam," a coined word for combined elements of Christianity and Islam that might be adopted by people. Since the Fox story aired, a right wing respondent, Jesse Lee Peterson, has called the action of hosting churches "tolerance gone wild."

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Ten commandments for Jewish-Christian dialogue offered

James Rudin, who long headed the American Jewish Committee's interreligious affairs, has offered ten commandments for Jewish-Christian dialogue in his new book, Christians & Jews – Faith to Faith: Tragic History, Promising Present, Fragile Future (ISBN #978-1580234320):

1. Be there.
2. Don’t try to defend the indefensible regarding your own faith.
3. Listen.
4. Focus.
5. Avoid simply preaching Bible texts, history or law. (Include the experiential/autobiographical).
6. The person with the most words usually loses.
7. Know your audience.
8. Journalists may sometimes be inadequately informed, but they are usually interested in religious matters.
9. Seek areas of solidarity and mutual respect.
10. Don’t try to change people’s minds. Concentrate on enlightenment, explanation, and clarifications. (pp.225-7, as reported by sowhatfaith.com)

Long Island council head examines relationships and their limits

Should Latter-day Saints be in our council? Should we relate to Ahmadiyya Muslims when another mosque tells us they disapprove? In the vexed struggle over where to draw limits in an organization, some set of guidelines seems necessary, but what should they be? Thomas Goodhue (pictured), executive director of the Long Island Council of Churches, has addressed attitudinal aspects of the question from the perspective of broken relationships: what do we do after a split or a schism? (though his article, "My Heretics and Yours," still leaves organizational questions to be answered by careful procedural decisions, hopefully made in advance). Goodhue's guidelines? All too briefly:

• Be humble. (Avoid a judgmental attitude.)
• Remember your roots.("Nearly all our denomination began in division.")
• Listen carefully before jumping to conclusions. (More than once, schism has resulted from misunderstanding.)
• Try to remember that heterodoxy is not heresy. (Others may be "odd," but not a "sect.")
• Go visit even if you disagree.
• Don't pretend an offshoot represents the wider community.
• Be honest. ("We all believe the same thing" is not true.)
• Be honest with yourself.

The article can be found in NAINews (Summer 2007).

Best practices articulated for interfaith efforts in a Christian institution

In presentations to the 2009 Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) and the 2009 Appalachian Studies Association conferences, Katie Basham, assistant chaplain at Berea College, and Courtney Brooks, a Berea graduate, talked about interfaith work at the college. They presented to IFYC suggestions about best practices:

1. Know your institution. Articulate how interfaith cooperation is a necessary extension of its history and guiding principles. Know your religious tradition and how it understands interfaith cooperation.

2. Begin with natural partnerships. Build bridges with religious institutions, service-learning groups, international study groups.

3. Engage in "healing and unlearning." Confront difficult situations of the past. Use counseling, support, advocacy. Berea College, in Appalachia, has a variety of Christian student organizations and also a Buddhist and a Muslim student association.

Top ten occasions for ecumenical celebration are listed

When the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interfaith Institute created a list of the top occasions for ecumenical celebrations in 2008, it included the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18-25) and World Day of Prayer (the first Friday in March) but also two civically-oriented dates –  the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (the third Monday in January) and World Aids Day (December 1) – and the liturgical occasions of Ash Wednesday and Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost; and All Souls Day.

Interfaith movement is going deeper, centering on the local

"[T}here has been a profound shift [in interfaith relations] away from Christian denominational leaders plotting theological agreements and organizations in conference rooms in New York . . . [to] emphasis on local, congregational initiatives," an Episcopal priest told the Washington Post recently. A newspaper article reports more "deep" involvement that favors intimate group projects and community service over the anonymity and safety of lectures or joint annual worship services. One example is a Presbyterian and a Jewish congregation that, after years of shared Thanksgiving services, needed a series of intense meetings three years ago following a dispute related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Now a small group of Presbyterians and Jews, augmented by some Muslims, meets regularly and shares projects as well as discussion. Still hanging over the article's general overview is the question: Is dialogue about political issues or faith?

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