NAINews Spring 2010

At the Connect 2010, we’d like to involve as many people as possible, expose each other to as many good ideas as possible, and build as many friendships and networks as possible.

Accordingly, we are considering one or more sessions where 10-12 presenters will take about 5 minutes each to give a brief overview to the whole group of something they have done in their area that has worked well. We would then break into smaller groups where the topics presented could be discussed in more detail. Connect participants would choose which of the smaller groups to attend.

Topics might include education or service projects that build understanding and harmony; music projects, other projects where different faith groups work together for the common good, successful fundraising projects, approaches to building interfaith organizations and getting people and groups involved, interfaith peace and community building activities, etc.

If you would like to give a mini-presentation or know of someone that should be invited to give a mini-presentation, please let us know as soon as possible. Please include a description of the topic for the presentation and contact information. Please submit both to Brian Farr (brianfarr@q.com) and Jan Saeed ( jansa9@comcast.net ) no later than May 15.

Conference Registration:

Registration Form Word.doc Registration rich text format

$180 for General Conference Attendees

$162 for NAIN Members (a 10% discount until May 21^st)

NAIN member organizations must have paid dues for 2010 for your members to realize this discount, and your colleagues must identify themselves as being affiliated with the organization at the time they register.

NAIN reps also can get in touch with the conference registrar Wendy Stovall at nainslc@gmail.com or 801-967-8013 and let her know the names of all of the people who will be registering for the conference from your organization. Full registration details may be found at http://www.nain.org/NainConnect2010.htm

General admission for one day is $90.

Students can attend for $60 for the whole conference or $35 for one day.

Complete, save, and attach Registration Form in email to Wendy Stovall at nainslc@gmail.com (801) 967-8013

For questions contact Ivan Cendese weilland@comcast.net (801) 359-8104

Make checks payable to Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable.

Mail checks to P.O. Box 112016, Salt Lake City, UT 84147

· Registration is complete when the form has been emailed to Wendy and the check has been mailed to above address.

· Remember to secure your accommodations directly with the conference hotel.

Salt Lake Plaza Hotel at Temple Square

122 West South Temple

Salt Lake City, UT 84101

801-521-0130 Fax: 801-322-5057

For Reservations call: 1-800-366-3684 http://www.plaza-hotel.com/

A block of 35 rooms have been reserved for very special rates and on a first come first served basis. Room rates: Single / Double $79.00; Triple / Quad $89.00

A limited number of homestays are also available by arrangement with the registrar.

See additional conference details and updates at http://www.nain.org/NainConnect2010.htm

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Religious Communications Congress 2010 - Embrace Change: Communicating Faith in Today’s World

By Judy Lee Trautman, NAIN Communicatons Chair

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to attend, as NAIN’s Communication’s Chair, the Religious Communications Congress 2010. The theme was Embrace Change: Communicating Faith in Today’s World.

I had several over-arching impressions to this Congress, which started fifty years ago and meets every ten years.

The first is that Interfaith has certainly arrived in the consciousness of religious communicators. The congress was originated by mostly Catholics and Baptists. Fifty years hence, the event was decidedly interfaith in both attendance and program content. The opening Banquet entertainment included a multifaith comedy team and author Mitch Albom, whose excellent re-telling of his latest book Have a Little Faith included an interfaith message. Diana Eck was a featured plenary speaker. Daily Faith Expressions included a variety of faith traditions. The Interfaith Youth Core made a presentation at the closing banquet.

A second impact of the RCCongress was the amazing speed of media technological change. All organizations, including NAIN and its member organizations, need to give serious consideration to a tech plan. Many of us are operating with twentieth century communication skills. We will be left behind if we do not plan to grow our media skills. This is especially important if we wish to address youth and young adults. But even in communicating with older generations, current forms of media are in the process of disappearing. I think that the ramifications of this speed of change ought to cause the organizers of the RCCongress to re-think their ten-year format. An ever-increasing amount of change now occurs in ten years.

Thirdly, while I personally am exhilarated by changing media technology, I do have a concern regarding the divide between the rich and the poor in the world and on this continent. In my geographical context this divide is rapidly increasing. In the Detroit – Toledo area, we would be almost pleased with an unemployment rate of 8.9%. It is more than twice that in many nearby urban areas.

