TIO Updates
May 2013
TIO Correspondent Honored
Ruth Broyde Sharone at Morehouse CollegeTIO Correspondent Ruth Broyde Sharone, long-time peacebuilder and interfaith activist, was recently inducted into the Martin Luther King Board of Advisors of Morehouse College in Atlanta, the school where Dr. King both studied and taught. Also, Ruth’s recent book, Minefields & Miracles: God and Allah Need to Talk, just won top prize in the category of “religious non-fiction” from the 2013 New Generation Indie Book Awards.
Congratulations, Ruth!
TIO Joins Religion News Service
This month TIO became a member of Religion News Service, the premier religious news source in the U.S. RNS’ mission “is to provide in-depth, non-sectarian coverage of religion, spirituality and ideas.”
How does it work?
-
RNS advances its mission through its website and by partnering with regional hubs and a diverse group of subscribers who distribute our work.
-
RNS strives to meet the highest standards of public service journalism. Through our work, we report, write, compile, record and post news, features, photos and video.
-
Our goal is to promote civic engagement and discourse on religion.
Membership gives TIO access to RNS stories and photos, enriching the scope of what TIO is able to offer readers.
March 2013
TIO “Special Editions” Start this Month
TIO’s Webmaster, Anna Arphin (l.), meets with Ruthie Howard, new editor of TIO Southern Nevada.Starting this month, “Special Editions” of TIO are being created for the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada and Religions for Peace USA. Their respective readers will get the same March Observer you’re reading now. But on the Southern Nevada postpage (table of contents), Southern Nevada religious news, opinion, and events are supplementing this month’s TIO articles. And RFPUSA readers will find their organization’s news and opinion supplementing this month’s issue. Local news. Global news. Eleven times a year.
Aaron Stauffer, new editor of TIO RFPUSAIn both cases, TIO’s new sponsors are fundraising to upgrade their communications to the tune of $10 per special edition subscription, which they will split with TIO, fifty-fifty. This approach represents a major step towards TIO’s sustainability. And yes, we are in conversation with other groups interested in providing their constituencies with local/global interfaith news 11 times a year.
By the way, this month’s Southern Nevada and Religions for Peace special editions will double TIO’s circulation to more than 4,300 readers.
Kudos to Guest Editor Jonathan Oskins
Jonathan OskinsThere’s another ‘first’ to be celebrated. This month’s TIO, focused on young people and interfaith community, is guest edited by Jonathan Oskins, a graduate student in interfaith studies at Claremont Lincoln University. Jonathan is active in Southern California interfaith programming, has been an intern for the North American Interfaith Network, and helps boost TIO’s Facebook presence in all sorts of creative ways.
Jonathan, in the midst of a rigorous academic schedule you’ve made a terrific contribution bringing together the wonderful articles you’ve gathered. Thank you!
February 2013
Choosing TIO’s monthly themes might be described as an alchemical process. The aim is to cover the major issues and news of the day related to interfaith culture, not in terms of the media’s weekly news-cycle but by discerning major trends and issues that call for attention. Pursuing those themes is where we find the ‘gold.’
As themes congeal and take on an identity of their own, they grow and develop. January’s focus on community, for instance, morphed into three issues, and we’ll be continuing the subject in April. Right now we have a tentative schedule for the rest of TIO’s second year of publication. This might change in a world where so much is changing so quickly! But the following themes seem to be lining up:
April – Atheism and the Interfaith Community
May – Science, Spirituality, and Religion
June – Interfaith’s Response to Climate Change
July – Sexuality and Interfaith Culture
August – TIO takes a rest
September – TIO begins its third year
If you have story ideas relating to these themes, feel welcome to send them to info@theinterfaithobserver.org or put them in the comment box below. Thanks!
January 2013
Everything changes! Jonathan Oskins will be TIO’s guest editor for March, not February. His work in March caps off three issues focused on interfaith community. This month the theme is Seeds of Community. Next month the focus will be on New Models of Community. The March issue concludes the series with Young Adults Recreating Community.
A TIO Development Group has been formed which is studying how to ensure the long-term sustainability of this publication. Details to follow.