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

April 2019 - Interfaith Influence on Nuclear Disarmament

Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

April 15, 2019

Interfaith influence on nuclear disarmament

Featured
Nukes and the Bigger Picture
Nukes and the Bigger Picture

by Kehkashan Basu

Kutupalong – a beautiful, lyrical name. It could possibly describe a flower, a river, or an exotic bird. In fact, it is none of these three. Its claim to fame or rather infamy comes from the fact that it is the world’s largest refugee camp.

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The Interfaith Community and Nuclear Weapons
The Interfaith Community and Nuclear Weapons

by William Swing

What do the following tragedies have in common?  1 - The Columbine High School shooting of April 1999. 2 - The Virginia Tech mass killings of April 2007.  3 - The Boston Marathon bombing of April 2013. 4 - The Jewish Community Center murders of April 2014?

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Faith Communities Stand Together Regarding Nuclear Weapons
Faith Communities Stand Together Regarding Nuclear Weapons

Religion News Service Press Release

On October 16, Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons, a group of diverse faith-based organizations and individuals committed to a nuclear-weapon-free world

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Responding to the Unique Challenge of Nuclear Weapons
Responding to the Unique Challenge of Nuclear Weapons

by Jonathan Granoff

The destructive capacity of nuclear weapons is beyond imagination, poisoning the Earth forever. These horrific devices place before us every day the decision whether we will be the last human generation.

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Thomas Merton, Seeking Peace, and Nuclear Realities
Thomas Merton, Seeking Peace, and Nuclear Realities

by Michael Ramos

The Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, who passed away fifty years ago last year, is remembered largely for his prolific spiritual writing from the cloistered monastery. Yet his writing on nuclear weapons and peace still…

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Getting Involved with the Major Anti-nuclear Players
Getting Involved with the Major Anti-nuclear Players

by Paul Chaffee

Jesus warned about those who have eyes but cannot see. His injunction resonates today when considering the general ignorance of the dangers of nuclear weapons, a risk of even greater consequence than climate change.

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Working to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons
Working to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons

by Jerald Ross

The very first resolution passed by the United Nations, in January 1946, called for the elimination of atomic weapons. The bedrock treaty for the control and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons…

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The Patriotism of Hate Between Nuclear Rivals
The Patriotism of Hate Between Nuclear Rivals

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

I’d just returned from a visit to South Asia. Right before my visit, the tensions between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan were at an all-time high, with each side portraying the other as evil and the enemy of its people.

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“There Are No Winners in Nuclear War”
“There Are No Winners in Nuclear War”

by Lidiia Batig

Our post-modern world is full of challenges, innovations, and opportunities. One of the most important is nuclear disarmament. I interviewed Rabbi Jack Bemporad…

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Peace in Nuclear Times: Resources for Kids
Peace in Nuclear Times: Resources for Kids

by Vicki Garlock

Thanks to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the world now possesses “only” about 14,500 nuclear weapons, down from over 70,000 weapons, the estimated peak in the mid-1980’s.

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Need-to-Know Resources for Nuclear Disarmament
Need-to-Know Resources for Nuclear Disarmament

by Megan Anderson

Nuclear disarmament is a nebulous concept for most of us. The threat of nuclear destruction is ever-present, but not something we think or talk about much. Part of the reason, perhaps, is that we feel helpless to do anything about it.

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The Garden
The Garden

by Dorianne Laux

We were talking about poetry. We were talking about nuclear war. She said she couldn’t write about it because she couldn’t imagine it.

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Unsplash

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The Journey Beyond Mutually Assured Destruction
The Journey Beyond Mutually Assured Destruction

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) is a military term referring to opposing nations each having nuclear weapons. The argument for maintaining nuclear weapons is…

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2019
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2019

Bad News! – Interfaith Friendly News

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Convergence on Campus Spring Webinar Series

Interfaith Renewal Retreat

March 2019 - The Art(s) of Creating Interfaith Community

Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

March 15, 2018

The Art(s) of Creating Interfaith Community

Featured
The Art of Prayer Meets the Prayer of Art
The Art of Prayer Meets the Prayer of Art

by Cynthia Lindner

This autumn, visitors to the Art Institute’s Bucksbaum Gallery for Photography on the ground floor of the museum’s Modern Wing are met by empty white walls: there’s not a single photograph hanging in this gallery dedicated to their display.