It has traditionally been the focus of people of faith to care about the economically disadvantaged. But in a session discussing current trends - the appearance of ‘online church’, mobile phone apps with Biblical and Qur’anic texts, the disappearance of newspapers, email [replaced by texting and Twitter], and even personal computers [replaced by ipads or smart phones] – I raised the question whether anyone was concerned about the fairly affluent demographic addressed by these changes. I was not happy with the answer. The presenter made the point that cell phones are much less expensive in countries other than the US. It was as though we have no problems of poverty on this continent.

I would hate to see faith groups get so involved with the developing media that they lose a key message – concern for the disadvantaged. At the very least, we ought to be challenged to find ways to provide media access to all.

The Congress meets every ten years. That was probably appropriate when it began fifty years ago. With technology changing as rapidly as it does now, that may need re-visiting. It was obvious to me that one of the big changes was that interfaith consciousness has genuinely arrived. Fifty years ago the communicators were Catholics and some Protestants. Both attendance and programming reflected an acceptance of the reality of religious pluralism.

You can read more about speakers, plenary sessions, and workshops here. To print full report PDF report

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Gail Katz viewing the Baptistery of Christ Church Cranbrook

Interfaith in Detroit

By Judy Lee Trautman, NAIN Communicatons Chair

Three days after my return from Chicago, I attended with another MultiFaith Council member a meeting of Detroit area interfaith leaders and communicators that was convened by David Crumm, former Detroit Free Press religion editor and creator of http://www.readthespirit.com/.

The meeting was co-hosted by the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit and WISDOM [NAIN member Women’s Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in MetroDetroit]. This meeting was held at Christ Church Cranbrook, a landmark building.

These meetings are a part of a series planned to interfaith understanding through education for the media. Meetings are held in different interfaith venues as part of that education. We were very pleased to be invited guests.

The Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit is in the process of re-organizing itself. They focus on interfaith community organizing, conciliation between and among religious groups, and interfaith education.

A conspicuous display was a group of large photos by the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion. These photos chronicled Detroit’s long journey towards racial justice in housing.

WISDOM unveiled their new book Friendship & Faith: the WISDOM of women Creating Alliances for Peace, published by Read the Spirit. We each received a copy of this beautiful collection of stories of interfaith women. www.interfaithwisdom.org and www.friendshipandfaith.com

I was very pleased to meet Gail Katz in person, following our email correspondence regarding WISDOM’s work. I also found an old friend in Brenda Naomi Rosenberg [“Reuniting the children of Abraham” http://thechildrenofabrahamproject.org/], whom I had met previously at NAIN and at another interfaith gathering.

In addition to her work with WISDOM, Gail is of World Sabbath www.worldsabbath.org . Next year will be the twelfth year for this interfaith holiday on the final Sunday in January. The concept for a holiday shared by all faith traditions was first conceived by the Rev. Rodney Reinhart, now Rector of St. Clement's Episcopal Church in Harvey Il. I had just met him at the RCCongress; so the Detroit visit felt like a continuation of the RCC experience.

My experience in Michigan is an example of how regional sharing among interfaith organizations can be very fruitful.

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Interpreting an Embrace: A Jew and a Sikh in Kansas

By Rabbi Or Rose

Originally posted: March 24, 2010 10:43 AM http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-or-rose/interpreting-an-embrace-a_b_511277.html

A shiny red, mid-sized rental car pulled up to the curb and from it emerged a very tall, dark-skinned man with an off-white turban, long graying beard, and boyish smile. "Come my friend, let me help you with your bags. On a hot day like this, we can all use some help." With that, Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia whisked me off to the Kansas City airport.

I had come to the Midwest from my home in Boston to attend the annual NAIN (North American Interfaith Network) conference. Tarunjit, vice president of this grassroots organization, and a leader in the international Sikh community, had graciously volunteered to return me to the airport.

A wise and warm person, Tarunjit gently engaged me in meaningful conversation as soon as I settled into the car. We had a wonderful time together discussing the similarities and differences between our faith traditions and the issues facing each of our minority communities in the United States. Though we had just met at the conference, we went deep quickly. Before I knew it, we had arrived at the Kansas City airport.

Tarunjit kindly stepped out of the car into the humid summer air to help me with my bags and to say goodbye. Before parting company, I thanked him for the ride and for the conversation and gave my new friend a big hug (I come from a family of huggers). With that, I headed for the check-in counter.

