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NORTH AMERICAN INTERFAITH NETWORK

Reflections on Transformation: NAINConnect2000

A Conference Report by Joel Beversluis, Editor of this newsletter.

The Opening Interfaith Celebration

We began this year’s conference with an outdoor ceremony on a bright and warm Sunday afternoon in July. As is becoming a respectful custom at interfaith conferences, we were welcomed by the indigenous people of the land, in this case, the Ajacheman Nation, with the help of the Tushmal Singers. Also welcoming us to the campus were a Dean, Dr.Thomas Klammer and Dr. Benjamin Hubbard of the Dept. of Comparative Religion at the University of Southern California at Fullerton.

Then, after receiving the blessings of leaders from 12 religious communities, we enjoyed some dynamic African drumming while greeting our neighbors in the crowd, and processing in to dinner. For many of us in this North American Interfaith Network, coming together every year or two is like a family reunion—catching up with old friends in the movement while also getting acquainted with new members and guests. For me, such events renew my spirit and encourage the ongoing transformations that I see within the community of religions.

Program: Some highlights of the "banquet"

The central theme of the speeches and plenary sessions was transformation, specifically "Making a Difference through Personal, Social and Spiritual Transformation." Our dinner speakers explored the transformative impact of the interfaith movement in the personal, social and spiritual realms. In addition, several fine panels and plenary sessions gave the participants in this interfaith "feast" our choice among eleven colloquiums. The program was designed to raise some new and daring territory for discussion, particularly relating to new religious movements and the issue of conversion. But, transformation requires taking some risks. The few summary ideas below can only give a portion of the content and flavor of these programs.

Personal Transformation: the Rev. William Swing

During the past five years, as he has helped inspire and shape the United Religions Initiative (URI), Bishop Bill Swing (Anglican) has himself gone through a transformation in his perception of the Bible, Christianity, and the teachings of Jesus. As a result of the tough questions he’s faced, his meditative experiences with members of other faiths, and the challenge of structuring a new kind of organization—one that is "of the people"—he’s learned a lot about religions and about change.

One of his key concepts, now, is cooperation, which religions do not yet know how to do. Another key concept he learned and that URI expresses is a radical focus on "the people," not on representatives or leaders of big religious organizations, but on the grassroots women and men, on the indigenous communities, on the younger generations, and on spiritually-enthused people within old and new religious movements. To a large extent, he suggested, a personal transformation of focus such as this must be experienced by all in order to fulfill our purposes.

Social Transformation: Mr. Sanford Cloud

As President and CEO of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ, formerly called --of Christians and Jews ), Sanford Cloud is exploring ways the faith communities and their leaders can improve the social environment. Noting that the Civil Rights Movement gave him reasons for hope in his dreams that social transformation is possible, he nevertheless remains concerned that we still live in communities of isolation, ethnically and religiously. Prejudice is still embedded in our institutions and culture.

Listing some statistics, Mr. Cloud predicted that in fifty years, the United States will be 50% comprised of people of color. Nearly a million Hindus, nearly 800,000 Buddhists, and 6 million Muslims and the same number of Jews currently reside in the USA and those numbers are growing. Therefore, we need to uplift many moral voices, including those in the interfaith movement, that value and recognize all of us. The interfaith movement can provide an essential ingredient to personal and social transformation— contact with others. Contact allows self-understanding of our own biases, new understanding of others strengths and needs, a recognition of shared values, and collaborative action to re-shape the social fabric. The interfaith movements can serve as a bridge to social transformation, but, as Gandhi said, "We must be the change we want to see."

Spiritual Transformation: Dr. Vinu Aram

Reflecting on her task as a speaker, Dr. Aram noted that 50% of the world is comprised of young people, all of whom, like adults, are in need of spiritual development. Spiritual transformation, she suggested, is a developmental process that allows one to be a better human being. Though young, Dr. Aram has excellent credentials already as a physician in India, helping to lead the ashram created by her father, and involved in the World Conference on Religion and Peace.

Her special interest is in integrating health, reasoning, faith, nonviolence, and prayer as tools for development and political freedom, especially women’s freedom. Change, she noted, must be intentional; the urge to see change requires deliberate choices in all of our various arenas. For instance, the choice whether to actively engage with young people in interfaith organizations requires choices within our own frameworks, in diverse ways, but with a common intention. Is such personal and spiritual transformation idealistic, she wondered? "Yes, and we must do it today!"

Plenary on New Religious Movements

Monday afternoon of the conference was dedicated to a series of presentations and group discussions on New Religious Movements. This was not merely an academic discussion because the topic is of importance to most interfaith organizations, as well as to members of all faiths. Questions addressed during the several sessions include: What is a cult, a sect, a religion? How should interfaith organizations relate to new religious movements or new expressions of old spiritual philosophies? And what are the beliefs of some of the new movements that we encounter?

Dr. Jim Santucci of the CSUF Department of Comparative Religion began the afternoon with a presentation to help us think about the terms cult, sect, and religion. In the past, the first two terms have often been used by established and majority religions to denigrate new movements. As Jim pointed out, sometimes religions in one country are labeled a cult in another. In France, for instance, new and repressive legislation has identified over 170 "cults" as a method of stopping proselytizing by those the established religions deem offensive. Dr. Santucci’s academic "deconstruction" of these terms and of the idea of religion itself was somewhat controversial, but it and a follow-up discussion at our tables did get the audience thinking about how we relate to "cults" and "sects" among us.

The discussion is relevant to many interfaith organizations, including NAIN, who face it squarely when questions of membership arise due to applications from new religious movements. As Bruce Gregersen noted, many organizations and individuals feel a tension between the desire to be inclusive rather than exclusive, while at the same time maintaining the reputation and integrity of our organizations. Some are leery of having their interfaith organization co-opted by a group with its own agenda. In some cases, long-established members have threatened to withdraw if a particular new religious movement is accepted as a member. Organizations have to think long and hard about the grounds on which a religious group is excluded or simply overlooked.

Following our round-table discussion of the issues, representatives from 3 interfaith organizations spoke about their history and approaches to the questions that arise with new religious movements. Some organizations have used historicity as a guideline, for instance, 100 years of substantial presence. And some have fairly clear expectations about permanence, financial accountability, and a non-proselytizing stance. Partly because of these dilemmas, some other groups, including Temple of Understanding and the Edmonton Interfaith Center, have moved away from institutional memberships and replaced them with individual memberships. In the case of United Religions Initiative, members are self-selected according to their acceptance of clear statements of purpose and principles.

A final panel in this plenary was comprised of members of three new religious movements--Eckankar, Scientology, and the Unification Church. The question posed to them was: What does your organization bring to interfaith understanding? After each had explained its organization and contributions, the discussion was sent back to the audience’s round-tables for further consideration of appropriate questions and criteria for inclusion or exclusion. All in all, the afternoon’s presentations and conversation were very fruitful for all who participated. As each of us took away new insights, we concluded that it is an ongoing conversation with which each organization will need to grapple.

Plenary on Human Relations and Interfaith Organizations

Exploring "Partnership Possibilities," three community activists from Southern California presented their insights to the Tuesday morning plenary session.

Ms. Ashley Walker, of the San Diego Human Rights Commission, noted that the task is to organize networks toward specific outcomes by identifying common ground and maintaining personal relationships with colleagues wherever one can find support. Interfaith groups can be and are engaged in issues appropriate to their purposes. We should also be clear about two kinds of social activities, both of which are necessary: providing social services and working for systemic social change so that the services needs are less acute.

Mr. Joe Hicks, of the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, also emphasized building coalitions. He noted that in LA over 600 distinct religious groups are practicing. He sees the task not as celebrating differences such as race and religion, but rather as demystifying such differences and celebrating our more numerous commonalities. Noting that interfaith organizations in LA are an extremely important link to community human rights efforts, he encouraged more exchanges and connections among religious groups.

Mr. Eli Reyna, of the Orange County Human Relations Office, encouraged us to look into the diversity within our own organizations. Are we expressing our perspectives in our relationships? Are our own friends diverse—with religious, ethnic, gender preferences, or disabilities? He also encouraged us to be passionate and committed in our work. Do we believe as much as the other guy in our movement, in the possibility of change? Human relations means, for him, providing access to power, making voices heard, especially for minorities.

A question on the needs of young people elicited substantial responses from each of the panelists. They emphasized the need to re-engage and re-inspire children to trust and work with the systems of government, education and social change, and that this needs to be done with middle school ages while attitudes are still open to holistic approaches to human relations.

Plenary on Conversion

Following lunch on Tuesday, we were given a Dialogue by three scholars on Jewish, Christian and Muslim perspectives on conversion. Like new religious movements, conversion is a topic that engages many religious communities as well as interfaith organizations, and there is often disagreement about its appropriateness.

Dr. Ben Hubbard presented an historical overview of Jewish views on conversion, noting that Judaism is not a "conversion" religion, often making it difficult for new-comers to join. Judaism has often held the position that anyone who lived the ethical life, following the seven rules of behavior, is in no need of conversion. Jews are, however, considered a "field ripe for harvest," especially by Christian evangelicals with an agenda to convert Jews. More liberal Christians, however, allow the legitimacy of Judaism and the continuity of the Mosaic covenant of God with the Jews.

