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2013
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December- Vivekananda & the Parliament

IN THIS ISSUE: Parliament Gathering in Chicago | Year-End Donations | Celebrating Sikhs | Edmonton to Host Parliament Meeting | Scarboro Missions | Healthcare Education| Notes & Quotes | Send Us Your News |


Interfaith Center at the Presidio

COUNCIL FOR A PARLIAMENT
OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS;
A GATHERING IN CHICAGO, NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Loel Bartlett Miller

In 1893 Chicago witnessed the birth of the interfaith movement when representatives of the major religions gathered there for the first Parliament of World’s Religions.  More than 6,000 people crowded into an assembly hall (now the Art Institute of Chicago) to hear an opening address delivered by a 30-year-old monk, Swami Vivekananda. His electrifying address, delivered with passion and eloquence, in which he called for the end of religious bigotry and intolerance, brought the assembled representatives to their feet. In this galvanizing moment, Vivekananda’s fiery message forged a pathway for the previously separated faith streams of East and West to meld their currents for the first time. With this dynamic call for unity, he initiated a global interfaith dialogue and established himself as a leading religious figure worldwide.

Loel Bartlett Miller
ICP Board Member

The year 2013 marks the 120th anniversary of Vivekananda’s speech as well as the 150th celebration of his birth. To commemorate these events and to refresh the interfaith community’s awareness of its work between Parliaments, the Chicago-based Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions (CPWR) invited interfaith workers to Chicago for a program on November 16.   They entitled their program “Living Out the Vision – Celebrating the Anniversary of a Movement: 1893 Parliament, 1993 Parliament, and our Dynamic Future.” As can be gleaned from this broad-ranging title, the Council invited participants to join them not only in a review of that breathtaking moment in 1893, but to share the anticipation of the exciting potential of interfaith in America in the years to come. I was fortunate to attend this November’s Chicago celebration, participating as a representative of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio.

In 2013 the interfaith movement is gaining momentum around the world. In the United States, interfaith activism has tripled in the last ten years. Governments at home and abroad are investing in interfaith work because it brings people together. Interfaith is good for societies everywhere – and it’s catching on. And, as I write this in the Chicago airport awaiting my flight home, I smile to myself as I hear over the airport public address system, “The interfaith airport chapel is located on level two. Everyone is welcome.” Case in point! Read more . . .

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YEAR-END DONATIONS. It's that time of year again, and you may find in your mail the annual appeal letter from ICP. This year has seen two conferences focusing on helping religious communities address the needs of returning veterans, both men and women, extensive reconstruction at the Post Chapel building and a new relationship with the Presidio Trust that frees our Board and staff to focus more on interfaith work, a marvelous musical celebration of the International Day of Peace in September, and, of course, the monthly issues of Bay Area Interfaith Connect, keeping the wider interfaith community aware of activities and opportunities around the Bay and around the world. Thanks to all of you who have offered your support to the work of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio in the past; we hope that you will choose to continue that good work. If you have not previously done so, we invite you to consider a gift to support ICP. We appreciate your fully tax-deductible donation, supporting its mission to welcome, serve, and celebrate the diverse spiritual wisdom and faith traditions of the San Francisco Bay Area. For information on how to contribute online or by mail, see our website.

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Sikh man with phoneCELEBRATING SIKHS. We missed this one before the fact, but the California State Legislature proclaimed November 2013 as "Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month," close on the heels of Hindu American Awareness Month. In the official declaration, you can learn that there are approximately a quarter million Sikhs in California, that Sikhs began coming to California more than 100 years ago and that the first Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) was founded in Stockton in 1912, and that Sikhs have distinguished themselves in agriculture, medicine, high-tech science, government and more.

It was not part of the California observance, but President Obama sent special greetings to the Sikh American community on the occasion of Guru Nanak's birthday. (Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism in the 15th century.) Obama said, "This sacred time is an occasion to reflect on Guru Nanak's timeless teachings and the principles that are at the heart of Sikhism, including the equality of all human beings, the pluralism we cherish in diverse societies and the compassion we owe one another."

Even though it is no longer the official month, take a moment to greet and thank a Sikh neighbor!

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EDMONTON TO HOST PARLIAMENT CITY EVENT. This coming May 1-4, 2014, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada will be the host for a Parliament of the World's Religions Partner City Event around the theme “Faiths Coming Together Through Awareness, Compassion, and Justice.” Go "like" their Facebook page to get details and more information as they develop. If you are interested in finding out more, or have a suggestion for a workshop you would like to offer, contact Rob Hankinson, Executive Director, ECPWR 780-413-6159, rob.ecpwr@gmail.com or Betty Marlin, Program Committee, ECPWR 780-413-6159, bettym35@shaw.ca. A copy of the current brochure is here.

Rob Hankinson, current chair of the North American Interfaith Network, will be directing the project on behalf of Edmonton’s Interfaith Committee for a Parliament of the World’s Religions and the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action. You can reach Rob here. For a “Faith Coming Together” brochure, go here.

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SCARBORO MISSIONS. Scarcely a month goes by without an announcement from Paul McKenna of a new (or revised) resource for interfaith encounters from Scarboro Missions , a society of priests and laity in Ontario, Canada. Two projects in particular offer unique resources for interreligious dialogue and relationship -building: Interfaith Dialogue and the Golden Rule program. In the former area you can discover "Principles and Guidelines for Interfaith Dialogue" (23 different documents), "Teaching Models," "Learning Resources" (including how to design a multifaith prayer service, guidelines for arranging visits at Houses of Worship, Milestones in Catholic-Jewish Relations, and interfaith peacemaking). Resources centered on the Golden Rule range from workshop outlines and school curricula to business and global ethics to commentaries on the Golden Rule from different religious traditions. It's an amazing body of material, and well worth taking some time to explore.

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HEALTH CARE EDUCATION BAY AREA. The “Covered California” health exchange is already operational, and the California Council of Churches Educator for the Bay Area is Marijke Fakasiieiki. She will be leading presentations in November to offer basic information on how the new health care exchange operates, how to obtain subsidies and supports for the costs of individual and family health care, how to obtain enrollment assistance during the Open Enrollment period starting October 1 through the end of next March 2014, and she is available to answer many of your questions.  You can contact Marijke Fakasiieiki at (510) 529-5011, marijke@calchurches.org

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NOTES & QUOTES: ... (From a Patheos Public Square conversation on Civil Religion) "To say 'we're all in this together' is to say that we are all connected, dependent upon one another and accountable to one another and responsible for the web of all life, human and otherwise, that stretches across our fragile planet" Rev. Anne Howard... "Hope rests with a new spiritual sensibility that is not necessarily a new religion, but rather can shape the way in which many spiritual traditions are practiced. This sensibility emphasizes divine immanence and the importance of the Sacred Feminine as well as the Masculine" Gus diZerega... "Civil religion is good as far as it goes—it does encourage a modicum of order—but it does not go far enough to bring health to a nation. Compare it to any great religion, and it tastes like stale water" Mark Galli.

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

BAY AREA INTERFAITH CONNECT is sent each month to nearly 2,000 subscribers, and is available online at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio website.

To Subscribe: If you do not receive the monthly updates and would like to do so, simply write to info@interfaith-presidio.org. Please include your name, and, if you are willing, your street address and phone will help us to keep you up to date on interfaith activities.

To Unsubscribe: If you wish to unsubscribe you can do so by writing info@interfaith-presidio.org and letting us know. Thank you.

About the Editor: D. Andrew Kille is director of Interfaith Space in San Jose, working to develop and strengthen interfaith relations throughout the Bay Area. Send your calendar items, comments and suggestions to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We try to keep the ICP Update and Calendar as current as we can, but if you want your item included in the monthly newsletter, it needs to be in our hands a week before the end of the month.

 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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November- Religious Restrictions?

IN THIS ISSUE: Religious Restrictions? | Veterans Day | McDonald Windows | Talking Back to Hate | Energy Oscars | Free Family Shopping Spree |Healthcare Education| Notes & Quotes | Send Us Your News |


Interfaith Center at the Presidio

Last week, several members of the ICP Board attended the Annual Dinner of the Bay Area branch of CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, at the invitation of long-time ICP supporter Iftekhar Hai. CAIR works "to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding."

One achievement that was being celebrated that evening was the September victory in a case against Abercrombie and Fitch brought by a Muslim woman who was fired from a store in San Mateo for wearing a hijab at work. She was told she had to choose between her job and her religious commitment. Although Abercrombie & Fitch argued that hijabs were not compatible with their "look policy," they ultimately chose to settle this case and another similar suit and to make changes in their policy. However, early this month, a federal appeals court ruled in Oklahoma ruled in favor of Abercrombie & Fitch in yet another case that centered on the wearing of the hijab.

In Quebec, Canada, the ruling Parti Quebecois is planning to introduce a Charter of Quebec Values that would ban public employees from wearing religious symbols or clothing- hijabs, Sikh turbans, Jewish kippot, or large Christian crosses or crucifixes. One result of the proposal is that demonstrations in Montreal have brought Muslims, Jews, and Sikhs together in opposition. “In a society that’s more and more multicultural, there need to be common rules and values,” said Bernard Drainville, the National Assembly member who drafted the Charter. How would the rules be enforced? By “common sense,” he replied.

Brian J. Grim is a senior researcher at the Pew Center Religion and Life Project. Last April, he gave a TEDx talk at the Vatican on "Religious Freedom by the Numbers." He tracks limitations on religious freedom through government restrictions and social hostilities, and notes how high governmental control of religions is closely correlated with attacks on religious groups (see BAIC for July 2013). Grim writes a blog called "the Weekly Number," with weekly updates on global restrictions on religion.

What restrictions, if any, are appropriate on religious expression in the public arena? While we might "welcome, serve, and celebrate the diverse spiritual wisdom and faith traditions of the Bay Area," should that activity be carried on in private settings, leaving us to "get along" with each other in the office, the school, the bank or on the bus because we can overlook our religious identity? Or is there an important role for all of us in learning to understand, appreciate, and respect the visible display of religious commitment?

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VETERANS’ DAY AT THE PRESIDIO CHAPEL. Please join us on Veterans' Day, November 11, 2013, in honoring all our military veterans. We owe them all a debt of gratitude. The Presidio Chapel, 130 Fisher Loop, will be open from 10:00 to 12:30 pm for prayer and quiet meditation. At 11:11 am, the Chapel bell will be rung 11 times to commemorate the armistice of Nov. 11, 1918, that ended WWI, “the war to end all wars.” A chaplain will be available in the Sanctuary Room.

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Metz window on displayMCDONALD WINDOWS IN BUFFALO. ICP Managing and Development Director Linda Crawford was in Buffalo, NY in early October to attend the opening of “Memory Theater,” a display at the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester. Seven of the McDonald Windows were loaned to the gallery for the exhibit of “works that explore how memory shapes both personal and cultural identities, and the ways in which museums function as ‘memory theatres.’” As we noted in our August 2013 issue, the windows are a special project of the Interfaith Center, transforming shattered pieces of stained glass windows gathered by Chaplain Frederick McDonald during and after WWII into the McDonald Peace Windows. Take a look at photos of the Buffalo exhibit on the ICP website.