I didn't communicate with Tarunjit again for several months. In December 2009, I traveled to Melbourne, Australia to speak at the Parliament of the World's Religions. One morning, as I walked through the crowded hallways of the conference center, I heard someone call my name. To my pleasant surprise, it was Tarunjit. After briefly catching up, he invited me to attend a session he was going to be speaking at the following day. "I will be sharing the end of our Kansas City story," he said with a mischievous grin. "You don't know it yet, but I promise it is interesting."

Intrigued by Tarunjit's enigmatic description of the conclusion of "our" story, I arrived early for his session the next day. When it was Tarunjit's turn to present he spoke passionately about his work with NAIN and other interfaith projects and ended by telling our airport tale.

"As Or gave me a hug, I noticed that two baggage handlers standing nearby were watching us, looking curiously at our embrace. After returning my car to the rental facility I walked past the airport doors where I had left Or and saw the two men still standing there. They smiled at me and said hello, and I reciprocated. Then one of the men commented on how interesting it was to see a Jew and a Muslim hug in public (they correctly identified Or's yarmulke as a Jewish head covering, but were clearly confused by my turban). At that moment I did not feel it was important to correct the mix-up between a Muslim and a Sikh, so I let it slide. And then the other baggage handler remarked, 'You are living the future today!' I smiled and walked away; they had gotten it right after all."

As Tarunjit finished his story the audience applauded. I, of course, got up from my seat, jogged to the front of the room, and gave him a hug.

I have thought about this story several times since hearing it in Melbourne, reflecting on the great strides we have made in the interfaith movement in recent decades (could my German Jewish grandparents have ever imagined engaging in mutually enriching dialogue with Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Sikhs?); the enormous amount of work that still needs to be done in interfaith education, reconciliation, and peace-building (including teaching people about the differences between Sikhism and Islam); and the wisdom and decency of Tarunjit (knowing when to push things and when to let them "slide") and so many other people I have met in my work in this field over the last several years.

As I reflect on this story in the days before Passover--the season during which Jews throughout the world celebrate the blessing and promise of freedom--I am reminded once again that the fate of my community is inextricably bound up in the fate of all others. In the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., "We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny." Recognizing the interconnection of all life, people of faith must come together to help create a more just and compassionate world.

And you never know what a hug can do!

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An Ethical Imperative for People of Faith and Practice

By Paul Chaffee, Interfaith Center at the Presidio, May 1, 2010

A circle ceremony with burning herbs opened One Voice in Faith, an interfaith conference in the basement of St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco last month. Chanting and prayers honored the racial and religious diversity of nearly 300 social justice advocates from dozens of backgrounds, more than a third of them young adults.

An opening panel distilled the scriptural, theological wisdom regarding the issue at hand from Buddhist, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Protestant points of view. Their injunctions turned out to be remarkably similar. At issue? Alleviating the poverty of the billion plus people who go to bed hungry every night in the midst of the vastest accumulation of wealth in human history.

The keynote and panels that followed were crisp and detailed, describing a jarring local/global dance between mind-boggling suffering, here at home and far away, set against amazing, life-saving achievements.

Statistics are a crude measure but help wake comfortable people from our cocoons.

· More than 300,000 women each year die unnecessarily in complications from pregnancy and childbirth.

· Seventeen children under five die every minute of the day from largely preventable causes.

· The richest 500 people in the world earn about the same as the 416 million poorest.

It goes on and on. One speaker after another detailed mind-numbing numbers about potable water and sanitation, hunger, access to education, gender injustice, healthcare and HIV-AIDS, and a degraded environment, altogether grinding up the lives of hundreds of millions of human beings in the process.

As the day progressed I felt confused. Foggy. I couldn’t square a universal religious mandate to care for the poor and the reality that poverty can be significantly reduced, with the harsh fact that one out of every six people is in serious pain and dire need right now. Four of those same six live with very little. What is wrong with this picture? Why so terribly out of kilter?

The answer came back clearly – It is a matter of will, human will. Committed people who decide to make a difference prove over and over that they can change things. Bread for the World is making an art form out of visiting Democratic and Republican legislators over and over and over and over till they see the light and support foreign development and food aid. Persistence pays with politicians.

We heard about (and I’ve joined) www.ONE.org, the 2-million member anti-poverty network started by Bono, a group focused on empowering the will of caring people to convince leaders that global poverty must be addressed.

