TED: Jonas Gahr Støre: In defense of dialogue

In this TED video Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store speaks to the importance of developing communication skills to solve the problems of our world.  From my experience I know it can be difficult to dialogue  when there are fundamental disagreements.  Yet if we can not talk to one another, how can we solve problems? The Foreign Minister refers to Nelson Mandela's imprisonment for 27 years and that Mandela chose to see his enemies as human beings. This is what allowed him, after being released, to move forward in peace. After the last Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer? I was reminded that we have different beliefs but we are all human beings and we all suffer. Even though we may fundamentally disagree;  learning to dialogue is in the best interest of all. I encourage you to watch this insightful TED presentation
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/jonas_gahr_store_in_defense_of_dialogue.html

What I Do Daily is Most Important

If I am to tell you the truth, I have no idea why students come to the Haven. The Haven, a spiritual center, is open once a week for the Lower School students.  The students must give up the loved lunch recess to come to the Haven. When I was in elementary school, growing up in North Dakota, I would have done anything to get out of the cold, but this is Indiana.  In particular, elementary children (and maybe especially boys) love recess because they can run and play to their hearts’ content. Yesterday I had twenty first and second graders come to the Haven. Thirteen boys and seven girls gave up their recess where we were quiet, read, used a singing bowl, and held a ribbon to connect ourselves during prayer time. They leave saying it’s the best time ever. I don’t get it.

What I do know, beyond a shadow of doubt, is that I am blessed to be doing what I am doing at Canterbury School. As the religion teacher at a college prep school I take seriously and am honored by the role I have in the spiritual and moral development of the children at our school. Canterbury School is based on Christian principles but our hope is that no matter what faith is practiced, all children will feel welcome at our school. It is this multi-faith context that has lead me to be active in multi-faith dialogue. As important as the multi-faith efforts are to me, I realize that my real impact is what I do every day.

With the understanding that what I do daily is most important in the next few months I will be involved in several multi-faith endeavors and dialogues. I will post the details as they unfold but I wanted to make you aware of what they are:

• February 5:Speaking at Trinity Episcopal Church, Fort Wayne
• February 7: Haven Interfaith Parent Open House for Canterbury School parents
• February 8: A Seed of Common Ground (an interfaith group I belong to Fort Wayne) is sponsoring of movie and discussion, The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain 
• February 21: Attending Project Dialogue at Vanderbilt University 
• February 24: Meeting with local hospital chaplains on creating a Multi-faith room
• April 11: Moderating “A Multi-faith Event: How Good Must I Be? The Consequences of My Choices” at Canterbury School
• April 17: Moderating a multi-faith forum at Taylor University
• April 19-21: Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education in Los Angeles
• April 26: Hosting a multi-faith dialogue for a local community

Multi-faith Dialogue

Last year while I was at a conference 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. He has three key points:

• Multi-faith dialogue is based on common ethics and the common good rather than common theology.

• Multi-faith dialogue expands the conversation to conservatives and fundamentalists.

• It allows for “theological exclusivism” while promoting “social inclusivism.”

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 also discuss our differences.  Over the three years each person’s faith was deepened and strengthened.  And we became friends.

Understanding the meaning of words is important. 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 discussion 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 be a peacemaker.

Even though I will continue to use the word ‘interfaith’ I will be changing the name of my blog and the events I host to ‘multi-faith’. Words are important and my desire is to accurately reflect the dialogue that is occurring at Canterbury School and in Fort Wayne. For it is through multi-faith dialogue that we are striving to be peacemakers.