The Newsletter of the North American Interfaith Network, Inc.

www.nain.org

NAINConnect: NAINews Committee NAINConnect Information Note from the NAIN Connect Committee Keynote Speaker Bios Panel Discussions at the NAIN Connect Interfaith Concert Jamestown Tour Service Project – Operation Iraqi Children Workshops of Interest Notes from the President: Milestones A Worthy Interfaith Project NAMF Speech Competition PBS Documentaries as Interfaith Resources My Heretics and Yours Interfaith Briefs Preview of Coming Attractions	NAINConnect: "Embracing Religious Freedom Past, Present and Future" Special Registration Note:  Late Fee -REGISTRATION AFTER JUNE 10 ADD 5% TO CONFERENCE PKG; ADD 10% TO EACH A LA CARTE ITEM	You may still register for the 2007 NAINConnect in Richmond, Virginia July 12 - July 16 at the beautiful Roslyn Conference Center.
		Avoid the late registration fee. Register by June 10. Hosts for this Connect are the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond and InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. The Connect is during America's 400th Anniversary Celebration for the first English settlement in Jamestown.  Thomas Jefferson established Religious freedom as a precedent for all of the New World with the first reading of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom at Richmond. Religious freedom is a concept dear to all of our NAIN connections in Canada, the US and Mexico.

NAINews Committee

° Judy Trautman, Editor

° Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia

° Lynn Castle

° Rev. Paul Chaffee

° Sharon Clayton

° Midge Falconer

° Mr. Michael Goggin, M.A.

° Bettina Gray

° Rev. Robert Hankinson

° Rev. Charles White, D.Min.

° Dr. Jim Wiggins

NAINConnect Information

COMPLETE CONFERENCE PACKAGE		$460.00
	includes 4 nights July 12-15 double occupancy lodging,all meals & conference fees DOES NOT INCLUDE JAMESTOWN
A LA CARTE REGISTRATION
	per diem conference fee / no meals	$35.00
	per night lodging	$57.50
	breakfast	$10.00
	lunch	$14.00
	dinner	$16.00
	Sunday banquet	$20.00
	Jamestown tour	$69.00

registration after June 10

- add 5% to conference pkg;

-add 10% to each a la carte item

Local sales, lodging tax and convenience fees ARE included in these fees.