The good news is that dozens of agencies here and abroad have joined the cause constructively. We heard representatives from American Jewish World Service, Catholic Relief Services, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, the Faith Acts Program, Project Muso (empowering women in Mali), the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and the UN Millennium Campaign. Had we the time dozens more could have been summoned. Against the ghastly backdrop of world poverty they told story after story of success, some small, some huge, each one transforming in human terms. Their witness burned away my fog.

Most conferees came well educated about the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), and newcomers were brought up to speed about this global survival agenda for the human family. The MDGs were adopted by 189 nations, including the United States, ten years ago at the United Nations, with a global commitment to significantly reduce poverty by 2015. In brief, the eight Goals seek to …

§ Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger,

§ Achieve universal primary education,

§ Promote gender equality and empower women,

§ Reduce child mortality,

§ Improve maternal health,

§ Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases,

§ Ensure environmental sustainability, and

§ Develop a global partnership for development.

Religious communities in dozens of traditions and denominations have affirmed the MDGs, started study groups and taskforces, and begun creative new projects. (Seasoned activists suggested projects with a specific, narrow focus and measurable goals. No one can do everything).

Today most countries have not had the will to live up to earlier promises; specifically, to budget 0.7 percent of GNP to achieve the Goals. Thank you Scandinavia and Holland for bucking the trend! Contributions from the United States hover at about 0.2 percent, a far cry from what we promised and a tangible challenge to take to Congress and the administration.

Slowly, mid-morning on the second day, the conference began morphing into a group of networked individuals committed to developing the public will to address the basic needs of the neediest. In an open conversation people made acquaintance across the room, strategic plans emerged, and we exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Young adults (who had their own conference caucus) and their older colleagues worked seamlessly to focus issues at the concluding big-room family conversation. A college student from Portland pointed out, “We have congregations full of people who really care about this stuff, but they don’t know what to do. Which is why I’m so appreciative, why the young adults here appreciate seeing all of you at this conference doing what you do.”

Notes were taken for a report. The Bay Area Interfaith Coalition organizing this conference will continue its work. You can join by going to www.imdgc.org and signing in. At the bottom of the website’s MDG page you’ll find links to five of the most important agencies for anyone interested in getting engaged. You can visit the Coalition’s Facebook presence as well as learn about similar MDG hubs being formed in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., with more hoped for.

One more critical resource: The United Nations Millennium Campaign’s www.endpoverty2015.org is a good place to keep up-to-date about the big picture. President Obama will be addressing American commitment to the MDGs in New York, September 20-22, and this site keeps you apprised of everything happening in preparation.

Joining the cause has become relatively easy – the issues clarified background information and stories available, multiple strategies clearly outlined, and your creative energy anticipated. For people of faith and practice an imperative has been set, a wonderful opportunity to live into our deepest intuitions and teachings regarding the whole human family, each one of us.

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Young Adult Scholarship Recipients

The Young Adult Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 Scholarships. Scholarship recipients will receive A registration fee waiver, $500 to be used toward travel to the conference and meals at the conference, and optional free homestays.

Scholarship recipients are required to be actively engaged at the NAIN Connect, attending the majority of the programming, assist the Young Adult Committee in welcoming all young adults to the NAIN Connect, speak on a panel designated for the Young Adults during the NAIN Connect, arrive in Salt Lake by 12 noon on Sunday, July 25, 2010 and take part in the opening service project.

Here are a few details from the applications. For space reasons, I have edited the essays to a mere snapshot of these outstanding young adults. I hope you will take the opportunity to become more fully acquainted with them at NAINConnect 2010.

Erin Bilir, Littleton, CO, The Pluralism Project

It was this fascination with life’s “big questions,” that first drew me to the study of world religions at the age of fourteen, when I set out to read the Torah, the New Testament, and the Qur’an by the end of eighth grade. Today, I am just as struck as I was then by the incredible power and wisdom contained in different patterns of human belief. I am still inspired by what I perceive to be mankind’s integral bond to the divine. To me, faith in all of its forms is the most captivating and crucial aspect of humanity, prompting conflict, creating upheaval, and pervading all aspects of modern existence.

In 2008 I founded and became president of a club at my high school, Colorado Academy, called ETHOS. The acronym ETHOS stands for the topics which the club discusses: Ethics, Theology, Humanity, Oneness, and Society.

