Religions for Peace - USA August 2008 E-Newsletter

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In This Issue:

From Our Executive Director…

Join us for the 2008 Unity Walk
Mark your calendars! Religions for Peace – USA is hosting the New York City 9/11 Unity Walk. The Unity Walk is a chance for people of faith to come together to demonstrate solidarity and a shared call for peace in the wake of 9/11. Those who walk affirm the following purpose statement: “We walk together as neighbors from many faiths and cultures. We gather in peace to demonstrate our unity, recalling the spirit of togetherness that grew out of 9/11. We commemorate this day because concern for each other’s welfare is the shared hope of us all.”

If you will be in or near New York City on September 14th, join us for this event which will include a contemplative walk through Manhattan’s Financial District, speakers from various faith traditions, and music:

• The opening ceremony will begin at 5:00 pm at the 9/11 Memorial in Battery Park (just south of Broadway & State)
• We will progress on our route, passing by Ground Zero with an opportunity for personal prayer and reflection
• The closing ceremony will take place at St. Peter’s Catholic Church (22 Barclay Street)

To volunteer to help with the Unity Walk, send an email to nycunitywalk@rfpusa.org. To contribute to the success of the 2008 Unity Walk by donation or for more information, please call 212.338.9140 or send an email. RSVP’s are appreciated but not required. You can also learn more about the Unity Walk – which takes place both in NYC and in DC – at www.911unitywalk.org.

Recalling NAINConnect 2008
The 20th NAINConnect was held in San Francisco on the campus of the University of San Francisco on July 24-28. Hosted by the Interfaith Center at the Presidio, the annual North American Interfaith Network event brought together interfaith activists and organizations from across North America. Our own Interim Director of Operations, Anne Hillman, attended the event, describing it as “an enjoyable experience rich with personal connections as well as workshops and presentations about the many forms of interreligious work being done in North America.”

Other members of the Religions for Peace – USA family were involved with the conference including Dr. Tarunjit S. Butalia, Moderator of RFP-USA and NAIN Trustee, and former Executive Director Rev. Bud Heckman. Dr. Butalia moderated the Saturday morning Assembly while Rev. Heckman co-led a workshop entitled “As ‘Interfaith Community,’ Who Are We?” and presented his newly published book, InterActive Faith.

The 2009 NAINConnect will be held in Kansas City, MO on June 25-29. Visit NAIN’s website for more information about the 2008 event and updates for 2009.

Loving God and Neighbor
Senior Christian and Muslim scholars and leaders met July 28-31 for the "Loving God and Neighbor in Word and Deed: Implications for Christians and Muslims," conference held at Yale Divinity School. The event launches a series of interfaith events planned around the world over the next two years. These gatherings respond to the call for dialogue issued in an open letter, A Common Word Between Us and You, written by major Islamic leaders—including Co-Presidents of the Religions for Peace World Council—to which Yale scholars responded with a statement that garnered over 500 signatures. The conference is the first public dialogue launched by Muslim intellectuals in the Common Word group that appealed to Christian leaders last year for discussions among theologians to promote peace.

Most U.S. participants were Protestant theologians and church leaders, including some prominent evangelicals, but some Catholics and Jews also took part. The Muslims, both Sunnis and Shi'ites, hailed from around the world. Representatives from Religions for Peace at the meeting were World Council Co-Presidents H.E. Dr. Mustafa Ceric, Reis-I-ulema of the Islamic Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Sheikh Tayser Rajab al-Tamimi, the Supreme Judge of Sharia Courts in Palestine. Also presenting was Honorary President Dr. M. Din Syamsuddin, President of Muhammadiyah.

The National Council of Churches was also represented by Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, the NCC's Senior Program Director for Faith and Order and Interfaith Relations and RFP-USA Executive Council member.

For further information about the event, please visit Yale’s website.

Say No to Violence
Religions for Peace is joining with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in the Say No to Violence Campaign. The initiative draws attention to violence against women including the physical, emotional, and economic cost of the violence. Perhaps the most pervasive human rights violation that we know today, it devastates lives, fractures communities, and stalls development.

You can help by joining the campaign and adding your name to a list of people around the world by visiting www.saynotoviolence.org. The goal is to reach 1 million signatures by November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Visit UNIFEM’s website for more information.

Interfaith Conflict Resolution Course
The United States Institute for Peace (USIP) is offering an online certificate course in Interfaith Conflict Resolution. This course is designed to enhance the peacemaking capacities of individuals and faith-based organizations by focusing on objectives, methods, and best practices of interfaith dialogue, a form of religious peacemaking increasingly recognized for its relevance to 21st Century conflict. The course also examines the roles that faith leaders can play as third parties in peacemaking efforts. The course applies general principles of faith-based peacemaking to two case studies, highlighting interfaith peacemaking efforts between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, as well as the role that various faith communities played in helping to bring an end to the 36-year internal armed conflict in Guatemala.

Those who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate of completion. There is no charge for the course. For more information and to register, visit the USIP’s website.

