Late Summer 2008 Extra Edition
	The Newsletter of the North American Interfaith Network, Inc. Building Bridges of Inter-religious Understanding, Cooperation and Service. www.nain.org
Extra! Extra!! Read All About it! Reports from the NAIN Connect 2008 and NAIN Board Activities, Your Board Serving You
NAINews Committee ° Judy Trautman, Editor ° Dr. Tarunjit Butalia ° Rev. Paul Chaffee ° Susan Cook ° Bettina Gray ° Rev. Robert Hankinson ° Peter Laurence ° Dr. Teja Singh ° Terry Weller ° Dr. Jim Wiggins				Contents: Passing the Baton NAINConnect 2008 goes to San Francisco NAIN Connect 2009 NAIN Board Meeting A New Morning for NAIN – Report of the NAIN Board of Directors’ 2008 Retreat Invitation from the Council for the Parliament of the World Religions Media Briefs Day of Action,Sept. 27th Meet your Board of Directors Wisdom Corner NAINews Fall 2008 Edition Theme
Passing the Baton By Judy Lee Trautman, Communications Chair
Bettina presenting Mike with a thank you gift. (Photo Butalia)			The Annual General Meeting at NAIN Connect 2008 marked the end of the very productive chairmanship of Mike Goggin. A former youth scholarship recipient, Mike has served NAIN in many ways (Chairperson 2006-08, Secretary 2004-06 and Young Adult Chair 2002-04). Although Mike no longer works for an interfaith organization, he plans to continue support of interfaith ideals, notably as Membership Chair of NAIN. Our new Chair is Bettina Gray, a founding member of NAIN and longtime Communications Chair. In this latter role, she pioneered and championed the use of NAIN Online and maintained our public website. Bettina brings a wealth of experience in interfaith work to this position. We look forward to a very productive term.
We also have a new secretary, Rob Hankinson, from Edmonton Alberta. Our former secretary Jan Saeed is now Chair of the Young Adults Committee. Judy Lee Trautman is Communications Chair; Barry Cooke is Program Chair; Grove Harris and Jim Wiggins are Board Development Chairs; Jim Wiggins chairs Bylaws; Kay Lindahl chairs Finance. Other information about your current Board Members may be found in the Meet Your Board Section. NAINConnect 2008 goes to San Francisco By Paul Chaffee, Chair 2008 Host Committee A glistening San Francisco cast off its summer fog for the first three days of NAINConnect 2008 – Embracing Our Interfaith Future, held July 24-28. When the fog returned on Sunday, old friends and new and a cacophony of happy conversation kept us from noticing. Fromm Hall, a lifelong learning center at the University of San Francisco, proved an extraordinary work space. For assemblies and an initial banquet, a lovely tent replaced the intended hall that was suffering emergency construction issues.
NAIN 20^th Birthday (photo Trautman)		Peter Laurence, Chuck white, Kay Lindahl, Don Mayne, Mike Goggins (photo Butalia)			Huston Smith and Young Adults (Photo Saeed)	Panel (Photo Naylor)

This 20^th anniversary Connect drew about 150 registrants (final tally to come). One-day passes, along with presenters who could only attend their own workshops, raised the number of participants to about 250. Eighty presenters informed three dozen workshops, four assemblies, and early morning/late evening meditation sessions. (Workshop descriptions, many with blogs attached, are still accessible at www.nain.org/2008.) Conference highlights included the Kabala Shabbat Friday evening and the Sunday morning tour of the Interfaith Chapel in the Presidio and Muir Woods’ stunning redwoods. This year’s service project taught us how to create, use, and distribute solar ovens, a lifesaver in Darfur and a source of goodies during Connect breaks. The optional Saturday supper cruise started with panic when six scheduled taxis failed to show. But everyone finally made it aboard for a lovely evening.
