Paulist Fathers: Giving the Gospel Voice Today
 
 

Koinonia Newsletter

Koinonia, a quarterly online journal of the Paulist Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Office, seeks to provide ongoing information, education, and practical resources. It is distributed electronically to members of the Paulist community, Diocesan Ecumenical Officers in the U.S. and Canada, ecumenical and interfaith colleagues in other churches and religions, and anyone interested in the ongoing work for Christian unity and interreligious understanding.

To subscribe to Koinonia via e-mail, send an e-mail with your request to tomryan@paulist.org or click here.

Issue 43, Winter 2012

The particular feature of this issue of Koinonia is in the concrete manifestation of what is going on—or can—in parish, lay community, and monastery, as well as between clergy. As you read, see if you can imagine something like this happening where you live and work.

  • The Common Word: An Ecumenical Radio Program
    Rev. Dr. Beth A. Macke tells about a practical, effective, and technologically appropriate ecumenical strategy for the 21st century: a low budget radio program co-hosted by ministers from four different churches who discuss the Word of God, theology and contemporary events.

  • An Abrahamic Faiths Concelebration: A Parish Interfaith Experience
    Can you imagine your parish hosting a kid-friendly, pot-luck dinner and interfaith event highlighting the winter religious holidays of Hanukkah, Christmas, Ashoura and Muharram? Leah Huber makes it easy by providing you with “how-to” tips and templates.

  • The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas: Catholic, Ecumenical, and Interreligious
    An oasis of hospitality and dialogue, Foyer Unitas welcomes ecumenical and interreligious scholars in Rome. Community member AJ Boyd shares how in their life together, there is ample opportunity for various kinds of dialogue and hands-on learning in a cross-cultural context.

  • The Growth of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue
    William Skudlarek, OSB, relates how dialogue carried out at the level of religious experience also extends to spiritual practitioners who are not part of an institutionalized form of monasticism. Holding a special place among these not-formally-monastic spiritual practitioners are the Muslims, whose religious observances in many ways parallel those of monks and nuns in other religious traditions.

Resources to Keep It Growing

  • Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25. This year’s theme, chosen by the churches in Poland, is “We Will All Be Changed by the Victory of Our Lord Jesus Christ”. Scriptural commentary, homiletic notes, bulletin announcements, daily biblical reflections and more are all available online.

  • More Concrete Suggestions for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity offered by Fr. Tony Bickett, ecumenical officer for the diocese of Owensboro, KY

  • National Workshop on Christian Unity, April 16-19, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. The largest gathering annually of ecumenical officers and church members interested in the work for Christian unity and interreligious relations.

  • Institute for Ecumenical Leadership (Level 1 of 2) July 1-7, 2012, St. John’s University, Collegeville MN.

  • The Strasbourg Ecumenical Institute, July 4 - 11, Institute for Ecumenical Research,
    Strasbourg, France. Theme: “What to Do about 2017? The Ecumenical Challenge of an Anniversary”. 2017 will be the first time that the anniversary of the Reformation takes place during the ecumenical era. Previous celebrations emphasized confessional self-aggrandizement at the expense of other churches. An ecumenical observance of the Reformation is a true novum.

  • North American Academy of Ecumenists, September 21-23, Halifax, Nova Scotia, at the Atlantic School of Theology, with the theme “The Ecumenical Legacy of Vatican II” on the 50th anniversary of the Council.

  • Gospel Call: A Congregational Renewal Event 
    Gospel Call, a faith renewal event bringing Christians together for worship, community, and mission, is a parish mission with an ecumenical spin. Instead of just one preacher, there are two (a Catholic and a Protestant) and the co-sponsoring congregations in a neighborhood/area take turns hosting the various events. Gospel Call is now being offered in a 4-day model (Sun-Wed) and a 2-day model (Sat-Sun). Just two available dates for 2012: Sept 15-19, Oct 20-24

     

Prayer for the New Year

You, Eternal God, who crown the sky with stars
and conduct the planets in their paths,
who enlighten the sages, give vision to the scientists
and fill our days with light and love,
bless us in this New Year
with your vision of justice, peace
and solidarity among all your people.

