NAINConnect14Report1 - NAIN – North American Interfaith Network

NAINConnect 2014i
Pre-Connect Board Meetings & Annual General Meeting [More Photos]
Sunday at McGregor Hall
Saturday at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral of Detroit
AGM in the Hall [we are flexible!!]
The all-volunteer NAIN Board of Directors meets for a day and a half, prior to the Connects to conduct the business of NAIN. The
Annual General Meeting met early in the morning following Detroit’s torrential flooding, which caused for a light attendance and
an improvised meeting space. New members and the YA Scholars were recognized. Retiring Board members were recognized
for their service. The nominations slate was accepted unanimously. A couple of By-Law revisions passed. The Board had a brief
meeting to welcome those present of the new Board members and to elect the Executive Board.
The 2014 Board of Director names will be available on http://nain.org.
Registration and Displays
NAIN Quilt from Wichita Assisi
Displays McGregor Hall
Opening Dinner
Registration Volunteers
Robert Butrell, Gail Katz, Meredith Skowronski
Opening Ceremonies, NAIN Connect, 2014 – Detroit
Song and Spirit A Jewish Troubadour (Maggid
Steve Klaper) and a Franciscan Friar (Brother Al
Mascia, OFM). Photo Katherine King
Gail Katz and Paula Drewek Welcome
NAIN Chair Rob Hankinson Welcome
songandspirit@gmail.com
www.SongandSpirit.org
Local Team
PLENARY PRESENTATIONS
“Global Peacemaking: The Interfaith Front"
Sunday Evening, August 10 Community Arts Auditorium
Presented by: International Peacemaker Reverend Daniel Buttry
Rev. Buttry compared First Date interfaith relationships to those in personal first dates. He spoke of three essential C words:
Communication, Connections, and Collaboration.
Communication means to seek to understand and be understood. He said we need to take the risks
to talk about the real stuff, to really talk to each other.
He said we need to build the connections now so that we have them in times of crisis. We need to
do the communication that is even harder than interfaith communication. We need to have
intrafaith communications to be bold advocates for connection to others within our own faith
traditions.
He told the parable of the prince challenged by his father to move a huge boulder in order to win his royal succession. The prince
won the challenge, because he realized he did not have to move the whole boulder at once. He cracked it into pieces and moved
it bit by bit. “The world has a crack in it; it lets the light in.” We need to collaborate to build the House of Peace.
“From Hate to Hope”
Monday Evening, August 11 Islamic Center of America
Presented by: Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, African American and Native American Communities
A talk at the Islamic Center and s sumptuous feast preceded the panel. Guests were offered free books.
Rev. Thomas H. Priest, Sheri Schiff, Myeengun Henry, Dr. Parvinder Mehta, Saeed A. Khan
Brenda Rosenberg
In “From Hate to Hope,” a panel of representatives of Detroit’s major faith groups discussed two questions: “What do you feel is
misunderstood about your religion or faith or ethnic groups?” and “What can we put in place as a community to create a better
level of understanding?” The second question served as the basis for a group discussion with attendees about concrete plans to
address these issues. Brenda Rosenberg introduced the panel.
Saeed A. Khan spoke if trust building and developing a safe space. He said, with reference to Dr. Buttry’s comments on intrafaith
dialog, that he often found more currency in interfaith discussions than within his own community. We need to be honest
enough to critique our own community. In striving for peace, justice, and human dignity, we need to transition from ‘yes, but’ to
‘yes, and’. We inadvertently bring in language of political and ethnicity. We need an expansion of the definition of personhood.
Faith makes us unique. The door must be open to all faiths and none. As for Building Bridges, sometimes taking a position on a
bridge is too hard. You need not take a position on all. There is also a tunnel. Don’t compromise your convictions to gain
acceptance. Everybody else should expand.
Dr. Parvinder Mehta said we need to understand and acknowledge differences. Ignorance is a problem of all communities.
There is no such thing as “harmless humor”. Can Sikhs assimilate? Do they need to? Are we ‘salad bowl’ or a ‘melting pot’? We
need to appreciate and respect differences and educate ourselves. Sikhism is the fifth largest religion, but not known. She
stressed the importance of the role of parents and educators to shape children.
Myeengun Henry is an elder of the Wolf Clan and an Aboriginal traditional counselor from the Chippewas of the Thames First
Nation near London Ontario. He is fortunate to be able to speak his language, which was forbidden in the residential schools, and
to practice some ceremonies and traditional medicine. The true history of turtle island has never been taught. He believed the
stereotypes and was not proud to be a native person. He showed the wampum belts, early treaties that were broken. He is First
Nation, not Indian. Not until 1951 could they have Pow Wow again. There are tough questions to put on the table. We need a
Vision Quest to find out who we are.