Register online at www.nain.org / www.icgr.org

top Note from the NAIN Connect Committee NAIN Connect 2007 is fast approaching.  The InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington and Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond NAIN Connect 2007 Planning Team look forward to meeting, greeting, and networking with you.  Over the past several years we have cultivated meaningful friendships at our NAIN Connects.  If this NAIN Connect is your first experience, you will remember the rich friendships and contacts you will develop as much as you will the program.  COME to RICHMOND July 12-16.  We have a place for you. Our NAIN Connect Planning Team has been overwhelmed with the response to our call for papers.  We have had over 30 proposals submitted.  We appreciate the quality and enthusiasm from the NAIN Members and Supporters.  NAIN web-mail postings have featured highlights of the programs.  There will be more program updates forthcoming.  Three full days of the Connect will feature three keynote speakers, 24 workshops, three panel discussions and a service project.  A picnic lunch will be provided by the Central Virginia Sikh community on Saturday.  Sunday we will be favored with an Interfaith Concert. NAIN Connect 2007 Planning Team Mike Goggin, Lynn Johnston, Midge Falconer & Sharon Clayton
	DATES to remember: Conference registration fees increase by 10% June 11. Registration continues for NAIN Connect 2007 until June 27. Jamestown registration continues until July 6.
Keynote Speaker Bios Isabelle Kinnard, JD, PhD Council for America’s First Freedom, Vice President for Education Ms. Kinnard will be our Keynote speaker on Friday, July 13 at our opening ceremonies.  She will address the current state of religious freedom in North America and the globe.  “The mission of the Council for America’s First Freedom is to increase understanding and respect for religious freedom in diverse communities worldwide through education about this core human value: the freedom of thought, conscience and belief.” (Council for America’s First Freedom Website, www.firstfreedom.org) As Education Director of the Council for America’s First Freedom since May 2004, Ms. Kinnard is responsible for planning, developing and executing programs to increase the understanding of and appreciation for religious freedom.” “Ms. Kinnard works with content experts and designers to develop and improve the substance, appeal and effectiveness of the permanent exhibits of the First Freedom Center. Outside the Center, she works with a core curriculum for teachers, outlined by Constitutional scholars, historians and educators from around the nation. She works with educators to develop and deliver a wide range of educational outreach programs and services, including content workshops, instructional materials and Web-based resources. Ms. Kinnard’s most recent project has been to facilitate dialogues and debates about Religious Freedom and establishment clause issues in public schools at eighteen law schools across the United States.  A DVD about the debates is in production and will be available to high school libraries soon. Mazna Hussain, Esq. New Voices Fellow and Staff Attorney, Tahirih Justice Center Ms. Hussain will be our keynote speaker, Friday evening, July 13.  She will address Religious Freedom issues as they pertain to women.  We look forward to this engaging topic.  “The mission of the Tahirih Justice Center is to enable women and girls who face gender- based violence to access justice. The center engages in direct litigation, public policy advocacy, and education and outreach to ensure systematic change that protects women and girls from violence.” http://www.tahirih.org/ Mazna Hussain received her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School. She received a New Voices Fellowship to work at Tahirih. Mazna focuses on fighting gender-based violence in the U.S. Muslim community. While still in law school, Mazna interned at Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE), clerked at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and was a student attorney in George Washington’s Domestic Violence Project and International Human Rights Clinic. Her coursework research into the issue of honor killings culminated in an article in the Spring 2006 edition of the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender, entitled "'Take My Riches and Give Me Justice:' A Contextual Analysis of Pakistan's Honor Crimes Legislation." Mazna also qualified as a member of the George Washington moot court team that won the Mid-Atlantic Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and then advanced to the International Rounds of the Competition as a U.S. representative. Her graduation honors included the Albert H. Grenadier Award for excellence in oral advocacy. Fluent in Urdu and Hindi, Mazna received her B.A. in English with a minor in Psychology from George Washington University. Charles C. Haynes Senior scholar and director of education programs at the First Amendment Center In keeping with Saturday’s programming focus on Youth Empowerment, the Saturday Evening keynote address will be presented by Dr. Charles Haynes of the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center. His topic will be educating our Youth about world religions within the law.  This program will be open to the public.  