Tom Ryan, CSP
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
North American Paulist Center 
3015 Fourth Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1102

Tel: 202-269-2511 
Fax: 202-269-2507
http://unity.paulist.org

 

 

Issue 42, Fall 2011

  • An Interview with Dr. Anthony Cirelli
    Meet Dr. Anthony Cirelli, who left his teaching position at St. John’s University in New York City to join the staff this past September as associate director in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

  • New Fire: Young Adults and the Ecumenical Movement
    Ecumenical Conferences look like Sunday congregations in most churches today – there’s a lot of gray hair. The next generation of ecumenical leadership, however, is on the horizon and taking to the field with new energy.

  • “Receive One Another”: Hospitality and Christianity Unity
    Rev. Diane Kessler reflects on the 20th and 21st century phenomenon of simple acts of ecumenical hospitality and how they can lead to a conversion of mind and heart, providing a rich seedbed in which churches can be reconciled.

  • United We Stand: Eavesdropping on Muslims
    On the day before 9/11, Muslims from around America gathered at the Washington DC Convention Center to discuss clear and practical steps to move the nation forward as a positive force in the world: “United We Stand: One Nation, One Destiny.”

 

Resources to Keep it Growing

  • Revive us! A Young Adult Event for Refreshing, Renewing and Respirating Ecumenism
    November 10-12, Chicago, Illinois

  • National Workshop on Christian Unity, April 16-19, Oklahoma City,
    Oklahoma, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. The largest gathering annually of ecumenical officers and church members interested in the work for Christian unity and interreligious relations.

  • Gospel Call: A Congregational Renewal Event 
    Gospel Call, a faith renewal event bringing Christians together for worship, community, and mission, is a parish mission with an ecumenical spin. Instead of just one preacher, there are two (a Catholic and a Protestant) and the co-sponsoring congregations in a neighborhood/area take turns hosting the various events. Gospel Call is now being offered in a 4-day model (Sun-Wed) and a 2-day model (Sat-Sun). Available dates for 2012: May 3-7, Sept 15-19, Oct 20-24, Nov 10-14

 

Verses for Fall
O but to live as nature dies—
with luminous expression
and phosphorescent burst of being!

To rejoice in the diversity of peoples and cultures
as in the painter’s palette of colors
generously splotched upon the hillsides.

O but to live as nature dies—
with such liberality of being to soften the end
as autumn does with winter.

 

Tom Ryan, CSP
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
North American Paulist Center 
3015 Fourth Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1102

Tel: 202-269-2511 
Fax: 202-269-2507
http://unity.paulist.org

 

 

Issue 41, Summer 2011

In advance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, this issue is dedicated to Christian-Muslim relations

  • Standing Up to Extremists in Islam and Christianity
    Daoud Abudiab, the president of the Islamic Center of Columbia, TN, whose community mosque was burned to the ground in 2008 by extremists, reflects on “Christ-like behavior”.

  • An Experience of Catholic-Muslim Friendship Building
    Joseph Scott, CSP, describes how representations from his parish and a local mosque came together to know one another as people, to engage with one another about beliefs and practices, and to lay the foundation for possible future projects that could be done cooperatively.

  • The Purpose of Interfaith Dialogue
    Dr. Ataullah Siddiqui writes that those who believe in God, despite the fact that their confessional identity is different, are under obligation to join hands in a process where people of diverse faiths can come together to face perceived problems for the common good of all citizens.

  • Book Review - Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam
    Thomas Ryan, CSP, reviews a book by a leading authority on contemporary Islam, Akbar Ahmed, in which Americans learn a lot about their country and themselves as well as about the different types of American Muslims in their midst.

 

Resources to Keep it Growing

  • A helpful website for Understanding Islam in America and Around the World: berkleycenter.georgetown.edu

  • Local Initiatives for Muslim-Christian Understanding - These activities will be included in an article on the proliferation of Christian-Muslim activities post 9/11 by Dr. Yvonne Haddad, Ph.D., Professor of the History of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.

