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 - October 2019

Interfaith News Roundup - October 2019

Of the Earth – Evolution of the Roman Catholic Church – As the World Turns – Great Good News – In Memoriam

July 2019 - Interfaith Disaster Response – Part 2

Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

July 15, 2019

Interfaith Disaster Response - Part 2

Featured
Religion, Risk, Resilience, and Disaster Response
Religion, Risk, Resilience, and Disaster Response

by Katherine Marshall

Increased extreme weather disasters are an expected long-term effect of climate change. Already, changes occurring globally have increased the intensity and duration of heat waves, risks of drought, flooding….

Read More →
Collaborative Interfaith Disaster Response
Collaborative Interfaith Disaster Response

by Paul Chaffee

Starting August 6, 1969, Hurricane Camille whipped across Cuba, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and the East Coast of the United States for eight days with winds up to 174 miles per hour.

Read More →
What Makes a Community Resilient?
What Makes a Community Resilient?

by Martin J. Smith

The most critical relief efforts after a disastrous hurricane or earthquake involve getting food, water, and power to those in need. But a recent study by a Stanford Graduate School of Business professor suggests that…

Read More →
We Can Do More Together
We Can Do More Together

by Silvana Faillace

When the ground shook on that September afternoon in 2018, it was only the beginning. After a few hours of small quakes, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Central Sulawesi in the early evening.

Read More →
Khalsa Aid – Sikhs Offering Balm
Khalsa Aid – Sikhs Offering Balm

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

Long before the formation of the Red Cross, there was Bhai Kanhaiya – an ardent Sikh follower of the Tenth Sikh Guru, Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib. He took it upon himself to roam battlefields carrying a goat skin pouch…

Read More →
Attack Response
Attack Response

by Susan L. Lipson

Since the shooting at Chabad of Poway, people of all faiths, from across the county, have rallied together for vigils and services to support their Jewish neighbors. Over 4,000 people showed up Monday night at Poway High School for…

Read More →
An End to Vigils
An End to Vigils

by Uroosa Jawed

Crisis response is typically not the primary work of interfaith organizations. Their more usual focus is creating meaningful connections between people of diverse faiths. Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska, where…

Read More →
Protecting Habitats for Our Souls
Protecting Habitats for Our Souls

by Philip Goldberg

I was hit surprisingly hard by the images of Notre-Dame cathedral burning. I got so emotional watching the spire collapse and the red flames engulf the roof; it was as if something dear to me was being destroyed.

Read More →
How Do I Get Involved?
How Do I Get Involved?

A TIO Report

Another natural disaster. Another shooting. Another hate crime. Another humanitarian crisis. These disasters are all too common. We see them daily – on social media, in the news, on the web.

Read More →

Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Unsplash

Featured
Disaster and the Task Ahead
Disaster and the Task Ahead

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

The most important shift in the world of disaster response today relates to our communication capabilities.

Read More →
Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - July 2019
Interfaith News Roundup - July 2019

Startling International Developments – Discouraging Religious Numbers in the West – Encouraging News – From Rome – Training to Become a Religious/Spiritual Leader – Concerning the Earth – URI Returns to Stanford

Read More →

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

One Planet, ONe Family: Gathering on Climate Change in Juneau, Alaska, September 12-15

Addressing the Pressing Issues of Our Time: Global Week for Peace, Climate Protection, SDG's, Nuclear Abolition, September 21-26

Interfaith News Roundup - September 2019

Interfaith News Roundup - September 2019

The Big Picture – Religion, Politics, and the Law – Interfaith Digs Deeper – New Role for an Interfaith Veteran

June 2019 - Interfaith Disaster Response

Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

June 15, 2019

Featured
On Developing Holy Envy
On Developing Holy Envy

by Nancy Fuchs Kreimer

A friend of mine took a course in fiction writing and was advised that a good novel needed a plot with a tension at its heart: a problem that would keep the reader engaged until its resolution at the book’s end.

Read More →

Interfaith Disaster Response

Featured
Who is to Blame for Disasters?
Who is to Blame for Disasters?

by Katherine Marshall

Blaming God’s righteous judgment when people suffer disaster goes back at least to Noah. God causes the flood, the story-teller notes, because “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence” (Gen. 6:11).

Read More →
How Do I Get Involved?
How Do I Get Involved?

A TIO Report

Another natural disaster. Another shooting. Another hate crime. Another humanitarian crisis. These disasters are all too common. We see them daily – on social media, in the news, on the web.

Read More →
Engaging Faith Communities in Disasters
Engaging Faith Communities in Disasters

by Peter B. Gudaitis and Brie Loskota

People of faith, congregations and faith-based organization provide essential relief and recovery functions after disasters. It is essential for government personnel and institutions, therefore, to understand the potential…

Read More →
Creating Sacred and Safe Spaces
Creating Sacred and Safe Spaces

by Lawrence Lerner

On March 15th, 2019 a shooter used the Facebook social media platform to broadcast the massacre of 50 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand. How do I write about hate without honoring it?

Read More →
Can Interfaith Activities Make Difference?
Can Interfaith Activities Make Difference?

by Adrian Bird

Interfaith Partners of South Carolina (IPSC) was one of 57 recipients of the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for 2018. At the award ceremony in Washington D.C., Director Christopher Wary stated:

Read More →
The Power of Interfaith Relationships
The Power of Interfaith Relationships

by Syed M. Hassan

Since its founding more than 25 years ago, Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) has made a concerted effort to develop productive relationships with other faith-based groups and non-governmental organizations.

