June 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - June 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Institutional Stories– Between Church & State – For Our Kids’ Sake – Gifts of the Spirit

Interfaith News Roundup - June 2023
May 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - May 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Reaching Out for Goodness Sake – The Ethical Struggles We Share – In Memoriam

Interfaith News Roundup - May 2023
April 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Interfaith Steps Forward – Religious Troubles – News & Newsmakers

Interfaith News Roundup - April 2023
March 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - March 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Christians, by the Numbers – Muslims in the News – Interfaith Complexities – Paying Attention to Right-wing Christians – Religicide – What’s Possible … What to Consider

Interfaith News Roundup - March 2023
February 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - February 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Women Finally Welcome – Church & State – The Dark Side of Religion – Interfaith Solutions – Heads Up!

Interfaith News Roundup - February 2023

Interfaith News Roundup - November 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - November 2018

The Good and the Bad – Rome and the World – Religious Voices Calling Out the American Government – Remembering Two Interfaith Grassroots Pioneers

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October 2018 - Digital Interfaith

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

October 15, 2018

Featured
Interfaith Resistance
Interfaith Resistance

by Eboo Patel

No doubt American presidents play a significant role in articulating the character of the nation by offering new definitions of its key symbols.

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The Lotus & the Rose by Reverend Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo
The Lotus & the Rose by Reverend Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo

by Paul Chaffee

The Lotus and the Rose (2018) is probably different from any faith, interfaith, or interspiritual book you’ve encountered.

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Digital Interfaith

Featured
A World of Digital Possibilities
A World of Digital Possibilities

by Elizabeth Dabney Hochman

The next generation is growing up online. We have seen countless studies about the amount of time kids spend engaging with digital media and the effects it has their development.

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The Birth of an Ingenious Tool
The Birth of an Ingenious Tool

by Leslie Gabriel Mezei

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was driving north from Toronto to Tottenham, Ontario to interview Paul McKenna about the colorful Golden Rule Poster he created, that included sacred writings from 13 faith traditions…

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The Power of a Poster in a Digital World
The Power of a Poster in a Digital World

by Paul McKenna

Scarboro Missions in Toronto, Canada first published the Golden Rule poster in 2000, and by the time we had an official ‘launch,’ there was already considerable excitement.

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Digital Tools and the Golden Rule
Digital Tools and the Golden Rule

by Felipe Zurita

Have you heard of the Golden Rule? Or better, do you remember what the Golden Rule is? Here’s a hint: “Treat others as you…” or “Do unto others as…” or “Do not do unto others…”

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Are LinkedIn Groups What We Need Today?
Are LinkedIn Groups What We Need Today?

by Robyn Lebron

As a member of the “older generation,” I often wonder if we’ve lost the art of true connection. My own accomplishments have all been based on people skills.

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All in This Together
All in This Together

by Gaea Denker

For the first time, thanks to Grammy-nominated music legend Pato Banton and the generosity of URI musical artists from across the globe, this incredible diversity is being celebrated in a 30-song  album.

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Negotiating Faith in Digital Culture
Negotiating Faith in Digital Culture

by Annalee Ward

Students sit seemingly idle in the techno-hunch, engrossed in their own little square of light. An outraged outsider might opine, “Is this how a church youth group gathers?” This lament is only part of the story.

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Building a Shared Israel: One Child, One Family, and one Community at a Time
Building a Shared Israel: One Child, One Family, and one Community at a Time

by Vicki Garlock

Long-term conflicts require long-term solutions. With over 1,750 children in grades preK-12 at six schools across Israel, Hand in Hand is becoming an important player in the Middle Eastern peace process.

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Beau Rogers, C.c. 2.0 nc

Featured
Taking Advantage of the Digital World
Taking Advantage of the Digital World

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

The digital world has become so enmeshed into our daily lives that it’s difficult to isolate and define it, much less critique it.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - October 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - October 2018

Interfaith in National Settings – Roman Catholic Travails – Seeds of Hope

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

URI Seeks Executive Assistant and Sublease Tenant

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September 2018 - Preparing for the Toronto Parliament

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

September 15, 2018

Featured
Analyzing the Intangible
Analyzing the Intangible

by Gaea Denker

Every nonprofit wants to think it’s helping the world. But in a field as intangible as peacebuilding, where small interactions slowly build trust over generations, how can peace proponents know their efforts are really working?

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A Summer of Exciting Interfaith Events
A Summer of Exciting Interfaith Events

by Robyn Lebron, Megan Anderson, Tahil Sharma, and Johnny Martin

URI North America Regional Assembly - Reimagining Interfaith Cooperation - NAIN Connect 2018

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Preparing for the toronto parliament

Featured
The World Celebrates the First Parliament of Religion
The World Celebrates the First Parliament of Religion

by Marcus Braybrooke

A quarter of a century ago, to celebrate the centenary of the first World Parliament of Religions, 1993 was observed in many parts of the world as a “Year of Inter-religious Understanding and Co-operation.”

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Going to My First Parliament
Going to My First Parliament

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

What would the world look like if we lived together in peace? What would it taste like? What would it smell like and sound like?

