Interfaith Academy FAQs
1) Who is doing this?
2) There are two Interfaith Academies. How do they relate
to one another?
3) What is the schedule? What are we actually doing?
4) When should I book my flight/travel?
5) Is there an age limit?
6) Who are the faculty?
7) Is it offered for credit?
8) What else can I do while there? Is there free time?
9) Is there wi-fi and/or computer access? Should I bring
my laptop?
10) How will I get picked up at the airport?
11) What if I drive?
12) Is there public transportation?
13) When do I get my materials and do my reading?
14) Where are we staying?
15) Is there an ATM or post office onsite?
16) Can I make copies there?
17) Can I bring or share something?
18) Can I exercise there?
19) What is the approach? What are the objectives
20) Can I keep my books and materials mailed to me?
21) Will we need any formal or dress attire? You talk about
head scarves and long sleeves and so forth for women, but what about men?
22) How will I know where to go at the airport?
23) Is there a washer and dryer there?
24) Is there a refrigerator? I have some medicines that
I need to store.
25) Will there be vegetarian food available?
The Interfaith Academies are a collaborative effort of Religions for Peace-USA (creator and implementer), Saint Paul School of Theology (grant awardee and host), the Pluralism Project (technical consultant and some instruction), and the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council (local host and site enabler).
Significant support also comes from the staff of CRES (local coordination) and Hartford Seminary (coordination and teaching).
It is all made possible by a generous one-year grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.
2) There are two Interfaith Academies. How do they relate to one another?
The Academy for Religious Professionals is geared towards persons who have been in interfaith work for some time and who are degreed professionals. It lasts one week and costs $1500. The Academy for Emerging Religious Leaders is for those who are just beginning to enter interfaith work and who intend on helping to lead their community’s interfaith efforts in the future. It lasts two weeks and largely at no cost to participants. The two Academies run in an overlapping fashion, meeting together in large sessions and separating only for small group discussions and some meals or as otherwise directed.
3)
What is the schedule? What are we actually doing?
You can see the detailed, tentative schedule for the Interfaith Academies at www.rfpusa.org/interfaithacademy/schedule.html, or by clicking here.
You will notice a healthy mix of reading, discussion, site visits, prayer/observance, and arts and entertainment. Participants will be asked to contribute during the course of the Academies.
We will use an approach similar to that of Yehezkel Landau in his Building Abrahamic PartnershipsTM program at Hartford Seminary, including:
a) presentations
clarifying the tenets and practices of each faith tradition
b) historical overviews of each tradition and how they have interacted
in history
c) shared text study using source material from each tradition, including
prayers
d) visits to religious centers and subsequent discussion of those liturgical
experiences
e) demographic and sociological data on these communities in America
f) skills and sensitivities needed to establish and sustain effective
interfaith partnerships
g) the role of the media in creating images of one another, and strategies
to counter negative media stereotypes developing ideas for ways and means
of interfaith collaboration
See question #19 below for more information.
4) When should I book my flight/travel?
We begin with registration at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13 and end after lunch at 1:00 on Wednesday, June 27 for the Emerging Religious Leaders and end at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, June 20 for the Religious Professionals. Once you have confirmation of your attendance from Academy staff, we ask that you book your flights/travel accordingly.
Please remember that we do not offer compensation for travel to/from Kansas City. We will be running a free van shuttle service to/from Kansas City International Airport on Wednesday, June 13 from 10 am to 10 pm. Free shuttles will also be running on June 20 and June 27 for return flights.
We welcome participants from 18 to 108 years of age. Currently accepted participants vary in age by as much as 50 years. Unfortunately, we do not have a provision that allows the participation of minors, except with the presence of a parent and by pre-arrangement only.
The faculty are a mix of national and local experts. They include:
- Vern Barnet,
director of CRES in Kansas City
- Tarunjit S. Butalia, interfaith representative for the World Sikh Council
– America Region
- Bud Heckman, administrator at Hartford Seminary and previously director
of Religions for Peace-USA
- Yehezkel Landau, professor at Hartford Seminary
- Phil Meckley, professor at Kansas Wesleyan University
- Rori Picker, director of RFP-USA
- Ellie Pierce, senior researcher at the Pluralism Project
- John Thatamanil, professor at Vanderbilt University
- Peggy Thomas, national ecumenical and interreligious leader from Presbyterian
Church
In addition there will be presentations from local leaders of various religious communities, including: Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, Pagan, Sikh and interfaith.
Yes and no. We will provide participants who so desire it information about the presenters, number of contact hours, reading assignments, etc., which they can use to seek independent credit at their own institution. Everyone will receive a participation certificate and academies are structured so as to be conducive to CEU requests.
8) What else can I do while there? Is there free time?
We
have a few social outings scheduled during the Academies and a couple
of “free” evenings. There is also a day of reading and study
that is unstructured in the middle for those participating in the version
for Emerging Leaders.
Kansas City is full of social opportunities. However, our schedule is quite full, so plan your time carefully.
9) Is there wi-fi and/or computer access? Should I bring my laptop?
Yes. State of the art facilities are provided in Holter Center and the Library. You are encouraged to bring your laptop, as our meeting rooms are new and tech friendly. Ethernet ports are also available. You should bring your own cord, but they can be lent from the Library desk during regular hours.
10)
How will I get picked up at the airport?
See
question # 3 above. We will provide a central pick-up point at which you
can meetstaff with an “Interfaith Academies” sign.
