Religions for Peace - USA June 2006 E-Newsletter

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In This Issue:

From Our Executive Director…

RFP-USA launches Hope for Children: Responding to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Religions for Peace-USA through the generous support of the US Fund for UNICEF is offering the Hope for Children program beginning this summer. Hope for Children aims to assist in addressing the psychological, social, and spiritual needs of the child victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita through a unique multi-religious approach of day camps for children and trauma awareness and resilience training for adults and young adults. This one-year project is done in partnership with the Camp Noah project of the Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, the Louisiana Interreligious Disaster Recovery Network, and the Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) program at Eastern Mennonite University. For more information, please write to hopeforchildren@rfpusa.org.

9/11 Unity Walk
On the 5th Anniversary of 9/11, Religions for Peace-USA has agreed to join partners in Washington, DC and Shanksville, PA for a unity walk to honor the significance of this day in American history. Save the date. RFP-USA will be working with New York City partner agencies to sponsor the walk and promote interfaith appreciation and understanding. Please contact kane@rfpusa.org if you are interested in partnering or organizing the NYC walk and look for details on the locations and routes forthcoming. If you want to organize in your own community, look to the site established by Interfaith Works for the original 9/11 Unity Walk for ideas and models. In 2005, they had 1500 participants in the DC walk.

World Sikh Council – America Region and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Begin Bilateral Dialogue
On May 20, Religions for Peace-USA was privileged to host the first in a series of anticipated bilateral interreligious dialogues between two of its member bodies, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the World Sikh Council - America Region. Dr. Anahat Kaur Sandhu, representative of the WSC-AR, and Fr. James Massa, Executive Director of USCCB's Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs, both pictured center, were co-conveners. Monsignor Felix Machado, Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican in Rome, attended as a special guest and advisor. The Sikh delegation was led by Dr. Manohar Singh, Chairperson of the WSC-AR with assistance from Dr. Tarunjit Singh, Chair of Interfaith Committee of WSC-AR. A total of 12 invited representatives from the USCCB and WSC-AR attended and participated in the discussions.

The New Jain Center of America Hosts Executive Council of Religions for Peace-USA
JAINA and the beautiful new Jain Center of America in Flushing, Queens graciously hosted the Executive Council of Religions for Peace-USA on May 22. Nearly 30 persons in attendance were treated to a tour of the Temple and introduction to Jainism. This is the first meeting of the Executive Council since significant by-laws and structural changes in RFP-USA. It involved significant preparatory work for the VIIIth World Assembly of Religions for Peace in Kyoto, Japan.

The People Speak 2006: Webinars, Blogs, and Podcasts for Your Community
Blogs, podcasts, and live video “webinars” typify the new strategies for The People Speak in 2006. In our third year, Religions for Peace-USA will be offering programming through The People Speak through new web mediums. Executive Director Bud Heckman says, “We are looking for new and creative ways for Americans to faithfully dialogue on foreign policy issues. It is critical, especially given the current state of foreign relations.” Information will be offered in our July and August e-newsletters, as well as be detailed in special mailings. Stay tuned for word on the live webcasts and mini-grant opportunities.

-In 2006, more than two dozen organizations will join with the UN Foundation under the theme of Working Together with the World: What’s in it for the U.S.?. The sub-themes will focus on Peace, Security, and Human Rights; Energy and Global Climate Change; and the Millennium Development Goals.

Hartford Interfaith Study Released: A Sharp Rise in Activity
A recent study has found a dramatic increase in interfaith worship and interfaith cooperation among communities across the United States.

According to a survey sponsored by the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership, 22.3% of congregations reported participating in an interfaith worship service within the previous year. This amount is more than triple the 7% of congregations who claimed to have been involved in interfaith worship in 2000. Moreover, the study also found that 37.5% of congregations joined in interfaith community service activities within the past twelve months, almost a 400% increase from the 8% who participated in interfaith community service activities in 2000.

This rise in interfaith activity has been widely associated with the events of September 11, 2001. The attacks were immediately followed by a surge of interfaith engagement. Five years later the increased interest in interfaith activities continues to rise.

David A Roozen, Director of the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership and Professor of Religion and Society at Hartford Seminary, noted, “The September 11 upturn in interfaith awareness has been accompanied by a fundamental change in the United States’ perception of the American religious mosaic.” Indeed, of the congregations surveyed, 40% who reported to participate in interfaith worship and 64% who reported to engage in interfaith community service were of faith traditions other than Christianity.

