wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Interreligious conference links dialogue to action

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 08/06/2005

FROM STRANGERS TO NEIGHBOURS:
INTERRELIGIOUS CONFERENCE LINKS DIALOGUE TO ACTION

Interreligious dialogue needs to move beyond academic exchange to engage
with local communities, some of which are hostile to the notion of
dialogue, according to senior faith leaders speaking in Geneva today.

Representatives of virtually all the major world faith communities
explored the connections between dialogue and action on the second day of
an international conference on a "critical moment in interreligious
dialogue" hosted by the World Council of Churches, 7-9 June 2005.

"We should move from a dialogue of strangers to a dialogue of neighbours,"
suggested Rev. Valson Thampu, (Church of North India) a leader in the
social justice movement. "In a globalized world, more and more religions
are crowding into my neighbourhood. But when you seek your neighbours and
their needs, you will find God accidentally in the other."

> Bridging the gulf between dialogue and action

Interventions by several speakers emphasized the gulf between global
dialogue among like-minded specialists, and the inter-communal tensions
which can shape reality on the ground.

Swami Agnivesh, an Indian spiritual leader and social activist, emphasized
the limited impact of dialogue at the local level. "We now need to 'walk
the talk'," he said. "Together we need to deal with the major issues that
are haunting the world. But we should also see that religions have been as
much part of the problem as part of the solution."

Rabbi Naamah Kelman, the first woman rabbi to be ordained in Israel,
described this dilemma. "I live in the Middle East, a place that is so
volatile. There, religion seems only able to fuel hatred, prejudice,
violence. Few religious voices preach tolerance, openness, and social
justice."

But the picture is not only bleak, and situations of conflict also
stimulate people of faith to intervene and take responsibility. For
Agnivesh, "the world is now poised for a shift to social spirituality
which upholds the core spiritual values common to all faiths: love,
compassion, and justice. That is real spirituality."

Speeches, documents and free high resolution photos are available on the
conference website:
http://www.oikoumene.org/interreligious.html

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org

Sign up for WCC press releases at
http://onlineservices.wcc-coe.org/pressnames.nsf

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 347, in
more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.