NATIONAL INTERFAITH DIALOGUE GATHERING
November 12-14, 2004
Highlights and Insights
Speeches and Presentations
Workshop Insights
Small Group Dialogues
Conference Summary
Wisdom From The Speeches and Panel Presentations
The National Interfaith Dialogue Gathering had an excellent group of speakers, workshop leaders and panel members who informed, inspired and challenged participants in many different ways. Some of the many highlights of the gathering are summarized below.
Opening presentation by Rev. Welton Gaddy --The President of The Interfaith Alliance opened the gathering with an eloquent explanation of the importance of interfaith dialogue and why it is vital in an increasingly interdependent world; participants enjoyed hearing about the personal experiences that led him from his youth as a fundamentalist Southern Baptist to his current role as a national leader in interfaith work.
Panel Presentation on Global Wisdom --The luncheon presentation on Friday featured short presentations from people of four different faiths--Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. The short talks provided insightful information about each faith's moral teachings and also generated stimulating discussions about what they have in common such as the command to love one's neighbor, the importance of working on behalf of the poor and each person's responsibility to commit themselves to moral and just action.
Prof. Diana Eck on "Building Bridges in the New Religious America"-- The first day of the gathering ended with an informative and inspirational talk from Harvard Professor and well known author Diana Eck; she shared fascinating examples of the increase in religious diversity in our country and pointed out that our understanding of what America means by "we the people" must evolve to include many who have backgrounds very different from our own; she challenged participants to find new ways to build bridges with those in our communities from different faiths and cultures.
Dr. Craig Schindler's Presentation on the Hope for "A Great Awakening "--This powerful talk from the President of Project Victory set the tone for the second day of the gathering and helped reveal the possibilities of what could happen if people of different faiths worked together and committed themselves to create change in the world; Craig provided examples of exciting changes that are already happening in the culture and offered an inspirational vision of how it is possible to create a "Great Awakening" in our lifetime that can secure the future against the many terrifying threats that we now face.
The "Victory Stories" at Saturday's Luncheon-- April Kunze, Deputy Director of the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago, told about exciting successes in bringing together Christian, Jewish and Muslim youth for educational programs and community service activities and several other speakers also shared stories about community problems that have been addressed through interfaith cooperation; in the final presentation, Bill Milliken, founder of Communities in Schools, told the amazing story of his life's work with youth that started on the streets of Harlem in the 1960s and led him to establish what is now the nation's leading community-based organization that helps kids succeed in school and in preparation for life; he told how people of faith inspired and sustained his work when he was just beginning and reminded everyone that tremendous things can be achieved when individuals of faith make commitments and work together.
Arun Gandhi's Remarks-- Everyone at the gathering was inspired by the comments on Saturday evening from Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, and his message that we must "be the change we want to see in the world;" he told stories about his experiences promoting non-violence in this country and around the world and also shared wonderful stories from his childhood with his grandfather.
Important Insight from Workshops
Many different workshops were held on Friday and Saturday afternoon and these generated a tremendous wealth of information, insight and inspiration. Some of the highlights from various workshops are summarized below.
How to Use Dialogue in Local Communities-- Richard Landau, author of "What the World Needs to Know About Interfaith Dialogue,"shared many important insights from his 25 years of leading interfaith dialogues on Canadian television and in communities across North America; he emphasized several keys to starting and sustaining a successful interfaith project: 1) an acknowledgement that wisdom isn't limited to any single faith, 2) facilitators who create an open and respectful climate, and 3) the identification of specific community projects that participants can undertake together.
Peacemaking in Different Faith Traditions-- Jackie Erskine, a Buddhist teacher from Maryland and Dr. Yvonne Seng, author of "Men in Black Dresses," provided a look at the various teaching about how the practice of "inner peace" is related to the achievement of "outer peace"; both presenters emphasized the need to take care of one's personal spiritual needs in order to avoid "compassion burn out" and to be able to sustain peacemaking efforts over a long period of time.
On Women and Leadership-- Noted author Pythia Peay helped participants in this workshop look at the barriers that have kept women from claiming their rightful place in the leadership of different faith traditions; she also reviewed some of the distinctive things that women bring to the interfaith movement and led participants in a guided meditation that focused on empowering women in spiritual leadership roles.
On Facilitating Interfaith Dialogues-- Gwen Whiting and Craig Schindler led a workshop that highlighted the importance of identifying and recruiting experienced facilitators to assist with interfaith dialogue efforts in local communities; they gave tips and practical suggestions about how to find potential facilitators and how to train them to be effective in a variety of different situations.
The Powerful Experience of Small Group Dialogue
This Interfaith Dialogue Gathering provided an opportunity for people from many different backgrounds and faith traditions to talk together in small groups for an extended period of time. The evaluations show that the six hours spent in these small group dialogues were one of the favorite aspects of the gathering. Participants explored similarities and differences in their religious experiences and also used the small group dialogues as an opportunity to share practical information about how to organize local programs. Feedback from participants made it clear that they learned a great deal about the power of facilitated dialogue and many of them realized that promoting dialogue in their local areas is the best way to incorporate the many different insights they gained during their weekend together.
