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.”

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.

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.

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.

Additional Information at Multi-faith Event

At the Multi-faith Event: How Good Must I Be? The Consequences of My Choices there will be tables in the lobby to learn about the religions represented at the event.   The religions represented are: Baha'i, Evangelical Christian, Hindu, Islam, and Judaism. Attendees of the event can browse the information before or after the event. After the event the speakers will be at the tables to answer questions and discuss their religions.

These organizations will have information tables at the event.

The mission of the Indiana Center for Middle East Peace is to promote critical awareness of issues that impact a just peace in the Middle East and to facilitate intercultural and interfaith awareness both locally and globally.  We host monthly lectures and symposia with local, national, and international speakers, as well as sponsor study and solidarity tours to Israel and Palestine where we meet with Jews, Christians, and Muslims who are working for a non-violent, just peace.

http://www.indianacmep.org/

 

Taylor University Office of Global Engagement - The Office of Global Engagement exists to encourage and facilitate global engagement within the student body, to connect and streamline existing campus organizations working on globally-focused initiatives, and to incorporate a global mindset into the Taylor Student Organization.

IPC - The purpose of the Interfaith Peace Cabinet of Taylor Student Organization is to engage the campus community in loving, peaceful relationships with persons of other faiths, especially in the central Indiana region.  This is accomplished through interfaith dialogue, service, partnership and religious education.

www.taylor.edu

Upcoming event hosted by Office of Global Engagement and IPC

Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 7:00 p.m.

An Interfaith Panel: Love Thy Neighbor

Moderator: Ramona Fisher, Canterbury School

Rediger Chapel/Auditorium

Huntington University: With the conviction that all truth is God’s truth, Huntington University exists to carry out the mission of Christ in higher education. Students are educated in the liberal arts and their chosen academic disciplines, always seeking to examine the relationship between the disciplines and God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. We welcome students of all faiths who are willing to be part of our learning community.

Regionally, Huntington University is a major partner in the Harmony Initiative. The organization is dedicated to implementing the City of Huntington’s mission statement, which recognizes that residents’ “ethnic, economic, and religious diversity provides the strength that holds our community together” and declares Huntington, Indiana to be “a community of civility and inclusion, where diversity is honored and differences are respected.”

www.huntington.edu

Since 1972 Friends of the Third World have been empowering people all over the world to overcome poverty and prime the fair trade markets for the growing demand for economic justice. In addition to job-training for needy people in Fort Wayne, the house of the Friends of the Third World helps sell products made by exceptional enterprising groups in the Third World, including the Bombolulu Workshop for the Handicapped in Mombasa, Kenya, as well as trying to help Nicaraguan Medical Aid. Friends of the Third World continues to work for economic justice through ongoing fair trade development for crafts, coffee, tea and other products made by millions of people escaping the grip of poverty.        

http://friendsofthethirdworld.org/

Questions for Multi-faith Event

Last week I met with the speakers for the upcoming Multi-faith Event: How Good Must I Be? The Consequences of My Choices. The purpose of our meeting was to determine the questions for the event.  When I meet with the speakers before an event I start the meeting by discussing Martin Marty’s observation, “People these days who are civil often lack strong convictions, and people with strong religious convictions often are not very civil. What we need is convicted civility.” My desire at the Multi-faith Events is that the speakers will honestly and with conviction share their beliefs, but with that conviction and honesty is a tone of civility.

As we were discussing the question,  How Good Must I Be? we ourselves practiced convicted civility. It immediately became clear that how a question was asked could possibly make presuppositions that would be incorrect for the faiths represented at the event. As a group we crafted each question in a manner which would allow the speakers to honestly portray the beliefs of their faith.  As a group the desire was to move from the theological to a personal understanding of the concept.We discussed making amends, forgiveness, repentance and guilt. Those topics will be addressed at the event by the speakers after the formal presentations. It was a wonderful meeting and it truly represented multi-faith dialogue.

The questions for the event:

According to your faith what constitutes wrong doing?

According to your faith what are the consequences of our choices?

According to your faith how good must I be? How should I live my life?