Dr. George Gross of UCLA, speaking of Christian ideas of conversion, reinforced the idea that God’s covenant with Israel has not been abandoned. He pointed out that the Hebrew word translated as "making disciples" should be re-translated as "gathering disciples," and that evangelization should be a witness to our beliefs in dialogue, acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is the one who moves the heart. Dr. Gross argued that we in Western cultures are entering an Abrahamic age, the end of the age of ideologies, an age where Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all on center stage, and argued that the "competition" among religions should be to see who can be the most caring for others

Dr. Musammil Siddiqui of the Islamic Society presented the Muslim perspective that conversion and submission are not done to or by another, but by oneself. Only God changes the heart, while our job is to convey the message to others with wisdom, inviting them through good preaching, good reasoning, and truthfulness. The Qur'an, he noted, never suggests conversion by jihad or compulsion, but jihad should be an internal battle against one’s own weaknesses.

Several good comments from the audience noted the new idolatry of the marketplace, the pressure in North America on members of minority religions to bend to the Christian culture, and that we all must pay attention to our areas of offense to the other.

Colloquiums: These "conversations together" were opportunities to share experiences, collaborations, or service projects. Simultaneous sessions focused on the methodologies of interfaith programming, featuring some innovative programs in each thematic area. Because these sessions were so rich in content and with numerous presenters, lasting three hours on Monday morning and again on Tuesday afternoon, we can only list the topics here: Religious Education Projects, Experiential Programs, Uses of Media and Technology, Social Justice and Advocacy, and Theologians in Dialogue. For the second set of colloquia, we chose from Dialogue and Listening, Education Projects, Gender Questions, Issues of Interfaith Worship, Interfaith Social Services, and Youth and Young Adults in Interfaith.

Thanks!

The North American Interfaith Network and the conference participants owe great thanks to Kay Lindahl, who organized this conference along with volunteers from The Alliance for Spiritual Community and other organizations. As always, the Conference Director carries a large responsibility, from housing to program to scheduling meals and facilities. Kay’s gracious attention to detail and to individual people helped the conference go very smoothly. Kay was also recently elected to serve as the Vice-President of the NAIN Board, as well as Chair of its Finance Committee. Thank you, Kay! Also thanks to Rev. Bruce Gregersen who helped shape the program for this Connect as he has for several years as NAIN’s Program Chair.

We also thank Dr. Benjamin Hubbard of the Cal. State University Campus at Fullerton, whose Department of Comparative Religion hosted the conference and provided some of the workshop and panel programming. We also thank the un-named others, both behind the scenes and up in front, who volunteered their time and money, presentations and expertise, to make the conference a success.

Gallery of Religious Photography

One gift to the conference was a stunning display of photographs of people of faith worshipping, marching in the streets, and performing acts of service. Titled "The Soul of Los Angeles: Portraits of Faith, Hope and Social Transformation," the display, which featured Jerry Berendt’s photos, was a tribute to the diversity of the region and the hope of finding common ground. The highly acclaimed exhibit was hosted by the Department of Comparative Religion and the Center for the Study of Religion in American Life at the University, with the generous support of individuals—all of whom we also thank.

A Note on Conference Participation and Registration

Coming to Southern California from as far East as Ontario and New England, as well as from Mexico City to the South, approximately 150 people participated in NAIN’s annual conference held this year. About half of these were registrants; others came from throughout the Los Angeles area for a particular program or as presenters or participants in a panel or worship session.

As Kay Lindahl planned and promoted the conference, she discovered nearly 30 interfaith organizations in Southern California. The Conference program thanked six of these for their contributions to the conference. Since one of NAIN’s goals in holding locally-organized conferences is to engage and stimulate local interfaith activity, organizers and the Board had hoped that many more members of these local groups would be engaged in conference planning, and more would participate in the conference. Perhaps, with reflection or research, we can discover why some local groups are engaged—and others are disengaged—from international networking organizations like NAIN and their conferences.

We may also find regional variations in the participation of interfaith groups and religious communities that reflect the extent of pre-existing interfaith activities as well as the local community’s perception of the need for such an event, given other priorities and concerns. Surely the amount of work involved and the excellent programs at such conferences warrant substantial participation by NAIN member organizations as well as by local interfaith organizers and members of religious communities. On the other hand, the increase in interfaith organizations and conferences, especially in the past 18 months, and the limitations of budgets and time can prompt some re-thinking of NAIN’s conference formats, networking roles, and expectations. (If readers have thoughts on this question, please send them to the Editor.)

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Greetings from the NAIN Board's New Chair

The Rev. Dr. Don Mayne

At the NAINConnect 2000 at Cal State University in Fullerton, California, I was honored to be elected to Chair the Board of the North American Interfaith Network. I have great confidence in the future of NAIN, but am humbled by the responsibilities which have been given to me. I recognize that the development of NAIN is the responsibility of the whole Board and the membership, and I take strength from the strengths of the people who will serve with me on the Board.

I have greatly appreciated the leadership of Dr. Peter Laurence and Elizabeth Espersen, the Chairs during my time with NAIN, and Dr. Chuck White, who first introduced me to NAIN when he visited our Edmonton Interfaith Centre five or six years ago. As the first Canadian to hold this office, I hope that the involvement of Canadians and Mexicans will keep NAIN growing in the future.

Your Board of Directors dealt with many issues, including better communications among the Board and members, renewing the contract of Joel Beversluis to produce our Newsletter and guide our website, and planning for future NAINConnects.

The Annual General Meeting passed a motion to amend the bylaws of the organization to include Mexico as one of the North American countries in which NAIN serves. Kay Lindahl, who organized the conference this year, was elected Vice-Chair, and Ralph Singh and Gard Jameson were continued in their roles as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Rev. Gloria Weber of St. Louis, MO and Rev. Brad DrowningBear of Tulsa, OK were added to the Board. (A full list of the Committee Chairs and Board of Directors is found elsewhere in this newsletter.)

Three new organizations were welcomed into membership by the meeting: 
The Connecticut Committee for Inter-religious Understanding, Hartford
The Church of Scientology, Toronto
The Scarboro Mission Interfaith Desk, Toronto

We also confirmed plans for the next several NAINConnects. In 2001 we will meet at the Dr. Jessie Saulteaux Centre at Beausejour, Manitoba, just north of Winnipeg and Minnesota. Melody McKellar of the Centre's staff was present at our meeting and introduced the Centre. Consultations are still underway with the Consejo Interreligioso de Mexico in the hope of having the 2002 meeting in Mexico. Jonathon Rose and Rev. Jose J. Arriaga were present at this meeting and will take the challenge back to their people in Mexico this fall. Interfaith Ministries of Wichita is the alternate site, with Board member Sam Muyskens as the contact person. The Rev. Les Stansbery extended an invitation from the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio to meet in Columbus in 2003, the bicentennial of the state of Ohio.

The Dr. Jessie Saulteaux Centre is a training centre for native Indian ministry, The 2001 NAIN conference program will be largely led by elders of Canadian aboriginal people. Attendance will be somewhat limited by the talking circle process as well as the size of the Centre, but it is anticipated that every NAIN member organization will be able to have at least one representative present.

We were pleased to have three Young Adult Scholarship winners present for the event: Lori Eisenberg from the E Pluribus Unum Project, Eboo Patel from Interfaith Youth Core/Temple of Understanding, and Chris Penrose from the Interfaith Desk, Scarboro Missions. Christy Lohr, Coordinator, challenged all NAIN member organizations to ensure that young adult delegates are sent to all NAIN conferences. As usual, the young adults were an important part of the program and discussions.

NAIN warmly thanks Kay Lindahl and her volunteers for a tremendous job in planning and preparing for this meeting. Without the local leadership of host organizations, we could not hold our events.

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Invigorating Our Young Adult Interfaith Programs

Christy Lohr

Christy works for Temple of Understanding in New York and is NAIN’s Young Adult Program Coordinator

The NAIN Board of Directors is committed to opening the way for increased participation among young adults at each year’s gathering of member organizations. It shows its support by helping to offset the financial impediments to participation in two ways. A yearly scholarship program offers half of the travel and lodging expense for three young people to attend the annual Connect. Secondly, the registration fee is waived for one young person from each member organization. While these two options are not complete solutions to increasing the number of participants, waiving the registration fee has the potential to lighten the financial load for approximately sixty young people who would consider attending a NAINConnect.

Why should a member organization spend its scarce financial resources to bring a young person to these events? Quite simply, because the reality of the interfaith world today demands it. Young people are exploring interfaith in new and exciting ways. They are founding new organizations, initiating new interfaith movements and bringing a new vitality and creativity to this field. They are not asking the "former young adults," the elders of the interfaith movement, to step aside. Rather, they simply hope that space will be made for mutual learning, encouragement and respect.

A New Conversation and a New Approach

As a network, NAIN encompasses the full range of expertise of the North American interfaith world. Young people who attend NAINConnects enjoy interacting with heads of regional, national and international member organizations. A new conversation is taking place between generations at these events. As the number of young people involved in the interfaith movement grows, the connections created at annual NAIN events continue to prove invaluable to everyone involved. Participants in this year’s NAINConnect had the opportunity to mix with some remarkable young adults. The scholarship recipients and young staff people from member organizations are taking their participation in the interfaith world very seriously. They are redefining the methods by which interfaith work is done in a variety of ways. Among these is a new commitment to action-oriented interfaith living.