  • Christian Unity is Our Calling – A call by participants at the 2011 National Workshop on Christian Unity to church leaders “to name and claim unity as a priority for the church today.”

  • The North American Academy of Ecumenists, Sept 23-25, Allentown, PA The 2011 NAAE Conference will study possibilities for mutual accountability,  analyze specific forms of ecclesial identity and query the habit of hospitality toward one another as a means for realizing how the Church's oneness is an image of the unity of the Triune God in the communion of the divine Persons. For more info/to register: naae.net

  • Gospel Call: A Congregational Renewal Event 
    Gospel Call, a faith renewal event bringing Christians together for worship, community, and mission, is a parish mission with an ecumenical spin. Instead of just one preacher, there are two (a Catholic and a Protestant) and the co-sponsoring congregations in a neighborhood/area take turns hosting the various events. Gospel Call is now being offered in a 4-day model (Sun-Wed) and a 2-day model (Sat-Sun). Available dates for 2012: May 3-7, Sept 15-19, Oct 20-24, Nov 10-14 Information on Gospel Call 

 

Called and Sent
The disciple is one who is called one who first unfolds a delicate blossom which then gives birth to a small fruit that is allowed to ripen in the sun
The apostle is one who is sent the mature fruit now ready to be picked and offered for the nourishment of others.
Is this the summer of my life? Am I ready to be picked? Am I ready to be eaten? Am I ready to be sent?

 

Tom Ryan, CSP
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
North American Paulist Center 
3015 Fourth Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1102

Tel: 202-269-2511 
Fax: 202-269-2507
http://unity.paulist.org

 

 

Issue 40, Spring 2011

In this issue:

  • Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A.: An Update
    Five years ago this month, U.S. church leaders moved to create Christian Churches Together as the broadest and most inclusive forum of Christian churches and organizations in the United States. Ronald Roberson provides a brief review of its history and reports on the January plenary in Birmingham, Alabama.

  • A Rosary for All Christians?
    As an expression of spiritual ecumenism, Dennis Di Mauro offers a new form of praying with beads, not to replace but to complement the Marian rosary. It focuses on the miracles of Jesus and utilizes prayers that paraphrase the two great commandments and the “great commission” of Christ to his disciples.

  • Improving Christian Attitudes Towards Judaism: Part II
    Leo Lefebure continues his survey of the revolution in historical scholarship on Jewish-Christian relations, looking in Part II at the fruits of Jewish-Christian dialogues and studies in the wake of Vatican II, statements by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and by collaborative scholarship, as well as at changes in the Oberammergau Passion Play.

  • Revisioning Christian-Muslim Relations Today
    Thomas Ryan reflects on how the traditional way of visualizing the two religions--as separate circles only touching at their perimeters-- doesn’t reflect our present reality of truly living in a global village. A new mental map of Christian-Muslim relations is the more urgent today in light of the changing demography of Christian-Muslim encounter.

Resources to Keep It Growing

  • National Workshop on Christian Unity, “Together, with Glad and Generous Hearts” April 9-12, Pittsburgh, PA. The largest gathering annually of ecumenical officers and church members interested in the work for Christian unity and interreligious relations.

  • Institute on Christian-Muslim Relations, June 12-18, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. For pastors and Christian Pastoral Workers who wish to study Islam, and for Imams and Muslim Community Leaders to study Christianity. The institute is ecumenical in its scope and outreach and interreligious in its structure and content.

  • Rome course in Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, June 27-July 15. This course is designed to introduce participants to the ecumenical and interreligious movements from a Roman Catholic perspective. It will offer a historical and theological overview of the issues that divide Christians as well as the bonds that unite them. The program will explore relations with other religious traditions. The course, which is in English, is for men and women who are in preparation for ministry or religious life, who are in the mission field, who are ecumenical officers or members of ecumenical commissions, or who are looking for a sabbatical experience led by qualified professors and ecumenists.

