Monday, December 26, 2011

Haifa's Holiday of Holidays festival embraces differences

Ecumenical News International News Highlights
22 December 2011

Haifa's Holiday of Holidays festival embraces differences

Haifa, Israel (ENInews)--Both Christmas lights and Hanukkah dreidels
(spinning tops) are appearing as decorations as the northern Israeli port
city of Haifa throws a multi-faith party on December weekends. Now in its
18th year, the Holiday of Holidays -- which also includes the
recently-celebrated Muslim Eid al-Adha -- is meant "to share the
differences and honor them," said Assaf Ron, director of the Beit Hageffen
Jewish-Arab Center which organizes the festival along with the Haifa
municipality. "We want to show Jews, Christians, and Muslims that we can
celebrate our holidays together, we can be together in a big open venue, mix
together, and not feel strange or fearful," Ron said. [371 words,
ENI-11-0710


Today, the Magi would have a tough time finding frankincense

(ENInews)--The world may still have gold and myrrh, but it's quite possible
that frankincense could become a thing of the past, given ecological
pressures on the arid lands where it grows in Ethiopia. The storied resin --
known to millions as one of the three gifts of the Magi, the wise men who
visited Jesus after his birth -- is made from gum produced by the boswellia
papyrifera tree. It is used as incense in religious rituals in many
cultures, as well as an ingredient in perfume and Chinese traditional
medicine, reports USA Today via Religion News Service. Dutch and Ethiopian
researchers studying populations of the scraggly, scrublike trees in
northern Ethiopia found that as many as 7 percent of the trees are dying
each year, and seedlings are not surviving into saplings. [731 words,
ENI-11-0711]

ENI Online - www.eni.ch
Ecumenical News International
PO Box 2100
CH - 1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel: (41-22) 791 6088 - 6111
Fax: (41-22) 788 7244
Email: eni@eni.ch

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  • Tuesday, December 20, 2011

    Christian population tops 2.18 billion worldwide, Pew study finds

    Christian population tops 2.18 billion worldwide, Pew study finds
    by jeff kunerth on December, 19 2011


    The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life released a new
    comprehensive demographic report
    <http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-worlds-christian-popu
    lation.aspx> Monday on the size and distribution of the world's Christian
    population. The study finds that there are 2.18 billion Christians of all
    ages in more than 200 countries around the world, representing nearly a
    third of the estimated 6.9 billion 2010 global population. Christians are so
    geographically widespread that no single continent or region can
    indisputably claim to be the center of global Christianity.

    http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-worlds-christian-popul
    ation.aspx

    In 1910, two-thirds of the world's Christians lived in Europe (according to
    historical data from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at
    Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts). Today, the Pew study
    finds, only about a quarter of all Christians (26%) live in Europe (26%).

    More than a third (37%) now reside in the Americas. About one in every four
    Christians (24%) lives in sub-Saharan Africa and about one-in-eight (13%) is
    found in Asia and the Pacific.

    In the past 100 years, the number of Christians around the world has more
    than tripled from historical estimates of about 600 million in 1910 to more
    than two billion today. But the world's overall population has also risen
    rapidly, from an estimated 1.8 billion in 1910 to 6.9 billion in 2010. As a
    result, Christians make up about the same portion of the world's population
    in 2010 (32%) as they did a century ago (35%).

    This apparent stability, however, masks a momentous shift. Although Europe
    and the Americas still are home to a majority of the world's Christians
    (63%), that share is much lower than it was in 1910 (93%). The proportion of
    Europe's population that is Christian dropped from 95% in 1910 to 76% in
    2010, while the proportion of the overall population in the Americas (North
    America, Latin America and the Caribbean, combined) that is Christian fell
    from 96% to 86%.

    Over the same period, however, Christianity grew enormously in sub-Saharan
    Africa and significantly in the Asia-Pacific region, where there were
    relatively few Christians at the beginning of the 20th century. The share of
    the population that is Christian in sub-Saharan Africa climbed from 9% in
    1910 to 63% in 2010, while in the Asia-Pacific region it rose from 3% to 7%.

    Additional findings of the Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and
    Distribution of the World's Christian Population include:

    Christians are diverse theologically as well as geographically. About half
    are Catholic. Protestants, broadly defined, make up 37%. Orthodox Christians
    comprise 12% of Christians worldwide. Other Christians, such as Mormons and
    Jehovah's Witnesses, make up the remaining 1% of the global Christian
    population.