Despite that, however, the response, this year, of member organizations to the NAIN Board’s incentives for youth involvement remained discouragingly low. Until you, the member organizations, bring youth to these meetings, the demographics will remain the same. The efforts of the NAIN Board are still only financial incentives; the responsibility for action belongs to the member organizations.

As I continue to encourage young people from member organizations to attend these events, questions linger:

Does the lack of response to the youth scholarships reflect a lack of youth involvement in NAIN member organizations?

How can we, as an interfaith community, create a desire to include young people in our programs? How do older program participants respond to the young adults who’ve managed to find their ways into our organizations and to the Connects? Are these brave young people greeted with attitudes of paternalism and condescension or with welcome enthusiasm and recognition as full      participants in this journey of interfaith? Is a commitment to active youth involvement truly being lived out in the programming of the NAINConnects and the member organizations?

One participant suggested creating a "youth audit," a kind of report card on youth-friendliness, for member organizations. To some, this seems like a negative approach, so I encourage another approach from member organizations. If you belong to or know of an organization that is currently running quality programs for/with young adults, share your story, stand up and be counted! You might have a workable model that many groups long for. (Send your story to the Editor of NAIN’s newsletter.)

These questions will challenge me as plans continue for NAINConnect2001. This event will be different from past Connects, but it will provide a unique opportunity for those involved. While the overall attendance will be restricted to the NAIN membership (due to logistical arrangements), the Board is absolutely committed to involving young adults. It has promised a percentage of the registrations to young people and is dedicated to a youth voice in the planning of the event’s program. The nature of next year’s event at the Jesse Saulteaux Resource Center will allow us a new model that is based on Native American spirituality, a spirituality that respects the wisdom of elders while also listening to the voices of youth.

The responsibility for an active youth presence, however, remains largely with the member organizations.

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Toward Courage, Fueled by Faith

Eboo Patel

The author, who attended NAINConnect2000 as one of the young adult scholarship recipients, is a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and Director of the Interfaith Youth Corps, a coalition of young adults from several interfaith organizations that seeks to provide young adults with interfaith immersion and action experiences.

The most striking expression of faith is courage. I think of Desmond Tutu gently destroying Apartheid from his pulpit at St George's, or Malcolm X weaving light into the darkness of Lenox Avenue, or Dorothy Day staring calmly into the eyes of angry policemen during a protest against the Vietnam War.

Our faith heroes understood the power of one another's traditions. It is common knowledge that Gandhi borrowed the concept of ahimsa (nonviolence) from Jainism and was a great reader of the Christian sage, Leo Tolstoy. Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King Jr. were among the American leaders to weave Gandhi's satyagraha (truth-force) into their approach.

This is the wisdom I seek in my heart. I come to the interfaith movement because I know that the company of my brothers and sisters will strengthen my resolve. Peter Maurin, Dorothy day's partner in the founding of the Catholic Worker, used to say that he wanted to build a society where it was easier for people to be good. A community of faith is where we begin.

It seems so simple to say--being good. But I know the profound difficulty of this endeavor. I recently finished Steinbeck's East of Eden, a book about the choice we all have, the same choice that Gandhi and Hitler faced--how to use one's power.

I know who I want to be. I know which side of the line I would like to have stood on during the abolition movement, or the civil rights movement or the struggle against colonialism and apartheid. But I seem to find myself on the wrong side of that line a dozen times a day. Winning the Greater Jihad, the Jihad al-nafs (the Struggle against one's lower self), is every Muslim's goal. Every step I take down the straight path is towards courage, fueled by faith.

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Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders

the Rev. Rodney Reinhart

Founder of the World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation and Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Farmington Hills, Michigan

The Millennium World Peace Summit for Religious and Spiritual leaders at the United Nations was called by the Interfaith Center of New York, Secretary General Kofi Annan of the UN, Ted Turner, and others as a way to clarify and help resolve the many religious and political conflicts which face humanity today. More than a thousand religious leaders, activists, scholars, and observers spent four days discussing all sides of religious struggles, poverty, environmental problems, and other issues we read about in the papers. On August 28 and 29 we met in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations. For the working sessions during the next two days we met in the conference facilities of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Mr. Bawa Jain was the Secretary-General of the World Peace Summit. I have known him for several years and was very pleased that he invited me to participate in the conference along with many others who have devoted their lives to ending religious war. Christian and Muslim leaders from Sudan, Indonesia, and Nigeria told of efforts to end the wars in those countries. Rabbis and imams from Jerusalem told of serious interfaith efforts to end the conflicts in the Middle East. The grand daughter of Mahatma Gandhi reported how significant interfaith work enabled South Africa to make a peaceful transition from apartheid rule to a peaceful, multi-racial democracy.

Within all the stories of efforts to make peace, we could also hear the undertones of frustration, division, tribal vengeance, and political desire that underlie so many religious wars. We heard a great deal about the economic underpinnings of the campaigns of persecution that threaten so many nations today. One speaker after another called on the gathering to look beyond religious differences to find the causes and solutions to war.

As the founder of the World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation, I heard our central message reflected in many of the speeches at the peace summit. Economic and political analysis of religious wars indicates that religion, itself is seldom the cause of "religious" war. The real causes are oil, land, tribal revenge, ethnic hatred, greed for mineral wealth, and the lust for power. We have long taught that religion is simply a tool dictators use to enflame their people into war and to keep the wars going. I was profoundly moved when I heard Kofi Annan, UN officials, and leaders of many different faiths call upon one another to actively oppose campaigns of religious persecution and war in any part of the world.

Because we were invited to describe local projects created in the pursuit of peace, I had the privilege of sharing the work of the World Sabbath in two public forums. I told Summit participants how nearly 600 people--Muslims, Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Baha'is, Coptic and Armenian Orthodox Christians, and people of other faiths--gathered together as equal brothers and sisters, on January 22, 2000, at Christ Church Cranbrook, a major Episcopal parish in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, to pray for God's guidance, to repent for not speaking out to end religious persecution, and to commit themselves to work for justice and peace.

The UN peace summit was not limited to speeches and public exhortations. Much progress and understanding grew within individual conversations. When Hindu Monks, Native American tribal elders, and Muslim woman leaders have the chance to share their dreams, sorrows and concerns, it becomes obvious that a new understanding is possible among the leaders of the world. I had the pleasure of having lunch with Cardinal Arinze, president of the Vatican Council on Interreligious Dialogue, as well as with Louis Perlman, a leader of the International Council of Christians and Jews. Both of them inspired me with their struggle to bring peace among the various religions. Both of them expressed much interest in the work of the World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation.

As an Episcopalian, I was pleased to meet many other priests from around the world, including Anglican representatives from Australia and the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, the Most Rev. Njongonkulu Ndungane. Patriarchs of the Orthodox churches in Russia, Greese, Serbia, Kosovo, Armenia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and other nations also participated. They were all struggling to find solutions to terrible conflicts.

I was also very impressed with the large number of high-level rabbis and imams from Europe and the Middle East. In the midst of the wars in the world, everyone seemed very intent on working toward some just and workable solution.

I came away from the World Peace Summit with a deepened understanding of what can be done and what must be done to move the world toward peace. So many speakers professed that peace is a universal message of all faiths. The question remains: "Will the leaders of the world's religions have the faith and courage to actively resist the political and economic pressures to support persecution and war against peopleof other religions?" That answer remains to be seen. Let us pray the answer is, "Yes."

 

WORLD SABBATH NEWS

The World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation is designed to be the first fully interfaith holy day for making peace among the religions of the world. In Eastern Michigan, the Second World Sabbath celebration is scheduled for Saturday evening, January 27, 2001, at Christ Church Cranbrook, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. We have invited religious leaders and institutions around the world to celebrate the World Sabbath in their own communities, and to share their celebrations with us and one another by being part of an internet global conferencing connection. If you wish to participate with us, please contact me by email or write to me: The Rev. Rodney Reinhart, World Sabbath, 50750 Van Buren, Plymouth, MI 48170 USA / tel. 734-459-7319 or 248-474-2860 / email: revrod@mediaone.net I will send you a copy of our WSRR liturgy or you may get the liturgy from our web presence: www.worldsabbath.com

For information about the Summit, visit: www.millenniumpeacesummit.org as well as reports on the www.nain.org web site.

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Competition or Cooperation Among Interfaith Organizations

Joel Beversluis
Editor of this NAIN newsletter.

Why would an existing interfaith organization join the United Religions Initiative? Especially during the past 8 months, as the organizational structure of the United Religions Initiative (URI) has become clear and ready "for prime time," many of the 60 or so members of the North American Interfaith Network have considered whether to link up with URI. Its recent Charter signing and invitations to membership has led to various questions, concerns, and proposals.

Questions include: Why join a new international interfaith organization? Will it drain away our resources? What is this new structure of "self-organization"? Others are concerned that URI might try to control membership, program, or decision-making.