  • CADEIO Interreligious Leadership Institute, July 26-August 4, at Mundelein School of Theology, Chicago, ILL. For ecumenical and interreligious officers and for others interested in furthering their theological educational formation. Sponsored by the Catholic Association for Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers (CADEIO). For more info, contact: Fr. Don Rooney, frrooney@stmaryfred.org

  • Strasbourg International Ecumenical Seminar, June 30 – July 7, “From Dialogue to Communion? Fruits and Challenges of the Ecumenical Dialogues”. Sponsored by the International Ecumenical Institute in Strasbourg, France.

  • Experiencing Unity, Praying in Unity, March 25-27, a weekend retreat with Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP, and Rev. Jan Flaaten, at the Franciscan Renewal Center, Scottsdale, AR

  • Book: How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook
    The updated and revised 5th edition covers every large religious group in North America and many others. Winner of the Best Reference Book of the Year Award. This easy-to-read guidebook, with an “Everything You Need to Know Before You Go” checklist, helps the well-meaning guest to feel comfortable, participate to the fullest extent possible and avoid violating anyone’s religious principles—while enriching their own spiritual understanding.

 

Verses for Springtime:

A robin dances amidst an astonishment of crocus
pushing up prodigiously through the chaotic cover
of twigs and leaves – sheaves of green,
piercing the thawing earth and opening delicate petals
of blue rebirth as once again
the message bursts forth from the tomb of death:
Life reigns!

 

May your Lenten and Easter springtime be life-giving!

 

Tom Ryan, CSP
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
North American Paulist Center 
3015 Fourth Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1102

Tel: 202-269-2511 
Fax: 202-269-2507
http://unity.paulist.org

 

Issue 39, Winter 2011

In this issue:

  • Improving Christian Attitudes toward Judaism
    Leo Lefebure begins a two-part series that reflects on the transformation that Christians have been and are still going through in our attitudes towards Jews and Judaism. This article focuses on changes in the interpretation of scripture following World War II and the Shoah.

  • Christians and Muslims: Reading Scripture Together
    Rita George Tvrtković relates how students at her university, not content to condemn Qur’an burning, sought to cultivate a positive appreciation for each other’s scriptures.

  • Engaging in the Work of Dialogue at the OSU Newman Center
    Austin M. Schafer paints a picture of what one campus ministry can do locally, regionally, and nationally to deepen understanding between Christians as well as members of other faiths.

  • Catholic and Orthodox Unity: Close Enough to Imagine
    As we approach the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Thomas Ryan draws attention to how the ecumenical movement does in fact move and that there is good East-West cause to ramp up the prayers.

Resources to Keep It Growing

  • January 18-25. Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: “One in the Apostles’ Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread and Prayer” ( Acts 2:42). Posters, preparatory and background materials, prayers and worship service, and other resources available online.

  • January 29-30. International Day of Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land. The faithful worldwide are invited to join the 2,000 cities already planning to participate in a day of prayer for peace in the Holy Land. The 3rd International Day of Intercession for Peace in the Holy Land, an initiative organized by several Catholic youth associations, will take place. It is being supported by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and responds in a special way to the call for prayer from the recent Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops. The 24 hours of continuous prayer will begin in conjunction with the 5th Extraordinary Prayer of All Churches for Reconciliation, Unity and Peace Beginning in and Proceeding from Jerusalem as well as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Jerusalem. Individuals can join the "We Want Peace in the Holy Land 2" Facebook group. For more information: www.prayrup.info

  • March 10-12. The Society for Pentecostal Studies welcomes you to its 40th Annual Meeting, hosted by Memphis Theological Seminary, and All Saints Bible College, Memphis, TN For more info, click here.

  • May 9-12. National Workshop on Christian Unity, Pittsburgh, PA “Together with Glad and Generous Hearts”

A Winter Blessing:

Blessed are you, winter,
frozen and cold on the outside,
within your silent, nurturing womb
you warmly welcome all that longs for renewal.

Blessed are you, winter,
you teach us that there is only one way out of struggle,
and that is by going into darkness,
waiting for the light, and being open to new growth.

Tom Ryan, CSP
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
North American Paulist Center 
3015 Fourth Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1102

Tel: 202-269-2511 
Fax: 202-269-2507
http://unity.paulist.org

 

Issue 38, Fall 2010

In this issue:

Resources to Keep It Growing

An autumn blessing :

Blessed are you, autumn,
season of surrender,
you teach us the wisdom of letting go
as you draw us into new ways of living.