Kaitlin Hasseler, Washington DC, Girl Scout Council of Nation’s Capital

Interfaith work is incredibly important to me because religion and faith is woven into the fabric of our lives and is inextricably linked to the way many people approach the world and other people. I grew up in a very mono-religious area, and it wasn’t until I attended a more religiously diverse university that I was really able to experience, study and explore other religions. One thing that I found extremely profound during this process was just how many parallels and connections there are among different faiths. So often we focus on what is different – what makes someone the “Other” – yet there is so much to unite us, including compassion, service, love, and care for our neighbor and our Earth, just to name a few.

I currently work for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, an organization dedicated to young women’s leadership development serving more than 90,000 members in the Washington Metropolitan area. One focus area I have been working on is our interfaith work and religious programming.

Alisa M. Roadcup, Chicago, IL, Council for the Parliament of the World’s Religions

As Communications Director for the Council, my work supports the dissemination of interfaith resources internationally. This includes content shared from our website, e-communications updates, social media postings, the development of organizational branding and positioning and the cultivation of strategic partnerships – all to support the global interfaith movement.

Interfaith work is important to me because it is important to the world. It serves to raise public opinion about the value of religion and promotes tolerance and understanding among all religions.

Personally, interfaith is important to me because this movement addresses a critical need – to bring people of difference together to cultivate a deeper understanding of tolerance and diversity.

For a sample of my work, I invite you to visit our website at www.parliamentofreligions.org/ and also www.PeaceNext.org/ the Council’s very own social networking website created to bridge the interfaith movement.

Hillary Kaell, Cambridge, MA

I grew up in a town near Ottawa (Canada) that, although small, was tremendously diverse. Ours was the only Jewish family in town and my siblings and I were the only Jewish children at a school that was part of the Catholic Board of Education but 30% Muslim when we attended. My two best friends (and next door neighbors) were Hindu and Buddhist.

I engage in interfaith work as a volunteer and as an educator. I have also worked on a number of educational projects that promote interfaith understanding and religious literacy. I have worked as a consultant with PBS on two television series, “God in America” and “Pilgrimage Around the World.” I have researched and contributed profiles for the Pluralism Project’s World Religions in Boston web resource and to Patheos.com, an online resource intended to begin global dialogue and provide balanced information about religion. In 2008, I served as the North American delegate at an IARF young adult conference in Amman, Jordan (2008), where I gave a presentation about the importance of religious freedom and interfaith dialogue in the U.S.

Dawinder "Dave" S. Sidhu, Potomac, MD, Sikh Council on Religion and Education, Pluralism Project [SIKH GIAN YOUNG ADULT SCHOLARSHIP],

Religion is seen as a source of significant conflict in the world today. The entrenched dispute between Israelis and Palestinians, and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism are examples of global problems based on religious belief. These disputes are not limited to debates on ideology or identity, but have led to immeasurable violence and suffering.

The interfaith movement counters this destruction and division with an ethos of unity, harmony, and positive action. It demonstrates, in commitment and in deed, that religions can come together for the common good despite their differing belief systems and that there is a fundamental, human commonality that transcends these differences.

What I do is attempt to spread awareness of what Muslims and Sikhs have gone through in the wake of 9/11, mainly through academic articles. For example, I co-wrote a textbook on who Sikhs are and the challenges they have faced both in the United States and elsewhere after 9/11.

This summer, I will be a fellow at the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. I have served as a research affiliate with the Pluralism Project since 2004.

Sumitra Srinivasan, Toledo, Ohio, MultiFaith Council of NW Ohio

Interfaith work, to me, is important and meaningful to me for that reason, to help spread the glories of God, revered as Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Mahavir, Krishna ... To me, it is another way in which I can serve God and the community by involving myself, my time, energy and skills towards spreading the glories of God.

I was born into what would be considered an orthodox Hindu family in India but have been lucky to have always been exposed to various religions through close friends and daily activities from childhood.

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Toledo, Ohio, In teaching undergraduate students in the department of communication; I have incorporated faith-based service learning activities in journalism and visual communication/multimedia/new technologies courses. By means of those classes, my students and I are engaged in service the community, including faith-based initiatives.

