In This Issue:
1. Executive Director's Updates
2. Honor Your Religious Leader
3. New Staff
4. Peacemaking in Iraq
5. The People Speak
6. "Lighting the Path for Democracy"
6. An Introduction the Interfaith Relations Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
7. "Teen Spirit" and "Thank You Sarah"
8. Food for Thought: The Holy Qur'an
9. Donate to Religions for Peace - USA
10. Subscribe/Unsubscribe

I love reading to my children who are 5 and 7. The world is full of possibility and imagination for them, and it is a good day when I can see the world through their eyes. Sometimes the books we read together teach me something too. For example, do you know the story of "the woman who saved Thanksgiving?" I didn't. We all should.

Thanksgiving is perhaps the biggest of "interfaith" occasions. While President George Washington declared the last day in November a "Day of Thanksgiving and prayer," the holiday would have been lost to us all, because, as time passed, very few people celebrated it. It might have died if not for the unstoppable determination of one woman - Sarah Hale. She marshaled tens of thousands of women and argued through the course of five presidencies and several decades, until an exhausted Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. Want to know more? The story is fascinating and chronicled in the children's book entitled "Thank you, Sarah" by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is one of the many resources that we feature in this month's e-newsletter.

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!

Give today and your gift is doubled instantly! We recently received an offer of a $6,000 anonymous gift, IF we can raise a matching amount towards our work on the role of the U.S. in the world. Double your gift now!

A Wonderful Opportunity: This Month Honor Your Religious Leader

What are you thankful for? Why not celebrate Thanksgiving and Interfaith Dialogue Month by honoring a religious leader or person in your life with a gift to Religions for Peace-USA on their behalf?

If you appreciate receiving these e-newsletters and value the work of Religions for Peace-USA in bringing people of faith together, we ask for your support. We need your help, and we make it easy for you to honor a friend in the process.

We won't bug you - we only ask for your contributions twice a year. Please give today. If you cannot give now, we understand. You can still contribute in another way. Take time to tell a friend about this e-newsletter. Forward this e-newsletter to some friends today.

We can tailor a tribute response to someone whose work that you value and honor that person in a meaningful way. Select to give a gift "on behalf of" using our easy online donation mechanism. We will send them a note to recognize your gift.

Rev. Robert Smylie gave a generous gift recently in honor of Dr. Jane Evans, who passed on earlier this year. A lifelong Presbyterian, Robert knew that Jane - an activist, a Reform Jew, a friend, and a representative of various organizations - was a pioneer in the interfaith and peace and justice movements, including Religions for Peace. "In terms of my own personal journey, Jane was very important to me and I wanted to honor her contributions to our common interfaith work." Who has inspired you? Let them know it matters to you!

Don't struggle to find the gift that will only miss the mark, give the gift that benefits the social good and helps Religions for Peace-USA to build community, address diversity, and examine the role of the U.S. in the world.

Welcome Stacy Smith!

Recently Stacy Smith has joined our staff as a work-study student from Union Theological Seminary. We admired Stacy's work at the Inter-Faith Conference of Metropolitan Washington and the Texas Faith Network before coming to New York, we are delighted to have her. A Presbyterian, Stacy will be working on communications and interfaith relations initiatives.

Want to recommend an intern to us? We have many different young people from different faith traditions who have served with us in the past year. Learn more.

Peace-making in Iraq?

You have heard all the media spin about Iraq. Everybody has an opinion. We wanted to know what is actually happening on the ground in Iraq from the perspective of the man in charge of bringing religious leaders and their communities together there. So Caitlin Deschenes-Desmond of our staff sat down with Dr. Hayder Abdul Karim for an interview. Dr. Hayder is the Director of the Interreligious Council in Iraq formed by the Religions for Peace-International last August. You may be surprised by what he has to say . . . (read the interview).

Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Christ in the U.S.A. and member of the Council of Presidents of Religions for Peace-USA, challenges the crowd gathered at a "The People Speak" event on the Third Anniversary of September 11th.

The People Speak

You did it! Forty (40) of you stepped forward and said, "I want to talk about the role of the U.S. in the world!" From San Francisco to Boston, you are hosting dialogues on global security, global economy, and energy and the environment. And, with the generous support of the organizers of The People Speak, we were able to offer nearly $20,000 in mini-grant support for those dialogues.

In reference to our mini-grant offer and supporting resources, Ji Hyang Sunim, Coordinator of the Boston Clergy and Religious Leaders' Group said, "Thank you for the inspiration that Religions for Peace-USA is providing just now, at this pivotal time!"

If you are hosting a dialogue, keep us posted! We want to see pictures and hear your stories. If you missed out, stay tuned! We hope to reach more of you in the future with other opportunities and mini-grants. Toolkits are still available on our website.

“Lighting the Path for Democracy"

Gather with your friends and neighbors from 7-8 p.m on November 1, 2004:
To hold our nation in the light.

To show that democracy matters.

To call for clean elections.

To remember the things we all care about — peace, justice, security.