Tom Ryan, CSP
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
North American Paulist Center 
3015 Fourth Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1102
Tel: 202-269-2511 
Fax: 202-269-2507


Issue 37, Summer 2010

In this issue:

 

Harvesting in an Ecumenical Winter?
Anglican Andrew McGowan puts his finger on the critical broken link between Agreed Statements and their reception at the local level.

Vision and Hope for a Future of Peace and Justice
Lutheran Dawn Devries shares her sense of why the unity we seek is not necessarily a distant eschatological hope, but a real possibility for our common Christian life.

Harvesting the Fruits: A Book Review
Anglican Bishop and scripture scholar Tom Wright reviews the book by Cardinal Kasper that occasioned the Symposium in Rome, and asks some hard questions.

Apostolic Constitution: What is the Personal Ordinariate?
Bishop Christopher Hill gives an Anglican “take” on the Apostolic Constitution and Personal Ordinariate for former Anglicans, seeing it as a recognition of the partial but painful communion Anglicans and Roman Catholics already share.

Celebrating the Origins of the Ecumenical Movement
How did an event that was conceived as a major moment in a missionary effort to bring the world to Christian faith come to be identified as the precursor of the ecumenical movement? Thomas Ryan, CSP, looks back at an unexpected but divinely guided birth.

 

Resources to Keep It Growing

Gospel Call: A Congregational Renewal Event
Gospel Call, a faith renewal event bringing Christians together for worship, community, and mission, is a parish mission with an ecumenical spin. Instead of just one preacher, there are two (a Catholic and a Protestant) and the co-sponsoring congregations in a neighborhood/area take turns hosting the various events. Gospel Call is now being offered in a 4-day model (Sun-Wed) and a 2-day model (Sat-Sun).

"The Morally Divided Body: Ethical Disagreement and the Disunity of the Church", an Ecumenical Conference for Clergy and Laity at Loyola University, Baltimore, MD, June 14-16, 2010. Sponsored by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology, 303-361-8644 or www.e-ccet.org/

Orientale Lumen Conferences on “The Councils of the Church”:
June 7-10, South Orange, NJ June 21-24, Washington, D.C.
www.olconference.com

Advanced Institute for Ecumenical Leadership, July 25-31, St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN

North American Academy of Ecumenists, September 24-26, 2010, Montreal, Canada
For more info, call 1-877-645-6863 or write info@oikoumene.ca

An Antiphon for Pentecost and Summer

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!

In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Come within our bosoms shine!

A special word of thanks to Revd David Richardson, Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, for allowing me to pass on to you the first four articles in the issue. These and other items of interest are available on the Centre’s website at www.anglicancentreinrome.org

Best wishes to you for a rejuvenating summer,

Tom Ryan, CSP
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations

North American Paulist Center 
3015 Fourth Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1102

Tel: 202-269-2511 

 

Issue 36, Spring 2010

In this issue:

 

Ecumenism and Interfaith Dialogue in Westwood
Parish priest Fr. Joe Scott relates how ecumenical and interreligious outreach add color, richness, and support to his life, and shares that a highlight of his 37 years in ministry came in a Lutheran pulpit.

The Servants of the Word: An Ecumenical Brotherhood of Disciples on Mission
Recent college grad Kyle Kilpatrick shares how life in an ecumenical brotherhood living single for the Lord has strengthened his faith, enriched his ministry on campus, and has him thinking about how he might spend the rest of his life in serving Christ.

Book Review: Hearing the Call Across Traditions: Readings on Faith and Service, Adam Davis, ed
Why do I serve? Whom do I serve? How do I serve? An anthology of readings drawn from the different faith traditions is organized around these questions towards cultivating respect for particular identities, enriching relationships between diverse individuals and communities, and promoting joint action for the common good.


Resources to Keep It Growing

A Reconciliation and Unity Study Pilgrimage
The directors of two Paulist national offices team up to lead a June 14-24 study-pilgrimage to various reconciliation and ecumenical/interfaith centers in Northern Ireland, England and Switzerland with an add-on option for a weekend at Taizé in France. We will learn about different models of reconciliation, ecumenical and interfaith ministry as a way to stimulate our approaches to related ministries in North America.