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News Briefs

Edited by Judy Lee Trautman, NAIN Communicatons Chair

Compassionate Seattle

On April 24, 2010, during an all-day festival, Seattle became the first city in the world to affirm the Charter for Compassion. Karen Armstrong delivered a keynote speech. The Mayor and City Council signed a Proclamation affirming the Charter.

Speakers and panelists spoke about compassionate organizations in Seattle. Attendees were invited to pledge their time, talent and treasure to support these organizations.

The event was sponsored by the Compassionate Action Network.

Interfaith Center At The Presidio Events

Variety is the Spice of Life
Sunday, May 2, 2010, Sally Porter Monroe, a mezzo-soprano with the San Francisco Opera, presents a benefit concert for the Interfaith Center and Chapel with her professional friends. There will be something for everyone. A baroque harpsichord ensemble, a banjo, guitar, and fiddle bluegrass group, a master clarinetist, a pianist, a Balkan women’s choral group, and some magnificent opera! The evening includes refreshments, the concert, and a light dinner afterwards. Dessert with the Artists, Raffle & Silent Auction. Tickets are $35/ two for $60; Seniors $30/ $50. Reservations (415) 292-7059 • Credit cards accepted: Download a flyer.

Bay Area Interfaith Connect - Interfaith Webcasts

Interfaith Center at the Presidio

The premiere webcast of An Abrahamic Showcase, an interfaith series profiling imaginative new ways people are making peace, is scheduled for Thursday evening, May 13, at 7:00 (PDT) in the Video Center. Every other Thursday, starting the thirteenth, we will feature an extraordinary peace effort, started in the Bay Area, which has gone on to make a global difference. Tune in and learn about new bridge-building tools from these pioneering Jewish, Christian, and Muslim peacemakers. The Thursday evening webcasts will be hosted by Rita Semel, Chair of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio and an interfaith activist since the early sixties. See the Webcast page for full details.

Faiths Act Hub Launch Celebration
Monday, May 3, 2010, 6:00 pm, join the Faiths Act team as they hold their first official hub launch celebration (free food). Learn about the Faiths Act program and how to get involved with interfaith action for the Millennium Development Goals and the eradication of malaria. Faiths Act is a program of the Interfaith Youth Core and Tony Blair Faith Foundation. For more information, visit tim.brauhn@faithsactfellows.org.

Fellowship in Prayer Conference

Fellowship in Prayer is hosting a 60^th Anniversary Conference, entitled PRAYER: An Answer for the 21^st Century on June 24-27, 2010 on the campus of Princeton University. As one of the country’s oldest truly multi-faith organizations, Fellowship In Prayer will be honoring religious pluralism and cultural diversity at the conference as people from all religions and wisdom traditions are challenged to connect spiritual practice with social action in order to cultivate a more just and peaceful global community.

They have an impressive line-up of speakers including visionaries like Gustav Niebuhr, Sister Joan Chittister, Zen Master Bernie Glassman, Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, Daisy Kahn, Dr. Uma Mysorekar, Fr. Edward Beck and Rev. James Forbes. There is an equally impressive list of workshop leaders. On Saturday evening June 26^th, there will be a 60^th Anniversary Gala banquet and concert. Music will be provided by Salman Ahmad—the lead singer from Junoon, a Klezmer Band, a Gospel choir and the Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble –a real celebration of diversity!!

T.I.D.E.: The Wave of Change

By Jason Smith Youth Program Director Interfaith Action, Inc.

Registration deadline for the Teenage Interfaith Diversity Education Conference 2010 is May 15. Dates of the conference, located at Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, are May 28-31 2010. Description: Calling all members of high school classes 2010-2013! This conference is planned and led by teens who want to have their voices heard and their presence felt as a positive force in the global community. The conference will allow participants to challenge their assumptions, experience other perspectives, share their traditions, and have real dialogues about the things that really matter to them. Adults working with teens attend a parallel but separate adult track at the conference.

The 2010 T.I.D.E. conference, planned in collaboration with the Brudnick Center on the Study of Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University, will bring together a diverse group of teens from all across the U.S. for three days of teen-run trainings, workshops, dialogues, and community service opportunities. Don't miss out on this exciting chance to be part of a national high school diversity event! Learn more about how you can register at www.ifaction.org. --

Milestones in Jewish-Catholic Relations.....now available in English, French & Hebrew

This document chronicles, on a year-by-year basis, the dramatic advances in Catholic-Jewish dialogue since the Second Vatican Council. This detailed profile of significant changes and developments in Catholic-Jewish relations will be very useful to teachers, students, researchers, historians, interfaith practitioners and others. This document can be downloaded free of charge and is available in English and French. A connection is also available to a Hebrew Version.