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Art and Interfaith Conversation
Art and Interfaith Conversation

by Andrew Smith

I learn best by listening to people’s ideas over a good cup of coffee. One such conversation sparked ideas that inspired a whole series of interfaith dialogues that have taken place over the past few years.

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How We See Each Other
How We See Each Other

by Libby Byrne

The gift of art helps us to see more clearly what is really there in our human experience. With this in mind, is there a relationship between the way we see art and the way we imagine religious communities might be inclusive for people with disabilities?

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Collaborating to Build Interfaith Bridges
Collaborating to Build Interfaith Bridges

by Vicki Garlock

Sometimes, a story is told more easily through art. That’s certainly the case for this Bulgarian-based interfaith and cultural exchange camp – the brainchild of Angelina Vladikova and Svetlana Karadzhova…

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Crossing the Evangelical-Muslim Divide with Film
Crossing the Evangelical-Muslim Divide with Film

by Daniel Tutt

This past year I’ve been leading a new initiative at Unity Productions Foundation (UPF), whose mission is to counter bigotry and create peace through the media. Its documentary film The Sultan and the Saint is…

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Decolonizing Art
Decolonizing Art

by Vy Vu

Audre Lorde once said: “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” This is why we constantly have to learn the process of decolonizing our body and our tools.

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Spirituality and Transcendence: The White Light Festival
Spirituality and Transcendence: The White Light Festival

by Anya Dunaif

In the fall of 2010, New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts launched a new annual event called the White Light Festival, focused on encouraging people to experience transcendence and spirituality through live performances.

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The Art of Community, the Community of Art
The Art of Community, the Community of Art

by Rev. Andre van Zijl

Art is an interculturally unifying language for communicating human and spiritual experience beyond words. We all hunger for connection and community. We do well to dance, sing, write, paint, and sculpt our way…

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Pexels

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Spirituality, Creativity, and Community
Spirituality, Creativity, and Community

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Drums and flutes are among the oldest tools empowering human beings to explore who we are. We have historical evidence that drums go back at least 7,500 years and probably much earlier.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - March 2019
Interfaith News Roundup - March 2019

Glimmers of Light from the Arabian Peninsula – Good News, Bad News – Sexuality Preoccupying Christians – Warms the Heart

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Featured
To New Zealanders and Muslims Everywhere
To New Zealanders and Muslims Everywhere

Today we grieve with those affected by the mosque shootings in New Zealand. We grieve for the 49 lives lost and the pain of those who remain. We grieve for the fear and loss of a sense of safety that live on in the aftermath. And we grieve for the hatred that seeps into hearts leading to tragedies like this one.

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Convergence on Campus Spring Webinar Series

Interfaith Renewal Retreat

Interfaith News Roundup - April 2019

Interfaith News Roundup - April 2019

Bad News! – Interfaith Friendly News

February - A TIO 2018 Sampler

Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

February 15, 2018

A TIO 2018 Sampler

Featured
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.

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Talanoa: Dialogue for Action
Talanoa: Dialogue for Action

by Bee Moorhead

As the saying goes, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Talanoa Dialogue just might change that.

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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.

Read More →
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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The Next Step ... We Must Pray Together
The Next Step ... We Must Pray Together

by Marcus Braybrooke

Recently a Muslim was invited to give an Oxford University sermon. The invitation attracted a number of protests. “He does not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ!” some declared.

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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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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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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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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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Where is the Heart in the Climate Justice Movement? Where is the Music?
Where is the Heart in the Climate Justice Movement? Where is the Music?

by Kyle Lemle

We’ve all read the numbers and heard the forecasts: 350 ppm of carbon, three meters of sea level rise, or three degrees Celsius.

Read More →
On the Future of Religion
On the Future of Religion

by Ben Bowler

One of the biggest problems with discussing religion is the definition of the term. Few words have such breadth and depth of meaning and even fewer words can spark such passionate debate.

Read More →

Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Unsplash

Featured
Good News in a Bad-News Year
Good News in a Bad-News Year

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Historians looking back at 2018 will have little difficulty describing the mayhem and trauma the world was facing.