Gospel Call: A Congregational Renewal Event
Gospel Call, a faith renewal event bringing Christians together for worship, community, and mission, is a parish mission with an ecumenical spin. Instead of just one preacher, there are two (a Catholic and a Protestant) and the co-sponsoring congregations in a neighborhood/area take turns hosting the various events. Gospel Call is now being offered in a 4-day model (Sun-Wed) and a 2-day model (Sat-Sun).

 

National Workshop on Christian Unity
April 19-22, Tampa, Florida

Orientale Lumen Conferences on “The Councils of the Church:”
June 7-10, South Orange, NJ June 21-24, Washington, D.C.

"The Morally Divided Body: Ethical Disagreement and the Disunity of the Church"
An Ecumenical Conference for Clergy and Laity at Loyola University, Baltimore, MD, June 14-16, 2010. Sponsored by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology, 303-361-8644 or e-ccet.org

Advanced Institute for Ecumenical Leadership
July 25-31, St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN

North American Academy of Ecumenists
September 24-26, 2010, Montreal, Canada

 

An “O Antiphon” for Spring:

Come! Come dancing out of winter’s gloom.
Enliven us with your radiant hope.
Lure us through the closed doors of our doubt.
Celebrate with us the wonder of risen life.
O Come!

Best wishes to you for life-giving celebrations of the paschal feast!

Tom Ryan, CSP
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations

North American Paulist Center 
3015 Fourth Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1102

Tel: 202-269-2511 

 

 

Issue 35, Winter 2010

In this issue:


The Parliament of the World’s Religions: December 3-9, 2009, Melbourne, Australia
The topical range of Parliament sessions being too vast to report on comprehensively, Georgetown University’s Leo Lefebure provides overviews on a few: Buddhist/Catholic Ritual Practice; Aboriginal Peoples; Islam in the West; Jewish-Christian Relations.

Personal Reflections on the Parliament
Chuck Kullmann, CSP, reflects on how the interfaith encounter contributes to seeing the distinctiveness of our own identity more clearly, and reports that even at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, there is tension as to whether we can pray together.

Faith in Human Rights?
Religious leaders and faith communities have been involved in human rights advocacy based on beliefs about God and God's will for all creation. Yet religious groups have also questioned and challenged modern political interpretations, especially when they conflict with religious teachings. Marianne Farina explores the foundational beliefs supporting human rights.


Resources/On-Going Education

A Reconciliation and Unity Study Pilgrimage
The directors of two Paulist national offices team up to lead a June 14-24 study-pilgrimage to various reconciliation and ecumenical/interfaith centers in Northern Ireland, England and Switzerland with an add-on option for a weekend at Taizé in France. We will learn about different models of reconciliation, ecumenical and interfaith ministry as a way to stimulate our approaches to related ministries in North America.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25: “You are witnesses to these things.”
If you haven’t ordered your hard copy materials yet from Graymoor, you can still make good use of the wealth of materials posted online: prayer service; scripture texts and commentaries; music suggestions; homiletic notes; and a brief history of the Week of Prayer http://www.geii.org/wpcu_index.htm

National Workshop on Christian Unit
April 19-22, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Tampa,Florida

Film Resource - Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think
www.insideislam.tv and 20000dialogues.org

A new year is given to us! Let us use it well to extend the Reign of God in the place under our feet and within our reach.

Tom Ryan, C.S.P.
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
North American Paulist Center 
3015 Fourth Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1102

Tel: 202-269-2511 
Fax: 202-269-2507

 

 

Issue 34, Fall 2009

An Interview with Fr. Leo Walsh
Why would a parish priest in Alaska want to leave his view of the mountains for the low skyline of Washington, DC, and devote himself to Catholic-Muslim and intra-Christian relations? Fr. Leo tells how being from the Great White North is an asset in the work because Alaskans tend to think in terms of possibilities.