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What to Expect at the Toronto Parliament
What to Expect at the Toronto Parliament

by Brian Carwana

The 2018 Parliament of World Religions, coming to Toronto November 1-7, will be an enormous interfaith event, with estimates of up to 10,000 attending.

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Parliament Planning for Kids and Children This Time
Parliament Planning for Kids and Children This Time

by Vicki Garlock

For the first time ever, the Parliament, in conjunction with Spiritual Playdate, is offering a kids’ program! The theme for the first-ever family festival in Toronto this November is “Plant an Interfaith Garden.”

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Connecting the Past to the Present
Connecting the Past to the Present

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

It was the summer of 2017. My three children and I were on our way to Delhi to spend three weeks with the extended family in sweltering heat of over 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

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The Cosmic Mass Returns to the 2018 World Parliament
The Cosmic Mass Returns to the 2018 World Parliament

by Matthew Fox

I have been involved in celebrating Cosmic Masses throughout North America for the last 24 years. We have sponsored more than 100 of them in various cities and have people to lead them around the country.

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How Interfaith Relations Have Shaped My Life
How Interfaith Relations Have Shaped My Life

by Rob Sellers

As a new university graduate, I was fortunate to spend 11 weeks as a student missionary in the Philippines in the summer of 1967.

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An Open Letter to Women Running for Office
An Open Letter to Women Running for Office

by Kay Lindahl and Kathe Schaaf

Like many of you, we are distressed to witness how the level of discourse in the U.S. has deteriorated in the past two years and become filled with divisiveness and fear.

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Interfaith Today and Tomorrow
Interfaith Today and Tomorrow

by Paul Chaffee

In our globalized world the word interfaith is a slippery piece of language with various meanings.Numerous countries enjoy government support for interfaith and intrafaith programming with the goal of cultivating multifaith friendship, critical to civic peace.

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Beau Rogers, C.c. 2.0 nc

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As Time Goes By
As Time Goes By

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

TIO marks its own birthday this month, seven years after the first issue posted.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - September 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - September 2018

News You May Not Have Seen – The Many Ways We Fight – Roman Catholic Troubles Abound – Audrey Kitagawa: New Board Chair-Elect at the Parliament

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Convergence Fall Webinar Series Now Free! – Affordable Ways to Go Green

Interfaith News Roundup - October 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - October 2018

Interfaith in National Settings – Roman Catholic Travails – Seeds of Hope

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July 2018 - Interfaith Storytelling

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

July 15, 2018

Featured
Sharing the Burden
Sharing the Burden

by Hans Gustafson

One of the greatest barriers to meaningful interreligious learning is the oversimplification, or ignorance of the internal diversity, of religious traditions other than our own.

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Interfaith storytelling

Featured
Let’s Multiply the Love
Let’s Multiply the Love

by Sister Zeph

I was lying down, dreaming of a world where there is no hate; where everyone is smiling; where people dance in the roads with joy. A world where there is respect and equality for all. Then, suddenly, my younger sister Rahat’s phone began to ring.

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The Day My Grandparents Left Our Ancestral Home
The Day My Grandparents Left Our Ancestral Home

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

As a kid growing up in North India, I was thrilled whenever both my parents went out since I would have the full attention of my frail and aging grandmother.

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Abraham and the Old Man
Abraham and the Old Man

by Carrie Sue Ayvar

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I spent every summer from the time I was a year old until I went away to college at my maternal grandparent’s house in North Miami Beach, Florida.

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Grow to Give: An Interfaith Food Equity Project
Grow to Give: An Interfaith Food Equity Project

by Heather Forest

Every year in my town of Huntington, Long Island, New York on Martin Luther King’s birthday, there is an interdenominational prayer service dedicated to a social justice theme.

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Accessing the World’s Faith Traditions Through Story
Accessing the World’s Faith Traditions Through Story

by Vicki Garlock

Everyone loves stories, and most of us are familiar with the idea of Bible storybooks as a point of entry for kids being raised in the Judeo-Christian traditions.

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In Search of a Shared Narrative
In Search of a Shared Narrative

by Ralph Singh

I have been a storyteller for as long as I can remember. I honed my skills at the feet of the great Master, H.H. Baba Virsa Singh ji of Gobind Sadan. As his first foreign devotee, I had the privilege of translating stories from the lives of those we refer to as Messiah, Prophets, Avatars, and Saints.

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Shedding Light Along the Way
Shedding Light Along the Way

by Pam Faro

I am not Hindu, but one of my favorite stories is: Hanuman the Monkey God came upon Lord Brahma, creator of the universe, and Lord Brahma was weeping…

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Sacred Storytelling
Sacred Storytelling

by Mark Novak

People of faith understand the power of storytelling. We know that the meaning of our traditions are often best conveyed not by theological statements or scholarly arguments, but by telling stories.

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Laughing, Learning, Listening
Laughing, Learning, Listening

by Sari Heidenreich

Laughter, listening and learning — these are the three things that come flooding back to me as I look at photos from the weekend I spent at Kashi with peacebuilders from half a dozen southern states.

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Digital Storytelling to Advance Peace in Pakistan
Digital Storytelling to Advance Peace in Pakistan

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

The iconic image of a male storyteller addressing an enraptured audience pressed shoulder to shoulder around a glowing campfire may soon be replaced by hijab and sari-clad young women holding their smart phones.

