wfn.org | BLOG Offers Interfaith Perspectives from Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka

["Carol Fouke" <cfouke@ncccusa.org>]

BLOG Features Interfaith Perspectives from Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka, Indonesia

Two envoys from the National Council of Churches USA to Sri Lanka and
Sumatra, Indonesia, have begun to share stories and photos via the Weblog
www.faithfulamerica.blogspot.com.  During their travels Jan. 7-19, they are
asking Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu religious leaders and survivors
how they are finding meaning in the wake of the Dec. 26 earthquake and
tsunami.

NCC Interfaith Relations Director Shanta Premawardhana, an Alliance of
Baptists pastor and native of Sri Lanka, and Vince Isner, a United Methodist
and Director of FaithfulAmerica.org, the NCC's e-advocacy Web ministry, also
are seeking to communicate the solidarity of the U.S. religious community
with people of all faiths across the region and are exploring ways U.S.
faith communities can help.  

Among their first postings to www.faithfulamerica.blogspot.com:

Rescue or Revival -- Are Christian evangelists wrong to exploit Sri Lanka's
bad fortune to gain converts, or are they doing exactly what their faith
commands them to do? 

Giving and Receiving -- It is important to learn both WHAT the people need
and HOW they need it. 

In a Word, a World of Difference -- Premawardhana and Isner find resiliency
and a spirit of cooperation among Sri Lankans in the wake of tragedy. 

Generosity is Universal -- Stories of encounters with people in the U.S. and
France whose hearts are reaching out to survivors of the earthquake and
tsunami. 

The Rev. Dr. Premawardhana, of Queens, New York, was born in Colombo, Sri
Lanka.	Before joining the NCC staff in 2003, he was senior pastor of
Chicago's Ellis Avenue Church, founding pastor of the Chicago Ashram of
Jesus Christ in Skokie, Ill., and a leader in Chicago interfaith work.

Mr. Isner, of Fairfax, Va., is the first full-time director of
FaithfulAmerica.org, an e-advocacy ministry that seeks to advance a faith
response to public issues.   A veteran of more than 20 years' experience in
electronic media production, design, marketing, print and web communication,
Mr. Isner has served as Communications Director of the United Methodist
Board of Church and Society in Washington, D.C.  

The National Council of Churches is the leading ecumenical organization in
the United States. Its 36 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican member
communions (denominations) include 45 million adherents in more than 100,000
local congregations nationwide. 

-end-

January 10, 2005, New York City
NCC Media Contact: Carol Fouke-Mpoyo
(work) 212-870-2252 (mobile) 646-258-8896