The First Amendment Center’s website is http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/. Charles C. Haynes is best known for his work on First Amendment issues in schools and communities throughout the nation.” Over the past decade, he has been the principal organizer and drafter of a series of consensus guidelines on religious liberty in public education that have been endorsed by a broad range of civil liberties and educational organizations. Three of these guides were sent by President Clinton in January, 2000, to every public school in the United States. The guidelines were updated by the Bush administration in 2003. (Also of interest are A Parent's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools, A Teacher's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools and Public Schools & Religious Communities.) Mr. Haynes has authored or co-authored six books, including The First Amendment in Schools and Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools. His column, Inside the First Amendment, appears in nationwide newspapers. He is widely quoted in news magazines and major newspapers. He is also a frequent guest on television and radio programs. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and on ABC’s Evening News. Currently president of the Character Education Partnership, Mr. Haynes has a master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School and a doctorate from Emory University. top
Panel Discussions at the NAIN Connect FRIDAY – “Current state of Religious Freedom: Nationally and Internationally” SATURDAY – Young Adult Panel –“Where was GOD in the ______Tragedy or Crisis? Young Adults respond to tragedies such as: VA Tech, 911, and Natural disasters.”  Young Adults involved in inter-religious activities can do “MORE THAN MAKE COFFEE” as interns and volunteers for our Interfaith organizations.  Based on the response to the Virginia Tech Tragedy, Young Adults working in Interfaith organizations are on the frontlines in communities throughout the continent, reflecting Interfaith understanding and respect for the diverse faith traditions practiced in their communities.   These dedicated young people are often those that organize prayer vigils, memorials. They are the shoulder to cry on and the listening ear for their peers.  SUNDAY – “Islam and Democracy” How does the Muslim community respond to public perceptions of Islam’s compatibility with democracy? Interfaith Concert Sunday evening we will gather at River Road Church Baptist, down the street from Roslyn Conference Center for the Interfaith Concert. Nine faith communities will perform music, dance and chant authentic to their traditions.  Jamestown Tour The finale of the NAIN Connect will be the Jamestown Tour on Monday.  We will leave Roslyn Conference Center and travel by bus to Jamestown.  Our tour will include a costumed guide, box lunch and tour of the Jamestown Anniversary Park including replicas of the ships used by the Jamestown settlers, Godspeed, Discovery and Susan Constance.  Don’t miss this private tour of Jamestown. Service Project – Operation Iraqi Children Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond’s roots are in Community Service.  To honor that heritage of service, the NAIN Connect in Richmond, will conduct a school supply collection and packing for Operation Iraqi Children. A service of People to People International, Operation Iraqi Children annually provides school supplies for the children of war torn Iraq.  Whatever our personal political views on war, or government policies; we as people of many faiths can agree that education of our youth hold the greatest opportunity for making peace.  NAIN participants may choose to spend some workshop time packing the thousands of school supply packages that will be sent to People to People/Operations Iraqi Children.  The project will take place at the Roslyn Conference Center. From the website http://www.operationiraqichildren.org/ Assemble each Kit according to the following list of items.  Please enclose NO additional items and be sure that all items are new and unused.  Pack only the listed supplies in a backpack or in a 2-gallon sized zipper seal plastic bag. Each Kit should contain:
			· One pair of blunt-end scissors · One 12-inch ruler with metric markings · 12 new pencils with erasers · One small pencil sharpener · One box of colored pencils (Crayons melt in the Iraqi summer heat!)			· One large eraser · One package of notebook paper · One composition book · Three folders with inside pockets · One zippered pencil bag
top Workshops of Interest The following are a list of the presenters and titles of the workshops.  (Workshops pending confirmation are not listed.) · Aaron Emmel – Defending Religious Freedom – Baha’is in Egypt & Iran · Grove Harris/Civic Invocations and Religious Freedom (Wiccan Prospective) · Religious Freedom Issues in Canada and Europe · Alan Loxterman – Science Fiction Questions Religious Faith · Rachel Watcher—Is there Really Light at the End of the Tunnel? The struggle of Neo-Pagans/Wiccans to achieve Religious Recognition · Prabha Duneja—Hindu Meditation · Jonathon Zur- Metrotown, Unitown- YOUTH MODEL PROGRAM by VCIC · Rev. Clark Lobenstein - Planning Interfaith Prayer Services · Robert T. Smith – Religion and Education/ Comparative Experiences · Helen Butler – Using Arts to foster Religious Understanding · Emile Lester – Required World Religions Course, Modesto , CA · Woody & Judy Trautman – Habitat Build as a Multifaith Laboratory · Hal French – Freedom from Terrorism & Tyranny · Santa Sorensen - Conflict Resolution · Eric Shutt – Interfaith Alliance , First Freedom First · Mark E. Hoelter /  Intergral Interfaith Dialogue: The conveyor Belt · Prem Anjali – Sacred Spaces/ Fostering Religious Freedom through Permanent sites of Interfaith//Highlighting Lotus center of World Faith and other Interfaith sacred spaces · Daniel Tutt- 9/11 Unity Walk · Bikkars S. Randhawa &  Chuck White  will collaborate to blend Dr. Randhawa’s presentation Celebrating our faiths in a Respectful & collaborative Environment and Rev. White’s presentation “Respectful Presence” Developed guidelines for Reformed Christian Participation in Interfaith · David Spence – Tide, Tales and Timely Truths · Rev. Mark E. Hoelter—Interfaith Café