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TALKING BACK TO HATE. URI North America and the Talking Back to Hate Campaign are co-hosting a webinar on Bullying Prevention Best Practices on Monday, November 4, 2013 at 2:00 pm PST. Featured speakers Dr. Becki Cohn-Vargas, Director of Not In Our School (NIOS), Michelle Nutter, Safe and Supportive Schools Program Manager, and Ameena Jandali, Content Director for Islamic Network Groups, will share best practices about bullying prevention in schools and communities, present particular actions and strategies their organizations are taking, and answer questions posed by attendees. To RSVP please send an email to szikria@uri.org with “RSVP” in the subject line. There is a maximum of 25 participants. Details about how to participate in the webinar will be sent forthwith. The Interfaith Center is proud to be a partner in the URI Talking Back to Hate campaign, which  encourages daily attention and actions to address bullying, hate and discrimination in our communities. Join the effort at the Talking Back to Hate website.

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2013 ENERGY OSCARS. California Interfaith Power and Light is holding its annual "Energy Oscars" gathering on November 12, 2013, 6:00 pm at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. They will honor member congregations’ outstanding achievements in green building, energy efficiency and conservation, and education and advocacy. Nominees for this year include Bay Area congregations: Education and Advocacy: St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church, San Francisco; Energy Efficiency and Conservation: Calvary Presbyterian Church, Glide Memorial Methodist Church, and Providence Baptist Church, all of San Francisco, and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Belvedere; Green Building: Congregation Sinai, San Jose. Congratulations to all the nominees. RSVP: call or e-mail Allis Druffel (310) 752-3436. $25 donation at the door for those who RSVP by Friday, November 8; $30 donation at the door for “walk-ins.”To find out more about how your congregation can be part of the efforts to take responsible action for the environment, see the CIPL website.

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Boy with booksFREE FAMILY SHOPPING SPREE: A Cooperative Interfaith Project. Greetings, my name is Susie Kohl. President of the Interfaith Council of Rossmoor and a member of Sufism Reoriented in Walnut Creek. Five years ago, Murshida Weyland Conner, spiritual director of Sufism Reoriented, initiated an innovative program through our local Saranap Community Association to help parents with financial challenges. With the economic downturn, there was a clear need for young families to obtain nice clothing and toys for their children, items that can be prohibitively expensive when purchased new. At the same time, many other families have excess clothing and toys, still in good condition that their children have outgrown.

Since 2008, the Saranap Community Association (SCA) has sponsored the program Murshida Conner suggested, staging successful free Toy and Clothing Boutiques at least three times a year. For each boutique, volunteers clear several classrooms at a local preschool and transform them into “upscale stores” with clothes carefully organized by size on racks and toys, books, and games displayed in another room. The program has received national recognition. Read more . . .

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HEALTH CARE EDUCATION BAY AREA. The “Covered California” health exchange is already operational, and the California Council of Churches Educator for the Bay Area is Marijke Fakasiieiki. She will be leading presentations in November to offer basic information on how the new health care exchange operates, how to obtain subsidies and supports for the costs of individual and family health care, how to obtain enrollment assistance during the Open Enrollment period starting October 1 through the end of next March 2014, and she is available to answer many of your questions.  See a list of when and where Marijke will be presenting information.  You can contact Marijke Fakasiieiki at (510) 529-5011, marijke@calchurches.org

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NOTES & QUOTES: We were sorry to learn of the passing of the Rev. Dr. Charles (Chuck) White. While Executive Director of the Buffalo Area Metropolitan Ministries, he offered vision and direction for the creation of NAIN (North American Interfaith Network) twenty years ago, and served as its first Chair… “I do not cease to be a Jew for him, and he goes on keeping his own faith. But the two spiritualities have to have a point of encounter.  We cannot live in a world where we reject each other, we must build bridges.” Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Argentina, referring to his long-time friend, Pope Francis IMichael Pappas' (San Francisco Interfaith Council) remarks from the "Sounds of Peace" concert in September are available on YouTube...

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

BAY AREA INTERFAITH CONNECT is sent each month to nearly 2,000 subscribers, and is available online at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio website.

To Subscribe: If you do not receive the monthly updates and would like to do so, simply write to info@interfaith-presidio.org. Please include your name, and, if you are willing, your street address and phone will help us to keep you up to date on interfaith activities.

To Unsubscribe: If you wish to unsubscribe you can do so by writing info@interfaith-presidio.org and letting us know. Thank you.

About the Editor: D. Andrew Kille is director of Interfaith Space in San Jose, working to develop and strengthen interfaith relations throughout the Bay Area. Send your calendar items, comments and suggestions to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We try to keep the ICP Update and Calendar as current as we can, but if you want your item included in the monthly newsletter, it needs to be in our hands a week before the end of the month.

 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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October- In the Chapel

IN THIS ISSUE: New Banners in Chapel | Sounds of Peace Concert | InterSpiritual Retreat | Sacred Space at GTU | What Good is God? | Made Into America | Notes & Quotes | Send Us Your News |


UN Day of Peace

NOTE: The Gathering of Blessings originally announced for Sunday, October 6 will not take place. We regret any inconvenience.

The major reconstruction jobs are complete in the Presidio Chapel, but work continues on beautifying the space. Recently, as set of eight banners were installed along the walls of the chapel. Each of the banners is depicts flowers or animals that are native to the Presidio—Hawk,  Hummingbird, Owl, Pelican, Red Admiral Butterfly, California Poppy, Checkerbloom Flower, and Larkspur. They were created by artists from Glammic, a children's boutique on Russian Hill (see their website for photos of the banners). The banners will both add color to the chapel and help with the acoustics.

The images were adapted from drawings made by Ryan Jones, who worked with young people on restoration projects for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy until his tragic death in 2008 at the age of 30. His love for nature was matched by his love for art, and he enjoyed drawing the local plants and animals. Many of the youth programs in the Park, including a summer program for urban teens are due to his efforts (Read more about Ryan here.)

Hummingbird banner
Hummingbird

The banners have colorful borders that represent the colors of the ICP symbol (see above). The logo includes the three primary colors (red, blue, yellow), the three secondary colors (purple, green, orange), white, and black.  It thus includes at least one of the colors held sacred by each of the world's many faith traditions and does not favor any one tradition.  If you look closely, you'll see that no two rings are actually linked together, yet the whole cannot be pulled apart.  This represents maintaining the uniqueness of each of our faith traditions while finding strength in coming together in solidarity around issues of common concern. You could also see it as a primal white light radiating prismatically into the colors of life against a black background of space.  The logo was designed for the ICP by Board member Don Frew of the Covenant of the Goddess.

The banners represent a close collaboration between ICP and the Presidio Trust. Thanks to Karen Maggio, Director of Hospitality, designer Brittany Burggraff and the artists at Glammic who spent many long hours (the owl alone took 40 hours to design, cut, and sew), and Jody Sanford, Terry, and Damien Raffa for sharing Ryan’s drawings.

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Sounds of PeaceSOUNDS OF PEACE On September 21, to commemorate the United Nations’ International Day of Peace, the Interfaith Center at the Presidio sponsored the “Sounds of Peace” concert at the Golden Gate Club, just down the hill from the Interfaith Center. Over 120 people packed the Ventana Room and enjoyed musical presentations by Cantor Fran Burgess, the Valparaiso Singers, Vivek Anand and Friends, the White Horse Chorale, Taneen Sufi Music Ensemble, Providence Mass Choir, and Sister Elizabeth Padilla. The performers represented traditions including Jewish, Latter-Day Saints, Hindu, Sufi, Baptist, and Brahma Kumari. All told, there were some 90 musicians involved.

Sounds of Peace performersAlong with the musical presentations, the event highlighted the URI “Talk Back To Hate” program, an effort to counter hate, bullying and discrimination, and to encourage positive speech and respectful dialogue in our communities. Co-sponsors for the event included the United Religions Initiative, Bryant McOmber of Pacific Union Realty, who organizes Concerts at the Presidio featuring students from the S.F. Conservatory of Music, and the Presidio Trust, along with the Bay Area interfaith organizations Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, Marin Interfaith Council, San Francisco Interfaith Council, and Silicon Valley Interreligious Council.

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INTERSPIRITUAL RETREAT. The Chaplaincy Institute is offering a daylong retreat led by Ed Bastian, PhD, “Creating Your Spiritual Path and Practices,” from 8:30 am – 8:15 pm Saturday, October 26th, at Easton Hall, Library, 2451 Ridge Road in Berkeley. Dr Bastian is the founding president of the Spiritual Paths Foundation that provides InterSpiritual resources for the study of meditation and the application of contemplative values and insights in the world. In this one-day session, participants will focus on the InterSpiritual Mandala to create their personal spiritual paths and to refine their contemplative practices. Cost is $100 - $85 (sliding scale) plus $25 for materials. Please bring your lunch; light supper provided ($15); CEUs are available. For more information, Lauren Van Ham, lauren@chaplaincyinstitute.org; to register, contact: chioffice@chaplaincyinstitue.org.

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SACRED SPACE AT GTU. The Center for Islamic Studies and Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies at the GTU present the Madrasa/Midrasha Annual Day of Learning, “Aesthetics of Sacred Space,” Thursday, October 10, 5:30 pm in the Dinner Board Room, Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Road, Berkeley. The discussion will feature Rizwan Mawani, Educator and Scholar, M.A. student, Center for Islamic Studies; Francesco Spagnolo, Curator, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life and will be moderated by Carol Bier, Islamic Art Historian, Visiting Scholar, Center for Islamic Studies (moderator). A vegetarian reception will follow the program. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Daniella Bensimon, 510/649-2482.

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WHAT GOOD IS GOD? The Bannan Institute at Santa Clara University invites the public to a series of lectures and facilitated dialogues with scientists, philosophers, literary scholars, engineers, theologians, poets, artists, and educators, to explore the significance of secular and religious culture in civil society; engage the questions and resources of emergent scientific, technological, and religious paradigms; and consider the nature and role of religion within higher education. The series begins on October 7th at 5:00 pm in the St. Clare Room of the SCU Library with a talk by Terry Eagleton, “Why is God for Christians Good for Nothing?” For full listing of events, see the Bannon Institute webpages.

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MADE INTO AMERICA.  The Midpeninsula Media Center invites you to share your family’s story about how your own relatives first came to the United States. At their website, www.MadeIntoAmerica.org, you can discover brief accounts of immigration from over 20 countries of origin going back into the 1600’s and spanning up to 2005. The purpose of the project is to compile and share immigration stories to demonstrate how immigrants have built the strength of the U.S. and our area especially. Take a look, learn about your neighbors, and share your own story!

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NOTES & QUOTES: Congratulations to Rev. Will McGarvey, who was officially named as the Executive Director of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County. Will, a Presbyterian pastor, served as Interim director since September of 2012. "Will speaks out and reminds us that the purpose of religion is to bind together and not to tear apart," said Rev. Leslie Takahashi Morris, co-chair of the Council...Congratulations also to Rev. Victor Kazanjian, who was announced as the new Executive Director of URI, the United Religions Initiative. He is an Episcopal priest who served for 20 years as Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at Wellesley College.

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

BAY AREA INTERFAITH CONNECT is sent each month to nearly 2,000 subscribers, and is available online at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio website.

To Subscribe: If you do not receive the monthly updates and would like to do so, simply write to info@interfaith-presidio.org. Please include your name, and, if you are willing, your street address and phone will help us to keep you up to date on interfaith activities.