    Taken as a whole Christians are by far the world's largest religious group.
    Muslims, the second-largest group, make up a little less than a quarter of
    the world's population according to previous studies by the Pew Forum.

    Almost half (48%) of all Christians live in the 10 countries with the
    largest number of Christians. Three of the top 10 are in the Americas (the
    United States, Brazil and Mexico). Two are in Europe (Russia and Germany);
    two are in the Asia-Pacific region (the Philippines and China); and three
    are in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and
    Ethiopia), reflecting Christianity's global reach.

    Although Christianity began in the Middle East-North Africa, that region
    today has both the lowest concentration of Christians (about 4%) and the
    smallest number of Christians (about 13 million) of any major geographic
    region.

    Although Christians comprise just under a third of the world's people, they
    form a majority of the population in 158 countries and territories, about
    two-thirds of all the countries and territories in the world.

    Nigeria now has more than twice as many Protestants (broadly defined to
    include Anglicans and independent churches) as Germany, the birthplace of
    the Protestant Reformation.

    About 90% of Christians live in countries where Christians are in the
    majority; only about 10% of Christians worldwide live as minorities.

    The full report, which includes a companion quiz -
    http://features.pewforum.org/global-christianity/quiz.php interactive maps
    and sortable data tables, is available on the Pew Forum's website
    http://pewforum.org

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  • Wednesday, December 14, 2011

    American city will see 'multi-faith neighborhood'

    American city will see 'multi-faith neighborhood'
    Ecumenical News International News Highlights
    14 December 2011

    Omaha, Nebraska (ENInews)--Omaha, Nebraska may not be the place that
    some imagine as fertile ground for the prospect of the three Abrahamic
    faiths
    finding common ground but, the vision of such peaceful co-existence
    has taken a major step towards becoming reality. The Tri-Faith
    Initiative of
    Omaha announced on 13 December that it has completed the purchase of
    four adjacent parcels of land, amounting to about 35 acres, on a
    former golf
    course in the heart of Omaha, Episcopal News Service reports. The
    course is being turned into Sterling Ridge, a development that will
    also include
    single-family homes, an assisted-living facility, office and retail
    space and a hotel. [712 words, ENI-11-0691]

    ENI Online - www.eni.ch

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  • Tuesday, December 13, 2011

    First Hindu chaplain in US military is 'groundbreaking'

    First Hindu chaplain in US military is 'groundbreaking'
    11 December 2011
    Last updated at 19:52 ET
    BBC News

    [video available at BBC.CO.UK]
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16099481


    Returning service members from Iraq and Afghanistan often struggle with
    readjusting to civilian life, health issues, and guilt.

    Until recently, the 1,000 or so Hindus serving in the US military - and
    their families - lacked a military confidant who understood their religion
    and culture.

    But now Captain Pratima Dharm has been appointed as the US military's first
    Hindu chaplain.
    She says her position is significant not just to her military congregation,
    but also to the religion's one billion global followers.

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  • Saturday, December 10, 2011

    Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, Cyprus archbishop pledge to deepen ties

    http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishFeatures/Article.aspx?id=248602

    December 10, 2011 Saturday 14 Kislev 5772 8:15 IST

    Metzger, Cyprus archbishop pledge to deepen ties
    By JEREMY SHARON
    08/12/2011

    Joint declaration affirms illegitimacy of doctrine of collective Jewish
    guilt for death of Jesus, highlights commitment to good relations.

    Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger signed a historic declaration on Tuesday in
    Nicosia, Cyprus, with Archbishop Chrysostomos, primate of the Church of
    Cyprus, in which the two men promised to deepen relations between the Church
    and the Jewish people.

    The declaration affirms the illegitimacy of the doctrine of collective
    Jewish guilt for the deicide of Jesus.

    This is the first time an Orthodox church has explicitly repudiated this
    doctrine, which was one of the most important factors in the development of
    religious anti-Semitism in Europe.

    "We, the chief rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger, and the Archbishop of Cyprus
    Chrysostomos, give thanks to God for the blessed increase of this mutual
    respect and affirm our commitment to advancing excellent relations between
    Cyprus and Israel," the declaration says.

    The Orthodox Church of Cyprus is one of the 14 autocephalous, or
    independent, churches of the Eastern Orthodox Communion.

