Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Beneath the Surface


During our winter break we traveled to the Caribbean. While we were there we snorkeled every day. When sitting on the beach enjoying the warmth of the sun and looking across the ocean it is impossible to see the beauty that is beneath the surface of the water. Even when I entered the water to swim I could not see what was beneath the surface. In order to see this beautiful world of astonishing color, of the various fish and coral, special equipment was needed. I couldn’t wait to don my mask and flippers so that I could see this world which was directly below the surface.

That has been my experience with the multi-faith efforts that I have been a part of throughout the year. On the surface there have been Haven Interfaith Parent (HIP) meetings; moderating Interfaith Events, Multi-Faith Events and Interfaith Forums; changing the name to multi-faith from interfaith; attending religious events; helping design a multi-faith room at a local hospital and speaking at various locations. But the true beauty of these different events  lie beneath the surface. 

As in snorkeling there is special equipment which is needed in order to see the beauty beneath the surface of all these endeavors. The tools which I have discovered which have helped me to see this beauty have included convicted civility, dialogue, and promoting social inclusivism. Throughout this blog are postings on each of these topics. In using these tools in multi-faith dialogue I have seen a beauty which has deeply impacted my life. Thank you to my many friends of other faiths and to those of my own faith, who have helped me learn how to use these tools. It has been a beautiful year.

Roman 3:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Listening Like Your Life Depended On It

The audience's role in creating a successful Multi-Faith Event: How Good Must I Be?   can not be understated. At the event the audience demonstrated a desire to understand and to learn by listening like their life depended on it.



Below are a few notes I have received since the event:

What a magnificent evening of thoughtful exchange you assembled at Canterbury last week. Congratulations on a really significant accomplishment. I wish I could have attended the  Taylor dialogue too.
This is remarkable work; may you continue to provide our community with this most sacred of sacraments: real, honest, meaningful connection.

Another great event. It is comforting & encouraging to see that the similarities of the different faiths far outweigh the differences. Exposed only to news media most would not realize that. Thanks for another outstanding job as moderator.  As a fellow Christian brother you are clearly a shining example of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessings to you.

Our Lord Christ is working through you to help bring peace into this world.  There is no greater work than what you are doing.  I just feel blessed to be a part of it, and I watch in amazement at your accomplishment through His Hand.

The use of lay persons provided a good transition to the normal relationship/dialogue among persons not trained specifically in theology. An evolution from top down to horizontal communication. 

You should know just how impressed I have been with your work on this. You put together a very clearly thought-out and executed event. Your comments leading into the evening last night were stellar and your facilitation of the dialogue was superb; you had a “light touch” (hard to accomplish). Well done Ramona! 

Excellent diversity of faiths. Straight forward presentations of each perspective.

Email from someone who watched the event on youtube:
I've been watching this morning, and I'm just captivated. I will be sure to attend the next event. Your events are like the best of college--the stimulating, fascinating discussion--without the test!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Multi-Faith Event on Youtube

The Multi-faith Event: How Good Must I Be? has been put on youtube. It has been uploaded in six clips.
Introduction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G6wgWNfPEU



Question 1: What constitutes wrongdoing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhQAewNabdk

Question 2: What are the consequences of our choices?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhQAewNabdk

Question 3: How good must we be?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aft7ZWxKPDg



Discussion: How do you deal with guilt? Clip 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoFoGWsXg7c&feature=youtu.be

Discussion on forgiveness and conclusion. Clip 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s5FPb_G09c&feature=relmfu



Thank you to Mary and Lance Clark for videotaping the event and to Maria Kirkland for taking pictures.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Interfaith Forum "Love Thy Neighbor"


Tuesday evening I moderated an Interfaith Forum at Taylor University. This was the first interfaith forum held at the university and it was the first time I have moderated an event away from Canterbury School. Taylor University http://www.taylor.edu/ is a Christian university located in Upland, Indiana. I have come to know several of the students from the university because of the multi-faith work I am doing in Fort Wayne. Many Taylor University students desire to learn how to live out their faith in a pluralistic world.