Read More →

Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Beau Rogers, C.c. 2.0 nc

Featured
Taking Advantage of Stories
Taking Advantage of Stories

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Truth be told, every issue of TIO is a celebration of interfaith story-telling. This month, though, we wanted to focus on the subject itself – telling stories – and the special power they have, particular when interfaith realities are addressed.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - July 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - July 2018

By the Numbers – Good News in Spite of it All

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Launching NAINChat

Interfaith News Roundup - September 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - September 2018

News You May Not Have Seen – The Many Ways We Fight – Roman Catholic Troubles Abound – Audrey Kitagawa: New Board Chair-Elect at the Parliament

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June 2018 - Reimagining Interfaith

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

June 15, 2018

Featured
Meditating on the Buddha in the Midst of Buddhist Terror
Meditating on the Buddha in the Midst of Buddhist Terror

by Richard Reoch

The Buddha was no stranger to genocide. His own people, the Sakyas, were the victims of mass slaughter. One of the final acts of his life, recounted in the opening verses of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, was to refuse a request to give his blessing to an act of genocide.

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Reimagining Interfaith

Featured
Preparing the Heart for Engagement
Preparing the Heart for Engagement

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

There is one particular passage in the Torah, in the tenth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, that both disturbs and delights me. For centuries it has provoked lively debate and wide-ranging interpretations among our sages and rabbis.

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Reimagining Interfaith: Taking Our Lead from Kids
Reimagining Interfaith: Taking Our Lead from Kids

by Vicki Garlock

The interfaith movement is all about bringing people together. Most of the time we focus on adults, and social justice issues. Don’t get me wrong. I fully support any and all interfaith efforts. But we need to do more, and we need to do it better.

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Where do we go from Here?
Where do we go from Here?

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

As a kid growing up in Punjab, India my first formative engagement with interfaith understanding was with a high school friend who was Muslim.

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Naming, Growing, and Collaborating
Naming, Growing, and Collaborating

by Marcus Braybrooke

What’s in a name? In June, the Three Faiths Forum, founded 21 years ago in the UK, is changing its name to the Faith & Belief Forum. This reflects the way its work has expanded to include people of all faiths and beliefs, both religious and non-religious. 

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Opening the Door to Collaboration
Opening the Door to Collaboration

by Paul Chaffee

The most important thing to know about Reimagining Interfaith (RI), the upcoming conference in Washington DC (July 28-August 1), is how collaborative it is.

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Reimagining Interfaith Narratives
Reimagining Interfaith Narratives

by Aaron Stauffer

Good organizers consistently emphasize the importance of leaders “understanding” and “working” on their stories. When they are first getting to know a leader, they ask questions like: What keeps you up at night?

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Reimagining the "White Man's Burden"
Reimagining the "White Man's Burden"

by Maha Elgenaidi

After decades of leading a national nonprofit that counters bigotry through education, I am now firmly convinced that we need new partners to overcome racism, Islamophobia, and exclusivist thinking in our nation.

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From the Shared Love of Justice and Humanity
From the Shared Love of Justice and Humanity

by Kathleen A. Green

Three years ago, I shared my idea for a doctorate of ministry dissertation – bringing humanists and religious adherents together in interfaith engagement – and received some blank stares, a few shaking heads, and even a couple of flat out discouraging declarations such as “What’s the point?

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Pagans in an Interfaith/Intrafaith World
Pagans in an Interfaith/Intrafaith World

by Jason Pitzl-Waters

For modern Paganism as a movement to effectively interface with the rest of the world’s religions, we have to be conscious of how we are progressing with Pagan ecumenical and intrafaith initiatives.

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Welcoming Marginalized Traditions
Welcoming Marginalized Traditions

by Hans Gustafson

Marginalized traditions, including contemporary Paganisms and Earth-based traditions, are beginning to be welcomed to the table of interreligious engagement in pockets around the U.S. However, the rest of us can still be more welcoming.

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Trumpers: The Interfaith Movement’s Greatest Test
Trumpers: The Interfaith Movement’s Greatest Test

by Kevin Singer

In the 2018 Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country, a controversial guru from India and his followers attempt to build a utopian society in Wasco County, Oregon.

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Beau Rogers, C.c. 2.0 nc

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And the Enemy is Interfaith
And the Enemy is Interfaith

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

“It makes me crazy!” my pastor cried out, more than once, in last week’s sermon. She was responding to a New York Times article about American Christian nationalism she’d read the day before.

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Interfaith News Roundup - June 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - June 2018

The Heavy Hand of Government – From the Vatican – Worth Noting

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Introducing KidSpirit Shorts! – Convergence One-day Training at Furman University - October 4

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May 2018 - Who Isn't at the Interfaith Table?

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

May 15, 2018

Who Isn't at the interfaith table?

Featured
‘The Fierce Urgency of Now’
‘The Fierce Urgency of Now’

by Bud Heckman

A question for you: Why isn’t the movement for interfaith cooperation seen and taken as seriously and central in our societies as are other movements for social justice and the common good, such as race, gender, abilities, the environment, and so on?

