Ecumenical & Interfaith
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What's Happening Where We Live?

Necessity marks the beginning of a local Utah interfaith body

The necessity of providing "religious support" at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, as required by the Olympic Charter, led to the formation of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) Interfaith Roundtable. Forty-five faith leaders from over 22 faiths "collaborated to provide chaplain support for athletes, a directory of faiths in Utah, interfaith web pages, and newfound interfaith respect in Utah," in the words of the Winter 2010 NAINews. The Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable has met monthly ever since, "in the spirit of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games" and will now be host to the 2010 NAIN Connect conference of the North American Interfaith Network. The Roundtable's 2010 Interfaith Musical Tribute will be at the Salt Lake [Mormon] Tabernacle on February 21, at the conclusion of its annual Interfaith Week. A part of the week is a food drive.

Black Methodists spearheading local programs together

The three historic black churches in the Methodist tradition—the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ), and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church—will come together in a concerted way that they have not had for 45 years. After a Great Gathering in Columbia, South Carolina, on March 1-3, they expect to launch local projects to address unemployment, crime, and other problems that disproportionately affect black men. Long-time ecumenist Stacatto Powell (pictured) will chair the summit.

Georgia faith leaders have Summit on Domestic Violence

The coordinators of the Georgia Commission on Domestic Violence Fatality Review Project and the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence were the planners of a Summit on Domestic Violence that enhanced the ability of a multifaith group of religious leaders to respond to the issue. The summit came after research showed connections between faith communities and victims of fatal and near-fatal violence. The Fatality Review Project coordinators were surprised to learn how much was happening related to the issue in the religious communities. "What we need is connections between those people and momentum for the future," one of them said. An exercise used during the summit examined Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scriptures for ways they could be used as roadblocks to confronting family violence or as resources for victims. See the National Declaration by Religious and Spiritual Leaders to Address Violence Against Women, a sign-on statement.

Louisiana interfaith clergy group issues statement on public civility

A group of about two dozen local Louisiana clergy — priests, ministers, rabbis, and an imam — have begun circulating a "Faith Statement on Public Discourse." It calls on people to show respect toward those with whom they disagree, to debate issues without demonizing opponents, and to stop misrepresenting others' views. It is based on the premise that silence about such behaviors allows a culture of incivility to develop. Specific events triggered both the earlier establishment of the group and its recent preparation of the statement.

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Synod of Northeast approves covenant to adopt Lund principle

In October 2009 the assembly of Synod of the Northeast adopted as its own an ecumenical resolution that can be traced back to an action approved earlier by the Vermont Ecumenical Council and Bible Society. The Synod's resolution approves "A Covenant to Adopt and Implement the Lund Principle" with an attached codicil. The resolution aligns the synod with an ecumenical commitment (fifth in a series) adopted as policy by the PC(USA)'s 218th General Assembly. The "Lund principle" affirms that churches should act together except where they are compelled to act separately.  Following the Synod's action, stated clerk Mary Lynne Flowers (pictured) invited the its presbyteries to consider adopting the covenant and codicil or some other appropriate response to the Lund principle. Read about the "Lund principle" in "The Church: God's Gift to the World," page 25, bottom of left column.

Southern California church-mosque study program organized

Gwynne Guibord (pictured), an Episcopal priest in Southern California, told a recent gathering that both Christians and Muslims speak of "caring about neighbor" in different ways. "So how can any of us with any religious integrity say that we that we would even be comfortable with having harm come another's way?" she asked. Guibord is one of the developers of "Standing Together," a structured set of materials developed collaboratively by several Christian and Muslim denominations / organizations in Los Angeles and Orange County, California. Its goals are to bring Muslim and Christian neighbors together to know one another as people, to engage one another about their beliefs and practices, and to lay a foundation for future projects they might decide to undertake together. Information on how a mosque or church can become involved is available by e-mail.

Minnesota state fair has ecumenical service

The last ten days of August are state fair time in Minnesota. During the fair, the Minnesota Council of Churches presents Prayer at the Fair, an ecumenical worship service that celebrates God's creation and rejoices in the "abundance of life in Minnesota." Celebrants come from the many denominations that make up the council. The form of the service is a familiar church one but is casual and intended to be fun.

Louisville celebrates its annual Festival of Faiths

In 2009 Louisville celebrated its fourteenth Festival of Faiths, an annual week-long event sponsored by its Center for Interfaith Relations (CIR, formerly the Cathedral Heritage Foundation centered in Louisville's Catholic cathedral). CIR engages in year-round programming such as the PeaceCasters project for youth and sees the Festival as a high profile event that can be a "first step to common action by faith communities to address shared problems." This past November's theme was "Sacred Water: Sustaining Life," which tied to its Adopt-A-Waterway Program to bring together individuals to work toward cleaning stream banks, testing water, and monitoring the flora and fauna of a waterway. See the large, attractive Festival program brochure. The kickoff event's speaker was Presbyterian minister Marian McClure Taylor (pictured), the executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches. Presbytery executive Betty Meadows of the Presbytery of Mid-Kentucky and Rebecca Thompson of Second Presbyterian church are members of the CIR board of directors.