Sheri Schiff’s family members are holocaust survivors. She works in the Holocaust museum, a reminder ‘Never Again’. “Why do
they hate us?” The work of the Torah is acts of loving kindness. Be part of the solution, not the problem. Don’t stand idly by.
Why don’t we do more visiting each other, visiting our museums?
Rev. Thomas H. Priest is a second career minister, ordained Presbyterian Pastor of two Methodist churches. His ministry is
reconciliation. “People who love you will tell you the truth.” The solution to residuals of slavery used to be to assimilate. “Twice
as good to get half as far” is bad advice. “God has created everything and it is good. We are to live it.” The bridge is already
there, we just don’t see it. Not build relationship – grow it. Not build bridge – use it. Don’t hate - participate. White privilege is
the cause of hate. Life is about missed opportunities. We want to build bridges, not use them. We should not let any
opportunities for reconciliation be missed. Both his congregations are white. Seek opportunities for inclusivity and relationship
and don’t miss them. Live what God has already created. Don’t be living things with dead words. Be straight and simple and
follow the rules. Don’t let any opportunity for inclusion to be missed.
“City on Edge: Leading the Fight Against Enmity”
Tuesday Evening, August 12 St. Mary’s Antiochan Orthodox Church
Presented by: Religious Leaders Forum
St. Mary’s Antiochan Orthodox Church
Tour of the Church was followed by a sumptuous dinner
The Religious Leaders Forum presented a discussion on the goals and learnings of the Forum members as they have worked
together to build unity and overcome the enmity that all too often divides and disrupts our community.
Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Superintendent Marcus R. Ways, Fr. George Shalhoub, Rabbi Michael L. Moskowitz, Imam Elturk
Rev. Murray posed a number of questions to the panel.
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Calling, role in interfaith
Supt Ways: His role as a bridge builder, inclusive of brother/sisterhood, is broader than his denomination.
Fr. George Shalhoub: He was born into his religion in Syria. He has a strong desire to know others and serve them. He doesn’t
impose his differences on others. Religious dialog must serve the broader community.
Rabbi Michael L. Moskowitz: Corn is higher in fields next to each other, because they cross-pollinate. Here I am a Jew in a nonJewish world, helping others understand me.
Imam Elturk: Muslims become more religious when they come here. His background was the civil war in Lebanon. He recited
familiar text from the Qu’ran as basis for the ‘Divine experiment to know one another’. It was not important in Lebanon,
because we were all alike. We appreciate it here because of the diversity.
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How/why is the religious leaders forum involved in fighting against enmity and violence
Supt Ways: Detroit is polarized. He has a passion to destroy division. There is so much good from collectivism. There is a great
opportunity to break down the divide. Human beings are valuable. Violence is not acceptable.
Fr. George Shalhoub: Ignorance is worse than bullets. When he first arrived, people did not know what to make of him, an
Arab Christian. He reminds Muslims that we [Christians] are your parents and the Rabbi, your grandparents. When he attended
Islamic school as a child, he did not want to attend religion class. His father insisted that he needed to learn how they pray. We
are not descendants of Abraham, Child of God. Love your neighbor is a basic commandment. Share humanity. Your ritual is
your treasure. Who are we to cancel each other?
Rabbi Michael L. Moskowitz: Hatred is learned. We have to teach love. You are supposed to help the beggar. We have to live
with humanity. Don’t just get answers from your Jewish friends. When we stand shoulder to shoulder, it is a stronger message.
Imam Elturk: Enmity is what led him to Interfaith. Warren is notorious for being racist. Reaction against building his mosque led
to self-doubt. Interfaith symposium “Know Your Neighbor” helped and continued working to make Warren less racist.
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Rev. Buttry on Sunday evening shared the challenge of intrafaith dialog – how you navigate when your own faith
objects to interfaith dialog.
Supt Ways: His reputation of extreme loyalty to his own faith and his known calling to interfaith brothers has given him great
leeway.
Fr. George Shalhoub: To be a good citizen, take care of each other. We live in ghettos out of fear. America offers a venue as a
nation of immigrants offers a mosaic. Cannot exist on your own; otherwise, you live in exile. Teach children mutual respect.
Rabbi Michael L. Moskowitz: He is Reform Jew. There are many differences within Judaism, with some shared values. As a
minority, take care of each other.