In answer to the questions, URI invites existing and new organizations to choose its carefully designed forms of alignment with other organizations, beyond the local scale, as either Cooperation Circles or Affiliates. In joining this world-wide vision and partnership, with potential for collective action, URI asks only that Affiliates and Cooperation Circles agree with the Preamble, Purpose and Principles of the organization.

URI’s Purpose is "To promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, end religiously motivated violence, and create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings." Principles 11 and 13 are especially pertinent to the question of whether pre-existing interfaith groups will be able to maintain their autonomy. Number 11 says: "We seek and offer cooperation with other interfaith efforts." Number 13 declares that all member organizations "…have the authority to make decisions at the most local level that includes all the relevant and affected parties."

Reasons given by various people for joining URI include:

1. Ability to network with others through various communications vehicles and meetings, regionally and globally.
2. Appreciative rather than competitive relationships with other organizations, whether or not they are part of URI.
3. A sense of being part of an inclusive family with a common vision.
4. Common program objectives and support, such as "72 Hours: An Interfaith Peace Building Project," wherever Affiliates or Cooperation Circles choose to participate.

The 72 Hours project was a wonderfully successful effort that touched hundreds of thousands of participants in hundreds of programs, world-wide, during the New Year’s weekend (see the video notice in the Interfaith Digest).

Cross Memberships

At the NAINConnect Membership Meeting, an interesting proposal came from the Rev. Paul Chaffee, who serves as Secretary of the URI Interim Global Council. He proposed that the NAIN Board seriously consider joining URI as a Cooperation Circle. In discussion, participants noted that URI is already a member of NAIN, and wondered whether a networking organization like NAIN can or should become an Affiliate or Cooperation Circle of one of its constituent organizations. Paul’s counter argument, which could apply to any pre-existing organization, is that we should see relationships with URI as one of mutuality—organizations supporting each other—rather than as centralized hierarchies seeking power. Paul also pointed out URI’s global connections as a benefit to North American organizations, and its desire for relationships with existing organizations everywhere.

Paul Chaffee is also Director of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio (ICP), which has been a NAIN member organization for several years. In March 2000, the Board of the ICP voted to join URI as a Cooperation Circle. Since then, other Bay Area interfaith efforts have joined URI, without giving up their independence or identity. Paul reports that "The signed Charter gives those of us in Cooperation Circles a shared identity and purpose which enlarges our local, individual identities and, simultaneously, strengthens the larger URI community's identity. . . . URI is simple and quick. It doesn't take away anything from your own idiosyncratic organizational structure or decision making; and it doesn't ask for money to be a member. If this were not enough, it comes with all sorts of connections."

Another example of cross-membership is the formation of a URI Cooperation Circle, "Friends of the Parliament," by Northern Californians who’d been to Cape Town for the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Likewise, several Parliament staff and Board members, including Rohinton Rivetna and its Chair, Rev. Bob Thompson, attended URI’s Charter Signing Celebration and Summit. They feel quite comfortable seeking areas of collaboration and mutual support.

Individuals and some organizational leaders, especially from Temple of Understanding, Thanksgiving Square, World Congress of Faiths, and others, have also supported URI’s principles. As a new interfaith organization, the URI is exploring organizational relationships that can help bring autonomous religious institutions and interfaith groups together.

(For information about URI’s Affiliates and Cooperation Circles, the 72 Hours Project, or the Charter, contact URI at PO Box 29242, San Francisco, CA 94129-0242 / e-mail: office@uri.org / www.uri.org / tel. 1-415-561-2300)

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The Interfaith Digest

News, Organizations, Program Ideas, and Resources

Compiled by Joel Beversluis

Forthcoming Events

Interfaith Call for Universal Religious Freedom & Freedom of Worship in Tibet

In 1999 the Interfaith Call was observed in over a thousand houses of worship of different faith traditions. Organizers are hoping for a lot more this year, and plan to list observances on their web site, to show both the world and the Chinese government that support for basic freedoms for the Tibetan people is strong and growing.
This year, most participating houses of worship will celebrate the Interfaith Call at the end of October. A fixed date isn't as important as having as many participants as possible join together to support freedoms of religious liberty and human rights in Tibet and around the world, as well as giving religious leaders and practitioners an opportunity to stand up against genocide.

To help with the Interfaith Call, please ask local interfaith councils as well as individual ministers, rabbis, shamans, etc. to join by holding a prayer service as part of the Call in their own houses of worship. If you would like to help, please click on the Interfaith Call website ( http://www.interfaithcall.com ) and also to see some of the prayer services from different faith traditions which Brahma Das and others are starting to post on the website, so that people can download them. When you get any commitments from interfaith councils or individual ministers, please send the details to Roger Epsen: spiritwalk@earthlink.net

Universal Masters of Meditation

Temple of Understanding and the Tibet Center are co-sponsoring a conference on Nov. 3-5 with Universal Masters of Meditation at the Synod House of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Featured Meditation Masters include: Dom Lawrence Freeman of the Christian Meditation Movement; Sri Swami Satchidananda of Integral Yoga; Pir Vilayat Inayat Kahn of the Sufi Tradition; Sr. Annabel Laity (True Virtue) of the Green Mountain Dharma Center and Rabbi Marcia Prager of Renewal Judaism. Each of these masters is recognized as a practitioner of meditation within her/his own tradition and a facilitator of mutual understanding and respect among various religions/faith traditions.

The conference format will provide an opportunity for each master clearly to present her/his meditation practice and tradition as well as a joint meditation session involving all masters and conference participants. The conference will seek to reach 700 participants from varying faith traditions within a context that allows for broadening of the spiritual basis of contemplative practice while respecting the unique nature of each tradition. As an outgrowth of the conference the Tibet Center will facilitate a weekly interfaith meditation during which the tenets and insights of the various masters, as documented on audio and videotape during the conference, will inform discussion and meditation. The goal of these weekly meetings will be to broaden and enrich the contemplative practice of participants and promote universal spiritual values such as compassion, understanding, and tolerance. For tickets, contact Ticketmaster at 212 307-7171 /or visit www.ticketmaster.com For information, contact Temple of Understanding at 212 246-2746 / email: templeunderstanding@prodigy.net

Interfaith Dialogue Association Celebrates 10^th Annual Conference with Stories

Bringing students, faculty, and members of the world’s religions together on college campuses, the 10^th annual conference is titled "Sacred Narratives: A Celebration of Stories from the Faith Traditions." The conference features storyteller John Shea along with others from religious communities in West Michigan. Its program includes a Grand Assembly for World Peace.

In a unique partnership with four colleges, the conference site has rotated from Calvin College to Aquinas College, to Grand Valley State University, and, hosting this year’s conference, the newest partner, Grand Rapids Community College. A unique feature of this conference is that students register for Free, subsidized by their colleges’ sponsorship of the event. This year’s event is Saturday, November 4, 12:00 – 7:pm. For registration information call Deb Aliya at (616) 452-1929 or visit the conference web site: www.interfaithdialogue.org

Influential Catholic Woman and Black Muslim Leader to address 10,000 followers

"Such a powerful unity has by now been established that I think the whole world should see it!" (Imam Warith D. Mohammed)

What began as an interfaith encounter for 3,000 at Harlem’s Malcolm Shabazz Mosque in 1997 with Chiara Lubich, founder of the worldwide Focolare Movement, and Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, leader of the the Muslim American Society, has developed into a dynamic relationship between Christians and African American Muslims. Now, at the invitation of Imam Mohammed, Chiara Lubich will return for "Faith Communities Together," a milestone event that is expected to draw 10,000 faithful of different faith traditions, many of them young people. The program will be held at the Washington Convention Center, Sunday, Nov. 12, 10 a.m.

Imam W. D. Mohammed, 66, son of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Mohammad, is the internationally recognized leader of the 2 million strong Muslim American Society. Chiara Lubich, 80, has been described as the "most influential Catholic woman" alive today. She stands at the forefront in dialogue efforts that have broken down barriers of all kinds, and her collaboration on a vast array of issues has been frequently sought by popes, ecumenical leaders, politicians and other notables.

Both leaders will address this joint gathering, following remarks by Cardinal William Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore. Interviews with prominent Christian, Jewish and Buddhist leaders will take place as part of the program. For general information on Chiara Lubich, the Focolare Movement, or on the Washington events in November, visit; www.rc.net/focolare

"Healing Mind, Body and Spirit" Festival in Louisville

The Cathedral Heritage Foundation’s fifth annual Festival of Faiths will take place in Louisville, Kentucky, from November 15-19, 2000. The focus will be on exploring the connection between health and holiness, and will bring together different faith communities in an open and hospitable environment. This "unique faith oasis provides a venue for greater understanding and tolerance between diverse faith groups." The Festival has attracted well over 30,000 in attendance in its short history, and has had the privilege of participation by many distinguished religious leaders.