Interfaith Chapel in the Presidio (Photo Andrea Weller)			Muir Woods (photo Trautman)					Solar Oven (photo Trautman)		Heng Sure (photo Trautman)
Corbin Davis, Pacific School of Religion seminarian and former Interfaith Center at the Presidio intern, was conference director. He quickly facilitated miracles whenever trouble raised its head. Corbin, Fred Fielding, Connect communications director, and NAIN board members Steve Naylor and Tracy Wells, helped focus the young adult excitement. Nine young adult scholarships had been awarded, a dozen more paid their own way, and the 18-35 crowd made a palpable difference. Young adults organized workshops, were presenters, and put together the late-night digital showcase sessions, significantly magnifying the conference’s offerings. Rachael Watcher, Angela Carlson, and David Ponedel, probably the only NAIN banquet chef who has also served on its board, did the heavy lifting in terms of hospitality and logistics. Jan Chaffee handled the books. Their detailed plans and follow-through made for happy registrants. More than a dozen other host committee members, here and across the continent, gave time, energy, and imagination to making this a satisfying experience. They all deserve our appreciation! Thank you! Along with the workshops… An American Indian opened the NAINConnect 2008 outdoors, and an African-American gospel duo started us indoors. A Buddhist folk singer punctuated our talk on Friday. NAIN’s Birthday Banquet sparkled with a jazz quartet, and Brahma Kumaris graced us musically at the concluding banquet at St. Mary’s Cathedral, co-sponsored with San Francisco Interfaith Council. Don Frew and Tomiko Nojima led the meditation room creation. Mark Denni’s classical guitar gentled the noisy breaks, and at the final celebration, Host Committee member Jack Lundin led us through a number of songs, concluding the Connect with “It’s a Wonderful World.” Additional Photos of the NAINConnect may be viewed at http://flickr.com/photos/jltrautman/sets/72157606523085522 The interactive website for NAINConnect2008 is still linked from the NAIN.org home page and available at http://nain.org/2008/home.cfm If you missed a workshop or would like to review some of the information, here is a list of web links to some of the workshop topics. http://www.nain.org/weblinksconnect08.htm Back to Contents NAIN Connect 2009
Peter Laurence & Susan Cook, Host Committee 2009							“Experiencing the Spirit in Education - The challenge of Religious Pluralism.” June 25-28, 2009  in  Kansas City (Unity Village), Missouri By Peter Laurence, co-chair of the NAINConnect 2009 Many interfaith organizations provide interfaith education to the general public, and many educational institutions have developed advanced multifaith programs.  NAINConnect ’09 will bring together representatives of these two environments to inform each other – to share stories, ideas and strategies for interfaith education so that we can all become more effective.
Lunch Planning Committee for NAINConnect 2009							SAVE THE DATE! Board members met with four members of the local Kansas City committee during lunch one day during the Connect in San Francisco. Peter Laurence returns to active participation in NAIN to wed his current interfaith education interests with that of interfaith organizations. This creates an exciting and relevant theme for Connect 2009. Susan Cook, an experienced event planner, will arrange logistics of the venue and registration. The NAIN Executive Board and Committee Chairs will meet in Kansas City in November to consult with the local committee and continue plans for the 2009 Connect.
Back to Contents NAIN Board Meeting By Judy Lee Trautman, Communications Chair
The Board of Directors of NAIN is the body that keeps the Network part of our name a reality during the whole year, not just at the NAINConnect. NAIN was never intended to be just a generator of annual conventions. It aims to serve as a genuine network among organizations in North America doing important and valuable interfaith work that may take the form of education, dialog, social action, service, fellowship or a combination thereof.									(Photo Trautman)
Membership in the NAIN Board is a privilege that none of us take lightly. It is also a considerable commitment. We are a totally volunteer Board with members stretched across a continent. We pay our own registration at the Connects and travel expenses to both the annual Connects and inter-Connect meetings. Prior to each Connect there is a Board meeting where important business is conducted. During the year we have at least two teleconferences. We also do extensive committee work and email correspondence. This year, in honor of our twenty years in existence, we also had a Board Retreat following the Connect. A report on the retreat follows. See more Board meeting photos at http://flickr.com/photos/jltrautman/sets/72157606522977708 Back to Contents A New Morning for NAIN – Report of the NAIN Board of Directors’ 2008 Retreat By Paul Chaffee, Executive Director the Interfaith Center at the Presidio
								For years, NAIN’s board of directors has been a closely bonded, resourceful family of grassroots interfaith leaders. The chair and the newsletter editor kept us on track. Each year someone would bite the bullet and agree to take financial responsibility and host the summer NAINConnect. That comfy image, so familiar to NAIN old-timers, got filed in the archives at the July 28-30 board retreat. The retreat delivered nothing less than the rebirth of the North American Interfaith Network. One member compared the three days to watching a color movie when all the shows you’d ever seen were black and white. Held at Anubhuti, a new Brahma Kumari ashram an hour north of San Francisco, NAIN’s trustees hit Hwy 101 within hours of Connect 2008’s conclusion. Late that afternoon we enjoyed the first of the home-grown vegetarian meals that graced our stay. And then went straight to work, continuing through Tuesday, and into Wednesday morning, before heading for the airports.