    Adherents of the Orthodox churches number some 300 million people, 700,000
    of whom belong to the Church of Cyprus.

    The declaration explicitly states, however, that the Church of Cyprus was
    never party to accusations of collective guilt or to the "systematic
    negation" of Jewry.


    "We accordingly affirm the repudiation of such prejudice as incompatible
    with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures," reads the declaration.

    The Roman Catholic Church repudiated the notion of the collective guilt of
    the Jewish people for Jesus's death in 1965 with the promulgation of the
    Nostra Aetate, passed by the Second Vatican Council, which states that
    although some Jewish authorities called for Jesus's death, blame cannot be
    apportioned to all Jews from that time, nor can Jews today be held
    accountable.

    The other major provision of Tuesday's pronouncement declares that
    proselytizing among the respective communities "undermines the religious
    identity of the other" and is "incompatible with mutual respect."

    "We have signed today a historic declaration about the Jewish relationship
    with the Orthodox Church," Metzger told The Jerusalem Post.

    "Until now, the Orthodox churches have been reluctant to take this kind of
    step, but the Church of Cyprus has taken on this responsibility with today's
    brave declaration.

    "We hope that now, step by step, we will be able to enter into similar
    relationships with the other major Orthodox churches, such as the Greek and
    the Russian churches," he said.

    Metzger emphasized the political importance of the declaration, pointing to
    the strong influence of the churches in Cyprus and the other countries with
    predominantly Christian Orthodox populations.

    "Many people in these countries look to the approach of their religious
    leaders for guidance and take their political views from the stance of the
    Church," Metzger said.

    "This kind of declaration gives legitimacy to the State of Israel in the
    eyes of these people and has a significant political impact."

    Metzger also referred to the strengthening of ties between Cyprus and Israel
    following the decline in Israel-Turkey relations in recent years.

    "People in Cyprus feel much stronger because they are closer to Israel," he
    said.

    "You cannot walk around this country without meeting citizens who will talk
    of the pain they feel that Turkey stole half their island and occupied it."

    With an eye on the recent diplomatic strife with Turkey as well as general
    conflict with other parts of the Islamic world, Metzger called the
    rapprochement between Judaism and the Orthodox Church a "revolutionary"
    change, years in the making, which is important in light of a new common
    "enemy."

    The declaration also affirmed the teachings of both Judaism and Christianity
    regarding the sanctity of life and stated that "accordingly, we condemn all
    acts that desecrate this sanctity, in particular violence and terror against
    innocents and especially when this involves the abuse of the name of God and
    religion."

    Rabbi David Rosen, the international director of interreligious affairs for
    the American Jewish Committee and honorary adviser to the Chief Rabbinate on
    interfaith matters, welcomed the declaration, but said that it was only the
    beginning of the process.

    "It is significant in that the head of the Church of Cyprus is making this
    declaration," he said. "But the main importance is the potential to expand
    the content of this declaration to the greater part of the Orthodox world."

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  • Thursday, December 08, 2011

    Video: Capitol Celebration - Dance of Peace

    Women With Wings concluded the annual noon celebration of Interfaith Awareness Week with one of the Dances of Universal Peace from the Sufi Order of the West.

    This video capture at the Wisconisn Capitol on December 7, 2011 by Rev. John-Brian Paprock.



    to podcast or download, click on link below
    http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/interfaithsociety.xml

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  • Audio: Interfaith Encounters For A Better World

    At the Wisconsin State Capitol, Reverend Selena Fox, local and international speaker and organizer, was the the keynote speaker at the Capitol Celebration noon program of Interfaith Awareness Week on Wednesday, December 7, 2011.

    For more details: http://interfaithsociety.blogspot.com/2011/11/interfaith-awareness-week-2011-details.html

    The title of Rev. Fox's address was "Interfaith Encounters For A Better World."

    Rev. Anne Wynne, co-coordinator of the 14th Annual Interfaith Awareness Week, made the introduction.

    for podcast and download:
    http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/interfaithsociety.xml
    Listen online here:

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  • Tuesday, December 06, 2011

    WCC NEWS: Equal rights for all the measure of religious freedom

    World Council of Churches - News

    EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL THE MEASURE FOR ASSESSING FREEDOM OF RELIGION
    For immediate release: 06 December 2011

    An international study process developed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) is preparing a report on freedom of religion as a fundamental human right for all.