Reflections from an ex-Diocesan Ecumenical Officer
Anna Tremblay talks about the ups and downs, the relational and spiritual enrichment, what she learned and what she’s grateful for in her nearly-twenty years of service in ecumenical and interfaith work.

Book Review: Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: The Eye-Opening, Hope-filled Friendship of a Pastor, a Rabbi, and a Sheikh, by Don Mackenzie, Ted Falcon, and Jamal Rahman
Three “interfaith amigos” lay out their road map for interfaith dialogue and collaboration, based on their experience together and through telling their own stories, in what they call “the five stages of the interfaith journey.” 

Resources/On-going Education

Parliament of the World’s Religions, December 3-9, Melbourne, Australia
The Council for the Parliament invites all people of faith and spirit to encounter the vast and rich diversity of the world’s religious and spiritual traditions and take part in over 450 events including keynote addresses, seminars, conferences, dialogues, performances, concerts and exhibitions, all focused on the theme: “Making a World of Difference: Hearing Each Other, Healing the Earth.” Chicago Office: 312-629-2990 info@parliamentofreligions.org or parliamentofreligions.org

Retreat for Religious Leaders, November 16-19: “Be Still and Know that I Am God”
This is an invitation to slow down and step back—for the purpose of listening to your soul’s promptings, restoration and renewal of your energy for leadership. Lived together as leaders from different faith traditions, this experience will provide mutual enrichment and support and open fresh possibilities for forging new interfaith relations.  The meeting place is Kripalu, a holistic, serene, and uncluttered environment removed from everyday preoccupations in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. Co-led by Rabbi Sigal Brier and Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP. institute4rl.blogspot.com

Leadership for a Religiously Diverse World, October 25-27 
The Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) will host its 6th Annual Conference at Norwestern University, Evanston, ILL. The focus of the conference will be interfaith leadership through service. The event will feature the unveiling of IFYC's interfaith leadership training, interactive workshops and dynamic discussion sessions with religious leaders, youth, activists, policy makers, academics and other notable figures. IFYC hopes to engage participants in the question of how the youth can spearhead a global movement of interfaith service. For more information and to register, please visit the IFYC website.

“Talking Through Walls:  How the Struggle to Build a Mosque Unites a Community”
This film takes viewers into the rural town of Voorhees, New Jersey and documents the struggle of Zia Rahman to build a mosque in his community. Against the backdrop of post 9/11 fears that threaten to scuttle the project, a coalition of Jews, Catholics, Buddhists and others join Zia to support his efforts, revealing the best of American ideals at one of the most difficult times in American history. Use it for as an occasion of discussion in your local community. 1 hour. Now available on DVD.

For other interfaith films: upf.tv  and 20000dialogues.org

An “O Antiphon” for Autumn from Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr’s The Circle of Life:

O season full of remembering,
Come! Come with your golden shawl.
Come scattering the beauty of well-aged leaves.
Strengthen us for changing our old patterns.
Give us memories that sustain our dreams.
O come!

With every good wish to you for a season of rich, spiritual harvest in your life and ministry

 

Issue 33, Summer 2009

My Life in Jerusalem
To engage the holy places is to engage one’s faith and to seek to be a pilgrim more than a tourist. The difference is that tourists go through the land, whereas pilgrims allow the land to go through them. Pilgrim Michael McGarry, CSP, shares how letting the Land and its people go through him has made a difference in his life.

Recent Challenges in Catholic-Jewish Relations
The hot-button issues are now familiar: Pius XII. The Good Friday Prayer. Bishop Williamson. Pope Benedict’s style has raised questions. Tom Ryan, CSP, shares some perspectives from the recent National Workshop on Christian Unity.

Growing Together in Unity and Mission
Besides laying out where Episcopalians/Anglicans and Roman Catholics agree and disagree in their last 40 years of dialogue, a new “harvest” document identifies practical ways of emphasizing all we hold in common. Mary Reath focuses on common witness around baptism.