Jim Wiggins, Paul Chaffee, Steve Naylor Judy Trautman,Mike Goggins, Tracy Wells, Barry Cooke, Don Mayne Jan Saeed, Kay Lindahl, Barbara Trites Chuck White, Woody Trautman, Bettina Gray, Teja Singh, Gail Allan, Grove Harris Tarunjit Singh Butalia was also at the retreat.
In that short period, seven committees emerged: (1) Executive, (2) Board Development and Nominations, (3) Program, (4) Young Adults, (5) Communications (6) Finance and Administration, and (7) By-laws. At next year’s Annual Meeting, the board will propose establishing this configuration in NAIN’s by-laws, subject, of course, to what we learn in coming months. Before leaving Anubhuti, each of the newly configured committees defined its own mission statement and worked up a list of priority activities – for the next three months, the next year, and the next two years. Every board member attending committed to participate in one or more of these committees and helped build the upcoming calendar and agenda. Trustees Susan Cook, Midge Falconer, Robert Hankinson, Sam Muyskens and George Stern were unable to attend but will surely be as enthusiastic and engaged as the rest of the board. One specific board action taken was to change “Friend of NAIN” to “NAIN Associate Member.” It was unanimously felt that being an ‘associate’ stood for something more than ‘friend,’ providing a more attractive invitation to individuals who want to get more involved with NAIN. By the end of the retreat, Chuck White, a stakeholder in the 1987 conversations that helped birth NAIN in the first place, couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. The other ‘founder’ in our midst, Bettina Gray, newly elected board chair, had the same problem. And young adult trustees Steve Naylor and Tracy Wells both seemed to glow. What made the difference? In the coming months, you will be hearing much more about the seven newly defined board committees, their goals and achievements. Hundreds of details will unfold, and you will have opportunities to contribute to this work of service. Before we lose these last weeks of summer, though, it’s worth taking a moment to consider why this particular retreat was so powerful. § Barbara Trites took the initiative to do most of the work in preparing Anubhuti for NAIN and vice versa. She did the logistics and more. She urged us to discuss the issues we wanted to address and how to use the brief time we had. We divided that time into Reconnecting – Evaluating (appreciatively, not judgmentally) – Envisioning – and Planning. Good facilitation meant a disciplined schedule, so we didn’t run out of time when we reached Planning. Unable to secure an outside facilitator, two different members co-facilitated each of the four program elements. It went smooth as silk. § At the start, newly elected trustee Grove Harris asked if we could take the first of three hours committed to evaluation to do a NAIN inventory. For instance, Who did the assembled board represent? Two were honorary trustees, six came from grassroots interfaith groups, two from interreligious regional/ national/ international NAIN members, three from single-faith regional/national/international NAIN members, one from a media organization, and four were Friends of NAIN. Most of those gathered were Christian; only four were of other faiths, and we discussed a desire for more diversity of many sorts - religion, race, class, age, in the board and in the membership of NAIN. All there agreed more diversity is important. More questions followed: How long had we each served? How much time do your board responsibilities take? Is money an issue in your NAIN involvement? How do you report back to your home community? Who is not at the table? The dialogue that followed was descriptive, not judgmental. By the end of that hour, we knew each other and NAIN in brand new ways. The conversation kindled a chastening but inspiring fire under us. We didn’t talk about doing better, but we went out of our way to show that we could. One fruit of this inventory was an appreciation of how much work NAIN does and does not require. We explored the possibility of making our work more effective, energized and accountable, rather than dreaming of trying to grow into a staffed organization. We're even considering different fee and membership structures, to round out the picture of possible sustainable and energizing futures. § Jim Wiggins brings several decades of administrative, institutional experience and wisdom to the board. He used it to nudge us into becoming a much more proactive board. At the NAIN Annual Meeting in San Francisco, he concluded an evaluation of our by-laws that stripped away the legalese to make our governing document much clearer. The vote was unanimous. Then at the retreat Jim inspired us to form seven active committees, each responsible for its own mission statement, goals, and timeline. He proposed adding a board development committee, opening the door to studying