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.


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.