The Cathedral’s center for urban outreach, cultural union and social stewardship has created a unique series of partnerships, providing ministries to the business, professional, artistic, religious, medical and homeless sectors. For more information, contact the Foundation at 429 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40202 / tel. 502-383-3100 / www.cathedral-heritage.org

Religion and Spirituality in a High Tech World

The Religious Diversity Faire 2000 will be focusing on questions of religious experience and diversity at its annual Faire, November 19, 2000, at the UC Irvine Student Center. For information, visit www.religiousdiversityfaire.org or call 949-661-3087 / email: RelDFaire@aol.com

IARF-US and WCF Conference in Florida

"RELIGIONS IN DIALOGUE: From Conflict to Trust." An Interfaith Conference of the World Congress of Faiths and the International Association for Religious Freedom—US Chapter will be held in St. Petersburg, Florida, 11-15 January 2001 (M.L.King, Jr. weekend.) Leaders in world interfaith dialogue are now confirmed participants: Professor K.L. Seshagiri Rao & Rev'd Alan Race, co-editors of World Faiths Encounter; Rev'd Marcus Braybrooke, President, World Congress of Faiths; Jim Kenny, Director, Council for a Parliament of the Worlds Religions; and Dr. Doris Hunter and others from IARF-US. The opening address, "Gandhi and M.L. King, Jr." will be given by Dr. Seshasgiri Rao. Indian and and Afro-American Cultural Evenings will add arts to the program. Local arrangements are being organized by Rev. Dee Graham and Rev. Abhi Janamachi. Registration Information and further details available from the Unitarian Universalist Church, 719 Arlington Ave, N. St. Peterburg, FL 33701 or from www.worldfaiths.org

Visit India with World Congress of Faiths

The Rev. Marcus and Mary Braybrooke will lead a journey to India from January 22 – Feb. 10, 2001. The itinerary includes Jain holy sites, Gandhian historical sites, Hindu holy cities, an ancient Buddhist cave monastery, the Taj Mahal and other sites of natural beauty and religious significance. For information contact Soul of India Tours, Freepost MID 17830, Wolverhampton, WV3 7BR, UK Email: info@soulofindia.com / www.soulofindia.com / tel. 01902 561485.

Tour to Israel and Jordan with International Interfaith Centre

The Rev. Marcus Braybrooke will also lead a tour to some of the most important holy sites of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baha’i Faith. There will also be a chance to meet Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians of different faiths who are engaged in creative peace-building work and social service. For more information, write to IIC, 2 Market St. Oxford OX1 3EF, UK / tel. 01865 202 745

Start planning now for Interfaith Earth Day 2001

"Join the global movement of faith-based environmental activists working to use their faith, beliefs and values as the basis for building an ecologically sustainable future for all creatures, for the communities they live in and the planet they share." Dr. Gary Herbertson, who attended NAINConnect2000, and the Caring For Creation network encourage us to begin planning now for Earth Day 2001, which will be held on April 22. Last year, 4500 organizations took part throughout the world.

Religious and interfaith organizations can bring special commitment and meaning to this event in services and special projects. For more information, explore the Earth Day Network, the international organization coordinating Earth Day events worldwide. For more information on Earth Day Network and the 4500 organizations in 183 countries participating in the worldwide Earth Day 2000 campaign, please visit www.earthday.net . Explore how the world’s spiritual traditions care for the environment and use the 5-step process of Caring for Creation. Contact Dr. Donald Conroy and the International Consortium on Religion and Ecology at www.CaringforCreation.net

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News from around the World

Asia churches hope to improve relations with other faiths
Indonesia (ENI). An international church gathering has opened in Indonesia with a call for Asia's Christians to "develop a more elaborate theology of how to live together with peoples of other faiths". The call was made before a congregation of 10,000 people at the opening worship on 31 May of the 11th general assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia. The meeting is taking place in Tomohon, in the Minahasa region of North Sulawesi, the fourth biggest island in the Indonesian archipelago. (From Ecumenical News International Highlights--ENI).

Evangelicals Abstain from Zimbabwe's Interfaith Body
Harare (ENI). Evangelical Christians in Zimbabwe have declared that they are not willing to engage in interfaith dialogue with Muslims, Hindus and followers of traditional African religions. Their refusal presents a major obstacle to the Zimbabwe National Forum for Inter-Faith Dialogue (ZNFIFD) even before it begins its work. ZNFIFD will be officially launched in June to promote the peaceful coexistence of all religions in the country.

Edinburgh International Centre for World Spiritualities (EICWS)
A new Scottish interfaith organization has been created in Edinburgh with a substantial list of Patrons and a major project: Convincing the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions (CPWR) to hold its next event—in five years—in Scotland. CPWR is still reviewing the many applications it received in and following Cape Town, and deciding its next steps. For more information about the Edinburgh Centre, contact Neill Walker, 4 William Black Place, South Queensferry, Edinburgh EH30 9PZ Scotland. Phone: (0131) 331 4469 / E-mail: neillw@hotmail.com or visit its substantial web site: http://www.eicws.org.uk

Nigerian State Sets Up Council of Faiths
Kaltunga (ENI). The northern Nigerian state of Gombe has set up an inter-religious council following clashes last week between Christians and Muslims that left at least ten people dead and caused millions of dollars of damage to property. The state governor, Abubakar Habu Hashidu, set up the committee on 8 September after consulting Muslim and Christian leaders in the state. He said that the council would be formally inaugurated on 16 September. The clashes between Christians and Muslims, which broke out on 7 September in the town of Kaltunga, and spread to the towns of Billiri and Bambam within two days, follow the decision in July by Gombe's state government to introduce Sharia, the Islamic legal code.

Kosovo takes a lesson from Bosnia in Inter-faith Relations
Warsaw (ENI). Leaders of Kosovo's Muslim, Orthodox and Roman Catholic communities have set up a joint council to promote democracy and human rights, modeled on an inter-religious body in Bosnia-Herzegovina. "With one united voice, we again strongly condemn all acts of violence and all violations of basic human rights," three religious leaders said in a declaration from Kosovo's capital, Pristina. The declaration was signed by Kosovo's Muslim Mufti, Rexhep Boja, by the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Rasko-Prizren, Artemije Radosavljevic, and by the head of Kosovo's Roman Catholic community, Bishop Marko Sopi.

The Israel Interfaith Center reported two excellent conferences in recent months:

Rabbi Fruman and Sheikh Abu Salih Talk About Freedom
More than 100 people participated in an extraordinary evening at Yakar Center on 14 May 2000. They had first met in the "Holy Land" seminar held by IIA in July 1999 in Ashkelon. Rabbi Fruman, of Teqoa settlement near Bethlehem and one of the founders of Gush Emunim, and the Sufi Sheikh Abu Salih of Deir Qaddis near Ramalla, found immediately common language as people whose main interest is the spiritual realm.

Their first talk, in Ashkelon, had started spontaneously and continued deep into the night with many of the seminar's participants as audience. At that night was born the idea for this special study evening. The evening started with Rabbi Fruman presenting as a spiritual gift to Sheikh Abu Salih the book of Rabbi David Hanagid who was 6th generation to Mimonides and 5th generation leader of the Jewish mystical movement in Egypt, deeply inspired by and connected to the Muslim Sufi movement.
During the evening the two of them studied together the book and talked about the challenges of spiritual freedom of the human from his/her own habits and ways of thought and about the dangers of obtaining such freedom in a non-responsible way. They stressed that the source of all hatred and fear, as well as other bad feelings, is the exaggerated attachment to one's ego.

When a song was quoted in the book, Sheikh Abu Salih invited his two sons Yakub and Ayub and they all sang one of the Zikr's songs. It was quite amazing and moving to witness the intellectual, mystical and emotional exchange between the Rabbi and the Sheikh. Many of the participants talked about the hope this encounter nourished in them.

For information, contact: The Israel Interfaith Association, P.O.Box 7739, Jerusalem 91077. To get their email reports, send a blank message to: iia-reports-subscribe@eGroups.com

Unique Indonesian-Israeli interfaith Conference on Abrahamic Religions

Yehuda Stolov reports that the Israel Interfaith Association co-sponsored a conference initiated by The Institute for Inter-Faith Dialogue in Indonesia (Interfidei). The conference, held between 6-10 August 2000 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, brought together some forty participants on the theme "The Contemporary Challenges to the Abrahamic Religions." The program included lectures and panels on religious identity and plurality. Participants also met with the keynote speaker of the conference, Mr. Djohan Effendi, Secretary of State and exchanged ideas for the development of relations between Indonesia and Israel at the level of interfaith dialogue. Both organizations are grassroots-level interfaith groups who work in the context of conflict. Although the nature of the conflicts and the agendas of the organizations are very different, both organizations felt that the encounter was extremely deep and educational. Another special aspect of the conference was the meeting with the unique Islam of Indonesia (the biggest Muslim country), which is remarkably open and respectful to other traditions. Contact: The Israel Interfaith Association, PO Box 7739, Jerusalem 91077 ISRAEL Tel/fax: +972-2-620325 / msyuda@mscc.huji.ac.il

The International Year and Decade for the Culture of Peace and Non-violence
In proclaiming the year 2000 as the International Year for the Culture of Peace, the United Nations' primary objective was to mobilize public opinion at the national and international levels for the purpose of establishing and promoting a culture of peace and the central role that the United Nations system could play in this regard. The year 2000, with all the symbolism related to a new millennium, offers an excellent opportunity to launch a World Movement for the Culture of Peace, based on individual commitment on a daily basis, with the involvement of institutions and organizations, from the international to the local.