    The fundamental rights of freedom of religion or belief are often violated by both governments and individuals, acting either on their own behalf or as members of majority groups. Despite significant initiatives taken by states and the international community, religious minorities in several parts of world are becoming the targets of discrimination, acts of violence or hostility and persecution because of their religion.

    The extent to which freedom of religion or belief can be considered as an absolute right in pluralistic societies, as well as its relation to various aspects of human rights, was the centre of discussion among experts who participated at an international consultation organized by the WCC's Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA).

    Equal rights of all individuals in any society should be the broader parameter which should be seen beyond legal measures when addressing the issue of the Freedom of Religion and belief in today's global context: This was the principle emphasized by thirty experts from 23 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.

    The consultation was held in Istanbul, Turkey from 28 November to 2 December and hosted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

    Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima, vice-moderator of WCC Central Committee, opening the international consultation, stated that "the role of all religions and their adherents must take special interest in protecting the rights of all individuals irrespective of their religious affiliations. Protecting the rights of believers of all religions must be important in fostering peace with justice and equality."

    Ambassador Theodoros J. Theodorou of Greece said in his keynote presentation that "Nations must take seriously the provisions of international human rights treaties by integrating them into their own legal systems. More systematic efforts need to be made so that governments around the world enact the meaningful legislation designated to curb religious persecutions."

    Religious freedom a historic focus of WCC

    The history of the WCC's contributions in addressing concerns related to freedom of religion and human rights was recalled by CCIA director Dr. Mathews George Chunakara.

    He pointed out that the CCIA, which was formed in 1946 jointly by the International Missionary Council and the structure preparing the foundation of the WCC, undertook as one of its first tasks to press for international standards on religious freedom. WCC's contribution to drafting article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) has been widely recognized.

    "All countries and their governments which ratified various human rights declarations or conventions and covenants, including the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=235bdda6280d29140522 ), are obliged to uphold the human rights of all citizens. But in reality this is not being observed and more and more people are facing serious threats to their right to freedom of religion and the right to exist as religious minorities," said Mathews George.

    A report on religious freedom will be presented to the next CCIA meeting which is to be held in the People's Republic of China in June 2012. Christina Papazoglou, WCC programme executive for human rights, said that the "study consultation has analyzed reports from 27 countries in five regions, and several examples of violations have been highlighted from various countries as well as positive responses showing ways to protect freedom of religion."

    "In moving forward," Papazoglou added, "the participants in the consultation have encouraged the full participation of church leaders in public life and the involvement of political, religious and social institutions in upholding the right of religious freedom. Furthermore, they emphasized the need for strengthening the existing protection mechanisms and devising effective safeguards against violations of national and international law relating to religious freedom."

    The study process on Freedom of Religion and Rights of Religious Minorities was initiated by the CCIA in its 50th meeting held in Albania in 2010, and a special working group has been formed by the CCIA to evaluate the study. More information on the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=d9d0d1fe278d743f97bc ) Read also: Ecumenical Patriarch highlights freedom of religion and minority rights (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=a1ff5eda0facb78d8f94 ) (WCC press release of 1 December 2011)

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  • Monday, December 05, 2011

    Middleton Public Library Interfaith Display

    This is the display case at Middleton Public Library during the installation for Interfaith Awareness.  The display will be up all December 2011.  Middleton Library: 7425 Hubbard Avenue Middleton, WI
    (608) 831-5564  www.midlibrary.org/


    The Middleton Mayor signed the proclamation for Interfaith Awareness Week for the sixth year in a row. The Middleton Public Library once again hosts a display for the month of December.

    The proclamation is on display along with various symbols and quotes from the variety of faith traditions in the Middleton Area.




     

    Alice Pauser installing this year's display at the Middleton Public Library main display case on December 1, 2011.  


  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • WEDNESDAY - Interfaith Awareness Week events

    Wednesday 12/7/11

    CAPITOL EVENT - 12 NOON
    IN THE WISCONSIN CAPITOL ROTUNDA


    Rev. Selena Fox will be the keynote speaker at the annual Capitol Celebration of Interfaith Awareness week.


    In Addition:
    2011 COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSES


    The Madison Eckankar Community (Community HU Prayer Song by people of all spiritual paths and religions)


    7pm at the Gates of Heaven, 302 E. Gorham St in James Madison Park


    Followed by fellowship and refreshments.