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

Caught My Eye! – Gratifying Stories You May Have Missed – Mussie Hailu Tapped to Direct URI’s new Office of Global Partnerships

Read More →

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Convergence on Campus Spring Webinar Series

Interfaith Renewal Retreat

Interfaith News Roundup - March 2019

Interfaith News Roundup - March 2019

Glimmers of Light from the Arabian Peninsula – Good News, Bad News – Sexuality Preoccupying Christians – Warms the Heart

January 2019 - Embracing Compassion

Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

January 15, 2019

Featured
A Fifth Directive Added to the Global Ethic
A Fifth Directive Added to the Global Ethic

A TIO Report

Towards a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration is a cornerstone of the modern interfaith movement. The text was drafted by German theologian Hans Küng at the request of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.

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Higher Education is an Inclusive Key
Higher Education is an Inclusive Key

by Cody Nielsen

Higher education may be the most important invention of the second millennium. Consider for a second that, alongside the Gutenberg press, higher education holds a value…

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Embracing Compassion

Featured
Distinguishing Sympathy, Empathy, and Compassion
Distinguishing Sympathy, Empathy, and Compassion

by Marcus Braybrooke

Sympathy, empathy, compassion; my dictionary treats them as synonyms. Contributors to the important new book Confronting Religious Violence, however, suggest there are important differences.

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Matthew Fox & Lama Tsomo Explore Compassion
Matthew Fox & Lama Tsomo Explore Compassion

A TIO Interview by Megan Anderson

This month, TIO “sat” down via Zoom with Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo to talk about compassion and the role it plays in our world today.

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Dance of Compassion and Righteousness
Dance of Compassion and Righteousness

Tarunjit Singh Butalia

A fundamental value underlying nearly every religious tradition is compassion and love for our fellow human beings. Compassion is not just about the role it plays in our traditions but…

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Invoking Compassion Within
Invoking Compassion Within

by Habīb Todd Boerger

In considering the topic of compassion, I am reminded that each of the Abrahamic faiths directs us to love and care for others – those who are poor, those who are needy, neighbors and strangers – as we love and care for ourselves.

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Seeds of Interfaith Peacebuilding in Ukraine
Seeds of Interfaith Peacebuilding in Ukraine

by Lidiia Batig

In 2013 the history of Ukraine changed dramatically. Communities had been betrayed by state power, by their own politicians, and even their president.

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Collaborative Compassion: A Secular Perspective
Collaborative Compassion: A Secular Perspective

by Chris Highland

One sunny Bay Area afternoon I was walking down a sidewalk under shade trees with my class of developmentally disabled adults.

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Compassion Under Extreme Duress
Compassion Under Extreme Duress

by Rachael Watcher

On November 8th at around 6 am a fire, allegedly started by a faulty Pacific Gas & Electric line, began at Pulga on Highway 70 in Butte County, northern California.

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Growing a Generation of Compassionate Adults
Growing a Generation of Compassionate Adults

by Vicki Garlock

Compassion has become quite the buzzword of late. The Dalai Lama talks about compassion, of course. That’s to be expected. But when TV stars, musicians, authors, scientists, and even politicians…

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My Dad Didn’t Like Religion, but He Prepared Me for Religious Diversity
My Dad Didn’t Like Religion, but He Prepared Me for Religious Diversity

by Kevin Singer

My Dad grew up in a Jewish family. When he was a child, he was targeted with insults because of his family’s background. As a result, he was not fond of religion.

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Learning to See Again: Respect in a Volatile Age
Learning to See Again: Respect in a Volatile Age

by Mark Waters

“Will I get shot if I come to Texas?” The prospective Chinese student’s query was neither melodramatic nor overstated.

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Interfaith is a Verb
Interfaith is a Verb

by Sabrina N. Jafralie

My journey with religion and interfaith started before I was born. I am the child of parents who are culturally, racially, and religiously different.

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The Best of Times, The Worst of Times
The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

Is the world becoming more compassionate or more hateful? This prickly question is eloquently answered in the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens’ classic tale of revolution in France, A Tale of Two Cities.