Notes from the President: Milestones Michael Goggin, M.A., NAIN President Two ministers who have been important collaborators during the first twenty years of the North American Interfaith Network are marking important milestones during the summer of 2007. Rev. Dr. Don Mayne is being inducted into the City of Edmonton’s Community Service Hall of Fame while Rev. Dr. Chuck White is celebrating his 70^th birthday with everyone who gathers at this year’s NAINConnect. I was very pleased to write a letter to the city of Edmonton, Alberta this spring endorsing Don Mayne’s candidacy for induction. Before I ever became involved in NAIN, Don and the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action hosted a most successful NAINConnect in the late 1990s. Don was the President of NAIN when I first came to the Beausejour Connect as a Young Adult Scholarship recipient in August 2001. He immediately made me feel welcome in the group, and I am sure that many people can tell similar stories of Don’s kindness during his four years as Chairperson. Even after stepping down as Chair, Don led our Program Committee for the 2005 NAINConnect in Las Vegas and is now one of our most active honorary board members. His attention to the details of NAIN’s bylaws gives the network a firm foundation upon which to grow and mature. In addition to his work with NAIN over the past ten years, Don has served as a civil servant for the Canadian government and as a minister in the United Church of Canada. He continues to share his musical gifts as a vocalist and composer with a traveling church choir. He has brought a number of his colleagues of all ages from Edmonton to experience the fellowship of the NAINConnects and to share their own gifts in leading the network. Two of these colleagues – Rev. Rob Hankinson and Dr. Teja Singh – are now members of the NAIN Board of Directors. Don will receive this honor during the City of Edmonton’s 56^th Annual Salute to Excellence Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Wednesday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m. MDT at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music in Edmonton. Congratulations, Don! Rev. Dr. Chuck White was instrumental in the formation of NAIN in 1988. He became the first Chairperson of the NAIN Board of Directors and served in that capacity for a number of years. He remains involved in NAIN as an honorary board member. He has twice served as Managing Editor of NAINews before leaving that role earlier this year. Chuck is currently talking about writing his reflections on the creation of the North American Interfaith Network, which will be a great first step in generating the written history of the network. We are so honored that Chuck will be conducting a workshop and celebrating his 70^th birthday with us at the NAINConnect in Richmond on July 15. I hope that this is one more incentive to register to attend this conference (see related story elsewhere in NAINews.) Chuck’s family will be holding a birthday celebration for him in California’s Kern River Valley during the weekend of June 22-24. The festivities include a Friday evening “hymn sing,” Saturday luncheon and Sunday morning worship service at Kernville United Methodist Church in Kernville, CA. In lieu of gifts, Chuck’s family is requesting donations to the Young Adult Scholarship Fund of the North American Interfaith Network, for which NAIN is most grateful. NAIN hopes to have as many as six young adults, ages 18-35, attending the 2007 NAINConnect on scholarship – helping to secure the future leadership of the interfaith movement in North America. Many of us involved in NAIN have heard Chuck talk of his affection for his adopted home community in the Kern River Valley, so please venture there if your schedule allows. As the current President of the North American Interfaith Network, I am thankful for the leadership that Chuck White and Don Mayne continue to share with all of us involved in the NAIN community. If you know of other milestones in the lives of any of our members that you would like to share with the readers of NAINews, please contact me at 202-234-6300 x 202 or mikeg@ifcmw.org. top
A Worthy Interfaith Project Interfaith Earth Day: 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean Sweep Edited from Greg Peterson, Earth Keeper volunteer media advisor & news reporter
				(Marquette, Michigan) - Northern Michigan Religious leaders are pleased their environmental message reached a large segment of the public who honored Earth Day by turning in tens of thousands of pills plus narcotics with an estimated street value of half a million dollars during the third annual interfaith Earth Keeper Clean Sweep. The 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean Sweep targeted out-of-date and unwanted medications of all kinds, according to Carl Lindquist, executive director of the Superior Watershed Partnership. Lindquist estimated that over one ton of pharmaceuticals and personal care products were turned in by the public.