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • SATURDAY - Interfaith Awareness Week Events

    2011 COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSES
    Interfaith Awareness Week - December 4th- 10th

    These are special events of faith and interfaith communities during Interfaith Awareness Week. They are open and free to everyone. These are presented in addition to the annual Capitol Celebration (12-7-11) and displays in the Capitol Rotunda (Monday thru Friday)



    Saturday 12/10/11

    Circle Sanctuary Interfaith Open House
    2 - 5 pm 5354 Meadowvale Road, Barneveld, WI 53507

    3 pm talk by Selena Fox on Winter Solstice customs & traditions.

    Free, open to the public, warm cider & other refreshments.

    For more info, call (608) 924-2216 or mailto:events@circlesanctuary.org

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • FRIDAY - Interfaith Awareness Week events

    2011 COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSES
    Interfaith Awareness Week - December 4th- 10th

    These are special events of faith and interfaith communities during Interfaith Awareness Week. They are open and free to everyone. These are presented in addition to the annual Capitol Celebration (12-7-11) and displays in the Capitol Rotunda (Monday thru Friday)



    Friday 12/9/11

    Unitarian Universalism & Humanist Union
    5 pm, Prairie UU Society, 2010 Whenona Way, Madison, WI
    Short presentation, tours and light refreshments.

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • THURSDAY - Interfaith Awareness Week events

    2011 COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSES
    Interfaith Awareness Week - December 4th- 10th

    These are special events of faith and interfaith communities during Interfaith Awareness Week. They are open and free to everyone. These are presented in addition to the annual Capitol Celebration (12-7-11) and displays in the Capitol Rotunda (Monday thru Friday)

    Thursday 12/8/11

    An Interfaith Potluck Evening Meal and Mingling
    History of the Madinah Islamic Academy (short program)
    Gather at 6 pm; eat at 6:30 pm, Westminster Presbyterian Church 4100 Nakoma Road , Madison, WI
    Fellowship Hall which is w/c accessible via the Yuma Street entrance and elevator

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • Interfaith Awareness Week - Gubernatorial Proclamation


    2011 is the 14th consecutive year that the governor of Wisconsin has proclaimed "Interfaith Awareness Week." 

    This is the fourth governor to proclaim the week of December 10th as "Interfaith Awareness Week" since 1998.

    This is the oldest and longest running state proclamation of a week designated for community awareness of the diversity of faith traditions in contemporary society. 

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • Saturday, December 03, 2011

    TUESDAY - Interfaith Awareness Week Events

    2011 COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSES
    Interfaith Awareness Week - December 4th- 10th

    These are special events of faith and interfaith communities during Interfaith Awareness Week. They are open and free to everyone. These are presented in addition to the annual Capitol Celebration (12-7-11) and displays in the Capitol Rotunda (Monday thru Friday)

    Tuesday 12/6/11

    Sixth Annual Good Neighbor Interfaith Celebration/Gathering
    6:30 pm at the Middleton Public Library~ Archer Room 7425 Hubbard Ave, Middleton
    Join an open dialogue and panel with a multi-faith panel “Light for Dark Times” For more info: inroads@minister.com, 242-4244

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • MONDAY - Interfaith Awareness Week Events

    2011 COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSES
    Interfaith Awareness Week - December 4th- 10th

    These are special events of faith and interfaith communities during Interfaith Awareness Week. They are open and free to everyone. These are presented in addition to the annual Capitol Celebration (12-7-11) and displays in the Capitol Rotunda (Monday thru Friday)

    Monday 12/5/11

    Madison Baha'i Center Open House
    6:30 - 9:00 pm, Baha’i Center 324 W. Lakeside St. Madison, WI

    Brief presentation on the Bahai Faith at 7:00
    Informal tours of the Center - Refreshments & socializing

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • SUNDAY - Interfaith Awareness Week Events

    2011 COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSES
    Interfaith Awareness Week - December 4th- 10th

    These are special events of faith and interfaith communities during Interfaith Awareness Week. They are open and free to everyone. These are presented in addition to the annual Capitol Celebration (12-7-11) and displays in the Capitol Rotunda (Monday thru Friday)


    Sunday 12/4/11

    Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Chapel
    9:30 am 621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3, Madison, WI
    Syrian Orthodox Liturgy of St James entirely in English, followed by fellowship
    transfiguration@usa.com 242-4244 (voicemail) http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/







    Madison Eckankar Community (Ancient Wisdom for Today)
    10:30 am. Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, 953 Jenifer Street, Madison WI
    Eck Worship Service followed by pot luck and fellowship.