Read More →
When Dialogue is Not Enough
When Dialogue is Not Enough

by Cody Nielsen

Last month, I sat alone in the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center at Pennsylvania State College. I sat and cried for all the senseless acts of violence against Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities across the nation and world…

Read More →
Preparing for Religiously Motivated Disaster
Preparing for Religiously Motivated Disaster

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

On Sunday, September 10, 2006, a day before the fifth-and-still-painful anniversary of 9/11, a group of some 75 angry demonstrators showed up – with a city permit – outside the King Fahad Mosque of Culver City…

Read More →
Protecting the Earth Through Interfaith Education and Activism
Protecting the Earth Through Interfaith Education and Activism

by Yonatan Neril

The Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison tells the following story: A young girl with a bird in her hands went to a wise person. The child asked the wise person, “Is the bird in my hands alive or dead?”

Read More →

Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Unsplash

Featured
Doing Better at Caring for Each Other
Doing Better at Caring for Each Other

by Paul Chaffee

Safety is already on the agenda of most of the hundreds of interfaith nonprofits across the US and globally.

Read More →
Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - June 2019
Interfaith News Roundup - June 2019

All About Religious Freedom and Violence – Catholic Problems Pile Up – Good Things Happening

Read More →

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Religious Accommodations and Policies on Campus

Interfaith News Roundup - July 2019

Interfaith News Roundup - July 2019

Startling International Developments – Discouraging Religious Numbers in the West – Encouraging News – From Rome – Training to Become a Religious/Spiritual Leader – Concerning the Earth – URI Returns to Stanford

May 2019 - Unpacking the URI Story

Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

May 15, 2018

Unpacking the URI Story

Featured
URI – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
URI – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

by Victor Kazanjian

Imagine watching the news or viewing your Facebook feed each day and seeing thousands of positive stories of people from different religions, spiritual practices, and indigenous traditions working together…

Read More →
Appreciative Inquiry and the United Religions Initiative
Appreciative Inquiry and the United Religions Initiative

by Sally Mahé

At the birth of the United Religious Initiative (URI) 20 years ago, Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a transformational philosophy and methodology for positive change, served as midwife.

Read More →
URI in the World
URI in the World

by Azza Karam

URI envisions a world at peace, sustained by engaged and interconnected communities committed to respect for diversity, nonviolent resolution of conflict, and social, political, economic, and environmental justice.

Read More →
URI in Jerusalem
URI in Jerusalem

by Nicholas Porter and Jack Karn

Across the world millions of Christians, Jews, and Muslims pray for the peace of Jerusalem each night. It is an ancient prayer with modern aspirations…

Read More →
URI's Impact in Asia
URI's Impact in Asia

by Abraham Karickam

Those of us in South Asia came to know about the birthing of a new international interfaith organization destined to change the world during the voyage of Bishop William Swing around the world in 1996.

Read More →
From the Field
From the Field

from URI CC’s

Becoming a URI Cooperation Circle (CC) entails being a group of at least seven people, representing at least three religious traditions, and committed to a Charter whose purpose is…

Read More →
Voices of Hope
Voices of Hope

by URI Members

The United Religions Initiative enjoys a kind of latitude and scope that invites the whole world in, but does so while honoring each of us and where we come from. That approach makes it a very personal

Read More →
What Makes URI Unique?
What Makes URI Unique?

by Paul Chaffee

In The Coming United Religions (1998), William Swing wrote “I began a long and inward journey in February 1993. During a 24-hour period in my life, I moved from…

Read More →

Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Unsplash

Featured
For One Organization?
For One Organization?

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

I’ve been asked why TIO would devote an entire issue to one organization – the United Religions Initiative (URI). That’s a fair question.

Read More →
Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - May 2019
Interfaith News Roundup - May 2019

It’s a Tough World Out There – Funding, Fasting, and Interfaith Protocols

Read More →

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Tips for Engaging Young Adults in Your Work

Convergence on Campus Spring Webinar Series

Interfaith News Roundup - June 2019

Interfaith News Roundup - June 2019

All About Religious Freedom and Violence – Catholic Problems Pile Up – Good Things Happening

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.

Read More →
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?

Read More →
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

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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…

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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…

Read More →
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.

Read More →
“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…

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →

Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Unsplash

Featured
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…

Read More →
Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2019
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2019

Bad News! – Interfaith Friendly News

Read More →

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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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?

Read More →
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…

Read More →
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…

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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…

Read More →

Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Pexels

Featured
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.

Read More →
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

Read More →
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.

Read More →

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.

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 →
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.

 

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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 →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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…

Read More →

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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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…

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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…

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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…

Read More →

Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Unsplash

Featured
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…

Read More →
Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - January 2019
Interfaith News Roundup - January 2019

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

Read More →

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

,

December 2018 - Interfaith Responses to Our Environmental Crisis

,

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.

Read More →

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…

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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…

Read More →
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…

Read More →
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!”

Read More →

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.

Read More →
Featured
B2.jpg
Interfaith News Roundup - December 2018

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

Read More →

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

,

November 2018 - Interfaith in Canada

,

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.

Read More →
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.”

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →

Featured Videos

 

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

Featured
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

Read More →
Featured
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

Read More →

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