By Paul Chaffee
EDITORIAL
A Quaker friend, Anthony Manoussos, and a Muslim friend, Noor Malikak Chishti, joined Ruth in presenting “Listening with a Heart of Mercy” at the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne.
This posting marks TIO’s sixth issue. Half a year in seems a good time to catch a breath and see where we’ve come. More than 100 articles, news items, interfaith reports, and calendar events have gone to TIO subscribers and can now be found at www.theinterfaithobserver.org. In sum, this material underlines the assumption which motivated this venture in the first place – that those who embrace interfaith culture need to know more about each other, the manifold resources that are surfacing, and the ways healthy interfaith collaboration can contribute to peace, justice, and care for the Earth.
Looking back, the most inspiring factor at TIO has been the emerging community of nearly 100 interfaith activists and young adult leaders who have stepped forward as contributors. Everyone has helped. More than half have written articles. A number have contributed more than once, including Don Frew, Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer, Joshua Stanton, Jesse Tanner, and Sandy Westin. Pioneering interfaith leaders like John Cobb, Charles Gibbs, Rita Gross, Paul Knitter, Bill Lesher, and Kay Lindahl have stepped forward generously to bless the venture.
TIO Correspondents
Rev. Braybrooke joins a Hindu friend before an interfaith service in London.
Two contributors in particular, Marcus Braybrooke and Ruth Broyde Sharone, have offered TIO a wealth of information, energy, and good will while making monthly contributions. They’ve inspired TIO’s Editorial Board to add a new category to our editorial team, namely, TIO Correspondents. TIO Correspondents are contributors who bring (1) decades of experience as interfaith activists together with (2) an agreement to write regularly for TIO.
Kudos goes to them and everyone else on the TIO team. Dozens of people have helped behind the scenes, making the whole thing possible. Finally, thank you for reading it, for ‘liking’ the articles, and for passing them on to your friends.