Imam Elturk: Sunni/Shia divide was not a problem in Syria, but now sectarianism has erupted. It has caused Michigan Shias and
Sunnis to work together.
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How do you keep interfaith movement going [expand] post-crisis?
Supt Ways: Hopefully positive experiences make us want to continue. We need to replicate ourselves, influence others to join.
Fr. George Shalhoub: To perpetuate anything has to have constant desire to belong. We come together at crisis.
Rabbi Michael L. Moskowitz: Come together to study. It is not your duty to finish the task, but it is your duty to try to finish it.
Crate relationships – that is where god is – in friendships.
Imam Elturk: Be courageous to come out and meet the other. Struggle with own congregation to go out and meet neighbors.
Shouldn’t be reactive, but proactive. We need one another.
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Ways to engage youth. Community service is a vehicle [e. g., Eboo Patel]. What are the components that tie
Interfaith together?
Supt Ways: Meeting needs. Detroit Partnerships – 12 suburbs – 12 inner city – 12 different locations and 10,000 persons was a
‘love fest’. It started with clergy and then congregations.
Fr. George Shalhoub: Beer. [laughter] Religiosity has limitations because it separates. Spirituality brings together. Work on
something together.
Rabbi Michael L. Moskowitz: Everything is religious, except maybe the business of running a Synagogue. Working together is
faith. Ethical monotheism is mission driven. Everyone can do it with money; it takes genius to do it without.
Imam Elturk: Youth work together more than elders. It is important to partner on social issues. Mosque and Synagogue partner
to cook food for needy on Christmas day.

Q&A
Where are the women? Apologies were made that the women on the Religious Leaders Forum were unavailable.
Local efforts can have an effect on global issues. We can model. We can pray, and prayer is powerful.
“Sacred Storytelling: A Play Created from Diversity Dialogues”
Wednesday Morning, August 13 Community Arts Auditorium
Presented by: Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County
Sacred Storytelling Play and Q&A Moderator Lauren Zinn
Ibtissam Gad
The Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County, committed to the work of bridge-building among religions and faith
communities, asked high school students in southeast Michigan to tell us their stories, stories that convey the meaning of faith
and the struggles that come with it. There are stereotypes and prejudices that get in the way of genuine respect and
cooperation. Students’ voices were heard from ten different backgrounds (Baha’i, Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim,
Protestant, Quaker, Scientologist and Unitarian Universalist). What emerged was a 40 minute play.
Q&A: Is harmony the goal of interfaith dialog? Moderated by Lauren Zinn
It was asked whether the play was published or available in video, as the predecessor ‘Reuniting the Children of Abraham’ is. [4
Piece toolkit available www.brendanaomirosenberg.com/children-of-abraham.htm] There are no current plans to publish this
play.
[This editor commented that interfaith dialog was perhaps the only tool ten years ago, but that we had many other workable
models now, such as shared service projects and relationship building events. Interfaith dialog needs to be well-facilitated with
agreed ground rules.]
Ibtissam Gad, former intern of Dr. Diller, spoke about the importance of engaging youth. Adults can supply inspiration and
opportunity, but should let youth have ownership. Fun is a necessary ingredient.
Next Year in Regina!!
Brenda Anderson, Dwaine Dornan, and a Young Adult from Regina spoke about the plans for next
year’s Connect, “Restoring Spirit Through Sacred Listening”, July 19-22, 2015. 2015 marks Regina
MultiFaith Forum’s 25th Anniversary. He Forum is a part of MultiFaith Saskatchewan. The
conference will be held at the three federated colleges at The University of Regina, www.uregina.ca/:
Luther College, www.luthercollege.edu/university/, Campion College, www.campioncollege.ca/index
and First Nations University of Canada, www.fnuniv.ca/ . There is ample meeting space. Housing
options will include university housing, homestays and hotels.
The presenters promised a contrast to the wonderful Detroit urban experience with warm, rural
hospitality. All attendees will be met at the airport and taken to their accommodations.
SITE VISITS
Monday, August 11
A Bus Tour of Dearborn: Hosted by Mayor Jack O’Reilly
Lunch
Mayor O’Reilly
Shatila Bakery
A very nice box lunch was distributed at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Dearborn.
