NATIONAL INTERFAITH DIALOGUE GATHERING
November 12-14, 2004
A Big Success!
A Diverse Group
Specific Results
Next Steps
Highlights and Insights
The National Interfaith Dialogue Gathering---A Big Success!
On November 12-14, 2004, the National Interfaith Dialogue Gathering organized by Communities Working Together and co-sponsored by The Interfaith Alliance and the Chaplain's Office at American University took place in Washington, DC. The purpose of the gathering was to encourage, educate, inspire and mobilize individuals from around the country who are active in promoting interfaith understanding and cooperative action in their local communities. Participants in the gathering spent two and a half days listening to prominent religious leaders, engaging in small group dialogue and learning skills and strategies necessary to expand and improve their work. The central theme of all of the sessions was the vital need for people of different faiths and cultures to work together on common concerns. Emphasis was given to the importance of developing specific plans and strategies and, as a result, many different ideas emerged about how to develop and expand the interfaith movement in the United States.
A Diverse Group of Participants Came From A Dozen Different States
Over 125 people from more than a dozen states attended the gathering. Participants were a very diverse group of men and women of different ages, ethnic groups, occupations and faith traditions. In addition to large numbers of people from various Protestant groups, there were also Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sufis and Sikhs who participated. Most were from the mid-Atlantic area, but people also came from as far away as California, Colorado, Washington, Louisiana, Ohio, Massachusetts, Illinois, Rhode Island and Connecticut. More than half of those who attended are already actively involved in interfaith work and almost all of the others intend to be more involved and are looking for ways to do so. Probably the biggest group was associated with religious organizations or local congregations (clergy, employees of faith groups and chaplains were perhaps a quarter of the group) but, in addition, there were numerous academics, representatives of non-profit organizations and also business and professional people. Also, about fifteen percent of those in attendance were university students who are new to interfaith dialogue and now interested in promoting it on their campuses.
Many Specific Results Came Out of the Gathering
This National Interfaith Dialogue Gathering produced many different results and these can be the basis for future local programs and cooperative action projects. Some of the general and specific outcomes of the gathering were:
- Activists from more than 30 different communities got new ideas about how to organize effective programs and build new partnerships in their local areas
- Leaders of several national organizations shared program information and discussed possible ways to work together in 2005.
- Several local organizers made commitments about new dialogues and other projects they will create in their communities
- Interfaith activities for young people were identified as a high priority for the coming year and many local leaders agreed to support efforts by the Interfaith Youth Core to organize dialogues and community services projects on campuses and in communities in April, 2005.
- Participants embraced the idea of helping to create a simultaneous national event in the coming year that could significantly expand the size of the interfaith movement and generate a vast amount of nationwide publicity
Next Steps Planned by Communities Working Together
The overwhelming success of the National Interfaith Dialogue Gathering presents a variety of opportunities and Communities Working Together is already moving to build on what was accomplished November 12-14. We will develop a variety of project ideas and work with national and local organizations, potential donors and other key individuals to generate enough funds to conduct major programming that promotes interfaith dialogue and cooperative action.
In 2005, Communities Working Together will promote and encourage many different local efforts while, at the same time, working with leaders of national organizations to develop a strategy that can significantly increase the size and influence of the interfaith movement in the United States. In this regard, there are three specific steps we will take in the coming year:
- We will organize and conduct a follow up planning meeting early in 2005
This meeting will bring together the key activists from the National Interfaith Dialogue Gathering as well as other similar community leaders to plan the strategy needed to expand the interfaith movement; the focus will be on promoting local activities and yet coordinating them on a national scale; particular emphasis will be on how to obtain the organizational and financial resources needed to conduct nationwide programming later in the year. - We will help organize and promote National Days of Interfaith Youth Service in April
Communities Working Together has already reached agreement with the Interfaith Youth Core to help them organize programs in 50 or more cities across the country; these days of "interfaith youth service" will bring together high school and college students from different faith traditions (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, etc.) for two days of dialogue and work together on a community service project; this effort is already generating interest in several cities and it is anticipated that it has the potential to be widely publicized in the local and national media. - We will work with other national groups and organizations to plan and implement a major simultaneous national event in the fall of 2005
There was broad agreement at the gathering that the time is ripe to create a major nationwide event that would spread the message about the importance of interfaith cooperation and involve tens of thousands of new people in activities; Communities Working Together will work with the most important national organizations, key religious leaders and other prominent individuals to develop plans for "National Days of Interfaith Dialogue and Action" or some other similar activity that would probably take place in October of 2005.