For more information or to find out about attending or sponsoring a vigil in your area at www.afsc.org/vigil or email vigil@afsc.org. This is a nonpartisan effort sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee. Endorsing organizations to date include: the National Council of Churches, United for Peace & Justice, and many others.”

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 Interfaith Relations Office which is a part of the Worldwide Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and works in close connection with other offices and ministries of the whole church.

The Interfaith Relations Office seeks to encourage the participation of Presbyterians in interfaith activities locally, nationally and internationally, and to support educational initiatives to enable well-grounded engagement in interfaith conversations, community building efforts and cooperation for social justice. Their aim is to help Presbyterians become better able to articulate their faith in everyday relationships with neighbors of other faiths, and to develop the theological grounding we all need to engage with confidence and clarity in interfaith work. The Office also has a mandate to keep abreast of international developments in interfaith relations, and to help the church clarify how international relationships, tensions and peacemaking efforts affect our interfaith relationships here in the United States.

The Coordinator for Interfaith Relations is Jay T. Rock, who served from 1987-2003 as a mission co-worker appointed by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to the post of Director for Interfaith Relations at the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. He is also on Religion for Peace - USA's Executive Council.

Cultivating Understanding - The Interfaith Listening Project

Building relationships, like keeping a productive garden, is a lot of work. It requires attention and hands-on involvement, but it is satisfying, and fun! The work brings nourishment and happiness to yourself and many others. The Interfaith Listening Project helps plant and sustain relationships of understanding and mutual discovery with Muslim neighbors, and helps to further learn more about Islam and our world. This project brought visiting Christian-Muslim teams to some 25-30 selected locations in the United States from September 23-October 7, 2004. It is one thing to study about Islam, and to read about the dynamics and complexity of Christian-Muslim relations in various countries of the world. However, deeper personal understanding more often comes out of meeting and talking face-to-face with Muslims and Christians who live and work together. The Interfaith Learning Project believes that the need for Muslims and Christians to listen to, and talk with one another is urgent in our time. This opportunity for personal interaction can effectively open doors to understanding Islam, and to exploring how Christians and Muslims are dealing with the realities of modern life in particular countries of the world as well as here at home.

In this section we feature interesting, replicable projects of our member religious communities or thought-provoking publications for our common mission. In this issue we highlight two books: "Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving" by Laurie Halse Anderson and "TeenSpirit: One World, Many Paths" by Paul B. Raushenbush.

Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

This children's book for ages five to ten, published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, takes you on a journey of a woman, Sarah Hale, and her quest to save Thanksgiving. The story spans four decades, the Civil War, and five presidents, all so you could have your turkey and eat it too! The great illustrations in the book are done by Matt Faulker, a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design. The book is both funny and educational.

Laurie Halse Anderson is the author of inspired books for children of all ages. Her novel "Speak" was a 1999 National Book Award finalist. Laurie is also a descendant of the heroine Sarah Josepha Hale, and like her ancestor, is a long-time proponent of Thanksgiving feasts.

Available at bookstores, or to order directly from the publisher. ISBN: 0-689-84787-4 $16.95

TeenSpirit: One World, Many Paths

Like friendship, sexuality, fashion and music, claiming a spiritual and religious identity is fundamental to the teen experience. With the turmoil in the Middle East and the rising popularity of evangelical Christianity, teens have more questions than ever about religious beliefs and seeking spiritual guidance. And that's where "Pastor Paul" comes in.

In his popular column on beliefnet.com, Paul Rauschenbush answers teens' questions about major religions and their influence in teens' lives.

In his new book, "Teen Spirit: One World, Many Paths", Pastor Paul uses teens' letters and questions as springboards for greater exploration of the different religions teens encounter and how spirituality diversity effects their lives: be it on their sports teams, in their relationships, their friends' homes, in the school cafeteria.

Teen Spirit is replete with basic tenets, celebrity testimonies, teens' own stories on why they like practicing their particular religion, specific roles and rites of passage for young people, etiquette for how to behave when invited to an unfamiliar religious event, and more.

From questions about traditions and conversion, to interfaith dating and tough times, Pastor Paul demystifies misperceptions and shows teens how to embrace and accept different religious beliefs while remaining faithful to their own core values.

In a world fraught with religious tension and intolerance, Pastor Paul shines a guiding light for the next generation to encourage acceptance, understanding and cooperation.

Contemporary design, insightful activities, quizzes, and a hip teen look add a special appeal to young readers.

Paul B. Raushenbush is the Associate Dean of Religious Life at Princeton University. His work is focused on religious diversity on campus and supervising a multi-faith student organization called the Religious Life Council. Prior to this position, Paul was the Minister to Young Adults at The Riverside Church in New York City. He has established himself as an expert in the field of multi-faith advice for teens through his popular column, "Ask Pastor Paul: Spiritual Answers to the Multi-Faith World," which appears on beliefnet.com.

Available at bookstores, or to order directly from the publisher, contact: (800) 441-5569. ISBN: 0-7573-0119-3 $11.95