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Missing Voices
Missing Voices

by Marcus Braybrooke

After the inauguration of the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development in Vienna last month, I visited the Mauthausen Concentration Camp.

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Religion’s Response to Refugees
Religion’s Response to Refugees

by Anashwara Ashok

Many factors affect the decisions being taken on the fate of refugees, but one factor is often overlooked: the historical relationship between religion and refugees.

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Hearing the Interfaith Voices Least Often Heard
Hearing the Interfaith Voices Least Often Heard

by Don Frew

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone in a group say “We even have a Witch” and point to me to emphasize how inclusive they are. So, in terms of diversity, I occupy a place at one extreme end of the interfaith spectrum.

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Enlarging the Interfaith Tent
Enlarging the Interfaith Tent

by Hans Gustafson

Despite an ever-widening door to the growing tent of interreligious engagement, there remains work to do. Interreligious studies in the academy, as well as the interfaith movement in the wider community, have blossomed in the West over the last few decades.

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Finding Faith, Then Interfaith
Finding Faith, Then Interfaith

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

Her lineage offers no clues. Martha Alice Perkins was born in La Fayette, Indiana in 1947, the daughter of a state policeman and devoted church-going Methodist mother, as well as the granddaughter of a member of the local Ku Klux Klan.

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A Visit to the Yánesha, Indigenous Peoples of Central Peru
A Visit to the Yánesha, Indigenous Peoples of Central Peru

by Lyla June Johnston

The sky was black and beautiful. The stars shone above like glistening guardians of the night. Guided only by fire light, we scaled the Amazonian hillside.

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SabangMerauke – Setting the Interfaith Table in Indonesia
SabangMerauke – Setting the Interfaith Table in Indonesia

by Vicki Garlock

SabangMerauke, a non-profit organization in Indonesia, offers a loving, yet straightforward antidote to the fear that sometimes finds its way into human hearts and minds. Their message?  Get to know one another!

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California Interfaith Connections Growing
California Interfaith Connections Growing

by Stephen Albert

Certain things in life are no-brainers. In Jim Croce’s 1972 song “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” he told us: “You don't tug on superman's cape, You don't spit into the wind, You don't pull the mask off that old lone ranger, And you don't mess around with Jim.”

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The Man Behind The Way: Lao Tzu & Daoist Spirituality
The Man Behind The Way: Lao Tzu & Daoist Spirituality

by Stephen Hill

Little is truly known about the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, the guiding figure in Daoism (also translated as Taoism), which is still a popular spiritual practice.

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Review: The Life of Yogananda by Philip Goldberg
Review: The Life of Yogananda by Philip Goldberg

by Paul Chaffee

The religions of India – Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism – are less familiar and stranger to most Americans than the Abrahamic religions, which have dominated America since Columbus.

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Beau Rogers, C.c. 2.0 nc

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Who Isn't at the Table?
Who Isn't at the Table?

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

“Who isn’t at the table yet, who isn’t here?” P. Gerard O’Rourke’s voice, a gruff and gentle Irish brogue, asked the question each month at the start of interfaith board meetings.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - May 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - May 2018

Tragic Report – Donald Trump and the Religious Right – Provocative Report – Interfaith Achievements – Working Together in the Interfaith Movement

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Beyond Dialogue? Interfaith Engagement in Delhi, Doha & London

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April 2018 - The Global Ethic 25 Years Later

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

April 15, 2018

The Global Ethic 25 Years Later

Featured
The Global Ethic – How it Came to Be
The Global Ethic – How it Came to Be

by Daniel Gómez-Ibáñez

The historic document, Towards a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration, was one of the most significant outcomes of the 1993 Parliament of the World’s Religions. More than 200 scholars, religious leaders, and theologians from the world’s religions were consulted during a two-year period.

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Interfaith's Foundational Document: A Brief History
Interfaith's Foundational Document: A Brief History

by Marcus Braybrooke

The Global Ethic, adopted at the 1993 Parliament of World Religions, is clear evidence that the coming together of people of faith is not an end in itself but part of the search for a more just and peaceful world.

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An Interreligious Moment is Upon Us
An Interreligious Moment is Upon Us

by William E. Lesher

First, it is important to recognize that the interreligious movement is a global phenomenon. While the movement as we experience it in the U.S. has a distinct Western texture to it, the fact is that interreligious initiatives are coming from around the world.

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An Heroic Opening Gambit
An Heroic Opening Gambit

by William E. Swing

On Tuesday afternoon, April 2, 1996, I had just presented a paper in Oxford on “The Coming United Religions.” It would be mild to say I failed in gaining backers. Afterwards, a young doctoral student from Germany, Joseph Boehle, came up to me and asked, “Would you like to have a conversation with Dr. Hans Küng?”

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First, Master Dignity
First, Master Dignity

by Husnaa Hashim

Upon walking into Temple Rodeph Shalom one particularly crisp autumn afternoon, I feel welcome to appreciate the beauty of today. The windows of this sanctuary are stained glass, allowing the slightest distillation of light to shine through.