Resources/Ongoing Education

Institute on Christian-Muslim Relations for Pastors, Pastoral Workers, June 14-20
Georgetown University, Washington, DC. The program includes both separate and joint sessions for Muslims and Christians. For more info: 202-687-4005 or MLP34@georgetown.edu

Orientale Lumen Conference: “Monastic Spirituality for Everyday Life,”June 15-18, Washington, D.C.
Audio CD recordings of all sessions will be available during the conference, and video DVD recordings will be edited and produced for later distribution. Register online: www.olconference.com
The Institute for Ecumenical Leadership, August 3-10, 2009, at the Mercy Center, St. Louis, MO.
This Institute is for Catholic Diocesan Ecumenical Officers, sponsored by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. Join presenters Brother Jeffrey Gros, FSC, and Monsignor John Radano for the first part of the two-cycle series of continuing education in ecumenism. For more info, contact Fr. Bob Flannery at rbflan@globaleyes.net

Online course “The Good News and Religious Pluralism”, June 15-July 12
O one session each week with Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP, via a narrated slide presentation and subsequent email discussion in a virtual classroom. Each week’s session is accessible 24/7 at participants’ convenience. This course will help foster appreciation for how our dialogue and relationships with people of other religions (e.g., Jews, Muslims, Buddhists) can be enriching for our faith. Registration closes June 8. For more info: Fr. Tony Krisak, 202-832-5022, ext. 17 or anthony.krisak@pncea.org

The John Main Seminar, August 28-30, 2009
Will feature Rev. Robert Kennedy, SJ, Jesuit priest and Zen master, at the Christian Meditation Center, London, England. For more info: jms2009@wccm.org +44 (0) 20 8449 1319 www.wccm.org

Parliament of the World’s Religions, December 3-9, Melbourne, Australia
The Council for the Parliament invites all people of faith and spirit to encounter the vast and rich diversity of the world’s religious and spiritual traditions and take part in over 450 events including keynote addresses, seminars, conferences, dialogues, performances, concerts and exhibitions, all focused on the theme: “Making a World of Difference: Hearing Each Other, Healing the Earth.” Chicago Office: 312-629-2990 info@parliamentofreligions.org www.parliamentofreligions.org

May your “external summer” afford you some playfulness and leisure, and your “interior summer” be full of light and fruitfulness!

 

Issue 32, Spring 2009

Persistent Effort, Steady Progress: An Overview
Ronald Roberson, CSP writes that at a time when the effectiveness and benefits of ecumenical relationships tend to be played down, there is a lot to be thankful for in looking over the past year.

Interchurch Families: Toward a Language of Faithful Possibilities
Together in love, and apart in different cultural-linguistic worlds. Ray Temmerman on coming together in interchurch marriage.

An Invitation to a Doctor of Ministry Program in Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue
In January 2010, Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington, DC), in cooperation with the Washington Theological Consortium, will start a cohort on its way to a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue.


Issue 31, Winter 2008

In this issue: An inspiring “report from the field” that will make you look at the latent potential in your local situation with fresh eyes; reflections to help you frame your encounters with interchurch couples in a positive light; the latest in big-picture Christian-Muslim relations; and the review of a book designed to help you take the next step in local interfaith relations.

The Rich Potential of Local Level Ecumenism
Vinny McKiernan, CSP, relates how “going ecumenical and interfaith” has expanded and enriched his ministry in central Ohio.

Reaching Out to Interchurch Couples: Finding a Common Spirituality
Upwards of 40% of Catholics marry Protestant, Anglican or Orthodox believers. Significant numbers of our fellow Christians attend Mass at Catholic parishes each Sunday. John Crossin, OSFS, suggests that, if they’re invisible to us, we’re missing their positive potential both for our local community and the church at-large.

Sign of Hope: The Deepening Christian-Muslim Dialogue
Thomas Ryan, CSP, reports on a sign of hope for our times: the increasing commitment to substantive dialogue between the world’s two largest religions, Christianity and Islam, who together make up well over half of the world's population.

Book Review: Interactive Faith: The Essential Interreligious Community-Building Handbook, Rev. Bud Heckman and Rori Picker Neiss, eds.
A practical, hands-on, how-to manual put together by some of the best people in the field, covering a wide range of methodologies and strategies, and including overviews of the major faith traditions.


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