Wyoming Association of Churches and NCC partner for the environment

The Wyoming Association of Churches (WAC) and the National Council of Churches (NCC) have entered a partner relationship to address important environmental issues. Both lobbied for the Wyoming Range Legacy Act. Now, with the bill's passage by the U.S. Congress, the NCC has given WAC a grant to publicize and promote the legislation. WAC is not alone. The faith and environmental communities gather under a statewide effort, On Sacred Ground, that WAC co-sponsors to discuss common concerns about the creation. WAC cosponsored a retreat in October to gather faith and environmental leaders. Warren Murphy is WAC's environmental projects developer.

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Must a condominium allow mezuzahs?

A federal appeals court ruled last year that fair-housing laws do not extend to permitting residents to place mezuzahs on door frames. Meanwhile, in 2009 the New York state district attorney investigated a complaint about a similar issue and said, "This country guarantees every individual the right to express his or her religious beliefs." In a Chicago case, a court ruling has revived a fair housing suit by condominium owners against their condo association. At issue in that case is evidence that points to the possibility of intentional discrimination and selective enforcement of rules that prohibit any objects being placed outside unit doors in condominium hallways.

New York City Muslims campaign for Islamic school holidays

When Eid ul-Fitr or Eid ul-Adha falls on a school day, New York City Muslims are asking that the day be declared a school holiday. This would assure that children do not have to make a choice between participating in class/educational opportunities and celebrating the religious holiday. Estimates on the number of Muslim public school students in the city vary between 1 in 8 to 1 in 10 pupils. A citywide Coalition for Muslim School Holidays has been established.

Jewish community asleep concerning K-12 textbook bias, institute says

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According to Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra, the Jewish community has been asleep concerning the level of bias about them taught in schools. Ybarra says that Muslim groups have influenced the ways school books depict Islam and “the Jewish community and others who are not represented need a seat at the table with publishing houses.” See “The Trouble With Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion” (ISBN #10-0739130943, ISBN #13-978-0739130940), based on a study launched by the California-based Institute for Jewish and Community Research.

Texas state law on religious freedom tested by Santería priest

José Merced (pictured), a flight attendant and a Santería priest, publicly challenged restrictions on his practice of animal sacrifice by going to the courts and even allowing his practices to be observed by outsiders. This reversal of the expectation that beliefs and rituals not be revealed caused some discomfort. The case was fought and won on the basis of the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which prevents government from "substantially burdening" a person's religious freedom unless there is a compelling reason to do so. A professor in Austin had said when the legislation was enacted that it was intended to apply even to religions the legislators had "never heard of." 

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United Methodists and Muslims initiate mutual work

 
In northern Illinois, the local United Methodist bishop and the chair of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago have signed a Declaration of Relationship "grounded in our mutual love and God and dedication to the ethical core of our faiths.” The parties agree to mutual dialogue and work for social justice. Each informs the other about situations that would affect it, and they meet annually to reaffirm the commitment.

A partnership between the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center and the Calumet District of the United Methodist Church has resulted in the Children of Abraham, an organization through which volunteers pack medical supplies given by area hospitals and send them to needy areas around the globe. Inspired by what he saw happening in Indiana when he was a high school student on a weekend trip, a University of Michigan Muslim student started a campus Children of Abraham project built on a partnership forged between the Muslim student's association, the Catholic student parish, and the campus Jewish organization. By pooling their energies, they have been able to send several forty-foot containers of medical supplies to Africa.

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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.

NAIN highlights new approaches

The North American Interfaith Network (NAIN) sought out new approaches to interfaith work to be highlighted at its 2008 NAINConnect conference. Here's what some of the selected organizations have done:

• Convinced thousands of congregations across the land to go green
• Created a poster that is a highly effective resource to the interfaith movement
• Grown a network of women from diverse religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds that has a vital set of interlocking programs

• As an Islamic agency, generated thousands of educational experiences each year between the Muslim community and the larger community
• As a regional network of clergy and religious leaders, fostered relationships with community leaders such as mayors and school superintendents
• As a program sprung from a Jewish-Muslim friendship, taken interfaith young adult live drama across the country
• As a community foundation, in spite of the usual ‘no religious organizations please’ rule at most foundations, provided support to thousands of congregations from all faiths

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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