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An Evolving Dialogue for Promoting the Global Ethic
An Evolving Dialogue for Promoting the Global Ethic

by Paul Chaffee

If the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago made history by opening the door to interreligious relationships, the 1993 Centennial Parliament made history by endorsing and promoting Towards a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration.

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Breathing Life Into the Global Ethic
Breathing Life Into the Global Ethic

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

What would the manifestation of a global ethic look like in everyday life?Is it possible to translate the lofty ideals for humanity imagined by theologians and professors into a flesh and blood reality that people of all beliefs can accept and commit to?

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A Goldmine of Possibilities
A Goldmine of Possibilities

A TIO Interview

Dr. Wilson is director of St Philip’s Centre in Leicester, UK, providing training and consultancy on interfaith issues for a wide range of local and national bodies. For this issue of TIO, dedicated to Towards a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration, TIO interviewed Tom to learn more about transforming disagreement into trust.

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Lifting Up Indigenous Stories
Lifting Up Indigenous Stories

by Vicki Garlock

Toward a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration put forth by the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1993 provides important guidelines for achieving a sustainable and just world. But if we hold any hope of transforming those principles into reality, we absolutely have to start with kids

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A Compass for Saving the World
A Compass for Saving the World

by Katherine Marshall

A compass is sorely needed when navigating rough and uncertain terrain. That’s certainly the situation in today’s turbulent world. 

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Adrianna Calvo, Pexels 

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Setting the Interfaith Agenda
Setting the Interfaith Agenda

by Paul Chaffee

For all the Global Ethic has and has not achieved, much discussed in this issue of TIO, the document set the agenda for the interfaith movement that has blossomed around the world in the quarter-century since it was published.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2018

The Middle East, Intrafaith Conflict, and Anti-Semitism – China Stiffens its Antireligious Stance  – The Many Shades of Inclusivity – Children and Religious Violence – Bud Heckman to Head the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

NAINConnect Heads to Edmonton Alberta this Summer – Groundbreaking New Biography of Paramahansa Yogananda – KAICIID International Fellowship Programme

Interfaith News Roundup - May 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - May 2018

Tragic Report – Donald Trump and the Religious Right – Provocative Report – Interfaith Achievements – Working Together in the Interfaith Movement

Interfaith News Roundup - April 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - April 2018

The Middle East, Intrafaith Conflict, and Anti-Semitism – China Stiffens its Antireligious Stance  – The Many Shades of Inclusivity – Children and Religious Violence – Bud Heckman to Head the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska

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March 2018 - Interfaith's Embrace of the Arts

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

March 15, 2018

Interfaith's embrace of the arts

Featured
An Artful Approach to Interfaith Chaplaincy
An Artful Approach to Interfaith Chaplaincy

by Jenifer Miller

With my calligraphy pen I write the name of the tiny beloved baby boy, on the inside of a Comfort Angel, and hand it to his father, for safekeeping.

 

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An Artist's Journey Beyond the Walls of Division
An Artist's Journey Beyond the Walls of Division

by Andre van Zijl

We enter a completely darkened room which is set up with a foot-wide border of white muslin covered by unlit candles alternating with round black river stones.

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Epiphany at the Altar of a Sand Mandala
Epiphany at the Altar of a Sand Mandala

by Billy Doidge Kilgore

Five Buddhist monks stand in a row, torsos wrapped in maroon robes and scalps adorned with golden headdresses. In their arms, they hold cymbals, drums, and horns.

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Reimagining Religion: New Stories, New Communities
Reimagining Religion: New Stories, New Communities

by Rev. Bud Heckman

One of the biggest religion stories today is the rising number of Americans who no longer identify with a particular religion. That is a given. But disaffiliation is only one side of the story.

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Groundbreaking Interfaith Curriculum Being Published
Groundbreaking Interfaith Curriculum Being Published

by Paul Chaffee

Interfaith Made Easy may initially inspire caustic remarks like “then it can’t be much about interfaith.” A closer look by either novice or seasoned interfaith activists is likely to inspire awe and appreciation.

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How Stories Can Smash Stereotypes
How Stories Can Smash Stereotypes

An INTER Interview

One thing that breaks down barriers between people is sharing stories. When we hear someone’s story and hear their hopes and struggles, we can’t help but see their humanity.

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'Music Unites, Where Words Divide'
'Music Unites, Where Words Divide'

by Marcus Braybrooke

The recent visit of the Pontamina Interreligious Choir to the UK reminded me of the adage that ‘music unites, where words divide.’

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Sacred Sound & Music
Sacred Sound & Music

by Todd Glacy

During a recent visit to Arizona, I was invited to be the guest on a local Baha’i radio show sharing some of my songs and insights regarding music and spirituality.

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Of Music and Martyrdom
Of Music and Martyrdom

by Zola Jesus

One of the most common questions I get asked about my musical project is to explain the name Zola Jesus. My usual response is “Émile Zola + Jesus Christ = Zola Jesus.” Simple. But, why? 

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Where Does the Interfaith Muse Reside?
Where Does the Interfaith Muse Reside?

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

It began suddenly in the fall of 2014. There were no early warnings. During my daily walks I started to hear melodies in my head that seemed to erupt, complete with lyrics, like fully-formed children.