The "controlled substances" turned in have an estimated street value of $500,000 including narcotics in pill and liquid form, clean sweep organizers said. Several police officers estimated that each one of the narcotics and other controlled drugs had a street value ranging from $5 to $25 per pill. “We had a great public turnout, a lot of people showed up with old medications,” said Lindquist. “We are again breaking records for the Great Lakes and maybe the nation.” About 2,000 people turned in items but the many had also collected pharmaceuticals from other family and friends, organizers said. The 2007 clean sweep went off without a hitch thanks to the U.P. chapter of the Michigan Pharmacists Association, and numerous law enforcement agencies including the DEA and Michigan Sheriff's Association, organizers said. Pharmacists and law enforcement officers were present at all collection sites to ensure security and proper collection of the pharmaceuticals, Lindquist said. The third annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep was coordinated by the Superior Watershed Partnership and the Cedar Tree Institute, both Marquette-based non-profit environmental groups. The clean sweep was again sponsored by nine U.P. faith communities with 130,000 members (60 percent of U.P. residents), the Superior Watershed Partnership, the Cedar Tree Institute, and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. The project involves the congregations of over 140 churches and temples representing nine faith communities (Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, and Zen Buddhist). The clean sweep had over 400 volunteers including 150 members of Thrivent Financial and 40 Northern Michigan University (NMU) students. Financial sponsors again this year include the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and $15,000 from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a not-for-profit financial services membership organization and fraternal benefit society. Rev. Jon Magnuson, Earth Keeper Initiative founder, said "one of the gifts that the faith community brings to the environmental movement is that the external damage done in the environment is a reflection of what is going on in the human condition, in the human heart - so as we heal and cleanse the Earth, we are also healing the human heart.” “We are in trouble with the way we live with the Earth, we have lost our balance" but projects like the clean sweeps are one example of humans correcting man-made problems, said Rev. Magnuson, co-organizer of the clean sweeps and the head of Lutheran Campus Ministry at NMU. Lindquist said the pharmaceuticals will be taken to an EPA-licensed incinerator at Veolia Environmental Services near St. Louis, Missouri. The EPA is funding the collection of pharmaceuticals and personal care products because trace amounts of chemicals from those substances are turning up in America’s drinking water. EPA official John Perrecone from Chicago visited several of the collection sites and praised the Superior Watershed Partnership and the Earth Keeper team for its organization and success pulling off the largest geographical pharmaceutical collection in U.S. history. “From the EPA’s prospective this is an ideal approach for grassroots community members and the faith-based community to work with the federal government, American Indians and others to achieve environmental gain,” said Perrecone, Ecosystem Projects Manager at the Midwestern Region office of EPA located in Chicago. The 19 Earth Keeper sites collect “the whole gamut” of over-the-counter and prescription medications including a wide range of narcotic pain killers, sleeping pills, syringes/needles, and antibiotics. The public also turned in a wide range of personal care products like shampoo, lotions and soaps. Although an environmental project, the pharmaceutical collection had several great side-effects like removing drugs that could be accidentally consumed by children thinking the pills were candy, and preventing diversion of controlled substances such as narcotics by people addicted to prescription medications.
					Some of the medication was over 100 years old, including 18 large dust-covered antique bottles filled with liquids and powders that Lutheran Mary Sloan Armstrong of Harvey brought to the Messiah Lutheran Church collection site in Marquette. Armstrong said the medicines - some with Latin labels - belonged to her late father J.K. Sloan, who ran Sloan’s Pharmacy in Galva, Illinois for decades prior to his death. […] The third annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep was praised by America’s Drug Czar, law enforcement officers and prosecutors.
"Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem across the Nation, increasingly affecting families who have been untouched by illegal drug use," said U.S. Drug Czar John Walters, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and a member of the President's Cabinet. Walters cited the 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean sweep across northern Michigan as an example of “community engagement in properly disposing of pharmaceuticals (that) will help us stop and prevent prescription drug abuse, and the harm it can cause.” […] Police were pleased the clean sweep prevented lots of “controlled” drugs from possible diversion to the street. […] The EPA and Lindquist said the clean sweep targeted medicines because trace amounts of pharmaceuticals are turning up in America's rivers, lakes, and drinking water. The EPA says most treatment plants are not designed to filter out these medications. When pills or liquid medicines are poured down the sink or flushed down the toilet they remain diluted in the water supply after treatment and these trace amounts are suspected of causing a range of health problems, according to the EPA. As leftover and waste pharmaceuticals get flushed down drains, research is showing that they are increasingly being detected in our lakes and rivers at levels that could be causing harm to the environment and ecosystem," said Elizabeth LaPlante, senior manager for the EPA Great Lakes National Programs Office in Chicago, Ill There were 19 drop off sites across a 400 mile area (and in all 15 counties) of Michigan's Upper Peninsula that were open Saturday, April 21, 2007  from 9 a.m. to noon local time on Earth Day eve. Last fall, the Earth Keeper Initiative and its partners were honored with three international awards. The Earth Keeper Initiative received several prestigious awards in 2006 including an international Environmental Stewardship award from the Lake Superior Binational Program and the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) Award. The Earth Keeper Clean Sweep was named one of the 15 hardest working non-profit projects in America in 2006 by World Magazine, an international religious publication. […] For more information on the clean sweep, email: earthkeeper@charter.net. top
