In this issue
Copyright © 2008 Interfaithings Magazine. All rights reserved.
Created by Heather Muller
mullerheather@mac.com
To Interfaith: To enter into
respectful dialogue regarding
beliefs, values, and practices
with adherents of religious world
views other than ones own.
Swords into Plowshares?
Editor's Introduction
p. 3
Relections on A Sacred Season
by Joan Haan, M.A., CPCC p. 4
by Paul R. Strickland
p. 6
Is Religion Killing Us?
An excerpt form the new book
by Jack Nelson Pallmeyer
p. 9
The Origins of IBI
Editor's Introduction
p. 11
The Story of the Mall Area Religious
Council (MARC)
by John
M. Chell
p. 11
The Parliament of Worlds Religions,
Tw in Cities Chapter
by Ira L. Gordon
p. 12
In God We Trust?
p. 13
You, Too!
Letters from readers
A letter from Pam Leeds-Ragorg p. 14
Response by Yasir Bilgin
p. 14
A letter from David Lieberman p. 15
A Special Event
p. 15
Bulliten Board
p. 16
Interfaithings, an electronic
newsletter/journal, is a quarterly
publication of the Interfaith Bridging
Initiative or IBI. Recently, some of you
have expressed the desire to know more
about who and what IBI is. And so...
For an account of how IBI came into
existence and who was responsible for its
creation, please see "The Origins of IBI,"
beginning on page 11. Here we set forth
a profile of the Initiative ca. early 2008.
IBI is a non-profit organization directed
by a five person executive committee and
funded by donations from readers like
you and by a grant from the Otto
Bremer Foundation. The mission
statement of the Interfaith Bridging
Initiative is as follows:
To serve as an agent for
enhanced communication,
cooperation, and understanding
among interfaith leaders
and individuals committed to
doing interfaith work.
There are two kinds of interfaith
organizations:
(1) organizations whose members
constituents of various faith
communities come together to better
understand one another's religious
beliefs and practices.
(2) organizations whose members
constituents of various faith
communities come together to work
toward common public policy, ethical,
and artistic goals.
The following are the principal areas to
which IBI is currently devoting time,
energy, and monetary resources:
Publication of Interfaithings, an
electronic quarterly newsletter/
journal so as:
To explore issues of pertinence to
interfaith understanding
To publicize interfaith events,
projects, and resources.
Maintenance of www.interfaithings.org
a website that contains:
Archives of the newsletter/journal
Information regarding interfaith
events, projects, and resources
Links to other websites of interfaith
interest
A chat room where individuals are
invited to post ruminations,
questions, answers, etc.
Support for activities/organizations
that foster increased interfaith
understanding and for
activities/organizations that bring faith
communities together to pursue public
policy, ethical, and artistic goals.
Welcome to Issue Three of Interfaithings
WINTER 2008
Vol. 1, Issue 3
Continued on page 2