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Adrianna Calvo, Pexels 

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"Now That's Really Living"
"Now That's Really Living"

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

All of us, I suspect, have had powerful, breakthrough experiences not only with music but with storytelling, poetry, dance, theater, film, art, and crafts. 

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - March 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - March 2018

Community Run Amuck – Evangelical Complexities – Buddhist Complexities – Children and Religious Violence – Middle East Peacemaking

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Wanted: KidSpirit Editorial Board Coordinators – Temple of Understanding Youth Summer Internship at the UN – Micah Institute Seeking Seminary Intern for Spring 2018 – Russell Berrie Fellowship in Interreligious Studies – Leading Spiritual Development withing Higher Education

Interfaith News Roundup - March 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - March 2018

Community Run Amuck – Evangelical Complexities – Buddhist Complexities – Children and Religious Violence – Middle East Peacemaking

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February 2018 - Best of TIO 2017

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

February 15, 2018

Featured
A Tribute to Bill Lesher
A Tribute to Bill Lesher

by Joseph Prabhu

The Reverend William E. Lesher – Bill to his friends – was a man of many parts and roles. Seminary president, theological scholar and educator, pastor and religious leader, civil rights advocate and marcher, pioneer of the modern interfaith movement, and toward the end of his life, a tireless promoter of a possible new civilization for humankind.

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Best of TIO Videos 2017
Best of TIO Videos 2017

by Megan Anderson

Below you will find our top picks from 2017. They cover the prayerful to the prophetic; they call us to reflect and to take action. Their messages are pertinent to the situations today and contain lessons each of us can learn from. So kick back and prepare to be inspired, challenged, and have your thoughts provoked.

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best of tio 2017

Featured
Ethics in the Swamp: the Rot of Corruption
Ethics in the Swamp: the Rot of Corruption

by Katherine Marshall

Corruption is a live topic today. Since 2005, international anti-corruption day has been “celebrated” on December 9, in hopes that a visible day marking the topic can raise awareness about corruption and bolster a sense that something can be done to combat and prevent it. 

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All I Have Is a Voice
All I Have Is a Voice

by Marcus Braybrooke

The row over reading verses of the Qur’an in a Cathedral in Scotland has, I gather, reached across the Atlantic. Certainly the Cathedral has had a lot of abusive online messages from the U.S.A. During an Epiphany service at the Cathedral a Muslim law student was invited to read the Qur’anic account of the birth of Jesus, which also says, as Muslims believe, that Jesus was a prophet but not divine.

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The Slow Food Movement – Revaluing What We Eat
The Slow Food Movement – Revaluing What We Eat

by Paul Chaffee

For those who would love to find some middle ground between the strictures of a vegetarian or vegan diet, on one hand, and the sometime travesties of big agriculture, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), packaged food, and fast food, on the other, the slow food movement may be a satisfying alternative in reflecting on and choosing what you eat and how you eat. 

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What if Animals Believe in God?
What if Animals Believe in God?

by Andrew Aghapour

Chimpanzees believe in God. This news, widely reported last year, is only a slight exaggeration. Using hidden cameras, scientists have indeed captured footage of chimpanzee behavior that resembles religious ritual.

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An Excerpt from "The Hundred-Year Walk – An Armenian Odyssey"
An Excerpt from "The Hundred-Year Walk – An Armenian Odyssey"

by Dawn Anahid MacKeen

The following is a chapter from MacKeen’s book recounting how she finally meets the descendants of Sheikh Hammud al-Aekleh, whose family welcomed in her grandfather, saving his life. Some members of the family that greeted her in 2007 today are Syrian refugees themselves.

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On Discovering and Re-Imagining Interfaith
On Discovering and Re-Imagining Interfaith

by Bud Heckman

When I first started working for interfaith cooperation, I could not find or figure out much of anything. I was hungry to learn, but it was more intuition, inductive reasoning, and plain old dumb luck of “finding” some of the trails of pioneers that moved me forward in figuring out what interfaith was.

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Seizing an Alternative
Seizing an Alternative

by Philip Clayton

This is the story of the interfaith movement and climate change. It is also the story of a scholar of science and religion who gradually realizes that global climate change is the most urgent threat that humanity faces.Rampant poverty, social inequalities, the unjust treatment of the global South, each of these is magnified ten or a hundred fold by climate disruption.

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Spiritual Exploring with Kids
Spiritual Exploring with Kids

by Vicki Garlock

Kids love to explore. And a quick look at any summer camp guide will support that claim. Last summer, kids in our area could attend Camp Explorer, Camp Eco-Explorer, Camp Adventure, Camp Discovery, Camp Run Wild, Camp Invention, or Nature Adventures, to name just a few!

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Dogma is a Danger to Us All
Dogma is a Danger to Us All

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

“Religion is dead.” I winced as if I had experienced a body blow when I heard these words, delivered by one of the keynote speakers at an interspiritual conference on the East Coast three years ago.The keynote speaker happened to be a friend of mine, a cable show producer who for decades has extoled and promoted the “spiritual-but-not-religious” movement, a growing phenomena that has challenged the value and significance of traditional religions in our times.