The Interfaith Forum was entitled Love Thy Neighbor. There were four faiths represented on the panel, Evangelical Christianity, Hindu, Islam, and Judaism. From my perspective, the evening was a wonderful success. It was evident the presenters were committed to dialogue. They were honest in portraying their own beliefs and they spoke from the heart. We realized that we do not have a common theology but we do have a common ethic. That common ethic is what makes us a community.

The presenters addressed three questions.
  1. From the perspective of your faith and scriptures, respond to the statement "love thy neighbor."
  2. Give a story from your scriptures that demonstrates love.
  3. How has your faith helped you love someone (even when it was difficult)?
Through the dialogue we discovered that love is transformational, unselfish, goes beyond what is expected, and it is mercy demonstrated. All faiths agreed that it is the fear within that hinders loving thy neighbor. It was a wonderful evening; we learned about other faiths and we were challenged to love our neighbors.

Thank you Taylor University for allowing me to be involved in this important work.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Speakers at "A Multi-Faith Event: How Good Must I Be?"


Speakers
A Multi-Faith Event: How Good Must I Be? The Consequences of My Choices
Kent Eilers, PhD. Assistant Professor of Theology, Huntington University
Mohammed Saad Ghazali, MD, Pediatric Cardiology Associates, P.C.
Ramona Fisher, Canterbury School, Moderator
Rabbi Javier E. Cattapan, Congregation Achduth Vesholom
Preeti Dembla MD, Internal Medicine
William Smits, MD, The Asthma and Allergy Center 

Friday, April 13, 2012

An Evening of Dialouge


The Multi-Faith Event: How Good Must I Be? was an evening of dialogue which illuminated the common ethic among the five religion represented at the event. The five religions were: Bahai, Evangelical Chirstian, Hindu, Islam and Judaism. Below are the opening remarks for the event.

The Multi-Faith Events at Canterbury School were started as a result of the Haven Interfaith Parent (HIP) mission statement. The HIP mission statement can be found in your program and it states, The Haven Interfaith Parents support the mission of Canterbury School and encourage an understanding and appreciation of all beliefs and faiths, with the goal of promoting peace in our community. This event is the fifth event sponsored by HIP.

While at a conference in January of 2011 in New Orleans I told about the interfaith work that I have been doing in Fort Wayne. The suggestion was made to change the way I referred to the work from ‘interfaith’ to ‘multi-faith’. After the conference I began researching the difference in these two words. In my searching I came across an article written by Rick Love of Peace Catalyst International. His thoughts on the difference of these two words resonated with me. And as of this past January I changed the name of these events to multifaith from interfaith to more accurately represent what we are doing at Canterbury School. Rick Love has three key points:
  • Multi-faith dialogue is based on common ethics and the common good rather than common theology. This has been true of the past events. We have discovered a common ethic among all faiths.
  • Multi-faith dialogue expands the conversation to conservatives. In all faiths the conservative people have been reluctant to enter interfaith dialogues fearing they would have to compromise their beliefs. At these events we want each faith to clearly tell us what they believe without having to compromise.
  • It allows for “theological exclusivism” while promoting “social inclusivism. These events encourage us to be peacemakers even though we theologically disagree.
When I started my interfaith work I asked a group of Canterbury School parents to join me in this new endeavor. As a follower of Jesus my faith is incredibly important to me. Those I asked to be in the group were people I knew were deeply devoted to their faith. At the interest meeting I discussed my hope for this ‘interfaith’ group. My hope was that the members would be willing to discover what we had in common; they would be willing to listen to each other; they would discuss our differences in a civil manner; and they would do the hard work of being peacemakers. Truly, this is not an easy task. This group met for three years. Through the ground rules the group wrote we were able to find the common ground but we were also to dialogue about our differences. Over the three years each person’s faith was deepened and strengthened. And we became friends. We were doing multi-faith dialogue

Understanding the meaning of words is important, like the words interfaith and multi-faith. During the dialogue with my friends from other faiths I discovered the importance of knowing the meaning of words so we could truly understand each other. During a dialogue we often would use the same word, but the meaning for that word was quite different. Sometimes I took the time to clarify exactly what was meant by a word, but quite honestly, many times I did not. When I failed to have a word clearly defined I knew true understanding had not occurred. It takes time and effort to ensure words are understood correctly. It takes time and effort to have a dialogue. It takes time and effort to be a peacemaker.