NAMF Speech Competition Edited from a report by Habeeb Alli The North American Muslim Foundation held its sixth speech competition on Saturday, 31^st March 2007, in Toronto. This year the interfaith element was even more emphasized with more outreach to Hindu, Jewish and Catholic schools. The Minister of Citizenship, the Honorable Mike Colle, said in his keynote address, as well as in his presentation of awards, that the topic Embattling poverty: What role does your faith play is very important as Canada continues to make increased impact on disaster areas around the world. Dr. Shafiq Qadri, MP for Etobicoke, also sent presents for the winners. The first place winners are Yusef Noor Cox of IQRA in the junior and Saadia Tuyyab from Markhan Gateway in the senior category.
PBS Documentaries as Interfaith Resources Sarosh Koshy, National Council of Churches USA: Interfaith Relations commission The Interfaith Relations Commission is encouraging local churches, synagogues and mosques as well as other organizations to use these PBS documentaries and accompanying study guides for public performance and stimulate dialogue. The videos are also useful to use as educational resources within houses of worship.
Both these documentaries were produced by award winning filmmakers Gerald Krell and Meyer Odze of Auteur Productions, Ltd. “Three faiths, One God” has played on over 200 PBS stations and “Jews and Christians” has been on public television stations nationwide. These resources are being used by many congregations, universities and community organizations to foster interfaith dialogue and understanding. The videos and study guides can be ordered from the National Council of Churches at a discount. (See below) Jews and Christians: A Journey of Faith is a 2 hour, in-depth inquiry into the intertwined history of Jews and Christians. Produced by Auteur Productions, and based on the book by Marvin Wilson, Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith, this video offers helpful insight into how Christianity and Judaism have defined themselves and developed in close sibling relationship. It shows the similarities and differences in liturgical practice, piety and theology that have been so often misunderstood in the long relationship between Christians and Jews, and includes footage of today's hopeful Christian-Jewish dialogues. A guide with additional written material is also available.
		Three Faiths, One God: Judaism, Christianity, Islam thoughtfully examines the religious beliefs and practices shared by Jews, Christians and Muslims to illustrate how many individuals in the Abrahamic faith communities are dealing with historical conflicts yet remain dedicated to facilitating understanding and respect. Three Faiths, One God captures a broad range of voices and ideas of ordinary people and respected scholars in the interfaith field. The program contrasts the religious practices of the three faiths, including the rituals of fasting and marriage. For churches, synagogues and mosques, each video and study guide is $49.95 with public performance rights.  For other institutions such as Ecumenical and Interfaith Councils, libraries, seminaries, universities, each video and study guide is $79.95 with public performance rights.  The videos are also available for private, home use only without the study guides and the public performance rights for $25.00. Shipping and handling is $6.95.
top
My Heretics and Yours The Rev. Thomas W. Goodhue, Executive Director, Long Island Council of Churches, in the May 2007 Long Island Council of Churches' Prelude (reprinted with permission from the author) Nearly every time friends get divorced, I have noticed, it is hard to preserve your relationship with both of them. This strikes me as sad, unfortunate, but probably almost inevitable, human nature being what it is, otherwise known as sin. One of the greatest challenges in ecumenical and interfaith work is navigating the treacherous waters that surround every denomination or faith community that has undergone any sort of split or schism--and haven’t we all? Should you invite those who have just broken away from the Catholic or Episcopal or Lutheran Church to your local clergy association? Should you invite a Mormon to an ecumenical Christian group? An interfaith one? Ecumenical/interfaith etiquette gets particularly dicey when one or both factions see themselves as the one true faith and their adversaries as heretics. It gets surreal when a religious movement sees itself as guardians of their faith but most others see them as having abandoned it. *Many followers of Jesus of Jewish ancestry, for example, call themselves Messianic Jews. They see themselves as Jews, but most Jews say they are Christians, or at least no longer Jews. If “Messianics” are invited to your local clergy association, rabbis probably will not come. And if they are not invited, some Christian clergy will probably leave the group in protest. *Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who believe Jesus died in Kashmir seeking the Lost Tribes of Israel and that the Mahdi (Messiah) was born there in the 19^th century, call themselves Muslims, but most followers of Islam say they are not. If the Ahmadis are invited to your interfaith group, most Muslims may leave. Many might leave if the Ismailis were invited, too, though opinion about this sect seems to be divided. One local Muslim chaplain observed, is that “Bahais recognize that they grew out of Islam and became a new religion, but the Ahmadis do not.” Jews often make the same distinction between Methodists and Messianics. *Followers of the Rev. Sung Moon say they are Christians who believe he is the second coming of Christ (well, sometimes they say this and sometimes they deny they do) but most Christians insist that this puts them among apostates. *Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claim to be Christians, but most Christians think that any denomination that teaches that the Angel Moroni dictated another non-biblical revelation has deviated fundamentally from orthodox Christianity.  