There is ample parking in the lots around the Holter Center (meeting and registration) and Epworth Hall (dormitory) on campus. Directions to Saint Paul School of Theology are available here: http://www.spst.edu/site/about_saint_paul/map_directions.php
12) Is there public transportation?
Yes. There is a bus (#12 Truman Road & Crystal) that runs from the campus down Truman Road to/from downtown at approximately 30-40 minute intervals only from 5:30 am until 7:00 pm weekdays and more limited service on weekends. It may not be your best option.
13) When do I get my materials and do my reading?
We
will pre-ship to participants some of the curricula related to the Academies
and provide a recommended bibliography. Several copies of additional materials
will be held on reserve at the Saint Paul School of Theology Library.
Every participant will receive a copy of:
a. Our primary
text - Christopher Partridge’s Introduction to World Religions (Fortress
Press)
b. Meet Your Neighbor: Interfaith FACTs booklet from the Hartford Institute
for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary
c. Critical cases studies and the On Common Ground CD from the Pluralism
Project
d. An interfaith calendar from Festiva
e. A note pad, pen, name tag, and printed orientation materials
Participants
will be staying in simple dormitory rooms in Epworth Hall, which is immediately
adjoining to our main meeting facilities, Holter Center. Rooms offer a
twin bed, desk, and closet. Sheets and towels will be provided. Each room
in Epworth Hall has its own restroom/wash facility.
15) Is there an ATM or post office onsite?
No. You will have to walk a little ways to get to one. But we can make provisions for you to have access to the cashier’s office for cashing small checks and acquiring stamps during your visit.
Participants will be given a basic copy card with a pre-set copy limit on it. Additional copies will be at the participants cost and discretion. Machines are available in the Library.
Presenters can be assisted by the Academy staff in readying their documents, if they desire.
17)
Can I bring or share something?
Yes,
please. We are asking everyone to bring both a small vial of water (remember:
less than 3.5 oz, if inside a plane cabin) and a rock from your home community.
We are also asking you to bring your own interfaith stories/resources
to share.
Do you have a story of religious cooperation or conflict in your area? We would love for you to bring newspaper clippings or information that helps show what is happening in your neck of the woods.
We are encouraging participants to bring prayer/observance/worship resources from their tradition, including musical instruments, if they have them. Let us know in advance if you need any special care/security provisions for what you are bringing. There are several pianos onsite.
There are new exercise and recreation facilities onsite in the Holter Center.
19) What is the approach? What are the objectives?
Our
goals as stated to the funder are:
1. Create opportunities for religiously diverse participants to learn
about some of the major religious traditions in the US;
2. Generate discussion and form healthy perspectives among participants
about the meaning of religious pluralism in our society;
3. Encourage the exploration of how to do public ministry in a multi-faith
world from within the tradition of each participant;
4. Explore ways that different religious communities could cooperate and
collaborate around common issues; and
5. Provide the basis for future partnership among participants.
Five areas
that we promised would be explored for each religious tradition are:
1) Primary force shaping faith and practice (text, tradition, reason,
experience, etc.)
2) Central narratives that shape conception of the divine, humanity’s
place in the world, and human relationships
3) How faith is applied to daily life in terms of spirituality and social
engagement
4) View of other religious traditions
5) How to address a particular social issue, as a comparative example
(poverty or situations of conflict, for example)
The Academies
were promised to have three emphases:
1) A basic introduction to a variety of religious traditions
2) An interreligious discussion of the meaning of religious pluralism
in the U.S.
3) An interreligious discussion of how to do public ministry within one’s
own tradition in a multi-faith world
We will use an approach similar to that of Yehezkel Landau in his Building Abrahamic PartnershipsTM program at Hartford Seminary, including:
a) presentations
clarifying the tenets and practices of each faith tradition
b) historical overviews of each tradition and how they have interacted
in history
c) shared text study using source material from each tradition, including
prayers
d) visits to religious centers and subsequent discussion of those liturgical
experiences
e) demographic and sociological data on these communities in America
f) skills and sensitivities needed to establish and sustain effective
interfaith partnerships
g) the role of the media in creating images of one another, and strategies
to counter negative media stereotypes developing ideas for ways and means
of interfaith collaboration
20) Can I keep my books and materials mailed to me?
Yes, you can keep the books and materials provided to you by the Interfaith Academies. Feel free to mark in them and make them your own.
21) Will we need any formal or dress attire? You talk about head scarves and long sleeves and so forth for women, but what about men?
Both men and women should plan on wearing attire on some occasions that is more dressy. We will encourage casual dress throughout the Academies, but if we go to a public place or a private place of worship that calls for dress clothes, you should have some options.
22) How will I know where to go at the airport?
Shuttles will come to pick up participants on June 13 every 1-1.5 hours, starting at 9 AM in the morning. (Other days you will be met by Academy staff). The shuttles roll through A, B, and C terminals for pick ups. They are brightly colored coaches and labeled “Arrow” clearly on the side. If you are not met by a person at the baggage area for your flight with an “Interfaith Academy” sign, you can call 917-705-4196 for pick-up details on the next anticipated shuttle.
23) Is there a washer and dryer there?
Yes, there is a washer and dryer available for your use. Two weeks is a long time. Feel free to pack less and do a load on site midstream. You will have to pay for laundry usage at your own cost. Machines are coin operated.
24) Is there a refrigerator? I have some medicines that I need to store.
Yes. There is a publicly accessible refrigerator.
25) Will there be vegetarian food available?
Yes. The food services staff will make vegetarian and
kosher options available for guests, if they have received advance notice
of your needs.