Roozen continued to state, “Our public consciousness has had to acknowledge in the most powerful way in our history the religious liberty-in-diversity that Americans cherish has moved from ecumenical Christian to interfaith.”

The complete report is expected to be released in August of 2006. A summary may be found here.

Faith and Public Life Resource Center on the Horizon
Keep your eyes peeled for the public launch of an initiative that grew out of the Center for American Progress and which now has legs and arms: The Faith and Public Life Resource Center. Executive Director Jennifer Butler says the organization will publicly launch next month, though it has been at work for months helping resource moderate and progressive people of faith with media savvy and capacity-building. Also of note is that Butler has an interesting book out in October of this year - “Born Again: The Christian Right Globalized” – chronicling years of her research while at the Church Center for the United Nations on the expansion of the Christian Right into global politics.

ICNA/MAS Convention
One of the best ways to understand Islam in the U.S. today is to attend the conventions of major Islamic organizations – the Islamic Society of North America, The Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim America Society, and The Mosque Cares, for example. Tens of thousands of Muslims of different stripes participate.

ICNA/MAS hosts their annual convention in Hartford, Connecticut on the July 4th weekend and ISNA hosts the country’s largest Muslim convention on Labor Day weekend in Chicago.

Faces of God: A Contest for Art Exhibition at the United Nations
The New Seminary will be presenting an exhibit at the United Nations on November 16, 2006 called the “Faces of God.” The competition is meant to “inspire artists to create works that are imaginative and exciting,” capturing the “many selfless people who freely give in the name of love, compassion, community and peace.”

Nine monetary awards will be given ranging from $1000 to $2000. Plus the artists with the 9 winning submissions will also receive free air and ground expenses for The United Nations Reception. Submission rules, eligibility, and prize levels are available by visiting here.

Vatican and World Council of Churches Work on Conversion Ground Rules
During a recent four day conference, the Vatican and the World Councils of Churches have announced that they will seek a “common code of conduct” for religious conversions. The groups also will open contacts with Islam and other faiths to study ways to avoid conflicts and tensions in the process.

"How can we - anxious to maintain, develop and nurture good relations with people of other faiths - deal with this highly complex issue that sometimes threatens the fiber of living together?" said the Rev. Hans Ucko, head of the interreligious relations office for the World Council of Churches.

Members of other faiths, including Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims attended the meeting. Pentecostal and evangelical Christian representatives are not yet involved in the talks.

Appeal for Peace: Report on an Interfaith Gathering
Couldn’t make it to Washington D.C. for the largest annual interfaith peace gathering in the world for its first time on US soil? Did you miss out? See Episcopal Bishop C. Christopher Epting’s report on the Community of Sant'Egidio event. He is a member of the Executive Council of Religions for Peace-USA and joined many RFP colleagues for the event.

Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace

The Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace at the United Nations has launched a new website www.tripartiteinterfaithforum.org to make publicly available and transparent documents relating to the work of the Forum. The Tripartite Forum was launched formally this spring at the United Nations.

The site was set up by colleagues in the Philippine Mission currently leading the Secretariate of the Tripartite Forum’s troika of leadership – member states, UN agencies, and religious NGOs. It offers links to the key partners, provides key resource documents as the Tripartite Forum develops, and offers an outline of the future work of the Tripartite Forum.

Interns from Religions for Peace-USA and the Temple of Understanding are busily helping the Committee of Religious NGOs in their preparations for fall launch of activities related to the Tripartite Forum. This also invovles a detailed analysis of resolutions related to interreligious understanding by the UN in recent years.

With over 50 member religious communities and over 90 members on its three councils, Religions for Peace-USA, wishes to occasionally spotlight individual members or communities. This issue features the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).

The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) was formed in 1961 through the consolidation of the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association. Today the UUA is a faith community of more than 1000 congregations that support each other and bring to the world a vision of religious freedom, tolerance and social justice.

The member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, affirm and promote

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

In this section we feature interesting, replicable projects of our member religious communities or thought-provoking publications for our common mission.

The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s latest work, while chronicling the uses and misuses of religion in politics, makes evident that if world leaders are ever going to resolve global conflicts, then they must make religion a part of the conversation.

Albright argues that the classic mistake was to have thought that to add God and religion to the equation of unraveling complicated diplomacies was a further nuisance. To the contrary, she says to not do so is to further compound the problem.