I realize that I may have offended many readers by now, but I mean no disrespect to anyone: I am simply trying to describe things as they are. Messianic Jews, Ahmadis, and Mormons may be wonderful people. The Mormons might even be right that Native Americans are a Lost Tribe who spoke ancient Egyptian, though this seems unlikely to me. People have the right to venerate either the Book of Mormon or the Rev. Moon even if I think they are wrong. I am not the Almighty and this is a free country, thank God. So how should we relate to those who have broken away from another faith community? The LICC Board and the Multi-Faith Forum have both been pondering this lately, and we do not, of course, all see this issue the same way. Some faiths, as Arvind Vora explains, do not automatically see those who have grown out of their religion into something different as having broken away from it. For others, particularly Jews, Christians, and Muslims, it is important to draw boundaries between one community and another. For those of us in the “Abrahamic faiths” (which I think should be called Abraham-Sarah-and-Haggaric faiths), here are some thoughts I hope will be helpful: 1) Be humble. Nearly every religion urges humility before the Almighty, and it takes more than a little chutzpah to think that we are in a position to say how God will judge anyone else. No group has a monopoly on piety. Muslims, Bahais, Unitarian Universalists and others may love Jesus, too, even though they do not follow him the way I do. Heresy (embracing beliefs opposed to orthodox doctrine) and apostasy (abandoning what you believed) are important theological concepts, but we should be slow to hurl these labels. The Secret Files of the Inquisition, a docudrama that airs on PBS in a few weeks, reminds us that we Christians have often slaughtered those whom we brand as heretics. As my rabbi taught (Matthew 7:1), “Judge not, lest you be judged.” 2) Remember your roots. The Rev. Richard Visconti, the ecumenical officer for the Diocese of Long Island, remarked at our most recent Board meeting that he tries to remain open to those who have broken away from his denomination by recalling that “nearly all of our denominations began in division.” So it is in interfaith relations: The children of Israel looked impractical and impious to their neighbors when they refused to worship many gods the way everyone else did; they must have seemed like dangerous supercessionists when a prophet slaughtered the priests of Baal. The followers of Jesus ventured beyond the acceptable limits of Judaism when they insisted that their rebbe was not just a great teacher but also uniquely God in human flesh. Muslims outraged Jews and Christians when they claimed that their later Scripture was more authentic than the Torah and the New Testament. When Bahais embraced a new revelation after Mohammed they abandoned a core belief of Islam.  3) Listen carefully before jumping to conclusions. More than once in the history of the Church, schism has resulted from misunderstanding. As the Rev. Emmanuel Gratsias explained at our Annual Meeting a few years ago, the centuries of separation between “Eastern Orthodox” and “Oriental Orthodox” Christians turns out to have been largely a matter of mistranslation.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints rejected polygamy in 1890 and repealed the ban on black leadership decades ago, but I regularly hear Mormons condemned as if both were widespread today. 4) Try to remember that heterodoxy is not heresy. Let’s face it: we are all peculiar in some ways—in my case, in quite a few ways. I like jalapeno in my coffee, which is a little odd, though you might like it if you tried it . . . . Vegetarianism, pacifism, and Saturday worship do not make Seventh-Day Adventists a cult. Odd perhaps, but not heretics. They have pretty good arguments for all three of these, in fact. They are a conservative evangelical denomination, not a sect. 5) Go visit even if you disagree. Maybe especially if you disagree. Unless your own faith is really weak, observing someone worship in a way different from yours will do you no harm. The LICC is a Christian organization, but we offer financial education seminars in congregations that do not belong to the council and in faith communities that are not Christian: we don’t want Mormons to be ripped off by predatory lenders any more than we want Methodists to be exploited. The LICC is happy to welcome non-Christian congregations and organizations into the Friends of the LICC. Board members of the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum have visited the Ahmadiyya mosque in Amityville and the Forum has gladly presented its Building Bridges program to the Ethical Humanist Society in Garden City and to secular humanists in Suffolk, even though neither are members of the forum. It is commendable that Ahmadis and Humanists want to understand the beliefs of their neighbors. If the atheists do, too, God bless them! 6) Don’t pretend an offshoot represents the wider community. During the recent dust-up between Presbyterians and Jewish organizations over responsible investing in Israel and Palestine , both sides met with groups that had miniscule followings and then said, “But we have met Jews/Presbyterians who agree with us!” Visiting the Ahmadis is good; pretending that they represent mainstream Islam is not. Some churches claim to be Roman Catholic and offer "Catholic" weddings but never tell people that the Roman Catholic Church doesn't recognize them.  