Divided We Fall
An award-winning documentary film called Divided We Fall tells the story of hate and violence in the aftermath of 9/11 and explores the question: who counts as American? The story's power has inspired the Divided We Fall Campaign: a grassroots movement to screen the film in every state across the nation during this September 11th anniversary. You are invited to join the Divided We Fall Campaign and host the film and discussion in your community on or near September 15th, the anniversary of the first post-9/11 hate murder of Sikh American Balbir Sodhi. In doing so, you will be joining schools, universities, museums, libraries, houses of worship, government officials, and community centers in deep dialogue about racism, religion, reconciliation and healing in America.

Join the campaign. Contact tour director Jodi Elliott for details. Visit the film's website for trailers, news, and reviews.

You can also help promote the film by requesting it in Netflix! If they get enough requests, they’ll acquire the film which will allow even more people access to this wonderful resource.

RFP Leadership Engages in High-Level Multi-Religious Dialogue in Madrid
Religious leaders of different faiths from Religions for Peace took lead roles at the historic inter-faith dialogue hosted by the Muslim World League on 16–17 July in Madrid, Spain.

"King Abdullah's initiative in bringing together this historic gathering is welcomed by religious believers around the world," said Secretary General of Religions for Peace. "Multi-religious cooperation is key to building lasting peace around the world." Dr. Vendley chaired a key session at the meeting, "Common Human Values in Areas of Dialogue." Religious leaders representing Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism were among those who attended the meeting.

Also representing RFP at the meeting were H.E. Dr. Mustafa Ceric, Reis-I-ulema of the Islamic Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina; Rev. Nichiko Niwano, President of Rissho Kosei-Kai; Rabbi David Rosen, President of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations; and Serigne Mansour Sy, President of the Federation of Islamic Associations of Senegal. All are Co-Presidents of the Religions for Peace World Council.

International Day of Peace
In 1981, The United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Peace. The 2008 event is coming soon on September 21st and you are all invited to get involved. The International Day of Peace Vigil is an organization that encourages worldwide 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence.

Visit their website to find a vigil in your area or to register your own.

Commitment to Building Peace in the Middle East, North Africa
Religious leaders of different faiths from Religions for Peace, the largest and most representative multi-religious coalition, forged a consensus to build peace in the Middle East and North Africa region. They formed the Middle East and North Africa/Religions for Peace. The Council was launched at a meeting of 30 Muslim, Christian, and Jewish representatives at the Library of Alexandria in Egypt on 15 July 2008. His Beatitude Michel Sabbah and Dr. Mohammad Al Sammak, Secretary General of the Christian-Muslim Committee for Dialogue, are Co-Chairs of the Council; both are members of the Religions for Peace World Council.

With representatives from more than 20 countries in the region, the Council will engage in a number of activities aiming at greater understanding between religions and communities. In its initial plan of action, the Council identified as priorities: the development of principles for true dialogue; promotion of education for better understanding of the three Abrahamic religions; and carrying out solidarity actions that may promote reconciliation. The participants agreed to give priority to help build inter-religious platforms in the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Dr. William F. Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace, commended the bold steps that were taken to form the Council. "Religions that cooperate effectively put common problems at the center of their concern and take action on them," he said. "These include addressing poverty and social and political injustice. The launch of the Council is a significant step to mobilize the spiritual, moral, and social assets of the religious communities in the region for common action."

Salvations: Truth and Difference in Religion
In Salvations: Truth and Difference in Religion, author S. Mark Heim presents an alternative to taking sides in the Christian debate between exclusivist and pluralist views. He argues that it makes more sense to speak of salvation in the plural, to maintain that the ends of various religions are indeed varied and significantly constituted by the paths taken to reach them. At the same time, all paths - Christianity included - can and must make or require exclusive commitments on the part of those that hold them. Heim carefully critiques the pluralist assumption of a single religious end to the many religions, analyzing the writings of John Hick, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, and Paul Knitter. He also argues that in hypothesizing the many ends of different religions, Salvations contradicts neither the finality of Christ, nor the authentic, independent validity of other religions.

You Don't Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism
Grounded in biblical scholarship and interwoven with personal stories, You Don’t Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right provides a pragmatic path to peace, understanding, and hope that appeals to the common wisdom of all religions. Pointing the way through the continuum of conflict, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield addresses the ways faith has many faces, how justice can coexist with forgiveness and mercy, how unity does not necessitate uniformity, and the ways we can learn to disagree without disconnecting. In this compelling and engaging volume, Hirschfield urges people of all faiths to accept their differences while seeking commonality and reaching out to one another with love and forgiveness.

The Lost Epistle of Jesus
The Lost Epistle of Jesus is the first novel written by Rev. Evan Drake Howard which presents an imaginative retelling of the ministry and death of Jesus. The story revolves around the provocative premise of a miraculous epistle that Jesus wrote to help people in all generations through the storms of falling in love and loving. This epistle outlines a spirituality that encompasses the whole person and strives to provide hope from heartbreak. Howard is launching the book nationally on September 16th when proceeds from books purchased that day from Amazon will go to the Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Check out his website for more details.

Want to recommend something for us to share in this e-newsletter? Drop us a line at newsletter@rfpusa.org.

Religions for Peace - USA
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New York, NY 10017
Tel: 212.338.9140 | Fax: 212.983.0098 | Email: rfpusa@rfpusa.org