The Mayor was an enthusiastic tour guide and promoter of his city. Dearborn suffered for many years under the delusion that
some people were superior to others and so it cut itself off from those it deemed inferior. This attitude was aided, abetted and
enforced by its local government and its notorious mayor Orville Hubbard whose several terms in office ended in the 1970s. We
saw the patterns of housing that resulted. We saw how effectively an ethic of open housing, pluralism and inclusion has
transformed the city. New residents, many of whom are Muslims, demonstrate pride and investment in their new home. The
positive economics are evident and in sharp contrast to contigent neighborhoods of Detroit. The demonstrable difference and its
positive benefits for a community is a phenomenon that Mayor O'Reilly is justly proud of.
Ethnic Tour of Hamtramck: Hosted by Rev. Sharon Buttry
If there is a “melting pot,” Hamtramck is it! The tour explored the interfaith diversity of Hamtramck, Detroit's dense
and most diverse community, with visits to Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim sites and discussion about the call
to prayer controversy that made national news and was brought to a beautiful conclusion through interfaith
collaborative action.
The Arab-American Museum and Holocaust Memorial Center: Hosted by Ron Amen, Brenda Rosenberg
and Sheri Schiff
One of the world’s three major Holocaust Museums and the country’s only Arab American museum. The tour was more than a
site visit to the Arab American Museum and the Holocaust Memorial Center. It demonstrated how they have worked together to
bridge the divide between the Arab and Jewish communities.
The Arab American National Museum (AANM) http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/ is the first and only museum in the
United States devoted to Arab American history and culture. Arab Americans have enriched the economic, political and cultural
landscape of American life. By bringing voices and faces of Arab Americans to mainstream audiences, we continue to dispel
misconceptions about Arab Americans and other minorities. The Museum brings to light the shared experiences of immigrants
and ethnic groups, paying tribute to the diversity of our nation.
The Holocaust is a history not only of evil, although the evil is undeniable, but also of great courage, strength and righteousness.
The Holocaust Memorial Center http://www.holocaustcenter.org/ , called by The Wall Street Journal “the most provocative
museum of them all,” has been teaching about the Holocaust and its legacy for more than 25 years, and its building, exhibits and
programs have been receiving international accolades and heartfelt thanks from our millions of visitors.
Detroit and the Underground Railroad (this tour is offered on both Monday and Tuesday): Hosted by
Kim Simmons
This tour was about the people and places that made Detroit the first Bridge to Freedom. Ms. Simmons, a
descendant of freedom seekers who made their way here to the Detroit Region offered a personal view of the
American story of perseverance, courage, dedication and bravery known as the Underground Railroad.
Some of the Historic Sites visited include: Birwood Wall, First Congregational Church, Cobo Hall/Arena,
International Underground Railroad Memorial Monument, Historic Second Baptist Church, William Webb Home,
Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit Historical Museum, George DeBaptiste, Home Site, Ossian Sweet Home.
Tuesday, August 12
Feet on the Street: Grown in Detroit Hosted by Linda Yellin - Detroit as a model of Midwest rebirth
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We drove through the Historic Eastern Market and heard from the President the ways in which it is trying to preserve small
enterprises and small farmers.
We visited the beautiful Solanus Casey Center viewed some of the Earthworks gardens, narrated passionately by Shane
Bernardo, one of the employees. Earthworks gardens encompass 2000 acres of urban farm that supply the Capuchin Soup
Kitchen, a ministry of the Capuchin Franciscan Friars of Saint Joseph, located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
Detroit. The soup kitchen serves 2000 meals daily. Shane spoke of food justice as being more important than food
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sufficiency. Having enough to eat, but food of poor nutritional value causes many lifestyle diseases. The loss of connection
to the land has been very harmful.
We heard about, but did not have time to visit On The Rise Bakery- a program that supports men at risk, coming out of
incarceration and the use of food/spirituality/faith to find stability
Tour Detroit's Cultural Treasures: Hosted by Paula Drewek
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is the world's largest institution dedicated to the
African American experience. The museum provides learning opportunities, exhibitions, programs and events
based on collections and research that explore the diverse history and culture of African Americans and their
African origins. Housing the Blanche Coggin Underground Railroad Collection, it is also a repository of
documents of the labor movement in Detroit.
The DIA's collection is among the top six in the United States, comprising a multicultural and multinational
survey of human creativity from prehistory through the 21st century. A hallmark of the DIA is the diversity of the
collection. In addition to outstanding American, European, Modern and Contemporary, and Graphic art, the
museum holds significant works of African, Asian, Native American, Oceanic, Islamic, and Ancient art.
http://thewright.org/
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http://www.dia.org/
Photos by Bill Chapman are labeled. Others are acknowledged. Un-acknowledged phots are by Judy Trautman