To Unsubscribe: If you wish to unsubscribe you can do so by writing info@interfaith-presidio.org and letting us know. Thank you.

About the Editor: D. Andrew Kille is director of Interfaith Space in San Jose, working to develop and strengthen interfaith relations throughout the Bay Area. Send your calendar items, comments and suggestions to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We try to keep the ICP Update and Calendar as current as we can, but if you want your item included in the monthly newsletter, it needs to be in our hands a week before the end of the month.

 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

return to top

September- Celebrating Peace

IN THIS ISSUE: International Peace Day | Sounds of Peace Concert | Paths to Peace | Interfaith Prayer Gathering | Gathering of Blessings | NAIN Connect | Interfaith Families | Notes & Quotes | Send Us Your News

UN Day of PeaceThe first International Day of Peace was observed at the United Nations Headquarters on September 21 1982, the opening day of the 37th session of the General Assembly. At the start of the session delegates stood for the traditional minute of silence in observance of the Day. In 2002, a new resolution passed by the General Assembly, gave Peace Day the fixed calendar date of the 21st September. The resolution also declared it as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence.

The particular focus for Peace Day 2013 is Peace Education. In a message marking the 100-day countdown to Peace Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said, "Education has to cultivate mutual respect for others and the world in which we live, and help people forge more just, inclusive and peaceful societies."

Many local interfaith organizations will be planning special observances during September to honor Peace Day 2013; several are listed below. Check the ICP interreligious calendar listings for additional events as we have the information. Learn more about Peace day at www.internationaldayofpeace.org/, or at the International Day of Peace page on Facebook.

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Sounds of PeacePEACE DAY CONCERT: The Sounds of Peace. The religions of the world will commemorate the United Nations' International Day of Peace on Saturday, September 21, at 7:30 pm at the Golden Gate Club, just down the hill from the Interfaith Center on Fisher Loop at the Presidio. Musical groups from around the Bay Area from multiple faith traditions will perform, including Hindu, Brahma Kumaris, Christian, Interfaith, Jewish, and Muslim. The United Religions Initiative will present their Talking Back to Hate campaign, an initiative to engage communities to build bridges of acceptance and understanding; to speak out together against acts of hate, discrimination and bullying. Co-presented by Interfaith Center at the Presidio, URI, Pacific Union, and the Presidio Trust. Co-sponsored by the Interfaith Councils around the Bay Area. Admission is free. Please RSVP after September 7 by calling (415) 447-6274. A flyer is available; share it with your community.

The Presidio Chapel will be open from 6:00 to 7:00 pm; come by and see the beautiful renovations!

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Peace Forum 2013PATHS TO PEACE. Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, speaking on "Compassion is the Key to Peace," and Professor David McGaffey on "Swords into Plowshares, Enemies into Friends" will headline Peace Forum 2013 on Sunday, September 8, 2013, from 1:15 – 6:00 pm. Special music, interactive workshops and breakout discussions will round out the event. Rev. Paul Chaffee will close with a synthesis of the day's reflections.

The Forum will take place at Pacific School of Religion, 2401 Le Conte Ave, Berkeley, and is free for any interested people. Donations gratefully accepted. Organizers include AHIMSA, InterConsultUSA, Pacifica Institute–East Bay Chapter, Shift Network, Universal Peace Federation, United Nations Assoc.—East Bay, The New Spirit Community Church, and Women’s Interfaith Circle of Service–URI-CC, with sponsorship and support from interreligious groups around the Bay Area.

For full information on the conference and to pre-register for workshops, go to bayareapeaceforum.org/; you can download the most recent flyer here.

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Interfaith Prayer ServiceINTERFAITH PRAYER GATHERING: Rooted in Faith- Forward in Hope. The Silicon Valley Interreligious Council (SiVIC), Sacred Heart Community Services, and Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley invite you to join together to pray in one another's presence so that we might realize our common vision for a vibrant community which provides for the common good. Enjoy food provided by the Jain community, music by an ensemble from the Sikh Gurdwara of San Jose, sukkot decorations, among other interfaith offerings. Sunday, September 22, 2013, 5:00 pm, at Sacred Heart Community Services, 1381 South First Street, San Jose. Please register to allow the Jain community to plan vegetarian food for all.

Also on Sunday, the 22nd, volunteers are welcome for an interreligious service project for Coastal Cleanup Day, from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Volunteers will be meeting across the street from 696 Palm. Volunteers are encouraged to wear long pants, sturdy close-toed shoes and sunscreen.  Bring your own pick-up sticks, reuseable water bottles and gloves.  All youth under 18 need supervision and transportation to cleanup site. Sponsored by Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley, Muslim Association of America, Muslim Community Center Teens, and Temple Emanu-El. Sign up at http://2013ccdsite20.eventbrite.com/ Thank you for caring about our creeks and the Bay! Download a flyer.

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SAVE THE DATE: OCTOBER 6. Plans are in the works for the fall Gathering of Blessings, to be held on Sunday, October 6 at 7:00 pm. The first Gathering of Blessings took place on Sunday, October 1, 1995, as the care of the Presidio Chapel went from military to civilian care. The chapel, built in 1931 by the U.S. Sixth Army, had served the differing religious needs of military personnel for over 60 years, and began a new role as an interreligious center. On that day 18 years ago, 20 different faith traditions came together to offer blessings for the future of interfaith work at this Chapel. For many years the Gathering of Blessings was an annual event, but it has been a while since the last observance. Watch for updates!

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NAINConnect 2013NAIN CONNECT 2013. The NAIN (North American Interfaith Network) Connect for 2013 was a great success! Held August 11-14 at the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Toronto, this year's gathering included special programming for Young Adults. Over 50 young adults, both from out of town and local to Toronto attended and participated in various events.

Speakers and workshop leaders led a variety of sessions devoted to the theme "In Diversity is Our Strength," along with opportunities for interfaith worship and site visits to religious communities in the area. Over 150 participants marked the 25th year of NAIN's efforts to connect interreligious groups across North America. Find out more and see some pictures at the NAIN blog or Facebook page.

NAINConnect 2014 is planned for August 10-13 on the campus of Wayne State Universtiy in Detroit; the 2015 gathering will be in Sasketchewan.

Photos: (right) Sande Hart, Founder and President of S.A.R.A.H. (Spiritual And Religious Alliance for Hope), Chair of the URI North American Region, and Board member of the Religious Diversity Council and the Interfaith Council of Orange County sharing her vision. (below) Young Adult Interfaith Nature Hike.

Young Adult group at 
NAINConnect 2013

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LOOKING FOR INTERFAITH FAMILIES. Rachel Greenberg is a student in the Doctor of Psychology program at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, CA. She sent us this request: "I am conducting a study that explores the experience of bireligious couples in regard to decision-making, specifically associated with childrearing.  Your participation would not take longer than an hour, and though there is no compensation for participation in this study, your participation has the potential to contribute to the field of psychology and psychotherapy and offer a richer understanding of the experience of bireligious couples, which has the potential to help couples who may be struggling.  If you have a child/children and are in a bireligious relationship and would be willing to share your experiences, please contact me at rgreenberg.psydstudent@gmail.com."

Resources for Interfaith Families: InterfaithFamily/Bay Area is offering several online workshops, including "Love and Religion-Online," "Raising a Child with Judaism in Your Interfaith Family," and "Preparing for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah." These workshops are aimed at interfaith relationships in which one of the partners is Jewish. For more information and registration, see their website.

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NOTES & QUOTES: "As we educate the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts." - Dalai Lama..."Today dialogue between those who call themselves ‘spiritual’ and committed members of a faith community is becoming more significant." - Marcus Braybrooke..."As people of faith, we stand for the preciousness of all human life and call for the cessation of violence against any and all communities in Egypt and encourage people to live into their highest religious and philosophical values.  Our prayer is that a truly democratic, inclusive and understanding Egypt that protects the religious rights of all of her citizens will emerge from this time of conflict.”- Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County [full statement]... " [Nonviolence] creates a common ground where we are all invited to inhabit and move beyond the shaky ground of our violent institutions, laws and systems that tend to allow, if not encourage, people to act on their fears and insecurities." - Stephanie Van Hook.

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

BAY AREA INTERFAITH CONNECT is sent each month to nearly 2,000 subscribers, and is available online at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio website.

To Subscribe: If you do not receive the monthly updates and would like to do so, simply write to info@interfaith-presidio.org. Please include your name, and, if you are willing, your street address and phone will help us to keep you up to date on interfaith activities.

To Unsubscribe: If you wish to unsubscribe you can do so by writing info@interfaith-presidio.org and letting us know. Thank you.

About the Editor: D. Andrew Kille is director of Interfaith Space in San Jose, working to develop and strengthen interfaith relations throughout the Bay Area. Send your calendar items, comments and suggestions to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We try to keep the ICP Update and Calendar as current as we can, but if you want your item included in the monthly newsletter, it needs to be in our hands a week before the end of the month.

 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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August- Remembered Light

IN THIS ISSUE: McDonald Windows | Women Veterans | Paths to Peace | Health Care Education | Responding to Hate | NAIN Connect | Notes & Quotes | Send Us Your News

McDonald Windows Exhibit

Seven pieces of the McDonald Windows stained glass exhibit will be making their way to the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester this October as part of a display titled “Memory Theater 2013,” which will explore “how memory shapes both personal and cultural identities, and the ways in which museums function as ‘memory theatres.’” These beautiful artworks were created by stained glass artist Armelle LeRoux and colleagues from fragments of stained glass windows in Europe destroyed during World War II. The fragments were gathered by U.S. Army Chaplain Frederick Alexander McDonald during 1944 and 1945, as he traveled through the war zone. For 55 years, the fragments were stored away until, in 1999, LeRoux and her artist friends undertook the McDonald Peace Windows Project. The windows were completed in 2007, but Metz Cathedral, McDonald Windowsplans are still being developed to create a permanent home for the display as part of the proposed expansion of the Presidio Chapel, home of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio.

In the meantime, the windows have been displayed at the Officers Club at the Presidio, Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, The Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Sullivan Munce Cultural Center in Zionsville, IN. On the ICP website, you can find a gallery of photos of the windows, along with their stories, and more about Chaplain McDonald and Armelle LeRoux. You can also take a look at more about the history of the Chapel and the hopes for the restoration project here.

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Women who serveWOMEN VETERANS. “Ministering to Women Who Went to War,” the third day-long workshop in the ICP series Embracing our Veterans, took place on July 18, 2013 at Christ Episcopal Church in Alameda. Some 40 attendees learned about the special needs of women and families face in the military and how congregations can equip themselves to serve those needs. Leaders included Rev. Charlotte Bear and Rev. Lyn Juckniess, both veterans and chaplains, Ed and Kathy Dieden who developed the Military Ministry at Twin Towers United Methodist Church, and Rev. Herbert Anderson, Professor of Practical Theology at the Lutheran Seminary in Berkeley. Responses were overwhelmingly enthusiastic, and attendees felt they learned a lot of useful information.

One challenge for future gatherings is to address the reality that people of many different religious backgrounds, and none, are in the military, and ICP hopes to address that diversity in the future. We would appreciate knowing of any on-going programs for veterans conducted by the Jewish, Pagan, Buddhist, Moslem and other faith and spiritual communities that are actively reaching out to servicemen and women returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and other current deployments.  We want to have this diversity represented and shared more widely. If you have suggestions, contact Rev. Carrie Knowles.