As Monsignor Don Beckmann notes, “Truth in advertising,” is important in matters of faith as well as commerce. 7) Be honest. Many people say “we all believe the same thing” or “we all worship the same God” but neither is true. At most, there are similarities among many religions and some of us worship the same deity. It is understandable that we might wish the feuding friends would just stop fighting, but you may recall what happened to Rodney King when he asked, “Can’t we just get along?” 8) Be honest with yourself. Many who profess conventional theology live as if they were agnostics, and nearly all of us have some beliefs that fall between unusual and downright weird. In fact, every tradition teaches something that seems ludicrous to nearly everybody else. And the history of the Church, at least, seems to be that every denomination has its apostates. The Church condemned Marcionism as heresy in the second century, for example, but I keep hearing Christians claim that Jews, Christians, and Muslims do not worship the same God. And surely Docetism, the notion that Jesus of Nazareth was not really human, continues to be the most seductive form of apostasy for otherwise mainstream Christians. As the Apostle Paul put it, “all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) A little honest self-examination might do us all some good. top
Interfaith Briefs Compiled by Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia, World Sikh Council – America Region & Vice-President NAIN Columbus, Ohio, US: The University Interfaith Association at The Ohio State University organized an annual interfaith memorial service to remember the 19 students who died in the last academic year. Prayers from Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths were shared. (Columbus Dispatch, 5/24/07) Newark, New Jersey, US: An Interfaith Parade for Peace was held on May 19 in downtown Newark. The event celebrated all forms of peaceful expressions. (Star Ledger, 5/24/07) St. Petersburg, Florida, US: Local religious leaders, in response to the need for addressing homelessness, have come together to form the new Interfaith Group on Homelessness. The group intends to speak directly to county and city governments and the public about homeless issues. (St. Petersburg Times, 5/23/07) Atlanta, Georgia, US: Many places of worship in Atlanta have come together to making their pulpits greener. An ‘theo-ecology’ movement has taken shape in which places of worship are taking responsibility to be stewards of the environment. The Georgia Interfaith Power and Light organization has been committed to “deepening the connection between ecology and faith.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/19/07) Baltimore, Maryland, US: An exhibit “Islam in America” in Baltimore highlighted the history of the Muslim community in the United States. The objective of the exhibit was to promote interfaith understanding. The exhibit highlighted that more than 290 Muslims fought for the Union during the Civil War. (Baltimore Sun, 5/19/07) Ottawa, Canada: The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) – Canada met in May 2007 in Ottawa. ISNA spokesman Iman Faris remarked, "Of course, one can be fully Muslim and fully Canadian -- and I can know this because I am fully Muslim and fully Canadian -- true to my faith and yet a Canadian who loves to go to Ottawa Senators games, loves maple syrup, loves this country.” (Ottawa Citizen, 5/19/07) Little Rock, Arkansas, US: The Arkansas Interfaith Council awarded its annual Marie Interfaith Civic Award to Grainer Williams. The award honors individuals who mobilize people of different faiths and from different segments of society to address issues and problems facing Arkansas. (Arkansas Democract-Gazette, 5/15/07) New York, New York, US: GreenLife, a New Jersey interfaith environmental coalition, is helping to establish a new Long Island Places of Worship Clean Energy Committee. Leaders from Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, and Unitarian congregations met recently to give shape to the committee. (Newsday, 5/12/07) Toledo, Ohio, US: The work of the MultiFaith Council of Northwest Ohio, in collaborating with Habitat for Humanity to build a home by involving 16 religious communities, was highlighted by an article in the Christian Science Monitor. Inspired by the Interfaith Youth Core, the Council has formed a multifaith youth core to engage in interfaith dialogue and community service. (Christian Science Monitor, 5/3/07)
Preview of Coming Attractions Return of the Book Review Dr. Jim Wiggins is preparing a review of the book, The Dignity Of Difference for the Fall issue of NAINews. He strongly commends the book. PBS Series: Prayer in America This two-part documentary addresses the role prayer has played in shaping the development and history of America and explores contemporary debates about the role of prayer. It is offered by Iowa Public Television and will probably air in November. In addition to the public television program, there is an extensive community outreach campaign being conducted by Outreach Extensions. Like the film, the outreach campaign is multi-faith in its perspectives and designed to engage and involve the public in a greater discussion of the issues raised in the film. For more information and a film clip preview, see http://www.iptv.org/promo_prayerinamerica.cfm.