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 | Ames Interfaith Council in Iowa, at: http://amesinterfaithcouncil.blogspot.com/ |
| Berkeley Area Interfaith Council |
| Friends in Faith (Northern VA) email at: 74734.2556@compuserve.com |
| Interfaith Center at the Presidio at: http://www.interfaith-presidio.org/ |
| Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington at: http://www.interfaith-metrodc.org/ |
| San Francisco Bay Area Interfaith Coalition |
| San Francisco Interfaith Council |
| North American Interfaith Network |
| World Interfaith Education Association |
| Earth and Spirit Council (Portland OR) |
| United Religions, organized by the Rt. Rev. William Swing, Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of California |
| Diversity Faire held in Orange County, CA |
| Orange County Interfaith Coalition for Social Justice, in Orange County, CA |
| Wolverhampton Inter-Faith Group (WIFG) in the UK at: http://www.wlv.ac.uk/chaplaincy/photoex/ |
The Earth & Spirit Council of Portland OR was created in 1991 as an inter-faith group of environmental and spiritual leaders who are dedicated to "reawakening human beings' spiritual connection to the Earth." 1 They sponsor an annual Multicultural Interfaith Earth Day Celebration in Portland OR. This is synchronized with Earth Day, a worldwide celebration held at the time of the Spring Equinox, typically APR-21. By 1999, the celebration has grown to include about 70 groups and individuals. Ananda Marga, Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Eckankar, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, Scientology Sikh, and Sufi traditions were represented. Their registration fee was two cans of food for the Oregon food bank. 2
Associations, projects, etc:
|  The Encounter World Religions Centre is based in Guelph, ON
Canada. 3 Their slogan is "celebrating diversity ~
affirming unity ~ pursuing peace." They are "dedicated to educating
people about the world's great wisdom traditions through experiential
learning." Since the group was founded in the late 1990s, 50,000
students and adults from the U.S. and Canada have taken part in the
Centre's programs. An 2003-FEB article in the Toronto Star described
an encounter by a group of students -- most from Christian universities in
Canada, Nebraska and Iowa. They experienced a
Wiccan girl's coming of age ritual, a sweetgrass ceremony at a
First Nations group, and services at
Bah'ai, Buddhist (Pure
Land and Zen), Charismatic Christian,
Hare Krishna, Hindu, Islamic
(Sunni, Shi'i, Sufi),
Jewish (Reform, Conservative), Orthodox Catholic,
Quaker, Roman Catholic,
Sikh, Zoroastrian
faith groups. They also heard a lecture by a Humanist, who challenged the
students' belief in God, and from a Taoist. "Participants
receive classes first, then visit the locations to speak with a
practitioner to have a face to face experience and hear a first hand
description of the tradition and the person’s own story. They...attend a
service wherever possible."
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| Many local groups are members of the North American Interfaith Network. 6 NAIN "is a non-profit association with a membership of more than 60 interfaith organizations and agencies throughout Canada and the United States." These include local, national and international interfaith groups as well as the interfaith offices of various denominations. | ||||||
| The EDUCATION as Transformation Project: Religious Pluralism,
Spirituality, and Higher Education is a project of the Office of
Religious and Spiritual Life of Wellesley College, Wellesley MA. The
project is starting a dialog about
religious pluralism within institutes of higher
education. 7 They have involved local groups at over 250
colleges and universities in this multi-year project. 8
They address such topics as:
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| The Association of Interfaith Ministers (A.I.M) is "a non-profit professional organization of Interfaith Ministers and
interfaith clergy." The group's name is somewhat curious, because the term
"minister" is mainly used to refer to Protestant Christian clergy. The
religious leaders of other denominations and religions are typically called by
a different name, such as imam, priest, priestess, rabbi, etc. Also, their name is
easily confused with:
This AIM acts as a "clearinghouse for information on interfaith and other interfaith groups, provides education on interfaith for the general public, and maintains a referral service for anyone wishing to locate an Interfaith Minister or interfaith clergy member in their area." Potential members must be graduates of "an accredited or recognized seminary or school of religious training." That effectively wipes out most spiritual leaders from a number of minority faith groups, including Native American Spirituality, Neopaganism, etc. It seems ironic that an interfaith association would refuse membership to representatives of many faiths. |
Sponsored link:
Interfaith Seminaries:
Local interfaith dialog is often directly provided and/or organized by interfaith clergy. These are often graduates of interfaith seminaries - a new type of religious educational institution that have been founded since the early 1990s. They deliver a multi-faith theological education to students who come from a variety of faith traditions. Faculty are typically clergy from a number of religions and denominations. Their graduates are trained in conducting religious services, marriages and funerals, providing spiritual counseling, providing mediation services, and ministering to the interfaith needs of their community in a variety of ways: health care, counseling, education, etc. Some are:
| American Interfaith University |
| Interfaith Seminary of Santa Cruz (CA): "It is modeled on ancient schools of wisdom where in depth training and experience were imparted through personal association." It was founded by Rev. Aaron Zerah in 1995. Their motto is "Always in Addition...Never Instead of." The seminary "cherishes and includes all the world’s religions and spiritual traditions, as we say, 'from Aboriginal to Zorastrianism.' " 11 |
| Interfaith Theological Seminary (AZ): It provides "the contemplative atmosphere of the monastic setting in a modern, interfaith context...[The] Seminary is modeled on the classical ideal in which study of sacred texts and the transmission of spiritual practices are imparted through personal mentoring by those who have lived deeply the meditative life." They offer a two year program which includes the training and ordination of interfaith ministers in "an integrative program of academic study, contemplative practice, and community service." They recognize four ministries: spiritual caregiving, spiritual guidance and education, traditional hearing, and peace. 12 |
| Lighthaven Interfaith Seminary honors "the sacredness and uniqueness of each faith, and then creates ways by which the many paths can meet on common ground... [They] honor Interfaith as a means of uniting two or more spiritual paths in the context of a purposeful, sacred union....[They] honor Interfaith as a path that speaks to those who are searching for spiritual and religious alternatives." 13 |
| New Seminary: This institute was founded in 1981. Its graduates are ordained as Interfaith Ministers and Spiritual Counselors. 14 |
Internet websites:
- Nancy Haught, "Earth works," The Oregonian, 1999-APR-21 describes the Earth and Spirit Council events at: http://www.oregonlive.com/outdoors/99/04/ou042101en.html
- "Earth & Spirit's" web page is at: http://www.earthandspirit.org/
- Encounter World Religions is at: http://www.worldreligions.ca/
- Leslie Scrivener, "Encountering other faiths: Christian college students from American Midwest come to Toronto to explore different religions," Toronto Star, 2003-FEB-15, Page K14.
- North American Interfaith Network at: http://www.nain.org/
- J.W. Windland, Encounter World Religions Centre. E-mail.
- The term "pluralism" is ambiguous. Here is seems to be used to refer to religious diversity.
- The Education as Transformation Project: Religious Pluralism, Spirituality and Higher Education" is at: http://www.wellesley.edu/RelLife/project/
- The American Indian Movement has a web site at: http://www.dickshovel.com/AIMIntro.html
- Accuracy in Media has a web site at: http://www.aim.org/
- Interfaith Seminary of Santa Cruz, CA at: http://prayer.got.net/prayinterfaith.html
- Interfaith Theological Seminary at: http://www.azstarnet.com/nonprofit/ifts/
- Lighthaven Interfaith Seminary at: http://www.lighthaven.to/
- The New Seminary at: http://www.newseminary.org/
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Copyright © 1999 to 2005 by Ontario Consultants
on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2005-AUG-01
Author: B.A. Robinson
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