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Despina Namwembe and Grassroots Interfaith in Africa
Despina Namwembe and Grassroots Interfaith in Africa

A TIO Interview

Despina Namwembe is a force of hope to be reckoned with when it comes to grassroots interfaith work in Africa. A social scientist with a masters in peace and conflict studies, she coordinates the work of more than 30 grassroots interfaith organizations doing different social action projects in the Great Lakes countries of Africa.

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Header Photo: Adrianna Calvo, Pexels 

Featured
A Sampler of Where We Have Come
A Sampler of Where We Have Come

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Growing up 100 years ago meant knowing almost nothing about the world’s spiritual traditions except your own. That world is mostly gone from us, never to return.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018

America's Evolving Christianity – Trials and Tribulations – Human Rights – The Joy of It All

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Wanted: KidSpirit Editorial Board Coordinators – Temple of Understanding Youth Summer Internship at the UN – Micah Institute Seeking Seminary Intern for Spring 2018 – Russell Berrie Fellowship in Interreligious Studies – Leading Spiritual Development withing Higher Education

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January 2018 - Millennial Voices

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

January 15, 2018

Featured
Why Religious Diversity is the Pathway to Peace
Why Religious Diversity is the Pathway to Peace

by Victor Kazanjian

On Christmas Eve, people across the United States and around the world gathered to watch “May Peace Prevail on Earth: An Interfaith Christmas Special,” broadcast on CBS stations nationally and streamed online internationally by the United Religions Initiative who produced the program. At first glance, “an Interfaith Christmas” seems a strange contradiction.

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Spirituality and Practice – Part 2
Spirituality and Practice – Part 2

by Paul Chaffee

TIO’s initial profile of Spirituality & Practice, in November 2012, suggested that the website was the premier gathering of spiritual resources and practices on the planet. Its 24,000 web pages constituted a vast library of reviews, profiles, blogs, and on-demand e-courses. Six years later, while sporting a beautiful new web platform, S&P has kept its vision and goals intact.

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God With(in) the World
God With(in) the World

by Diana Butler Bass
Here in the labyrinth, I struggle to find words to describe what I feel. Up on the mountaintop, I knew the language to describe God: majestic, transcendent, all-powerful, heavenly Father, Lord, and King. In this vocabulary, God remains stubbornly located in a few select places, mostly in external realms above or beyond: heaven, the church, doctrine, or the sacraments.

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Millennial Voices

Featured
Reimagining the Interfaith Movement
Reimagining the Interfaith Movement

by Tahil Sharma and Megan Anderson

2017 has shaped the interfaith movement and clearly shown us the growing need for religious and secular pluralism and understanding. From clergy at the front lines of demonstrations against white supremacy and the drastic changes being made to the healthcare system, to community members standing against hatred

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Relinquishing Taboos
Relinquishing Taboos

by Miranda Hovemeyer

There’s a photo that I keep seeing posted on social media. I can’t find the original source, but it’s a photo of what appears to be a page from a book. On the page is written, “Being taught to avoid talking about politics and religion has led to a lack of understanding of politics and religion.

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Courage from the Other Side
Courage from the Other Side

by Johnny Martin

I woke up on an early June morning last summer with plans to attend the ‘Anti-Sharia Protest’ event in Paradise Valley, about 30 miles from my home in Mesa, Arizona. There had been a lot of media attention in the days leading up to the demonstration, which was being called an “Islamophobic hate rally”

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Fardosa Hassan: Creating Space for Questions
Fardosa Hassan: Creating Space for Questions

by Ibrahim Hirsi

Coming of age in Minneapolis, Fardosa Hassan dived with enthusiasm into any community-service opportunity that helped improve the city and society as a whole. The mere mention of Washburn High School in Minneapolis reminds Hassan of a host of community service activities she got involved with before she graduated in 2008.

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Interspiritual Fraternity in Mexico City
Interspiritual Fraternity in Mexico City

by Elías González

Silence. Young people sitting in a circle. Prayers. “This is how it all began, with a prayer, by the hand of God. Like a dream.” Mexico City, one of the most populated cities on the planet, has historically been a land of encounter among cultures, civilizations, and religions.

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Transforming Our Differences
Transforming Our Differences

by Tahil Sharma

This past year felt like a constant uphill battle. I never realized the degree to which my friends, colleagues, and I would be fighting to keep justice and equity afloat in a world that seems to be increasingly sinking into darkness.

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Interreligious Wherewithal
Interreligious Wherewithal

by Hans Gustafson

The term “wherewithal” is a curious word, especially given the fluidity with which we use (and abuse) the English language today. The term has been in usage since the 16th century and can now function as a pronoun, noun, conjunction, and perhaps more. 

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Model Programs for Tweens/Teens/Young Adults
Model Programs for Tweens/Teens/Young Adults

by Vicki Garlock

The changes that occur during adolescence and young adulthood are considerable, and most developmental psychologists acknowledge this important phase in a person’s life. For example, Erik Erikson (Childhood and Society, reissue, 1993), a well-known developmental psychologist in the 20th century, proposed that this developmental period is characterized by Identity vs. Role Confusion

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An Interfaith Vision for the Future of Faith
An Interfaith Vision for the Future of Faith

by Jennifer Bailey

Several times a month, I have a standing lunch date with three of my favorite people. We gather online over laptops and our meals in Boston, New York, and Nashville to form what we have come to call our “community of praxis.”