The World Movement for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence aspires to be a "grand alliance of existing movements", a process uniting all those who have been and will be working towards a fundamental transformation of our societies, towards a just, sustainable and peaceful Earth community. More than 200 international organizations have joined to help UNESCO lead this Global Movement or are messengers of Manifesto 2000. You find this information at: http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/uk/uk_cad_int.htm

Manifesto 2000

The Manifesto 2000 for the Culture of Peace and Non-violence was drafted by a group of laureates of the Nobel Prize for peace, which met in Paris for the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Everyone can act in the spirit of the culture of peace in the context of one's own family, workplace, neighbourhood, town, or region, by becoming a messenger of tolerance, solidarity and dialogue. By signing the manifesto, everyone pledges to:
1. respect all life
2. reject violence
3. share with others
4. listen to understand
5. preserve the planet
6. rediscover solidarity

Religious freedom is violated globally

WASHINGTON (AP) - Religious repression in China increased over the past year, says a new State Department report, which also found that violations of religious freedom are a global phenomenon, particularly in communist and Muslim countries. The report, released Tuesday, said government respect for religious freedom in China deteriorated in the past year as persecution of several groups of believers increased. While finding that government supervision of religious activity was minimal in some regions, the study said Chinese officials in other regions "imposed tight regulations, closed houses of worship and actively persecuted members of some unregistered religious groups." In 1998, Congress asked the State Department to submit annual reports on the state of international religious freedom. This is the second such report and covers the period July 1, 1999, to June 30, 2000. For more information, see: http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569490769-3fc

Repressive Legislation Bans Targeted Religious Minorities in France

An "anti-sect" law is nearing passage by the Senate in France and has already passed the National Assembly, in June 2000. Repressive measures, including judicially enforced dissolution, are designed to infringe on the rights and activities of targeted groups that are deemed to create a "dependency" in their members, violate human rights, or to have repeated committed certain offences. Only vague generalities define which groups and activities are meant to be targeted, and fairly arbitrary powers are granted to city mayors and the Chief of Police. Although the language appears to apply to any religious group, new and minority religions are convinced from the legislation’s accompanying Explanatory Memorandum that some 172 minority religions, classified as "sects" with "dangerous ideologies," will be selectively targeted. Fundamental principles of international human rights require that all religions, old or new, mainstream or minority, deserve equal protection under the law.

Proposal for a Universal Thanksgiving Day

The Center for World Thanksgiving invites leaders and interfaith organizations to consider supporting a Universal Thanksgiving Day for the world, to be declared by the United Nations. Already approved is the "2000 Year of Thanksgiving" and the UN’s Secretary-General has said "The International Year of Thanksgiving will be an inspiration for peace, healing and understanding." The Thanksgiving World Assembly in 1999 made this proposal a primary recommendation, as it found "the giving of thanks" to be a universal religious practice. In 1981, the pioneering giant of world religious friendship, Franz Cardinal Konig, predicted, "A universal Thanksgiving Day can bring together people of different languages and races. It can change their attitudes and make them better people. If we thank God together, regardless of religious barriers, we will be prepared to listen to what God imparts—thoughts of peace and not discord."

To respond favorably or un-, or for more information, contact Center for World Thanksgiving, PO Box 131770, Dallas, TX 75313-1770, or call 214 969-1977. Visit www.thanksgiving.org or email: info@thanksgiving.org

Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP)

In 1999 the Unification Church and Reverend Moon introduced a new organization that builds on the work of its many other interfaith conferences and youth activities throughout the world. The IIFWP, inaugurated in Seoul in February 1999, seeks to pursue "the advancement of increasing cooperation among political and secular leaders, and spiritual and religious leaders." Its first major international event, in Washington DC in July, gathered leaders from government, religion, and academia from 51 nations to examine paths upon which to bring about this harmonized form of leadership and cooperation. IIFWP has a "special interest in steps toward establishing spiritual and religious input into provisions for international relations put forward by the United Nations to pursue peace." Contact: IRFWP, 4 West 43^rd St., New York, NY 10036 / tel.212 869-6023 / email: irfwp@pipeline.com

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Recent North American Interfaith Events

White House Faith Leaders MeetingThe White House extended invitations for a meeting to approximately 150 faith leaders representing the full array of spirituality in the United States, including Native American and oral traditions. Named "Call to Action: The President's One America Meeting with Religious Leaders," they met on March 9; key representatives from the Clinton Administration were present, as well as the press corps.

This was the National Conference’s (formerly NCCJ) first opportunity to organize a White House initiative. NCCJ is committed to a long term initiative with faith leaders to address racial justice and reconciliation. The focus of the meeting was to share key commitments of religious organizations and denominations to address racial justice in the next decade. The speakers planned were President Clinton; Maria Echaveste, Deputy Chief of the White House staff; Ben Johnson, Director of the One America Initiative; and Sandy Cloud of NCCJ. Sandy presented the overview of the faith leaders initiative and national commitments.

100 Years of International Association for Religious Freedom

This year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of this prestigious organization, which works internationally with local communities as well as with the United Nations. Over 80 faith groups belong to the IARF, which was founded by liberal religious groups. The founders were inspired by the universal spirit of the first World Parliament of Religions, which took place in Chicago in 1893.

The Co-chairs of IARF-US Chapter, Natalie Gulbrandsen and Doris Hunter of Boston, wrote in their newletter that IARF-US celebrated the anniversary on May 25 at Harvard University Divinity School and on June 24 in Nashville at the General Assembly of the Unitarian-Universalist Association. IARF also announced the new Secretary-General of IARF International, Andrew Clark of the U.K., who replaced Dr. Robert Traer this past Spring.

Interfaith Ambassador Certification Course

The need for Interfaith Ambassadors has increased with growing pluralism throughout the world and at home. Rev. John-Brian Paprock is offering a certification course in the Madison, Wisconsin, area through Inroads Interfaith Ministry. This is a unique opportunity to learn about different faiths and local faith communities. Participants will also gain a deeper respect for their own faith tradition as they learn to be respectful and honoring of other faith traditions. Those who can’t participate in Wisconsin may be interested in the program as a model for one they could set up. For information, visit www.angelfirre.com/wi/inroads/ambassador.html / inroads@angelfire.com / or call (608) 236-9622

Scarboro Missions—A New NAIN Member

Although it is a Catholic Christian mission agency based in Scarboro, Ontario, this organization is exploring new relationships with members of other faiths through substantial interfaith meetings. As Father Terry Gallagher reported, people of every land are now coming to Toronto, so his organization is trying to help Canadian missionaries of all cultures and religious traditions to meet each other reverentially, speak with each other, and learn from others. He affirmed that the spirit of God is not limited to just the Christian churches, but dwells in many people, in all cultures.

On March 11, Scarboro Mission and the Jain Society of Toronto held a conference with representatives of seven faith organizations to discuss the concept of nonviolence. The eleventh such interfaith meeting sponsored by Scarboro in five years, the organization also recently published a second issue of their magazine on the interfaith work of the Catholic Church; articles featured the outreach of Pope John Paul II, their own interfaith programs, and articles on Zen and Sikh spirituality. To learn more about their programs or to get a copy of the magazine, call Scarboro Missions toll-free in Canada: 1-800-260-4815 or 416-261-7135.

Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Edmonton

"What I want others to know and teach about my Faith" was the subject of a Dialogues Series that began in Jerusalem, and will also be presented at the Vatican and in Germany. The keynote speakers and two respondents of each faith offered a glimpse of the important aspects of their faiths that should be presented to students coming from other traditions. Misconceptions were revealed and, by referring to the history of the faiths, the large audiences were able to see how misunderstanding and ignorance lead to strife. Sponsoring the March 1999 Edmonton event with the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action was the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding (CCJU) of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. The Dialogue presentations were recorded and are available for $60 for eight cassettes. Contact: tel. 780 413-6159 / Edmonton Interfaith Centre, PO Box 52143, Garneau Post Office, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2TS CANADA

Interfaith Media Council Joins NAIN

With twenty-five member organizations providing programing for its Sunday programming, the Horizon Interfaith Communication Media Council celebrated its 22^nd anniversary at a "Potluck Banquet" Annual Meeting this past spring. The Council and its President, Earl Smith, were welcomed as a new member of NAIN at the annual meeting this past July.

The Council arranges the recording and cable broadcasting of shows by its members, who created 31 shows this past year, as well as special programs produced by Horizon. One special, "Interfaith Conversation in the Classroom" featured a look at the teaching of religion in the schools, how it is actually done by experienced teachers, why it should be part of the curriculum, and some reactions of students and teachers. The second special featured the music of various faith groups. Horizon is also exploring use of other electronic media, including the Internet as a means of providing enhanced information about the cable TV programs. Amazingly, the Horizon Media Council does this work on a budget of under $6000 per year by relying on volunteers from member organizations and using community cable access facilities. Contact: Rev Earl Smith, 50 Cornwall St. # 303, Toronto, Ont. M5A 4KS CANADA / tel. 416 362-7745

Interfaith Youth Programs in North America

The Orange County, California, Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) produced an Interfaith Youth Conference on Sunday, April 2, from noon-6 p.m. at Chapman University in Orange. The draft of the program sessions is below FYI. Youth chose these topics for the conference: 1. "After Death: What Happens In Your Religion?" 2. "Are All Jews Alike? What About Christians?" 3. "Knock, Knock. Who' There? God." Finding God in yourself. 4. "Mommy, Where Do Catholics and Mormons Come From?" 5. The Holocaust, Anti-Semitism, and Religious Prejudice Today. 6. "Barefoot and Pregnant: Gender Roles in Religion." 7. "You're a What? Is It Contagious?" 8. "Hollywood and Religion: Could God Win An Oscar?" 9. "Just Do It." Experiential panel: Four forms of religious experience. 10. "Eat It. Wear It. Light It." Religious symbols, vestments and food. For further info. please contact Bill Shane at Bill_Shane/Orange/NCCJ@nccj.org <Bill_Shane/Orange/NCCJ@nccj.org.