Our thanks to all the presenters, the host, Christ Episcopal Church, and to the FAITHS project of the San Francisco Foundation, which provided financial support for the program.

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Peace Forum 2013PATHS TO PEACE. The Bay Area Peace Forum invites you to a half-day peace conference, "Peace Forum 2013," to be held at Pacific School of Religion, 2401 Le Conte Ave, Berkeley, on Sunday, September 8, 2013, from 1:15 – 6:00 pm. The keynote speakers will be Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, on "Compassion is the Key to Peace," and Professor David McGaffey on "Swords into Plowshares, Enemies into Friends." Special music, interactive workshops and breakout discussions will round out the event. Rev. Paul Chaffee will close with a synthesis of the day's reflections. Bay Area Peace Forum was established to coordinate the efforts of the Universal Peace Federation of the Bay Area, the United Religions Initiative, and the United Nations Association of the East Bay towards the common goals of Peace on every level, from the internal level within and individual, to the broader levels of the Family, Society, Nation, and World. For updates on the conference, go to bayareapeaceforum.org/; you can download the most recent flyer here.

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HEALTH CARE EDUCATION AVAILABLE. The “Covered California” health exchange will soon be operational, and the California Council of Churches is one of the 48 recipients of major grant funding to help you, your congregational members, communities that you serve, your friends and family all sign up for health care coverage through the Covered CA health exchange. They have six regional Certified Educator partners available to come to your church, social justice meetings, ecumenical and interfaith gatherings, campus ministries, ministerial associations, interfaith labor organizations, denominational conferences. Certified Educators offer basic information on how the new health care exchange operates, how to obtain subsidies and supports for the costs of individual and family health care, how to obtain enrollment assistance during the Open Enrollment period starting this fall through the end of next March 2014, and are available to answer many of your questions.  The Educator for the Bay Area is Marijke Fakasiieiki, and others are available throughout the state. Please address your questions or request for an Education and Outreach visit to the new healthcare-specific email address: healthcare@calchurches.org     

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Talking Back to HateRESPONDING TO HATE. ICP is proud to be a partner with the United Religions Initiative in their new Talking Back to Hate project, inviting people around the world to pledge to respond actively to intolerance and discrimination wherever they encounter it. If you haven’t signed up and joined the pledge " to be a voice for respect and acceptance,” take a look at the Talking Back To Hate website.

If you’d like to learn more about responding to hate speech in social networking, the Parliament of the World’s Religions is offering a webinar, “Learning To Stop Viral Hate: The Social Internet and the Interfaith Response” on Wednesday, August 7, 2013 at 12:00 noon-1:00 pm. The presenter will be Christopher Wolf, co-author with Abraham H. Foxman of Viral Hate: Containing Its Spread on the Internet. [] You will learn the state of hate on the internet now, how it affects us all, and how to respond effectively. Find more information and sign up here.

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NAINConnect 2013NAIN CONNECT 2013. The North American Interfaith Network will be meeting in Toronto August 10-14. President Rachael Watcher wrote recently, "What makes this Connect unique is that this is the 25th Anniversary of the “Connects” which had their origin in Wichita, Kansas at what was then called the North American Assisi.  The story of the years from then to now will be shared at this Connect thanks to the good work this past year of Rachael Watcher and Bettina Gray to document our NAIN family history. Also adding to the uniqueness is the presence of past Chairs of NAIN as honoured guests. Founding Chair Chuck White is unable to be with us in person but we anticipate a communiqué.  All other Chairs are registered, and will be in panel dialogue with our Young Adult Scholars about the interfaith “state of the union”, and in conversation with all of us. A grand occasion indeed!"

Full program details are available on the NAIN website; we look forward to hearing reports from our friends and colleagues who are attending.

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NOTES & QUOTES: "Ask yourself: `Is there more I can do within my own constituency, to challenge our community's prejudices - gross and subtle, open and covert, blatant and unintentional?' You might make a contribution toward peace that no one else is making. Everybody is yelling and screaming about the sins of the opposing side. And with good reason: Those sins are horrible. How about looking at one's own side?" David Hoffman..."[U]nless our traditions are able to work together energetically to build a global community where people of all ethnicities, faiths and nationalities can live together in mutual respect they will fail the test of our time." Karen Armstrong... "I remind myself as a citizen and as a leaders, that especially in these times, of greatest need, we must bring love into our daily actions." Imam Mehdi Khorasani.

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

BAY AREA INTERFAITH CONNECT is sent each month to nearly 2,000 subscribers, and is available online at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio website.

To Subscribe: If you do not receive the monthly updates and would like to do so, simply write to info@interfaith-presidio.org. Please include your name, and, if you are willing, your street address and phone will help us to keep you up to date on interfaith activities.

To Unsubscribe: If you wish to unsubscribe you can do so by writing info@interfaith-presidio.org and letting us know. Thank you.

About the Editor: D. Andrew Kille is director of Interfaith Space in San Jose, working to develop and strengthen interfaith relations throughout the Bay Area. Send your calendar items, comments and suggestions to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We try to keep the ICP Update and Calendar as current as we can, but if you want your item included in the monthly newsletter, it needs to be in our hands a week before the end of the month.

 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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July- Celebrating (Religious) Freedom

IN THIS ISSUE: Celebrating Freedom | Embracing Our Veterans | Ramadan | NAIN Connect | Talking Back to Hate | What is Sacred to You? | Interfaith Picnic | Notes & Quotes |

Interfaith Center at the Presidio

The Fourth of July is a day in the United States for celebrating the freedoms we enjoy, not the least of which is freedom of religion. The US is frequently noted not only for the diversity of the religious practice of its citizens, but for the importance those citizens give to their faith and practice. Without an established national religion, people are challenged to choose for themselves what tradition they will practice (or not).

The picture is not so good in other parts of the world. The International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 released recently by the US Department of State, an annual report on the state of religious freedom around the globe, finds that governments limit and harass religious groups within their borders. Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish statements and actions are increasing, and the report notes a correllation between religious repression and social unrest:

"Governments that repress freedom of religion and freedom of expression typically create a climate of intolerance and impunity that emboldens those who foment hatred and violence within society. Government policy that denies citizens the freedom to discuss, debate, practice, and pass on their faith as they see fit also undercuts society’s ability to counter and combat the biased and warped interpretations of religion that violent extremists propagate."

As we celebrate our freedoms this Fourth, let's be thankful for the religious freedoms we enjoy, and commit ourselves using that freedom for the benefit of all.

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Women who serveEMBRACING OUR VETERANS. "Responding to the Unique Needs of Women Who Serve" is the third in a series of workshops on aiding religious congregations and communities in dealing with verterans. The conference will take place on Thursday, July 18, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at Christ Episcopal Church, 1700 Santa Clara Avenue in Alameda. The focus will be on the needs of women who are returning to civilian life after serving in the military. Presentations will describe womens' experience of military culture, the particular challenges that women face on returning to civilian life, and the gifts that these veterans bring back to the community that can be a rich resource. Cost is $20 for the day, which includes continental breakfast and lunch; veterans are free. More details and registration information can be found at the ICP website.

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Dr. Amer Araim

Dr. Amer Araim,
ICP Board Member

RAMADAN: the Month of Fasting, Giving and Blessings

Muslim communities in the United States of America and all over the world will begin observing the month of Ramadan on Tuesday, July 9 after sighting the new moon. This is the greatest month of the year for Muslims because fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. The others are the Shahadah (confession of the faith), Salat (prayers), Zakat (alms-giving) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca.). Allah (God) commanded Muslims to fast as stated in the Quran: “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was to those before you (the followers of the monotheist faiths before Islam), that you may learn (taquwa).” The word taquwa expresses many meanings including self-restraint, warding off evil, or protecting oneself by constantly observing the commands of Allah (God.)

In addition to fasting, Muslims perform extra night prayers during Ramadan, recite the Quran on a daily basis, and give to charity. Adult Muslims who are traveling or sick may break their fast, and compensate for it later on. If any adult is not able to fast due to health concerns, and has the financial ability do so, he or she must feed one poor fasting person for every day of the month.  In addition, people provide additional charity in Ramadan not only to compensate for their inability to fast but because it is the month of giving. Read more . . .

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NAINConnect 2013NAIN CONNECT 2013. NAIN Connect is coming up soon- August 11-14, 2013, in Toronto. The theme for this annual gathering of the North American Interfaith Network is Diversity is our Strength. The host is the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Toronto. Join with others from across North America for four days of learning and peace-building. Now in its 25th year, NAIN Connect offers participants an exciting roster of two-dozen workshops, plenary keynotes, faith and cultural visits, as well as time for multi-faith devotional activities and prayer. Full program details and registration are available on the NAIN website.

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Talking Back to HateTALKING BACK TO HATE. " I pledge to be a voice for respect and acceptance, and to take action with others in my school, workplace, home, community, or place of worship to create a more safe, accepting and inclusive environment." The United Religions Initiative (URI) has begun an international campaign against hate speech, Talking Back to Hate. In the face of discrimination, hate speech, and bullying, the URI is highlighting stories of people who have stood up and taken action against hatred. Go to their new website, Talking Back To Hate, to take the pledge against hate speech, commit to taking action, discover resource materials, and share your story about dealing with discrimination, prejudice, or bullying in school, at work, or in your community.

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WHAT IS SACRED TO YOU? Beginning on June 21, 2013, the summer solstice, New York's WLIW21 is inviting contributors from around the world to send in footage that answers the question: "What is sacred to you?" A selection of the footage shot during the 365-day filming period will be edited together into a sweeping mosaic portrait of spiritual and religious life on earth. All are welcome to contribute to Sacred, and everyone whose footage is selected for the film will receive a stipend and onscreen recognition. Sacred will premiere in 2015 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and The Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and be offered to public television audiences across the United States. They are looking for dramatic, uplifting footage of spiritual moments and religious events. Any event-personal or public, small or large-that can be called sacred is up for inclusion in the final film. Examples include: a rite of passage, a pilgrimage, a big religious holiday from a personal point of view, a daily ritual, a family tradition, or a trip to a holy place. For details, see the website at sacredthemovie.org/.

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ICCCC INVITES YOU TO JOIN US!  This summer, the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County (an ICP Sponsoring Organization) is hosting an Interfaith Council Potluck Picnic that will include volunteer opportunities tabling.  On Sunday, July 28th at 5:00 pm we will gather in the Olive Grove picnic area of Rankin Park,100 Buckley Street, in Martinez. Bring a dish from your cultural or religious heritage to go along with a kosher hamburger or hotdog served by the Council.  Drinks are included for the $3 entry and hamburger/hotdog fee. We will enjoy the music of "The Spinning Wheel," a favorite  bluegrass group and the "Fiddling Friends String Band" while we gather in this sweet neighborhood park. Games and face painting for children. Come early and enjoy a swim in the sparkling public pool adjacent the Olive Grove. If your congregation or agency has volunteer opportunities, please email Rev. Will to reserve a portion of a table to share your information.  Fliers are available for printing from our website: interfaithccc.org.