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A Letter to Myself Seven Generations Into Our Future
A Letter to Myself Seven Generations Into Our Future

by Ta'Kaiya Blaney

Thank you, I channel this thanks from the deepest trench of gratitude I can muster:
For we have done it. The Earth Revolutions, the movements against war, for education, to prioritize the might of the pen

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Zellox

Featured
Seeds of Hope
Seeds of Hope

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

A few years back Millennials were suffering considerable verbal abuse for being the ones who’ve walked out of church, who have given up the religion their forebears fought so hard to claim and defend.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - January 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - January 2018

Government Behaving Badly – Troubled Traditions – Pinpoints of Light

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Reimagining Interfaith Conference – 2018 Religion Communicators Council Conference

Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018

America's Evolving Christianity – Trials and Tribulations – Human Rights – The Joy of It All

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December 2017 - The Road to Trust

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

December 15, 2017

Featured
Breaking Down the Walls of Our Hearts
Breaking Down the Walls of Our Hearts

by Marcus Braybrook

have been thinking a lot about breaking down walls, as I have just returned from an interreligious peace conference in South Korea.The highlight was a peace rally in the World Cup Stadium that included speaker after speaker who affirmed the longing for peace and reunification of Korea.

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A Surprising Surge of Hope
A Surprising Surge of Hope

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush

On November 8, 2016 an already divided America was further fractured. For many of us who are working to make America a more welcoming, just, and inclusive nation – to make the America that never was, but that we pray must someday be...

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Interfaith Holiday Books for Kids
Interfaith Holiday Books for Kids

by Vicki Garlock

There are plenty of kids’ books out there for most of these holidays, but as the number of interfaith and multicultural families rises, so does the need for books that explore multiple traditions. 

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the road to trust

Featured
Review: Learning to Live Well Together (Wilson and Ravat)
Review: Learning to Live Well Together (Wilson and Ravat)

by Paul Chaffee

Like so much else in this contemporary culture, the ‘interfaith movement’ is at a watershed moment. For the past quarter-century, spontaneously, globally, thousands of groups have gathered to promote interfaith harmony.

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A Bold, Flagship Experiment in Living Well Together...and a query
A Bold, Flagship Experiment in Living Well Together...and a query

by Bud Heckman

Numerous efforts have been made over time to bring people of different walks of faith together and think creatively about the meaning of community and accountability. Yet few visions are as refreshingly bold as what has been happening in Omaha, Nebraska.

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Aziza Hasan: Breaking New Ground
Aziza Hasan: Breaking New Ground

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

Aziza Hasan is one of the most admired Muslim women in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of a small Mennonite college in Kansas, where she studied conflict resolution and mediation and spent two years as a member of AmericaCorps.

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Meeting People Where They Are
Meeting People Where They Are

by Rev. Andrea Goodman

Can a ten-year-old religious nonprofit that is not a church thrive and grow without fundraising and with no employees? Yes! Here is the story of The Interfaith Peace Project.In 2006, Fr. Tom Bonacci and I were in a café sharing a meal in San Francisco, CA. We each carried the grief of recent program losses.

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Recognizing the Secret Community
Recognizing the Secret Community

by Deborah Moldow

A vast spiritual community is emerging all over the world. It has no name. It has no church or temple and no scripture. No one sees it. And yet it is among the most potent forces for evolutionary change on the planet. 

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7 Myths About Raising Interfaith Kids
7 Myths About Raising Interfaith Kids

by Susan Katz Miller

This time of year, many interfaith families are preparing to feast on latkes, light Hanukkah candles at the Thanksgiving table, and then move on to making Christmas cookies. But beyond holiday celebrations, is it a good idea to raise kids in two religions?

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A Call to Professionalize Interfaith in Higher Education
A Call to Professionalize Interfaith in Higher Education

by Cody Nielsen

In the past twenty years, the world of religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs) has grown considerably on college and university campuses across North America. Once a forgotten and at times taboo topic, higher education is slowly embracing these identities as it re-imagines itself as a force for global citizenship.

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Coming to Grips with Christian Normativity
Coming to Grips with Christian Normativity

by Kevin Singer

This fall I started the journey toward a Ph.D. in higher education at North Carolina State University. While walking around various parts of campus, I noticed the presence of several bi-fold signs fastened to campus fixtures like streetlights and trees with bike locks.

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Zellox

Featured
Differences & Disagreements: Crossing the Final Bridge
Differences & Disagreements: Crossing the Final Bridge

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Anyone in recent years who has seriously organized local interfaith activities knows about the boundaries of dialogue. There is often pressure to focus on shared values and easy issues; to master easy topics before jumping into disagreements that are unlikely to be solved.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - December 2017
Interfaith News Roundup - December 2017

New Interfaith Activism – Back at School – Living at Risk – Interfaith Department of Scarboro Missions is Closing

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Reimagining Interfaith Conference – 2018 Religion Communicators Council Conference

Interfaith News Roundup - January 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - January 2018

Government Behaving Badly – Troubled Traditions – Pinpoints of Light