Faith Stories for the Next Generation: a College Student looks at Religious Communicators Congress 2000

by Meghan Johnston, California Lutheran University

"A verse from the Bible; a passage from the Bhagavad-Gita; a reading from the Koran: these expressions of faith are common within the religious traditions that claim them, but they are rarely found together. Yet, on March 29, 2000, in the ballroom of the Marriott Hotel in downtown Chicago, more than 1,150 participants in the Religious Communicators Congress listened as these and other prayers were offered aloud. Led by featured musician Ken Medema, I lifted my voice to join this diverse group, singing as one: "Holy ground, holy ground--we are gathered here, my friends, on holy ground."

Holy ground it was, as this powerful opening banquet began RCC 2000. The theme of this year's convention was "Faith Stories in a Changing World," and its aim was to encourage and promote the communication of religious faith on a regional, national, and global scale. The conference brought together people from a wide variety of perspectives, both in faith identity and communication style. Video, writing, music, drama, dance, visual art, and the Internet were among the media represented. While the large gatherings provided community and inspiration, smaller workshops addressed specific methods of religious communication.

Some had come to take new ideas and advanced technology home to congregations and organizations; some had come to share their faith stories as workshop and gathering leaders. And I--a Lutheran, and a third-year student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks--had come to observe, to participate, and to learn, thanks to the generosity of the national RCC organization and the Los Angeles chapter.

My experience at the convention--as personal experience often is--was unique. At first, I didn't understand the sense of newness, energy, and excitement I felt in the gathering and its participants. I am a Religion major--and so I listen and discuss faith issues frequently. In fact, because my university is church-affiliated, I have taken the presence and importance of faith discussion in everyday life for granted. The gift that

RCC 2000 gave me over the course of the weekend was, in part, a realization of the value of faith expression in my life. But RCC 2000 did not merely leave me with a greater knowledge of what I already possessed. I learned from large and small-scale experiences at the convention. . . ."

(This excerpt is from a longer press release found at the RCC web site: http://www.RCC2000.org For information about RCC programs, contact RCC Office, 475 Riverside Dr, Ste 1948; New York, NY 110115)

Interfaith Youth Forum at the Millennium World Peace Summit

Approximately 100 young people from several organizations and many religious traditions participated in an exciting prelude to the Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders in late August at St Bartholomew’s Church, next door to the Summit hotel in Manhattan. NAIN member organizations, including the Interfaith Center of New York, the South Hills Interfaith Ministries, and the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington joined numerous other sponsors in presenting a diverse program on peace-making and reconciliation, religion and ecology, self-concepts, core values, and personal commitments to action. The young participants also attended the opening ceremonies of the Summit for Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the United Nations.

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VIDEOS for powerful discussions and presentations

"Improbable Pairs"

One of the projects that came out of the United Religions Initiative’s 72 Hours of Peace is a video that presents two men, one Jewish and the other Palestinian, and two South Africans, one white and one black. The men were actively fighting on opposite sides of the protracted conflicts in their countries. They lost family or endured personal suffering and loss at the hands of the other; against probabilities, both pairs are now reconciled in deep friendships and in new models of relationship and reconciliation.

Paul Chaffee says, "In five minutes it drives to the heart of why most people involved in URI are so passionately committed. The `warm and fuzzy’ of interfaith activity hides the depth and seriousness of what we are about, and this tape brings you up to speed in an instant. I've never been connected to a ‘product’ which so immediately causes so many to say, ‘That's changed my life’ and then explain why."

The video is available in VHS, PAL, and BETA (for TV transmission) for a nominal sum.
Contact Paul at: (510)-444-6874 (W) or (510)-845-3471(H) email: paulandrews12@innetix.com

"The Spiritual Journey: Interfaith Perspectives"

This video explores how the spiritual quest is fundamental to being human. It documents a project of Temple of Understanding in which educators, artists, psychologists and clergy experience the spiritual and meditative practices of seven great religions—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, and Native American. The insight for all is a common truth, that the practice of each tradition fosters physical and mental health and wholeness. The program discovers that at the deepest level there is spiritual common ground, which it identifies as the philosophy of universal love. To order a VHS copy, send US$30 as a check or money order with your shipping information to Temple of Understanding, 720 Fifth Ave, 16^th Floor, New York, NY 10019 USA. 

MAGAZINES, A CALENDAR, AND A POSTER

"Spirituality and Health, The Body/Soul Connection," offered in its Summer 2000 issue, very good articles by Diana Eck, Kathleen Norris, Martin Marty, Frederick and Mary Ann Brussat and many others on pluralism, religions at war, speaking across boundaries, spirituality, tolerance, worship styles and much more. To get a copy, send $US4.95 or CN$6.75 to Spirituality and Health, PO Box 54151 Boulder, CO 80322 USA, or call: 1-800-876-8202

"Interfaith Inspiration for the Inner Journey" is published by Interfaith Fellowship, a spiritual community of worship, celebration, service and healing. Publishers are Rev. Jon Mundy and Rev. Diane Berke, who also serves as Director of The New Seminary for interfaith ministry in New York. Their work and magazine is informed, in part, by the books titled A Course in Miracles. The magazine articles provide inspiration, as the title suggests, and wisdom teachings drawn from many traditions, but especially the mystical and spiritual paths, old and new. Contact: Interfaith Fellowship, 25 South Street, Washingtonville, NY 10992.

Multifaith Calendar 2001: Water, The Spiritual Fountain

Created by the Multifaith Calendar Committee, Multifaith Action Society in British Columbia, the theme of this year’s gorgeous calendar is the inspirational wonder, wisdom and beauty of water. "Approaching the threshold of water inspires awe for worshippers as well as stimulates a sense of exaltation as the prelude to an encounter with divinity." (Val Clery) As always, the calendar includes fine photographs and art, introductions to thirteen religions, accurate listings and descriptions of their festivals, notes on calendars, lunar cycles and time, and more. Order from Multifaith Resources (1-760 376-4691) and CoNexus Press (toll-free 1-877-784-7779) in the USA, and in Canada from AMSSA in Vancouver (606-469-1164), Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan, Unity Arts in Ontario, and Edmonton Interfaith Centre. (Additional contact information is on the NAIN web site: www.nain.org )

"Do Unto Others . . ." --The Golden Rule (poster)

Created by Paul McKenna and the good people at Scarboro Missions, this colorful poster offers expressions from 13 different religious traditions of the principle of relating and doing to others as you would want done to you. The different versions are presented along with the religious or spiritual community’s name and symbol. The poster makes an excellent teaching tool for homes, classes, and religious and public institutions. Copies are available from Scarboro Missions (toll-free in Canada: 1-800-260-4815) for CN$10 and from CoNexus Press in the USA for US$10 (includes shipping). Quantity discounts are available for resale by organizations or for gifts.

 

BOOKS and BOOKLETS

Dan Poynter, a commentator on the publishing scene, observes:

"In the final decade of the 20^th century there was a sharp increase in the market for religious books. . . . Although traditional religious titles are still being published and have a vast audience, books that reflect a contemporary search for God or a personal spirituality are taking up more shelf space in American bookstores. . . . People feel freer than ever before to investigate many religious expressions and to adopt ideas and practices from a range of faiths. It is often easier to take religious questions to the bookstore than to seek out the local priest, rabbi or minister. The bookstore is the place many carry out their quest. Here, people can discover the potentially life-changing power of a book."

Awakening: In Pursuit of the Divine Paradox, by Gregory R. Huth, with Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who wrote, "In this book, Gregory Huth explores the potential of different faiths to join together to usher in a spiritual great awakening." The author’s premise is that paradoxes, whether they be in zen koans, theology, or the experiences of life, "can help us of various faiths to transcend the world of black and white and help us discover the colors of the rainbow that God has given us all to shine forth. . . . Paradox may even serve as a portal through which Western religions enter into the Third Age of religion [which] . . . views all life-nurturing, compassionate religious beliefs—including its own—as complementary ways for imperfect mortals to relate to the Divine." Hardcover, US$19.95. Copies are available from Alyssum, PO Box 6714, Whitneyville, CT 06517-6714 / Tel. 203 624-6126 / email: ecumenicapress@hotmail.com

Creating Multi-faith Spaces on College and University Campuses
Produced by the EDUCATION as Transformation Project at Wellesley College This handbook, in loose-leaf format, presents case studies from public, independent, and religiously-affiliated schools that have created new or renovated existing facilities to accommodate the religious/spiritual needs of a diverse student body. Cases studies include: Babson College, The Glavin Family Chapel; College of St. Rose, The Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary; Johns Hopkins University, The Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith and Community Service Center; M.I.T., The Religious Activities Center; Penn State University, The Helen Eakin Eisenhower Chapel and Spiritual Center; United World College, The Dwan Light Sanctuary; University of San Diego, The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice; and Westfield State College, The Albert and Amelia Ferst Interfaith Center. The handbook includes photographs, program materials, and floor plans, where available.