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NOTES & QUOTES: "Until recently I didn’t realize that I had become what is now termed an ‘interfaith activist.’ I was just being me, on my personal journey to find God, not knowing that people of other religious beliefs could lead me further on my own path to Him," Saadia Faruqi on Tikkun Daily..."[O]ut of respect for the difference of one another's faith... we do not pray together, but we gather to pray in one another's presence, as respectful observers of one another's spiritual heritage," Bishop Paul Loverde, in guidelines for a celebration of religious liberty in Arlington, VA... The California Senate passed the resolution marking October 2013 as "California Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month" on June 24th...Led by Dr. H. Koya, Interfaith America and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association have recently joined other faith groups to serve poor and hungry in Hayward. Close to 40 people are served every Sunday. Those wishing to help may contact Dr. Koya at 510-677-4488...The Interfaith Observer recently published an article by Vanessa Gomez Brake of the Chaplaincy Institute (and former ICP Board member): "The Case for Atheist Chaplains."

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

BAY AREA INTERFAITH CONNECT is sent each month to nearly 2,000 subscribers, and is available online at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio website.

To Subscribe: If you do not receive the monthly updates and would like to do so, simply write to info@interfaith-presidio.org. Please include your name, and, if you are willing, your street address and phone will help us to keep you up to date on interfaith activities.

To Unsubscribe: If you wish to unsubscribe you can do so by writing info@interfaith-presidio.org and letting us know. Thank you.

About the Editor: D. Andrew Kille is director of Interfaith Space in San Jose, working to develop and strengthen interfaith relations throughout the Bay Area. Send your calendar items, comments and suggestions to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We try to keep the ICP Update and Calendar as current as we can, but if you want your item included in the monthly newsletter, it needs to be in our hands a week before the end of the month.

 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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June- Annual Meeting Time

IN THIS ISSUE: ICP Annual Meeting | Leadership Changes | NAINConnect 2013 | Share Your Experience | Spiritual Direction Certificate | Bay Area Muslim Study | Hindus in California | Notes & Quotes | Send Us Your News |

Interfaith Center at the Presidio

The Annual Meeting of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio will take place on Monday, June 24, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the newly-renovated Main Post Chapel at the Presidio. The Annual Meeting is the opportunity for our Sponsoring Organizations to join together to share news from our various corners of the Bay Area and to meet old new friends and make new ones. There will be an opportunity to tour the updates made to the space, and to envision together how to continue lively and transformative interreligious work at the Chapel and all around the Bay.

Representatives from the ICP Sponsoring Organizations are encouraged to attend to elect the new board and officers for the coming year. What is a Sponsoring Organization? ICP Sponsoring Organizations are groups, largely from the Bay Area, that have an interfaith constituency and purpose. Sectarian groups are welcome participants at the ICP, but an interfaith identity is what characterizes Sponsoring Organizations. Sponsoring Organizations gather each year to elect the Board. You can find a list of our current Sponsoring Organizations on the ICP website.

Not a Sponsoring Organization? Not a problem! You are more than welcome to attend as a guest. It will be great time to explore how you or your organization might become involved with ICP. Please RSVP to linda@interfaith-presidio.org by June 17.

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LEADERSHIP CHANGES. Several significant leaders in Bay Area interreligious activities will be moving on from their current roles. In our own neighborhood at the Presidio, The Rev. Canon Charles Gibbs, who has served as Executive Director of the United Religions Initiative (URI) for 17 years, will be retiring from that position this month. As URI's "traveling ambassador of goodwill," Charles has been a familiar participant at interreligious events throughout the Bay Area, and a good friend to ICP. URI is in the search process for a new director.

Across the Bay at the Graduate Theological Union, Dr. James A. Donahue is leaving after 12 years as President of the GTU to become President of St. Mary's College in Moraga. In May, Dr. Riess W. Potterveld was named to serve as Acting President for a term of two years beginning July 1. Currently, Dr. Potterveld is President of Pacific School of Religion, a member school of the Graduate Theological Union. There will be a reception for Jim Donahue on Tuesday, June 25, 4:00 - 7:00 pm at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, 2451 Ridge Road, Berkeley.

And in the South Bay, Maha ElGenaidi, the founding director of Islamic Networks Group, steps down after 20 years as Executive Director to take a new role in developing an endowment for the organization. Maha founded ING in 1993 to address the growing misconceptions about Islam and Muslims in the media and general public that increased as a result of political events and issues during and after the first Gulf War. Their work has since expanded to include an Interfaith Speakers Bureau which provides speakers from Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim perspectives.

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NAINConnect 2013NAIN CONNECT 2013. If you haven't done so already, now is the time to register for NAINConnect 2013, meeting August 11-14, 2013, in Toronto. The theme for this annual gathering of the North American Interfaith Network is Diversity is our Strength. The host is the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Toronto. Join with others from across North America to learn, share multifaith prayer, and explore the many dimensions of diversity and to celebrate NAIN's 25th year. Early bird registration before June 15 is $225; Young Adults (18-35) $50. After June 15, registration goes up to $300 or $75. Housing is available, ranging from $38 per night for campus housing to $130 per night in local hotels. Full program details and registration are available on the NAIN website.

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HELP NEEDED FOR BOOK ON INTERFAITH EXPERIENCE. Rev. Susan Strouse, former Interim Director of ICP, invites Christians who have been involved in interfaith encounters to share their experiences for a book that she is working on. She writes:

In 2005, I wrote a doctoral thesis entitled “Passing Over and Coming Back: What Does It Mean to Be a Christian in an Interfaith World?” I’d always intended to turn it into a book – and now it’s time. But I need your help. Most of us have had the experience of encountering a person of another religious tradition. We have friends, neighbors, and co-workers from other religions. Our kids go to school with kids of other traditions. Intermarriage is common. Some are even exploring belonging to more than one tradition at the same time. As we listen and learn about what others believe, it’s natural to have questions about our own teachings, biblical interpretations and worship practices. While there’s a lot written at the academic level, there aren’t many resources for congregations who want to address the religious diversity in which we live. My goal is to create a practical book that will help clergy and laypeople wrestle with the questions surrounding being respectful of other religions while remaining faithful to their own."

If you are interested in participating, you'll find full details here. She'd like responses by June 15.

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SPIRITUAL DIRECTION CERTIFICATION. The Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley offers a Certificate Program in Interfaith Spiritual Direction. People interested in spiritual direction in an interfaith context, whether they be social workers, therapists, spiritual leaders or others in the helping professions can benefit from this training. The 15-month course starts June 24 in Berkeley, California, and provides all necessary instruction to prepare students for a career as an Interfaith Spiritual Director. Openings are still available; find details here.

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BAY AREA MUSLIM STUDY. The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding has produced a unique study of the Muslim community in the Bay Area, encompassing some 250,000 Muslims living in the six Bay Area Counties. "The Bay Area Muslim Study: Establishing Identity and Community" was developed by Farid Senzai of Santa Clara University and Hatem Bazian of UC Berkeley and Zaytuna Institute, and was made possible by a grant from One Nation Bay Area. It represents the first close look at the history, demographics, identity, and civic engagements of the Muslim community in our area, along with the challenges ahead. On the ISPU website, you can download the report or look at maps and infographics from the study.

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HINDUS IN CALIFORNIA. On June 24, the California Senate will vote on a resolution to designate October 2013 as "California Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month." Senate Concurrent Resolution 32, introduced by California State Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett of the 10th Senate District, would "recognize and acknowledge the significant contributions made by Californians of Hindu heritage to the state." Sen. Corbett's district includes Fremont, Hayward, and Milpitas, which all have large Hindu populations.

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NOTES & QUOTES: "Despite the fact that our philosophies, religions and languages constantly tell us that we are autonomous individuals, we need to remind ourselves that we are interconnected with every other part of the Universe.  Our actions and beliefs matter." Rev. Will McGarvey, Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County at Interfaith Council of Rossmoor... "'I have a vision but not an agenda.'  My response reflects my philosophy that our lives are holy adventures rather than purpose-driven projects. To me vision implies openness and willingness to change, while agendas, whether written on paper or stone, have a certain inflexibility such that we cannot be content or claim any sort of success unless we reach a goal we have set in advance." Rev. Dr. Bruce Epperly on Patheos.

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

BAY AREA INTERFAITH CONNECT is sent each month to nearly 2,000 subscribers, and is available online at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio website.

To Subscribe: If you do not receive the monthly updates and would like to do so, simply write to info@interfaith-presidio.org. Please include your name, and, if you are willing, your street address and phone will help us to keep you up to date on interfaith activities.

To Unsubscribe: If you wish to unsubscribe you can do so by writing info@interfaith-presidio.org and letting us know. Thank you.

About the Editor: D. Andrew Kille is director of Interfaith Space in San Jose, working to develop and strengthen interfaith relations throughout the Bay Area. Send your calendar items, comments and suggestions to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We try to keep the ICP Update and Calendar as current as we can, but if you want your item included in the monthly newsletter, it needs to be in our hands a week before the end of the month.

 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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May- Interfaith & Violence

IN THIS ISSUE: Interfaith & Violence | Embracing Our Veterans | Memorial Day Observances | World Labyrinth Day | Curing a Culture of Violence | Sacred Text Series Online | Notes & Quotes

Interfaith Center at the Presidio

The attacks in Boston last month again raised questions about the importance of interfaith relationships for strengthening connections between Americans of diverse religious backgrounds. Writing at Huffington Post, Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, suggests that “interfaith efforts matter more than ever.” He notes three important reasons why he believes this is so: “1. Interfaith helps harmonize people’s various identities… 2. Interfaith efforts help us to separate the worst elements of communities from the rest… and 3. Interfaith efforts remind us America is about welcoming the contributions of all communities and nurturing cooperation between them.”

Not so fast, counters Lucia Hulsether, a student at Harvard Divinity School, in an article at Religion Dispatches. She advises against understanding the Boston attacks as a failure of “interfaith cooperation,” and suggests that framing the issue that way may obscure other important dimensions. Suggesting that violence arises from differences of religion, for example, may obscure other very real factors—race, history, and struggles for resources, territory and power. Does the language of interfaith set up yet another opposition, an implicit “we” versus “they” in which the pluralist “we” are fighting the “they” that are “extremists” or “fundamentalists”?  And does this perception then encourage us to marginalize, devalue, and even dehumanize those who resist?

Patel warns us, “These times require all of us to be interfaith leaders, to signal clearly that the worst elements of every tradition represent nobody. The murderers of all communities belong only to one community: the community of murderers.”

Hulsether’s warning is a bit different: “Clearly, we cannot draw one “conclusion” about what “interfaith” discourses “do.”What we can do, however, is think critically about how they resonate contextually…if we do critically engage contemporary interfaith rhetoric, we will have accessed—and maybe even begun to influence and redirect—a powerful rhetorical tool for animating transformative social and political action.”

What do you think? How much does interfaith dialogue contribute to preventing or countering religious violence? We invite your responses on the ICP Facebook page or on our blog.

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"EMBRACING OUR VETERANS" CONFERENCE A SUCCESS!

Fred Fielding, ICP Interim President

Embracing Our VeteransOver 40 leaders from religious and spiritual communities from Contra Costa County came to this half day conference focused on developing a better understanding of how to serve the veterans in their midst.  The Interfaith Center at the Presidio, in partnership the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa, presented this conference to assist congregations and spiritual communities in becoming healing, welcoming, and empowering places for veterans on a long term basis.

