wfn.org | Presbyterians to host Christian-Muslim talks

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7164 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

17-May-2002
02182

Presbyterians to host Christian-Muslim talks

Program will mark 9/11 anniversary, test model for interfaith encounters

by John Filiatreau

LOUISVILLE - Christian and Muslim leaders from around the world will visit the United States in September to meet with selected groups of Presbyterians and talk about interfaith relations in their countries and cultures.

A pilot project called "Interfaith Listening" will involve as many as a dozen teams - each consisting of one Christian from a Presbyterian Church (USA) partner overseas and one Muslim with whom the partner is in dialogue - that will meet with PC(USA) congregations and presbyteries around the country.

The program, created in response to the terror attacks in New York and Washington last Sept. 11, is co-sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the Worldwide Ministries Division (WMD). The teams will be in the United States from Sept. 10 through Sept. 23.

The purpose of the encounters is to promote respect and understanding between Christians and Muslims while testing a model for learning through interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

The project's name reflects the Presbyterian commitment to dialogue with people of other faiths, as described in "Mission and Evangelism: An Ecumenical Affirmation," a policy statement endorsed by the PC(USA) General Assembly in 1983.

"Witness cannot be a one-way process, but of necessity is two-way," reads the document, a product of the World Council of Churches. "In it, Christians become aware of some of the deepest convictions of their neighbors ... (and) are able to bear authentic witness, giving an account of their commitment to the Christ, who calls all persons to himself."

The Book of Order says: "Presbyterian Church (USA) will seek new opportunities for conversation and understanding with non-Christian religious bodies, in order that interests and concerns may be shared and common action undertaken where compatible means and aims exist."

Christian-Muslim teams are coming from Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Jordan, Lebanon, Niger and the Philippines.

Interested congregations and presbyteries should contact the office of the Rev. Will Browne, associate director for ecumenical partnership in WMD, by phone at 1-888-728-7228, ext. 5348, or by email at wbrowne@ctr.pcusa.org.
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