The Multi-faith Event: How Good Must I Be? The Consequences of My Choices is Wednesday, April 11^th at 7 p.m. at Canterbury School, 5601 Covington Road, Fort Wayne, IN.

The speakers for the event are:

William Smits, MD, The Asthma and Allergy Center, Baha'i
Kent Eilers, PhD. Assistant Professor of Theology, Huntington University, Evangelical Christian
Preeti Dembla MD, Internal Medicin, Hindu
Mohammed Saad Ghazali, MD, Pediatric Cardiology Associates, P.C, Muslim
Rabbi Javier E. Cattapan, Congregation Achduth Vesholom, Jewish

Hopefully you can attend.

Peacemaking Efforts

Along my journey of becoming involved with multi-faith dialogue I was asked a question which challenged me and ultimately led me to be doing what I am doing today. The question was asked by David Streight, the president of Council of Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE), at a conference I was attending with other independent school teachers. He asked the question, “What are you doing to be a peacemaker?” I knew I was not doing enough and when I left the conference I began many multi-faith endeavors at Canterbury School and Fort Wayne. As my journey continues it is inspiring to discover people who are involved in the courageous and important work of peacemaking. Here are two links which are worth looking at to become aware of what is happening in our world. What are you doing to be a peacemaker? Please leave a comment so I can be aware of the many other peacemaking efforts which are occurring in our world.

http://traubman.igc.org/vidnigeria.htm 

http://www.carlmedearis.com/blog/2012/02/1051/ 

http://visualpeacemakers.org/index.php?%2Fblog%2Fentry%2Fa_peace_of_my_mind%2F 

https://www.tanenbaum.org/programs/peace/peacemakers-action-nominees-top-ten%20on%20Peacemaking%20Efforts 

http://www.fltfilms.org.uk/imam.html 

http://www.withinbrokenborders.com/Site1/Home.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.

It's A Choice

Twice in the past six weeks I have heard three words which profoundly impacted me. Those words are:  It’s A Choice.

At the Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer? Robert Rogers told the heart breaking story of losing his entire family during a flash flood in Kansas.  He shared the memory of his deep pain and how those around him would have understood if he had turned to drugs, alcohol or other things to ease his suffering. Instead, Robert said, "You either trust God or you don’t. It’s a choice." Today, Robert’s life is a testimony to his choice. Not only the choice to trust God initially, but the choice to trust God everyday. In his choice to trust God he has given hope and strength to countless others who are suffering. Truly, if Robert can make that choice, I can make that choice.

Later I heard Dalia Eshkenazi speak. Her story has been written by Sandy Tolan in "The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East". Dalia shared that as a Jew, her first choice for peace was opening the door for Bashir, the Arab, whose home she now lived. Dalia shared that her journey of making peace between one Jew and one Arab required a choice. Again, as with Robert Rogers, not just one choice, but a choice needed to be made every step along the way to stay on the path to peace. She shared events where that choice seemed almost impossible to make. Truly, if Dalia can make that choice, I can make that choice.

As a follower of Jesus I am compelled by the mystery of Christmas. The mystery that God would become flesh and know the suffering of humankind. The mystery that God would become a baby and be born in a profoundly humble setting; that he would carry our sins in his death; and be resurrected so that I am free to live. It is in understanding that mystery that I am compelled to heed the words of Jesus. In Matthew 22 Jesus says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." This Christmas I pray that I will make the choice to love God and to love my neighbor. For truly, it is a choice.

An Interfaith Event: April 11th, 2012

The date for the next Interfaith Event has been changed to Wednesday, April 11^th, 7:00–8:30 pm.  Please mark your calendars with this new date. I am in the process of finalizing the topic and I am beginning to invite speakers for the event. 

Comments on An Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer?

Over the past few weeks I have received many emails and notes about An Interfaith Event: Why Must I Suffer?  I am thankful for the convicted civility demonstrated by the speakers and for an audience who was committed to being humble listeners and willing to learn about others. Below are some of the notes which I have received.

Protestant:
Powerful. Highlighted commonality. We all grow when facing life's greatest obstacles.