how we are organized and might do better. And he proposed studying term-limits for board members, a blow to our clubby culture but an opening to developing a sustainable vitality for NAIN’s future. At the same time, we aim to continue to benefit from the contributions of our veteran members. § The opportunity of having the retreat at Anubhuti was a bit of a miracle. Herons, hawks, and humming birds, flocks of egrets, geese, invisible wood-peckers and wild ducks helped set the scene. The ashram sits on a hillock in the Marin wetlands surrounded by eucalyptus, oak, and redwood. The blue-sky days were punctuated by Brahma Kumari hospitality and better vegetarian victuals than most of us had ever enjoyed. § It didn’t hurt that we came to the retreat following an amazing five-day forum that surveyed the whole arena of grassroots interfaith culture, profiling new and creative ways to do the work of reconciliation and peacemaking that is at the heart of interfaith dialogue. Rob Hankinson, our new secretary, could not be with us. So several members took notes and various reports will ensue. Indeed, new ideas and plans are already scheduled for the coming months, the fruit of the past week. These notes are not minutes, just one member’s sense of what was achieved in the brief hours your Board of Directors had to consider NAIN’s future. It was exhilarating and inspiring, and we hope that everyone who reads these notes will discover the excitement that is brewing. A few more pictures of the Retreat may be found at http://flickr.com/photos/jltrautman/sets/72157606526346485 Back to Contents Invitation from the Council for the Parliament of the World Religions By Grove Harris, Program Director for the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions
						2009 Parliament of the World's Religions Melbourne, Australia --  December 3-9, 2009
The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions invites all people of faith, spirit and goodwill to encounter the vast and rich diversity of the world's religious and spiritual traditions. Take part in over 500 events including keynote addresses, seminars, conferences, dialogues, performances, concerts and exhibitions on the theme: Make a World of Difference: Hearing each other, Healing the earth Key topics of global concern will be addressed from religious and spiritual perspectives. These include: Healing the Earth with Care and Concern · Reconciling with Indigenous Peoples · Overcoming Poverty in a Patriarchal World · Securing Food and Water for all People · Building Peace in the Pursuit of Justice · Sharing Wisdom in the Search for Inner Peace Consider submitting a proposal to present on one of these topics, or other areas of pressing concern. Full instructions are available online, as are registration materials and additional information. www.parliamentofreligions.org Back to Contents
Media Briefs By Judy Lee Trautman, Communications Chair
		Helena’s Voyage In Helena’s Voyage, an angel takes a sick little girl named Helena on an ancient sailing boat far over the waves. They visit three glowing cities blessed by God - one Jewish, one Christian, one Muslim. Helena realizes that all these people believe the same divine law - to love God and their neighbor. Text is provided in English, Arabic and Hebrew. Helena’s Voyage is an unusual interfaith book for children. It provides parents, teachers and religious leaders a gentle way to speak with children
about courage, compassion, the Golden Rule, death, heaven, religious tolerance, peace and God’s love for us all. It introduces the interrelated traditions of the “Children of Abraham” – Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Paul & Daniel Harbridge					Author Paul Harbridge and his son Daniel were at the NAINConnect. Paul wrote and illustrated the book as a tribute his late daughter. As he saw TV images of killings in Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, he understood the anguish of all parents losing their children. He wanted to write something about his increasing understanding of the common ground of the Abrahamic faiths. Daniel created a DVD version with lovely music that we previewed at the Connect. http://www.helenasvoyage.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywz5QZRHoC4
Pre-NAINConnect Book Signings On the evening preceding our NAINConnect, two longtime NAIN members presented their books and signed copies. Ralph Singh presented A Path to Follow . . . A Life to Lead: Reflections of a Student at Gobind Sadan, reviewed in the preceding issue of NAINews. Bud Heckman presented Interactive Faith: The Essential Interreligious Community-Building Handbook which he edited with Rori Picker Neiss. Subtitled Practical Guide for Embracing the Growing Religious Pluralism in America, this book presents interfaith projects already in practice to help groups beginning interfaith work. Bud’s book was also featured in our previous issue, in the ‘Media Briefs’ section.