'Creating Multi-faith Spaces on College and University Campuses' is available now by sending a $25.00 check, payable to the Education as Transformation Project, to: EDUCATION as Transformation Project, Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, Billings 201, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481. Email: ddana@wellesley.edu / www.wellesley.edu/RelLife/transformation , phone: 781-283-2659 fax: 781-283-3676

"....When the `spirit’ touches the heart and a student tries to express it, all the diagonal elements are there. We ought to affirm the catalytic power of a spiritual moment for creative thought and let that moment be part of the discussion about how we understand everything from equations and chemistry to art and philosophy." –Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, excerpt from: Education as Transformation

Education as Transformation: Religious Pluralism, Spirituality, and a New Vision for Higher Education in America

Edited by Victor H. Kazanjian, Jr. and Peter L. Laurence
Reflecting a national movement that seeks to create a more holistic model of learning and teaching on college and university campuses, Education as Transformation is a collection of twenty-eight essays written by a wide range of educators -- including presidents, chancellors, deans, faculty members, administrators, religious life professionals, students, and other leaders in the field of education -- on the themes of religious pluralism and spirituality in higher education. These essays provide scholarly analysis, practical information and inspiration for those who agree that higher education can combine both head and heart in the teaching and learning process and in campus and community life. In seeking to articulate a new vision for higher education in America, the authors explore the possibility that both scholarship and spirituality are essential to fostering global learning communities and responsible global citizens who can address the challenges of a diverse world. Available from Peter Lang Publishing, 275 Seventh Avenue, 28th floor, New York, NY 10001, Phone: (800) 770-5264, Fax: (212) 647-7706 www.peterlang.com

Health Care Provider’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, has announced the publication of a booklet designed to sensitize health care providers to the religious needs of Muslim patients. The 20-page publication, "A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER'S GUIDE TO ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS PRACTICES," contains information about the religious rights of patients, as well as basic details about Muslim views on the role of faith in treating illness, dietary requirements, circumcision, autopsies, and funeral rites. Islamic perspectives on abortion, organ transplants and reproductive technology are also discussed in brief.

The health care guide is the third in a series of publications designed to support the religious rights of American Muslims. Other booklets in this series include "An Employer's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices" and "An Educator's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices." Thousands of these booklets are now being used by corporations and schools nationwide. Demographers say Islam is the fastest growing religion in this country and around the world. There are an estimated 6 million Muslims in America and some 1.2 billion worldwide. Contact: Council on American-Islamic Relations, 453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 / Tel: 202-488-8787 / Fax: 202-659-2254 / E-mail: cair1@ix.netcom.com / URL: http://www.cair-net.org

Mansions of the Spirit: The Gospel in a Multi-Faith World

By Michael Ingham, Bishop in the Anglican Church

What is an appropriate Christian attitude toward other world religions? Conversion? or a search for truth in all religions? In the context of religious diversity, spiritual exploration, and, at the same time, new dangers of intolerance, many Christians wonder on what basis they can participate in the interfaith movement. In Mansions of the Spirit , the author explores various models of the place of Christianity among the world’s religions. As the jacket states, Bishop Ingham offers Christians a way forward based on `grounded openness,’ a deep personal commitment to Christ that can open Christians to the grace of God in other great spiritual traditions. This book provides a helpful introduction to the interfaith movement and to the large body of modern Christian writing on inter-religious dialogue." This book is available from Anglican Book Center, 600 Jarvis St., Toronto, ON Canada M4Y 2J6 / tel. 416-924-9192. In the USA, call Forward Movement Publications, 1-800-543-1813.

Sourcebook of the World’s Religions: An Interfaith Guide to Religion and Spirituality (3^rd edition, July 2000) Edited by Joel Beversluis. This unique collection of articles, prayers, texts, addresses, web sites, essays, documents and more is used in many applications—religious, educational, activist, workshops, libraries, institutional and for personal inspiration. This edition includes quite a bit of new material on interfaith organizations and the movement, the 1999 Parliament of the World’s Religions, the several other international interfaith events and declarations, and a new directory of numerous faith-based organizations engaged in various aspects of work or advocacy for peace. Endorsements and contents are listed on the web site: www.conexuspress.com Copies are available from the Editor at CoNexus Press, 6264 Grand River Dr. NE, Ada, MI 49301 USA / tel. 616 682-9022. US$24.95 plus 3.50 shipping. Email: conexus@iserv.net or call for quantity discounts.

The Diversity of Centering Prayer

Edited by Gustave Reininger, this collection of essays addresses history, practices, small group processes, seminary curriculum applications, worship uses, for instance in African-American Spirituality, and by Kay Lindahl, Vice-Chair of NAIN, "The Art of Dialogue and Centering Prayer." While the book is primarily by and for the Christian traditions, meditation techniques are of universal interest. Contributors include Thomas Keating and M. Basil Pennington, who are particularly responsible for the re-introduction of Centering Prayer as a meditative process throughout the world, and who offer both articles and Appendices that enrich this book. US$11.95, available from Continuum, New York, 800-561-7704, e-mail: contin@tiac.net

The Soul’s Almanac: A Year of Interfaith Stories, Prayers and Wisdom, compiled by Aaron Zerah.

This almanac offers thematically-selected jewels drawn from sacred traditions around the globe, for each day of the year. Useful for devotions, inspiration, or insight, the collection leads to contemplation with humor, challenging ideas, and hints of grace. The cover blurb suggests that "by reading and practicing the wisdom in this book, we can cultivate faith in our own traditions and sow within ourselves proverbs and parables from religions worldwide, to harvest a sense of well-being, serenity and peace." Aaron Zerah is an Interfaith Minister and Co-Director of "Spirit of Interfaith" Seminary in Santa Cruz, California. Ask for copies in stores or from the publisher, JeremyTarcher/Putnam, or on-line from www.penguinputnam.com

Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches

New York (ENI). The latest edition of North America's most respected church handbook has made a radical change in its scope--by listing, for the first time, details of major non-Christian faiths. Throughout its 68-year history, the yearbook has overflowed with statistical data about membership trends, as well as contact information for every Christian denomination in the US. The 408-page 2000 lists Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian groups for the first time. Sophisticated website search engines have also been established in conjunction with the yearbook for the use of serious researchers.

Zen and the Art of Anything, by Hal W. French

Known to many in the interfaith network as a NAIN Board member and one of the hosts for the 1997 NAINConnect in Columbia, South Carolina, Dr. Hal French has, in this book, combined scholarship, a lifetime of experience and insight, and a Zen spirit and aesthetic. Simply put, Zen is mindfulness—extracting the most from a given moment, by being mindful in our everyday activities. Hal French presents this simple and difficult approach very engagingly. The book is a large format paperback, with a lovely and complementary design, 176 pages, and strikingly apt illustrations by Marianne Rankin. Copies are available from the author for $10.00. Send check or money order to: Dr. Hal W. French, Religion Dept., University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208

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Web Sources for Religious and Interfaith News

Here are three very good sources for the religious dimension of news. The Digests they send are free, but for ENI, subscriptions to the full information have costs attached.

Ecumenical News International Highlights: See several articles, below.

To subscribe to ENI Online, visit www.eni.ch . Or write to ENI, PO Box 2100, CH – 1211, Geneva 2, Switzerland / Tel: (41-22) 791 6087/6515 / Fax: (41-22) 788 7244 / email: eni@eni.ch

Newsroom.org provices a variety of religious news, including inter-religious conflict and peacemaking throughout the world. Recent articles have kept us informed about places ranging from Guatemala to Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, and others. Subscribe to this daily news digest, with links to the full story, at http://www.newsroom.org

Interfaith News Network provides access to internet-based publications, news and information. Founder Stephen Apatow’s vision is to provide information and needs assessments, particularly in North America, to support and galvanize an appropriate response by the Christian community and other religious communities. He highlights the words of Jesus in Matthew 25: 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' The theme of this Biblical message is that every individual crying out in need represents Jesus Himself, today.

The importance of this message relates to those in our communities that represent the suffering and afflicted, whether they are the hungry, homeless, physically, mentally or sexually abused, HIV/AIDS patients, drug addicts, alcoholics, anorexic, bulimic or runaways, to name a few. At the request of the Christian community to involve the interfaith community with this mission focus, Humanitarian Resource Institute has offered to provide resource information and support for community assessment, strategic planning and project development in the United States and abroad. For additional Information, please contact: Humanitarian Resource Institute, Eastern USA: (203) 668-0282 Western USA: (775) 884-4680 / email: info@humanitarian.net / or visit http://www.humanitarian.net/inn.html

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