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Speaking from the Heart
Speaking from the Heart

by Karimah Stauch

Tonight I want to share with you my tears, the cry of the deepest longing for peace. Sometimes the tensions inside are just so high…

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Unsplash

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Compassion – Interfaith’s Common Ground
Compassion – Interfaith’s Common Ground

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

In preparing each month’s TIO, we typically invite two or three more contributors than we usually publish, on the safe assumption…

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - January 2019
Interfaith News Roundup - January 2019

Women and Religion – News from Various Traditions – Outside the Box

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Convergence on Campus Spring Webinar Series

Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018

Caught My Eye! – Gratifying Stories You May Have Missed – Mussie Hailu Tapped to Direct URI’s new Office of Global Partnerships

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December 2018 - Interfaith Responses to Our Environmental Crisis

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

December 15, 2018

Featured
Pacific School of Religion’s Unlikely Adventure
Pacific School of Religion’s Unlikely Adventure

by Paul Chaffee

Nowhere is the diminishing influence of liberal Protestantism in the US more dramatic than in the decline of its seminaries. Mounting debt, smaller student bodies, and ever-increasing costs have left dozens of institutions struggling to survive.

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Interfaith Responses to our environmental crisis

Featured
Faith and Water: Thinking, Acting and Living for a Healthy Future
Faith and Water: Thinking, Acting and Living for a Healthy Future

by Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati

The cycle of life is intricately linked to water. From our first nine months swimming in a womb to our ashes being immersed in a sacred river or scattered across the ocean…

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Caring for Creation: First Nations Teachings and Survival
Caring for Creation: First Nations Teachings and Survival

by Louise Mangan

There is a longer and lovelier story about the Earth than most of us have been taught. This older wisdom story is grounded in the beauty and goodness of the natural world.

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The Call for Ecological Transformation
The Call for Ecological Transformation

by Philip Clayton

It’s not a great time for climate watchers. Last week we read that the increase in greenhouse gas will be 2.7% for 2018, compared with 1.6% for 2017, and no increase the three years before that.

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GreenSpirit: Where Green and Sacred Meet
GreenSpirit: Where Green and Sacred Meet

by Marian Van Eyk McCain

A friend of mine who lives deep in a forest and is both an eco-activist and a practising Pagan once remarked to me rather ruefully

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Where is the Heart in the Climate Justice Movement? Where is the Music?
Where is the Heart in the Climate Justice Movement? Where is the Music?

by Kyle Lemle

We’ve all read the numbers and heard the forecasts: 350 ppm of carbon, three meters of sea level rise, or three degrees Celsius.

Read More →
Talanoa: Dialogue for Action
Talanoa: Dialogue for Action

by Bee Moorhead

As the saying goes, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Talanoa Dialogue just might change that.

Read More →
Ordaining Trees to Save Them
Ordaining Trees to Save Them

by Kiley Price

At a time when Pope Francis is calling upon religious leaders to step up as environmental advocates, Thai Buddhist monks are answering the call.

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Rooting Environmental Action in the Islamic Faith
Rooting Environmental Action in the Islamic Faith

by Kamran Shezad

In September 2018, the Bahu Trust in Birmingham, United Kingdom, won ‘Best Green Initiative’ at the British Beacon Mosque Awards. The Bahu Trust represents 22 mosques around the country.

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Community Organizing for the Earth
Community Organizing for the Earth

by Estrella Sainburg

For longer than I can remember, and for reasons at the heart of my being, I have loved and cared about the natural world. Earth is precious, sacred, and beautiful; home to you and me.

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Bridging the Chasm of the Heart
Bridging the Chasm of the Heart

by Michael Reid Trice

Our age is the story of seismic shifts in the guiding, normative ways for how life is lived on this planet. We experience these shifts as seismic because they pulsate and tear at the foundations of…

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Beyond 'Sustainability': Nourishment for Moving Forward
Beyond 'Sustainability': Nourishment for Moving Forward

by Grove Harris

In the aftermath of the recent 2018 Parliament of World’s Religions in Toronto, Ontario, I reflected on work with women, faith, and eco-justice. Dr. Vandana Shiva was a major speaker for…

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Kids Going Green with God
Kids Going Green with God

by Vicki Garlock

Ever wondered if the Bible teaches care for God’s creation? Betsy LaVela and her GreenFaith Kids curriculum offer a resounding, convincing “Yes!”

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Pxhere

Featured
Climate - To Do or Die
Climate - To Do or Die

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

A strong case can be made that humankind is approaching a tipping point, a time and place where we fall off the edge of the cliff, victims of our own greed and need to exploit a weary, wounded, and depleted Earth.