The underlying focus for the day was on understanding how the differences between military and civilian cultures can make it difficult for people and communities to reach out to each other.  On the societal level, how the military functions and differing perspectives and experiences of war can create separation between people and their communities.   On a more personal level, the conference dealt with spiritual issues that arise with veterans

Rev. Charlotte Bear set the tone during her keynote.  Her overriding message was "listen, listen, listen!"  Putting aside presuppositions about the experiences veterans may have had is key to engaging veterans more fully.  The presenters and panelists came to share their experiences as veterans, chaplains, and people honoring their fallen family members.  Their overriding message was that building personal relationships with veterans is crucial to any effort.  Read more ...

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Memorial DayMEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCES. The Memorial Day ceremony at the Presidio cemetery will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. The parade begins at 10:30, and the service is from 11:00 am -12:00 noon. As part of the program, the French Consul General will be presenting the highest French award to several WWII vets.

The Interfaith Center at the Presidio invites everyone to the newly-renovated Presidio Chapel for quiet time for meditation, reflection, and prayers. The Chapel will be open from 11:00 to 2:00.

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MAY 4 IS WORLD LABYRINTH DAY. The Labyrinth Society has declared May 4, the first Saturday in May, as World Labyrinth Day. It is a day designated to bring people from all over the world together to walk labyrinths. As part of the “Walk as One at 1” project, people are encouraged to have the main labyrinth walk of the day at 1 pm in every time zone to create a wave of labyrinth walking around our planet as it turns in space. To learn more about World Labyrinth Day and find out where it is being observed, see the Labyrinth Society website.

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CURING A CULTURE OF VIOLENCE. AHIMSA in Berkeley, one of ICP's Supporting Organizations, held a conference in March in commemoration of Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birthday. “Unity in Diversity: To Cure a Culture of Violence” was held at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery and Institute for World Religions, and included talks on the origins of violence and ways to address it, informed by the teachings of Vivekananda. Audio recordings of the sessions are available on the AHIMSA website.

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SACRED TEXT SERIES ONLINE. Presentations on sacred texts from Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim traditions, as well at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are now available as online videos. The talks were part of a series on “Sacred Dialogue: Sacred Texts in the Public Sphere,” sponsored by the Bannan Institute at Santa Clara University. You can find the videos at the Bannan Institute website.

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NOTES & QUOTES: The Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County held their first ever Interfaith Youth Game Night with 27 teens and 11 adult leaders from five communities participating in games, song, and art projects. “…our crisis is not that we humans are too individualistic or too selfish. It’s that we’ve lost touch with how deeply social we really are… We are creatures who, in order to thrive individually, depend on inclusive communities in which all can thrive.” Frances Moore Lappé (YES Magazine)...

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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April- What's in a Name?

IN THIS ISSUE: What's In a Name? | Embracing Our Veterans | Chapel Construction | Youth Speakers Program | Parliament Crisis | Truth About Islam | Violence-Free Community Campaign Notes & Quotes

Interfaith Center at the Presidio

Interfaith? Multi-faith? Interreligious? Multi religious? Pan-spiritual? Religio-pluralistic? What name ought we give to the work that we do as ICP “welcomes, serves, and celebrates the diverse spiritual wisdom and faith traditions of the Bay Area”?

In a recent guest editorial in The Interfaith Observer, the Rev. Bud Heckman, executive director of Religions for Peace, USA, suggests it’s time to take another look at how we talk about ourselves. In an era where “interfaith” can mean anything from a gathering of different Christian denominations to a community of those “who concurrently hold multiple affiliations,” people may have very different understandings of what they are about, and sometimes “don’t want to be caught dead with the others.”

Heckman’s suggestion is to be more precise in our language—to leave the term “interfaith” to “the small but growing number of people who see faith, religion and spirituality as boundary-less enterprises of exploration and who allow for multiple affiliations.” The term “interreligious” could then refer more specifically to “the broad arc of things that are multi-, inter- and intra- for -faith, -religious and - spiritual.”

What do you think?

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REMINDER: APRIL 9 VETERANS EVENT. The second ICP conferences focused on helping clergy, spiritual leaders, and members of congregations and spiritual communities respond to the spiritual needs of veterans will take place Tuesday, April 9, 2013, from 8:00 am- 2:00 pm at Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, 55 Eckley Lane in Walnut Creek. Embracing Our Veterans: Helping Congregations and Spiritual Communities Respond to Their Needs is designed particularly for congregations in Contra Costa County, as thousands of veterans, men and women, return from the zones of war. The conference is sponsored by The Interfaith Center at the Presidio and the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, with the help of the San Francisco Foundation FAITHS Program. Conference space provided by Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church.

Cost for the conference is $20.00 which includes lunch. Veterans may register at no cost, and nobody will be turned away due to lack of funds. Space is limited; please register online or by phone prior to the event. For more information and to register go to www.interfaith-presidio.org or  www.brownpapertickets.com  or call 1-800-838-3006. Online and phone registration is being managed by Brown Paper Tickets.

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Chapel ConstructionCONSTRUCTION AT THE CHAPEL. In March, the ICP Board of Directors finalized a Cooperative Agreement with the Presidio Trust regarding the use of the Post Chapel building. The ICP offices will continue to be located in the basement area, and access to the Chapel sanctuary will be shared. ICP will still be able to host speakers, forums, and religious ceremonies in the Chapel. The Trust, the federal agency that oversees the preservation of the Presidio, has begun to address several long-standing issues with the building, including patching leaks in the roof, upgrading the heating system, and addressing accessibility issues. A new sound system is being added, and existing rooms are being upgraded. The entire sanctuary area will be repainted, and flexible seating with chairs installed. (Take a look at some photos of the construction work.)

For the past 17 years, ICP has been responsible for almost all activities at the chapel, including hosting weddings and other events not directly related to the work interfaith. This Cooperative Agreement not only frees us to focus on our core mission but enables some much needed improvements to the building. Watch for an open house and interfaith celebration on June 5!

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URI YOUTH SPEAKERS PROGRAM. The United Religions Initiative is developing a Youth Speakers Program to bring young people to high schools and community organizations to share their personal stories and open peer-to-peer conversations about important topics such as bullying, religious discrimination, and identity issues. Speakers will be trained in leadership skills and public speaking and will be compensated for speaking engagements. If you are interested in being a part of this project, or know someone who would be a good candidate, contact Krithika Harish, the Young Leaders Program Coordinator for URI, kharish@uri.org; or phone: 415-561-2300 ext 23.

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URGENT! PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLDS RELIGIONS. The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions has issued an urgent call to all its supporters. The Council must raise $150,000 by April 13th to meet a one-time financial challenge: "This is the hour that we must come together. If we care about the Parliament, NOW is the time. If you care about the Parliament, please give generously. Your gift of at least $100, or whatever you can give, can help build hope for the future." To donate online, go to www.parliamentofreligions.causevox.com/; find out more about the emergency at the Parliament Blog.

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Truth About IslamTRUTH ABOUT ISLAM. Westminster John Knox Press has just published a book by the Rev. Ben Daniel, Pastor of Foothill Presbyterian Church in San Jose. In The Search for Truth About Islam: A Christian Pastor Separates Fact from Fiction, Rev. Daniel addresses the common stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam, and in the process introduces us to many notable Muslim leaders in the Bay Area and beyond. We meet Imam Tahir Anwar of the South Bay Islamic Center in San Jose; Maha ElGenaidi of the Islamic Networks Group; Imam Zaid Shakir, one of the co-founders of Zaytuna College in Berkeley; and Dr. Hatem Bazian, professor of Middle Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley and likewise a co-Founder of Zaytuna; and Ray, the Arab-American proprietor of Bill’s Market in San Jose. Woven through the book are introductions to the basics of Islam—its history, practices, and attitudes—and Rev. Daniel likewise explores the “American Cult of Fear” that has nurtured hostility and misunderstanding.  Part history, part travelogue, part storytelling, and thoroughly pastoral, this book is well worth a look.

Ben Daniel will be reading from his book at book signings around the area, including Saturday, April 6, 5:00 pm at Reach and Teach in San Mateo (178 South Blvd, San Mateo, CA), Friday, April 12, 7:00 pm at Foothill Presbyterian Church in San Jose (5301 McKee Road, San Jose, CA) and Friday, May 17 at 6:30 pm at the Gallery Bookshop in Mendocino (Corner of Main & Kasten, Mendocino, CA).

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VIOLENCE-FREE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation and well-known international religious leader made a stop in San Jose on March 24th to launch a nation-wide effort to build a “stress-free violence-free community.” Joined by Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese and Dr. James Doty, director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, Shankar declared that, in the face of events like the Newtown shootings it was time for "the voice of nonviolence will be heard loud and clear." Some 8,000 people, including dignitaries from local governmental agencies around the Bay Area, gathered in the San Jose Convention Center to join in partnership with local nonprofit organizations to connect people with one another and build stronger and healthier communities. A short clip of Shankar’s talk is available on YouTube; to learn more about the project, go to Campaign for a Stress-Free Violence-Free Community, or Shankar’s article at The Huffington Post.

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NOTES & QUOTES: The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley has announced that the GTU president, James Donahue, will be leaving to become the new president of St. Mary's College in Moraga in July. Donahue, president of the GTU since 2000 and instrumental in bringing the Center for Islamic Studies to the GTU, was.a familiar figure at interfaith gatherings around the Bay Area. The GTU Board of trustees will meet later this month to decide on an interim president... "'The most significant basis for the meeting of men of different religious traditions,' wrote Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, 'is the level of fear and trembling, of humility and contrition, where our individual moments of faith are mere waves in the endless ocean of mankind's reaching out for God, where all formulations and articulations appear as understatements, where our souls are swept away' and the human spirit is 'stripped of pretensions and conceit.' It is then, Heschel concludes, that 'we sense the tragic insufficiency of human faith.' God, Heschel says with staggering simplicity, is greater than religion" (James Carroll, Practicing Catholic)...

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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March-Embracing our Veterans

IN THIS ISSUE: Embracing Our Veterans | Silicon Valley Reads About Veterans | Living Nonviolence | Interfaith and Gun Violence | Notes & Quotes |

Beyond Memorial DayWounds to the spirit are difficult to express, and difficult to recognize.  Veterans come home with wisdom and skills which may not be easily applied in civilian life.  At the same time, even those who have not served in the military or experienced the trauma of war firsthand still feel the effects of war in other ways. Different sets of experiences and perspectives of war can act as barriers between veterans and their civilian and spiritual communities.  A veteran's sense of separation and isolation can impede his or her ability to heal and move forward with their lives.  Congregations and spiritual communities may feel unable to reach out to veterans due to the lack of understanding of the issues veterans face as they return home.

To address these needs, the Interfaith Center at the Presidio has partnered with the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County to present Embracing Our Veterans: Helping Congregations and Spiritual Communities Respond to Their Needs on Tuesday, April 9, 2013.  8:00 am- 2:00 pm. The half-day conference will focus on helping clergy, spiritual leaders and members of congregations and spiritual communities in Contra Costa County respond to the spiritual needs of veterans as these men and women return from the zones of war. Hosting the conference is the Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, at 55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek, CA. Cost for the conference is $20.00 which includes lunch. Veterans may register at no cost, and nobody will be turned away due to lack of funds. 