She notes with a stateswoman’s grace and experience that if religions are part of the problem, then they must be a part of the solution, and if they are not, then they certainly can be a part of the solution. Nonetheless, she is still guarded, believing it is important to contain the capacity of religions to divide, even as we seek to capitalize on ways that they unify. HarperCollins, 352 pages, 2006, ISBN: 0060892579.

Gandhi’s Hope: Learning From World Religions as a Path to Peace
A recent book by Jay McDaniel, a professor of religion in Conway, Arkansas, makes a great summer inspirational read for those thinking of how to celebrate this fall the 100th Anniversary of Gandhi’s call to nonviolence – satyagraha.

Sparked by a public lecture at Hendrix College given by Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, Hendrix professor Jay McDaniel wrote “Gandhi’s Hope: Learning from World Religions as a Path to Peace” to help readers learn about world religions as a way to find both personal and world peace.

“Whether we are Christians or Jews, Muslims or Hindus, Buddhists or Sikh, we face five serious challenges,” said McDaniel, an author of several books on religion and ecology. “These challenges are to live compassionately, to live self-critically, to live simply, to live ecologically and to welcome religious diversity.”

Gandhi’s Hope treats all of these challenges, but is aimed specifically at helping spiritually interested readers respond to the last challenge of welcoming religious diversity. It does so guided by a form of philosophy called process philosophy. Orbis Press, 134 pages, 2005, ISBN: 1570755906.

Engaging America: Intergroup Relations Resources
The American Jewish Committee has launched a new website for resources for interethnic, interreligious, and intergroup relations. It includes overviews of various religious traditions and newsfeeds of interest. See www.engagingamerica.org

Interfaith Voices – Now in Podcast
If you know what iTunes is, great! If you don’t, don’t panic! Even if yet another resource has gone to podcast, it is okay if you don’t own an iPod or other mp3 player. You can enjoy podcasts anytime on your home computer using free software such as Apple's iTunes, RealAudio Player, Windows Media Player, WinAmp.

Recently, we told you about Rowan’s Interfaith Today podcasts a few months ago. The Interfaith Voices radio show is now in podcast letting you schedule the download of audio copies (in mp3 format) of each week's program directly to your computer. Once it's on your computer you can listen to it there, or transfer it to a portable audio device for listening on the go. It's like TiVo for the radio, but with less work, because it is automated once set-up. If a show airs at an inconvenient time or you miss one, having a free podcast subscription will help you stay in touch and listen when you have availability.

Golden Rule Meditation Exercises
From the good folks at Scarboro Missions who supply a series of resources on the Golden Rule comes a new publication – the Golden Rule Meditation Exercises.

The 21 meditation exercises foster reflection on the Golden Rule in 13 religions. Themes include compassion, healing, art, global citizenship, social justice, journaling, the circle and unity amidst diversity. The do-it-yourself meditations are designed for both individual and group reflection; some of the meditations focus on the visual qualities of the popular Scarboro Missions' Golden Rule Poster.

What is unique about this document? It is a hands-on, interactive, do-it-yourself, educational kit. This kit is designed to actually give people methodological tools to do interfaith dialogue. Section three is adaptable for use by youth groups.

Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882
With July 4th around the corner, the immigration debate in full tilt again, and with a recent staff visit to Ellis Island, we decided to dust off an old poem and forego the usual pithy quote (see Food for Thought just below) and recommend a book with a solid, historical look at the contours of past immigration debates.

Roger Daniels, the author of “Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life” and a leading expert on immigration issues, also released last year “Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882.”

The federal government's efforts to pick and choose among the multitude of immigrants seeking to enter the United States began with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Conceived in ignorance and falsely presented to the public, it had undreamed-of consequences, and this pattern, unfortunately, has been repeated often since. As Daniels shows in this work, America's inconsistent, often illogical, and always cumbersome immigration policy has profoundly affected our recent past.

Immigration policy, in Daniel’s telling, shows Americans at their best and worst, from the nativist violence that forced Theodore Roosevelt's 1907 "gentlemen's agreement" with Japan to the generous refugee policies adopted after World War II and throughout the Cold War. And in a conclusion drawn from today's headlines, Daniels makes clear how ignorance, partisan politics, and unintended consequences have overtaken immigration policy during the current administration's War on Terror.

Irreverent, deeply informed, and authoritative, Guarding the Golden Door presents an unforgettable interpretation of modern American history and makes you the genius at the workplace water cooler. Hill and Wang Publishing, 344 pages, 2005, ISBN: 0-8090-5344-6.