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Interfaith News Roundup - December 2018

Yemeni Statement – Politics and Religion – The Consequences of Bad Religion – News of the Day…

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis (Feb. 28 - Mar. 3, 2019)

"Two Rivers" Film: A Model of Truth and Reconciliation

Interfaith News Roundup - January 2019

Interfaith News Roundup - January 2019

Women and Religion – News from Various Traditions – Outside the Box

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November 2018 - Interfaith in Canada

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

November 15, 2018

Featured
Responding to Religiously Motivated Hate Crimes
Responding to Religiously Motivated Hate Crimes

by Bud Heckman

It has long been said by clever rabbis of lore that our “words make worlds.” That simple idea can be taken many ways and be to our detriment and to our benefit.

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The Next Step ... We Must Pray Together
The Next Step ... We Must Pray Together

by Marcus Braybrooke

Recently a Muslim was invited to give an Oxford University sermon. The invitation attracted a number of protests. “He does not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ!” some declared.

Read More →
On the Future of Religion
On the Future of Religion

by Ben Bowler

One of the biggest problems with discussing religion is the definition of the term. Few words have such breadth and depth of meaning and even fewer words can spark such passionate debate.

Read More →

interfaith in canada

Featured
Seeking Reconciliation after “Cultural Genocide”
Seeking Reconciliation after “Cultural Genocide”

by William Rees

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) recently defined reconciliation as “establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.”

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Sharing Joy and Pain in Toronto
Sharing Joy and Pain in Toronto

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

As someone who has been involved for about two years with the planning of the Toronto Parliament of the World’s Religions, while driving to Toronto I felt like a student the night before final exam week.

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Engendering Interfaith in Edmonton, Canada
Engendering Interfaith in Edmonton, Canada

by Netta Phillet

The Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action (EICEA) was officially incorporated in 1996, but its roots go back to at least 1992.

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Operation Ezra - Turning the Tide on Yazidi Genocide
Operation Ezra - Turning the Tide on Yazidi Genocide

by Operation Ezra Team

Fifty-five Yazidi men, women, and children are learning English, going to school, working, playing, feeling safe and secure, and freely celebrating their faith and culture in their new home of Winnipeg.

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Encountering the World’s Religions on the Ground
Encountering the World’s Religions on the Ground

by Brian Carwana

“Look at all the white people!” As my 45 attendees piled into this tiny Rasta shop in Toronto, this was how we were greeted by the proprietor’s friend, a visitor from Jamaica, who stared at us with a mile-wide grin and eyes large as saucers.

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When Muslims Intermarry
When Muslims Intermarry

by Helene Ijaz

I was recently approached by a Muslim chaplain looking for resources for Muslim parents, parents trying to find positive ways for their families to move forward when their adult children choose life partners outside of their faith community.

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Religious Bullying: Perspectives from Canada
Religious Bullying: Perspectives from Canada

by W. Y. Alice Chan

In early 2011, two startling events happened in my life. Personally, my father unexpectedly passed away at the age of 59. Professionally as a middle school teacher, I encountered religious bullying for the first time.

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A Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian Walk into a Concert Hall…
A Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian Walk into a Concert Hall…

by Vicki Garlock

It all started in 2010 when Ontario, Canada based Dawud Wharnsby was contacted by David LaMotte, who was working on peace and justice issues with the North Carolina Council of Churches.

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The Knock on the Manse Door
The Knock on the Manse Door

by Rob Hankinson

I arrived at my first United Church of Canada pastoral charge (Lac La Biche, Alberta) as a freshly minted (ordained and settled) minister on August 1, 1973.

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An Interfaith Crucible of Art & Architecture
An Interfaith Crucible of Art & Architecture

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

The stunning museum, designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, is a landmark structure, revealing in exquisite detail the rich artistic culture of Islam and the diversity of Islamic civilization.

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Featured Videos

 

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

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Toronto, Interfaith, and the State of the World
Toronto, Interfaith, and the State of the World

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Nineteen years ago … but I remember it vividly. Stepping onto a crowded hotel elevator, I encountered interfaith luminary Huston Smith and a group of American Indian leaders in their full tribal vestments

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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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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

URI Seeks Public Relations/Storytelling Intern

Interfaith News Roundup - December 2018

Yemeni Statement – Politics and Religion – The Consequences of Bad Religion – News of the Day…

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

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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.

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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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Featured
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