The Rev. Charlotte Bear, Regional Trainer and Educator for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care for veterans will be the keynote speaker.  She herself is is a veteran, an ordained interfaith minister, television journalist, and currently works with veterans in many capacities.  In addition, panelists and workshop facilitators with a great deal of experience with veterans in many contexts will address how civilians can engage in spiritual conversations with veterans, understanding ptsd and spiritual wounds of  war, helping veterans share their gifts, and rituals and ceremonies for veterans.

This conference has been specifically designed for people in Contra Costa congregations and spiritual communities.  If you are not a resident or a part of a community in the area, but are interested in the issues, please contact the Interfaith Center at the Presidio directly. We plan to offer other conferences in other locations in the future.  Knowing of your interest will help us determine which counties we should visit in the future.  You can email Fred Fielding, Interim Board President, directly at fredfielding3@yahoo.com.

For full details and registration, go to the ICP website.

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SILICON VALLEY READS ABOUT VETERANS. Silicon Valley Reads is an annual community program that selects books focused on a contemporary theme and offers free events throughout Santa Clara County to engage the public in reading, thinking and discussing the topic. This year's theme is Invisible Wounds of War, featuring the books The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life that Follows by Brian Castner, and Minefields of the Heart: A Mother's Stories of a Son at War by Sue Diaz. Over 100 public events and discussions, several featuring the authors, are taking place until April 13th. For details on the books, discussion guides, and a full listing of events, see the Silicon Valley Reads website.

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LIVING NON-VIOLENCE. AHIMSA, a long-time Supporting Organization of ICP will commemorate Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birthday with a panel discussion on cultural violence and response to it drawing on the global perspective of Vedantic philosophy, as brought to the West by Vivekananda. "Finding Unity in Diversity: to Cure a Culture of Violence" will include Panel Moderator Swami Vedananda, Vedanta Retreat, Olema, California; "Religious, Ethnic and Racial Diversity - Sources of Hatred, Bigotry and Violence," Swami Tattwamayananda, Assistant Minister, Vedanta Society of San Francisco; "Capitalism and Social Justice," Tapan Parikh, Professor, School of Information, UC Berkeley; "Gender Discrimination and Its Impact on Society," Preeti Shekar, Exec. Director, Narika' "Raj Yoga for Inner Peace - A Necessary Condition for Building Peaceful Communities," Bidyut K. Bose, Executive Director, Niroga Institute; "Service as a Gift - Transforming a Materialistic and Violent Culture," Somik Raha, Coordinator, ServiceSpace. There will be time for general discussion between panelists and Q/A session by audience. The event takes place Sunday, March 24, 2013, from 2:00-5:00 pm at the Institute for World Religions / Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave, Berkeley, CA 94703. Free and open to the public.

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GUN VIOLENCE The Interfaith Community and Gun Violence by Dr. Amer Araim

Dr. Amer Araim

Dr. Amer Araim is
President of the Islamic Community Outreach of
California, Member of the Executive Board of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, and ICP Board Member.

Almost two years ago I was contacted, in my capacity as the adviser of the Model United Nations Club in Diablo Valley College (DVC), by the Brady Campaign against Gun Violence to arrange a meeting for our students to listen to a student who had survived another attack by a gunman at one of the academic institutions. The images of the attack were shocking, and therefore, I decided to pay further attention to this serious problem facing our society. After the recent attack against a school in Connecticut, I and other members of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa Council called for discussions, and action to face this challenge to our country. The Executive Board adopted an important decision, which was precise and provided a guideline for action by the faith communities, the government and all sectors of the society.

Since I teach political science, and in order to enhance students' awareness of this problem, I discussed the matter with my faculty members colleagues as well as my students. I found that there was a consensus emphasizing the roles of the government, academic institutions, the faith communities, and all other sectors of the society to promote education about the seriousness of this crisis. In the meantime, I believe that state governments should issue licenses for those who are carrying or keeping arms at home. Furthermore there are certain types of automatic weapons that brought havoc to the communities, and must be banned. I am aware of the disagreements that exist concerning the role of government in the life of citizens, but we should agree to stop the madness of gun violence whoever we may be. The issue of gun violence is that certain people are bearing arms not to protect themselves but to kill innocent people. I am organizing on March 7, 2013 a meeting for faculty members and students of DVC to discuss the best methods to end gun violence in this country. I am pleased that the Co-Chair of the Interfaith Council of Contra County, and the Chapter of the Brady Camping in Pleasant Hill are joining us. I am also encouraged by the decision of faith communities all over the United States to call for national prayers against gun violence from the 8th to the 10th of March 2013.

- - - - -

Find out more about the Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath, March 9-10 or 16-17.

Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the ICP Board.

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NOTES & QUOTES: On a new Pope and interreligious relations: Pope Benedict XVI stepped down yesterday as the leader of the world-wide Roman Catholic Church. While his decision most directly affects members of that tradition, it will also have an impact on how Catholics might relate to other religious traditions in the future. Here's how a few leaders of other traditions see the challenges in this transition. "The quality of Catholic Jewish relations has been a kind of litmus test for us in terms of the openness of peoples of different religions to the Jewish community and to cooperative understanding and endeavor, and therefore it feels of vital concern to us," ( Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism). "What he says matters in a lot of communities and so the stature of the pope is extremely important in that sense. But also the fact that we live in a very small world when it comes to interaction," (Haris Tarin, Muslim Public Affairs Council). "The heart and soul of humanity is lived out among people of faith in every tradition and so I will be joining the world in praying for the next pope," (Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, Episcopal Diocese of Washington). All quoted in PBS's Religion and Ethics.

"... he has presented a moment in which the church has the opportunity to assess its historical practices about how the pope provides leadership both now and for the future. The Pope's decision opens up the possibility for serious discussion and exploration about how in this modern era the papacy understands its role, its practice of leadership, its structural context, its division of labor and scope of responsibility," (Dr. James A. Donahue, President, Graduate Theological Union.)

And from a Catholic with long experience in interreligious dialogue: "If (and that remains a big “if”) the new Pope wishes to move interreligious relations to a new level I see three interrelated challenges before him. The first will be how to handle the strong emphasis on evangelization and dialogue that has been central in the past several years of Benedict XVI’s time in office... The second challenge is whether the Catholic Church truly believe it has some new insights to gain for its own religious self-understanding from interreligious dialogue. ..Finally, there is need for the new Pope to continue the process of acknowledging that the Catholic Church over the centuries has treated other Christians as well as people in other faith communities with contempt that has sometimes led to outright suffering and persecution. There must be a clear acknowledgment that the institutional church itself and its leaders were responsible and not merely some wayward individuals. This is not a requirement for authentic dialogue merely for Catholics. But Catholics cannot exempt themselves from this process if a positive culture of dialogue is to emerge. (John T. Pawlikowski, OSM, Ph.D, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago and Board Trustee of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions) quoted in the Parliament blog.

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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February- Where Shall We Meet?

IN THIS ISSUE: Interfaith Curriculum | Four Chaplains Day | Veterans Workshop Postponed | Construction Begins! | Gun Violence | Sacred Texts Series | Notes & Quotes | Send Us Your News | Unsubscribe

Interfaith Center at the Presidio

In last month's BAIC, we noted the new resource developed by the Abrahamic Faiths Peace Initiative in Los Angeles— the Interfaith Curriculum for Peacemaking. After having a chance to look through it, I'm even more impressed by the thoughtfulness that authors Rev. Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook, Ph.D., Rabbi Olga Bluman, and Aziza Hasan brought to the guide, and its usefulness for shaping conversations among people of different traditions.

Although specifically writing for the Abrahamic traditions– Judaism, Christianity, and Islam– the authors hope they can serve as a basis for conversation with other traditions as well about one another's religious experience and the importance of dialogue and peacemaking based in those traditions.

Following an introduction and guidelines for leaders, the curriculum introduces the importance of telling our stories– of encountering one another at the point of our religious experience more than our doctrines and beliefs. They describe the elements of "compassionate listening," an essential component of dialogue and peacemaking. They follow up with an introduction to skills for dialogue, and suggest four models:

  • The Dialogue of Life. "This pattern of interfaith dialogue is found through interactions with our neighbors, and in our families, schools, and workplaces. The dialogue of life depends upon cultivating an awareness of persons from other religious groups, and a commitment to welcome the presence of others into our daily lives."
  • The Dialogue of Action. "This pattern of dialogue is common among faith communities and focuses on collaborations between persons of different religious traditions in order to address social issues in a local community."
  • The Dialogue of Spiritual Experience. "This form of interfaith dialogue is best illustrated through shared rituals, worship, prayer, silence, and retreat experiences."
  • The Dialogue of Understanding. "The final pattern of interfaith dialogue relates to exchanging our beliefs, sacred texts, and religious history."

Each of the forms of dialogue has its place, and different people will find some kinds of interreligious encounter more interesting, engaging, or helpful than others. Tha challenge is to find the kind of encounter that fits your interests and personality best. So we might meet, as I have occasionally suggested, in the library or the prayer hall, on the picket line or over the back fence.

The Interfaith Curriculum for Peacemaking is available both as a pdf file and as a Kindle e-book, and is free of charge. It's an amazing resource for those who might be just starting out in interfaith dialogue and are looking for some help. Check out the work of the Abrahamic Faiths Peace Initiative at their website, abrahamicfaithspeacemaking.com/. In addition to the book, there are video interviews, dialogues, and interfaith events.

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Four Chaplains stampFOUR CHAPLAINS DAY. Since 1988, February 3rd has been commemorated as "Four Chaplains Day," in memory of the four army chaplains— a Rabbi, a Roman Catholic Priest, a Methodist, and a Reformed minister— who were aboard the USAT Dorchester when it was torpedoed on that date in 1943. The four chaplains helped other servicemen to abandon ship, gave their life vests to those who needed them, and then joined arms, said prayers, sang hymns, and were lost as the ship sank. You can learn more about them at Wikipedia. A large stained-glass replica of the commemorative stamp issued in 1948 is displayed in the ICP offices.

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EMBRACING OUR VETERANS POSTPONED. The second ICP workshop on veterans issues, originally scheduled for later this month, has been postponed. "Embracing Our Veterans" will be centered on helping religious and spiritual leaders and their communities understand the spiritual needs of veterans returning from war. Watch for details regarding the workshop and registration information later in the Spring. .

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CONSTRUCTION BEGINS! Work has begun in the Presidio Chapel to address several long-standing issues, including patching leaks in the roof and repairing the heating system., add ramps and modifications to make the main floor accessible under ADA regulations, add a new sound system and upgrades to the existing rooms. The pews have now been removed to allow all the carpeting to be replaced and a ramp built up to the chancel area to reach the handicap-accessible bathroom. The first few rows of pews will be replaced with movable seating to allow greater flexibility in the use of the space.

View of the sanctuary
looking toward the entryway
(click for a larger view)

  Construction in Chapel

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PREVENTING GUN VIOLENCE. As we celebrate World Interfaith Harmony Week this week from February 1-7, you are invited to join a coalition of religious leaders and organizations across the country in an "Interfaith Call-In Day to Prevent Gun Violence." On February 4th, people are urged to call their Senators and Representatives to challenge them to take real action toward reducing gun violence in the United States. Realizing that there is diversity of opinion among the millions in the faith community, the coalitiion invites people to support the policies they think best to address the violence. A special contact number, 1-877-897-0174, will be activated on February 4. More information is available at faithscalling.org.