				Divided We Fall We featured this documentary in ‘Media Briefs’, NAINews Fall 2007. New Board member Tracy Wells recommends that we consider joining The Divided We Fall Campaign, which is attempting to book at least one screening in each of the fifty states during the month of September 2008. The campaign is a ‘people-fueled national movement to create deep community dialogue about racism, religion, and healing in the aftermath of Sept. 11^th’. The producers provide the film, dialogue guidelines, promotional materials, and the contact of a local expert or community member to lead a unique and powerful discussion after the screening. See details at http://www.dwf-film.com/ . Back to Contents
				Day of Action, Sept. 27th By Penny Snider-Light I am coordinating faith communities' participation for Day of Action, Sept. 27th - convened by www.servicenation.org Wonderful opportunities for NAIN affiliates to participate. Below is information quoted from the Service Nation website: Thousands of communities around the nation will mobilize on September 27, the Day of Action, to demonstrate the impact that service has – and could have - upon our country and the power of citizens to create large scale change. Here is a link to further information about this event: http://bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/day_of_action
Meet your Board of Directors Executive Committee
	Bettina Gray Class of 2008-12 – Chair Bettina is an independent video producer, author, and musician. She is well-known for A Parliament of Souls. She represents Creative films http://www.creativefilms.com/ and is a founding member of NAIN. As a longtime Communications Chair, she pioneered the use of email and the Internet by NAIN.
	Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia Class of 2008-12 - Vice-Chair Dr. Butalia is the Chairperson of the Interfaith Committee of the World Sikh Council - America Region, Moderator of Religions for Peace - USA, Vice-Chair of NAIN, and member of Board of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions. He is the President of the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio, Secretary of the Sikh Educational and Religious Foundation, Secretary of Interfaith Center for Peace, Co-convener of Faith Communities Uniting for Peace, and member of Religious Advisory Council of the Mayor of Columbus. He is a regular contributor to NAINews.
	Kay Lindahl Board Appointee Class of 2010 – Treasurer / Finance Kay has a long history of interfaith work. In southern California she founded the Alliance for Spiritual Community and coordinated the Religious Diversity Forum for many years. Kay is a past Global Trustee for the United Religions Initiative and a past Chair of NAIN. She is the author of several books on listening as a sacred art.
	Rev. Dr. Rob Hankinson Class of 2006-2010 - Secretary Rob was a founding member of the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action. He is Chaplain of an adult assisted living centre. He has agreed to contribute to NAINews book reviews.
Committee Chairs
	Grove Harris Class of 2008-12 – Board Development She is Program Director for the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, working towards the next Parliament, in Melbourne, Australia, December 3-9, 2009. In her prior work as Managing Director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University, she researched many aspects of religious pluralism in the U.S.
	Dr. Jim Wiggins Class of 2006-2010 – Bylaws & Board Development/Nominating Jim is currently Executive Director of InterFaith Works in Syracuse. He served on the religion faculty at Syracuse University from 1963 until 2001and is a past Executive Director of the American Academy of Religion (1983-1992.) His books include In Praise of Religious Diversity (1996). He contributes to the NAINews book reviews.
	Judy Trautman Class of 2008-12 - Communications; Editor, NAINews Judy is Co-Chair of the MultiFaith Council of Northwest Ohio, an initiated student and ordained Cherag of the Sufi Ruhaniat International. She has been NAINews Editor since Spring 2007.
	Michael J. Goggin, M.A. Class of 2006-2010 – Membership Mike represents the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington and is currently the National Director of the St. Vincent Pallotti Center. A young adult scholarship recipient several years ago, Mike is the past Chair.