MultiFaith Council: Creating a Compassionate Community

"Creating a Compassionate Community through MultiFaith Friendships" was the theme of The MultiFaith Council of NW Ohio’s 9th Annual MultiFaith Banquet. It was hosted at the Masjid Saad Foundation on Sunday, April 25, 2010, from 3:00 – 7:00 PM. The Annual MultiFaith Banquet is an Erase the Hate event.

Imam Achmat Salie, Director of Islamic Studies program, Oakland University, gave a presentation on Islam at 3:00 PM, followed by a tour of the Mosque. At 4:00 PM guests mingled at a MultiFaith mixer amidst fifteen table displays of area religious traditions.

At 5:00 PM a delicious dinner catered by the Grape Leaf Diner was served to the 280 attendees of over a dozen faith traditions.

A local businessman and Board member of the Council had socks made for the occasion that encouraged a Thich Nhat Hanh concept of taking peaceful steps upon the earth. Each attendee received the socks and a gift bag from the Masjid Saad Foundation.

A short multimedia presentation by MFC Co-Chair Judy Trautman displayed the work of the MultiFaith Council. A 9^th grade high school student recited her winning Erase the Hate contest poem “I’m Not Who You think I Am”. Kay Lindahl, [NAIN Board Treasurer] founder of The Listening Center in Laguna Niguel, California, and author of three books on Sacred Listening, presented an interactive program on three practices to develop the sacred art of listening.

From Multi-Faith Saskatchewan, inc

Submitted by Paul McKenna

Multi-Faith Saskatchewan notes a booklet Treating Patients of Other Religions and Ethnicities. This document will be available shortly as a link on the National Interfaith Alliance website and will also be linked with the American Medical Association and state medical societies. In that manner, physicians will be able to access the info online on their Blackberries prior to entering the patients' rooms. They also have a poster Faiths & Patient-Family-Centered Care. We will share these resources as soon as they are finalized.

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Media Briefs

By Judy Lee Trautman, NAIN Communicatons Chair

BeyondTolerance.org

BeyondTolerance.org, a new online dialogue initiative, connects campuses, student groups, faculty and staff and non-profits for in-depth dialogue and personal exploration on the important religious, social, and political issues of our time.

A wonderfully diverse group of people have joined BeyondTolerance.org so far, including people representing 12 different countries and over 20 religious identities.

Of the nearly 50 organizations involved, about 75% are from academic institutions (university, high school students and faculty) and 25% are from non-profits.

A range of early conversations include the role of religion in conflict, terrorism and youth, religion and dating and marriage, and media influence on views of religion. Join in at www.beyondtolerance.org.

Budrus: It Takes A Village To Unite The Most Divided People On Earth

Ayed Morrar, an unlikely community organizer, unites Palestinians from all political factions and Israelis to save his village from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Victory seems improbable until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines.

Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat yet remain virtually unknown to the world. The movie is directed by award-winning filmmaker Julia Bacha (writer/editor Control Room, co-director Encounter Point), and produced by Bacha, Palestinian journalist Rula Salameh, and filmmaker and human rights advocate Ronit Avni (formerly of WITNESS, director of Encounter Point).

Budrus was created by Just Vision, a nonprofit organization that tells inspiring stories seldom seen on the nightly news about Palestinians and Israelis working for nonviolent solutions to the conflict. For more information visit www.justvision.org.

Budrus premiered in New York at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28. The Canadian premiere will be in Toronto at Hot Docs Film Festival, on May 2-3. The West Coast Premiere is May 2-5 at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

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Wisdom Corner

By Dr. Teja Singh

Man is of one race in all the world.

God as Creator and God as God,

God in His bounty and God in His mercy,

Is all one God. Even in error

We should not separate God from God!

Worship the One God,

For all men the one Divine Teacher.

He is in the Temple as He is in the mosque:

He is in the Hindu worship as He is in the Muslim prayer.

Men are one though they appear different.

The One Lord made them all. "

(Source: Akali Ustat, 85)

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