With the mission to promote peace, it is dialogue not debate or discussion that must occur tonight. I recently heard someone say dialogue is listening to someone as if your life depended on it. In order to survive everything must be remembered. That is intense listening. When I have truly listened to others I find that they are more likely to listen to me. This is the basis of all relationships. For us to understand each other we must be in relationships and we must listen to each other. There is a passage in the Bible that tells me how to dialogue. I Peter 3:15 states, “Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” It is in dialogue that we can be honest and with gentleness and respect say what we believe. Being in dialogue says we care about the relationship. These Multi-Faith Events are intentionally designed to be a dialogue because I desire for those in our community to be in relationship with each other. This evening I hope you will listen like your life depended on it; that you will leave here with the desire to be in multi-faith dialogue with those in our community and that you will become a peacemaker.

The topic for this event is "How Good Must I Be? The Consequences of My Choices." This topic was chosen as another way for us to learn about each other. After listening to each other we may find that we do not have a common theology but I am convinced that we will find there is a common ethic among all of us.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Debate, Discussion or Dialogue?


The Multi-faith Events at Canterbury School were started as a result of the Haven Interfaith Parent (HIP) mission statement. The HIP mission statement reads, The Haven Interfaith Parents support the mission of Canterbury School and encourage an understanding and appreciation of all beliefs and faiths, with the goal of promoting peace in our community. The upcoming event, How Good Must I Be? The Consequences of My Choices is the fifth event sponsored by HIP.

A criticism I often hear about the Multi-faith Events is that I don’t allow the speakers to ‘go at it’.  The thought is, if the presenters become heated during the event, the real truth will be expressed. In our culture this sort of debate of people ‘going at it’ has become entertainment.  It is especially entertaining if our side makes the best points and if our side makes the other side look ridiculous.  

As a teacher I use debate, discussion and dialogue in my classes depending on the objectives of the lesson. In a debate there is always a winner and a loser. After a debate the winners continue to strengthen their side of the issue. The losers have become aware of the weaknesses in their debate and will work on strengthening those weaknesses. Instead of thoughts, opinions and ideas being changed, each side continues to bolster their position. If the goal is to change someone’s mind or develop an understanding of another way of thinking a debate is the least effective way for that to occur.

Even discussion does not work for the Multi-faith Events. The goal of discussion is to take apart a topic and persuade others to a certain way of thinking in order to reach a common outcome. The  premise of the Multi-faith Events is the theologies of the various faiths are different.  The purpose of the events are not to find a common theology. As Rick Love of Peace Catalyst International has written, “Multi-faith dialogue is based on common ethics and the common good rather than common theology.”  At the Multi-faith Events the common ethic is discovered but the goal is not to create a common theology.

The mission of HIP is to, “encourage an understanding and appreciation of all beliefs and faiths, with the goal of promoting peace in our community.” With the goal of promoting peace, dialogue is what must occur at the events. I recently heard someone say dialogue is listening to someone as if your life depended on the information. In order to survive everything must be remembered. That is intense listening. When I have truly listened to others I find that they are more likely to listen to me. This is the basis of all relationships. For us to understand each other we must be in relationships and we must listen to each other.  There is a passage in the Bible that tells me how to dialogue. I Peter 3:15 states, “Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” It is in dialogue that we can be honest and with gentleness and respect say what we believe. Being in dialogue says we care about the relationship.The Multi-faith Events are intentionally designed to be a dialogue because I desire for those in our community to be in relationship with each other. I hope you will attend the Multi-faith Event: How Good Must I Be?  and will listen like your life depended on it.