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SACRED TEXT SERIES AT SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY. During the Winter of 2013, the Bannan Insitute at Santa Clara University will offer a series of lectures and events that will explore the public significance of sacred texts from diverse contexts and traditions, including the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Scriptures, the Qur'an, the Bhagavata Purana, various Buddhistsutras, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Presenters include Michael Fishbane, University of Chicago DivinitySchool (Hebrew Scriptures); Amy-Jill Levine,Vanderbilt University and Eric Hollas, O.S.B., St. John's University (Jewish Dialogue with Christian Scriptures); Ingrid Mattson, Huron University College of The University of Western Ontario (Qur'an); David Gray, Santa Clara University and Zen Master Bon Seong, Empty Gate Zen Center, (Buddhist Scriptures); Ravi Gupta, College of William and Mary, (Hindu Texts); Michael Perry, Emory University, (Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

Sacred Texts in the Public SphereIn addition, a parallel series, "Sacred Pixels: Exploring Sacred Text in Digitally-Integrated Culture," convenes several sessions on the impact of the digital age on sacred texts and religious communities, and an exhibit, "Dialoguing with Sacred Texts: An Exhibit of Sacred Texts Past, Present, and Future," showcasing ancient sacred texts and contemporary artists' work with sacred books will be on display in the library archives from February 15- June 30, 2013.

Sessions are open to the public; for full information, registration, and video and audio recordings of previous sessions, see the Bannan Institute website.

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NOTES & QUOTES: "I fervently hope that the bell that has tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanatacism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal." Swami Vivekenanda, born 150 years ago, at the World's Parliament of Religions, September 11, 1893. . . "Love—the ancient teaching of the Torah and Koran—is still today the most powerful force for overcoming fear, prejudice, and violence. Because it is such a powerful force, it must be channeled with great care and consideration." Phyllis Berman and Arthur Waskow. (found in My Neighbor's Faith: Stories of Interreligious Encounter, Growth, and Transformation by Jennifer Howe Peace, Or N. Rose, and Gregory Mobley, Orbis Books, 2012).

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


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BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

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January- New Year

IN THIS ISSUE: Happy New Year | Changes at Presidio Chapel | World Interfaith Harmony Week | Earl Lectures | GTU Lectures | Notes & Quotes

Interfaith Center at the Presidio

One fascinating aspect of interreligious encounters is discovering the many different ways that religious traditions divide time and mark the calendar. Throughout much of the world, the Gregorian Calendar has become the standard for business, government, and personal use, and so this is the time when we wish one another a "Happy New Year!" But even within that calendar we may well be familiar with other habits, obligations, or expectations that mark the "new" year — the beginning of the school year, the start of a fiscal year, a birthday, or anniversary. The new Christian year began on December 2nd, with the first Sunday of Advent, the Buddhist year will begin at the end of January. For Muslims, the new year began in November, for Wiccans, on Samhain (October 31), and Baha'is and Zoroastrians will celebrate it with Nawruz in March. Jewish tradition marks four different days- the calendar new year, the new year for animals, the new year for trees, and Rosh Hashanah, when the calendar year changes even though it is the seventh month of the calendar.

No matter how you divide the year, a new year's day is a time for pausing to note the passage of time, for reflection (and maybe resolutions), and gratitude for what has been mixed with anticipation of what lies ahead. We wish all of you and yours the very best for this coming year.

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CHANGES AT THE PRESIDIO CHAPEL. When the Interfaith Center took over stewardship of the Presidio Chapel in 1996, some unforeseen challenges came along with it. Any changes or modifications to the space had to be approved by several agencies within the Presidio administration, and ICP was responsible for managing weddings, concerts, and public events other than those sponsored by the Center. These responsibilities brought in some income, but took an enormous share of the time and energy of the staff and volunteers.

Over the past several months, ICP has been negotiating a new cooperative agreement with the Presidio Trust which will go into effect on January 1, 2013 and last until December of 2015. Under the terms of the new agreement, ICP will maintain exclusive use of the basement area of the Chapel, and book events without charge in the main space on a first-come, first-served basis. The Presidio Trust will immediately fix the leaky roof and replace the heating system, add ramps and modifications to make the main floor accessible under ADA regulations, add a new sound system and upgrades to the existing rooms. ICP will not be responsible for any of those costs, and will be free to continue raising funds for our Restoration Campaign, "Honoring Sacred Space."

Rev. Susan StrouseLeadership Changes. At the end of 2012, the Rev. Susan Strouse stepped down as Chair of the ICP Board. Both as Chair an previously as the Interim Director, Susan has been a steady hand in guiding the Interfaith Center through the challenges brought about by the transition in leadership of the Center and in the negotiations with the Presidio Trust. Although she remains committed to ICP and the work of building interfaith understanding, Susan will be devoting more time to her congregation, First United Lutheran Church of San Francisco, where she has served as Pastor since 2004. The Board is eternally grateful for her gracious presence and sense of direction.

Fred FieldingTaking over as Chair of the Board is Fred Fielding, who has not only been active with interfaith projects for many years. Fred received a Master's of Theological Studies focusing on interfaith communication from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 2006, and has turned his media skills to producing videos for ICP, the United Religions Initiative, and Friends in Faith, a program teaching youth leaders how to use Appreciative Inquiry and digital media to build interfaith relationships.

 

EMBRACING OUR VETERANS. Save the Date! Tuesday, February 26, 2013 The Interfaith Center at the Presidio will hold "Embracing Our Veterans," our second conference on helping religious and spiritual leaders and their communities, understand the spiritual needs of veterans returning from war. It will be held at Mt. Diablo UU Church in Walnut Creek, CA. Details regarding specific topics and registration for this day long conference will follow in the near future. We hope you can join us.

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WORLD INTERFAITH HARMONY WEEK. The first week of February, 1-7, is observed worldwide as World Interfaith Harmony Week. The observance arose out of the work of the Common Word initiative, in which Muslim scholars, religious leaders and thinkers sought to recognize the common ground on which Islam and Christianity are built. Following a proposal by King Abdullah II of Jordan, the United Nations unanimously adopted the resolution to declare the first week of February will be observed as a World Interfaith Harmony Week.

Interfaith Harmony WeekGroups and individuals are encouraged to sponsor events during this week and to share the information on the World Interfaith Harmony Week website. Resources and information from past observances can also be found there. This year, the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan announced the establishment of three WIHW Prizes. A prize will be given to each of the three best events or texts organized during the UN WIHW which best promote the goals of the WIHW. The prizes include $25,000 first prize, $15,000 second prize, and $5,000 third prize. Winners will receive an expenses-paid trip to Jordan for the awards ceremony. Full details are on the website.

One goal of the Week is to make the ongoing work of interfaith groups to be made more visible to the world around. The thousands of events organized by these groups often go unnoticed not only by the general public, but also by other interfaith groups themselves. This week allows for these groups to become aware of each other and strengthen the movement by building ties and avoiding duplicating each others' efforts. You can find a listing of events, background materials, photos and videos at the World Interfaith Harmony Week website.

 

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EARL LECTURES IN BERKELEY. The 111th Earl Lectures and Leadership Conference will be held January 29-31, 2013 at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, part of the Graduate Theological Union. The theme this year is “We Are Family: Real Families, Real Faith, in the Real World.” This year's conference brings together scholars and faith community leaders to explore what family means in a modern historical context within U.S. society. Earl Lectures includes three keynote lectures and a series of intensive workshops, in addition to cultural and networking opportunities. Besides hosting sessions focused on recent scholarship, the conference will also feature workshop leaders who are working in the areas of religion, social work,and psychology. By emphasizing the real-life applications of their work, workshop leaders will leave participants with specific tools and techniques to serve families in our increasingly pluralistic and multi-faith world. Full details and registration at the PSR website.

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LECTURES AT GTU. Some upcoming lectures at the Graduate Theological Union offer opportunities for interfaith learning and reflection. On Thursday, February 21, at 7:00 pm, Jennifer Howe Peace, Professor of Interfaith Studies, Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) and Director of CIRCLE (Center for Interreligious and Communal Leadership Education), a joint venture of ANTS and Hebrew College will deliver the 2013 Surjit Singh Lecture. Peace recently co-edited My Neighbor's Faith: Stories of Interreligious Encounter, Growth, and Transformation (Orbis, 2012) with Or Rose and Gregory Mobley. Her lecture, “Spiritual Other/Spiritual Self: Models of Transformative Interfaith Work,” will consider what daily encounters with people of other faiths in coffee shops, hospitals, classrooms, and around the dinner table might teach us about ourselves, our neighbors, or about God? Responses will be offered by Charles Gibbs, Executive Director of URI and Rebecca Parker, President, Starr King School for the Ministry, followed by discussion. Location is Pacific School of Religion’s Chapel of the Great Commission, 1798 Scenic Avenue, Berkeley and admission is free and open to all. Details on GTU website.

Also at the GTU, The Center for Jewish Studies will a four-part lecture series entitled: “Is There Such a Thing as the Jewish People?: Rethinking Jewish Membership for a Global Age.” The speaker will be Noam Pianko, Jewish Studies scholar, professor and author of Zionism and the Roads Not Taken: Rawidowicz, Kaplan, Kohn, who will explore probing questions about peoplehood, past, present, and future, to reassess the possibilities and limitations of Jewish collectivity today in four Friday noon sessions. A vegetarian lunch will be provided. Location is Gibbs Hall, Church Divinity School of the Pacific (2451 Ridge Road, Berkeley). For more information, contact cjs@gtu.edu, 510/649-2482. Time is 12:00 noon, and sessions include: February 8: "The Problem with 'The Jewish People'; March 8: "Jewish Collectivity from Ancient Israel to Medieval Europe"; April 5: "Zionism and the Transformation of Jewish Identity"; and May 3: "Is Peoplehood Possible (or desirable) in a Global Era?" Full details on the GTU website.

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NOTES & QUOTES: Congratulations to the Rev. Bruce Murphy, who retired after more than 26 years as Chaplain at Marin General Hospital. He has been a long-time leader in the Marin Interfaith Council . . . The Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County (ICCC) is beginning a process of revisioning their work together; see the listings below of Focus Groups where you can share your thoughts. . .

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SEND US YOUR NEWS! We at Bay Area Interfaith Connect make every effort to include upcoming interfaith events in our monthly calendar (which is always available on our website). Please be sure to send information about your upcoming events to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We'd also like to share what happened at your events or celebrations with the wider interfaith community. Got a story you'd like to share? Pictures from that latest gathering? Send them along and let everyone know what's happening!


 

BAY AREA INTERFAITH CONNECT is sent each month to nearly 2,000 subscribers, and is available online at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio website.

To Subscribe: If you do not receive the monthly updates and would like to do so, simply write to info@interfaith-presidio.org. Please include your name, and, if you are willing, your street address and phone will help us to keep you up to date on interfaith activities.

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About the Editor: D. Andrew Kille is director of Interfaith Space in San Jose, working to develop and strengthen interfaith relations throughout the Bay Area. Send your calendar items, comments and suggestions to calendar@interfaith-presidio.org. We try to keep the ICP Update and Calendar as current as we can, but if you want your item included in the monthly newsletter, it needs to be in our hands a week before the end of the month.

 

interfaith symbols

BAIC ARCHIVES

In the Bay Area Interfaith Connect Archives you will find editorials from BAIC beginning with January of 2007, as well as longer articles on issues of interest for interfaith work..

 

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