Muslim:

The selection of the topic and the presenters was excellent and the experience of each of them was a lesson for all of us to be grateful to Almighty God for the little and the great Blessings that He has bestowed upon all of us and for the trials and tribulations of this life. Thank God for the old friends and the new ones. May God provide all of us with the knowledge and understanding to appreciate each other.

Christ-follower:
This was a precious two hours we had together to discuss the pain of suffering, common to all people, that unites us with each other and with God.

Judaism:
It was a wonderful experience to come together and share our theology and humanity.

Muslim:
We all suffer in the same way, we all have the same feeling, pain, and look to the creator to help us through.

Protestant:
Together for a brief time. Going our separate ways. Knowing we share, but not always remembering that.

Muslim:

This was an excellent event.We were totally spellbound.This kind of event makes us appreciate every single moment, every little thing that we are blessed with.The topic and selection of speakers was excellent.We really enjoyed it. No matter what race, religion, color, ethnicity we belong to, we are all human beings and we all feel pain, suffering, happiness in the same way and we all breath the same air. God bless you and all humanity.

Catholic:
Suffering often triggers the questions, "why?". Why me? Why my friend? Why my child? Why anyone? Getting lost in that question can block us from an awareness of how close God is to us during suffering. "Why God?" is rarely answered and distances us from God. "Be with me" is answered and brings us closer to God. It's always answered. Stop asking "why?".

Evangelical:

Thank you for hosting the series of Interfaith Dialogue events at Canterbury and especially this most recent event focusing on suffering.  I was very impressed by how cordial and respectful the group conducted themselves.  I found their comments and perspectives interesting.

Muslim:
A powerful discussion by representatives of various faiths. An eye-opener in regards to commonalities among faiths. Liked it very much.

Christian:
I attended the Interfaith Event on suffering. It was the first Interfaith Event I have attended. I just wanted to say how impressed I am for someone like you to take time out of your busy schedule to put together an event of that nature. I'm a Christian but found a little something from all the guest speakers to be interesting. My favorite two verses in the Bible come from 1 Peter 4:7-8, " The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins." To me this lets us know as Christians how we should live.

Spiritual Hospitality

When I began my interfaith journey I never expected that my own faith would be deepened and strengthened. It has come as a complete surprise to me. If I would have known this was going to be the result of making friends with people from other faiths I would have started along time ago. I feel so blessed by my new friends.

Richard Mouw, who is the president of Fuller Theological Seminary and actively involved in interfaith dialogue, writes about spiritual hospitality. It is through spiritual hospitality that my faith has been deepened and strengthened. When showing hospitality I attend to a person’s physical needs, I make room for them in my physical spaces. I prepare food. I provide a bed. I make sure their needs are met. Spiritual hospitality is making room for people in my heart and my mind. Making room for someone does not mean that I change my beliefs. Instead when I make room for someone my life is enriched. I care about them as my friends. I pray for them. I listen to them. I want to know them. My faith is deepened and strengthened.

As we approach the Thanksgiving season I hope that you will demonstrate spiritual hospitality to those in your community. In the Fort Wayne community there are two important interfaith services occurring were hospitality can be demonstrated.

The first is an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service to be held at First Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, November 22, beginning at 7:00 pm.  It is being jointly sponsored by Plymouth Congregational Church UCC, First Presbyterian Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, Trinity English Lutheran Church, Temple Achduth Vesholom, and the Fort Wayne Islamic Center (Masjid al-Quds).  This year's preacher is Imam and Khateeb J. Tamir Rasheed from the Muslim community.

The second is on Sunday, December 4, 6:00 pm, at First Presbyterian Church. Representatives from nine religious traditions in our area (Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Ethical Humanist, Earth Traditions, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Sikh) will gather together to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in an Interfaith Prayer for Human Rights.  Prayers, Scripture, song, dance, and other expressions of faith from the various religious traditions will be shared.  Dalia Eshkenazi Landau, from Jerusalem, founder of The Open House of Ramle, and a main character of Sandy Tolan's internationally-acclaimed “The Lemon Tree”, will be the keynote speaker.  Fellowship will follow with sweets and treats from various cultures.

            Showing spiritual hospitality will enrich your life more than you can imagine. Happy Thanksgiving.