    American Hindu Association
    11 am Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Wisconsin, 2138 S Fish Hatchery Rd, Fitchburg, WI 53575

    Worship Service followed by fellowship.

    In Milwaukee Area:

    http://www.hafsite.org/media/pr/first-milwaukee-awareness-fundraising-event

    You're Invited To HAF's First Milwaukee Awareness & Fundraising Event

    Join the Hindu American Foundation at its first ever event in Milwaukee, WI. Learn more about the Foundation and its advocacy efforts, meet its staff, and see how you can help build a professional and credible Hindu American voice!

    Date: Sunday, December 4, 2011
    Time: 12:30 - 2:30pm
    Location: Hindu Temple of Wisconsin, N4063 W243 Pewaukee Road, Pewaukee, WI 53072
    RSVP: office@hafsite.org or 202-223-8222

    Keynote Speakers:
    Sheetal Shah, Senior Director based in New York City, holds a Masters degree from the London School of Economics. She focuses on communicating with and expanding HAF’s membership base, fundraising and finances, and building and promoting the HAF brand through various means including the Foundation’s website. A former member of the Foundation’s Executive Council, Ms. Shah is well-experienced in HAF’s human rights campaign and various community outreach efforts. Ms. Shah is also actively involved with the MATCH charter school in Boston, MA.

    Suhag Shukla, Esq., is a Co-Founder of HAF as well as its Managing Director and Legal Counsel. As Managing Director, Ms. Shukla builds strategic inter and intrafaith relations. As Legal Counsel, Ms. Shukla provides analysis on key issues including the separation of church and state, equal protection, religious discrimination and immigration reform. She also focuses on improving the public portrayal of Hinduism and its presentation in public school textbooks. Ms. Shukla is actively involved with Chinmaya Mission and serves on the Board of the Nirvana Center, a Bhutanese resettlement center, as well as the YWCA of Minneapolis. She also serves on religious advisory committees for the Guibord Center - Religion Inside Out and the Council on Foreign Relations.

    All are welcome to join. Attendance is free!

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  • Faith Awareness Opportunities

    OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
    “To learn more about each others' beliefs in the spirit of community”
    ~ DECEMBER 2011~

    December includes holy days for many area religious traditions.

    The main holy days in December 2011 are:

    o ADVENT (preparation for the Birth of Jesus Christ) continues through December 25 in most churches (for a small number, it will continue through January 6)

    o ST. NICHOLAS DAY is December 6th in Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. This is the saint that Santa Claus is based.

    o MUHARRAM (Muslim) beginning November 26 is the beginning of the Muslim year and celebration of the first Islamic community at Medina.

    o ASHURA is a Shi’ite holy time for the first ten days of Muharram, with a festival December 5.

    o HANUKKAH (Jewish) beginning December 20 ~ A menorah is lit each evening for a week.

    o WINTER SOLSTICE is sacred to several traditions including Shinto, Wicca and Native American.

    o CHRISTMAS (December 25) marks the birth or NATIVITY of Jesus Christ. Some Orthodox Christians will celebrate this festival on January 7th. Armenians, on January 6th.

    o Traditional “Winter” holy days for Hindu, Baha’i, and Sikh fall in November this year. In addition, HAJJ & EID AL-ADHA (for Muslims) fell on November 5 & 6 ~ these are the days of pilgrimage. The Eid (festival) observed even when not on pilgrimage.

    In addition to the Interfaith Awareness Week events, here are more opportunities:

    SUNDAY
    Christian Churches have regular Sunday morning services – check the Worship Directory in most local newspapers. Many other religious groups meet for weekly gatherings on Sundays out of convenience, including Buddhist, Sikh and others.

    FRIDAY
    Muslims Gather for mid-day Community Prayers at Madison Area Mosques and Campus locations

    SATURDAY
    Jewish Services begin Friday at Sunset, usually at home, and then gather Saturday at Madison Area Synagogues and Campus locations

    Looking forward
    THE 15th ANNUAL INTERFAITH AWARENESS WEEK
    ~ DECEMBER 9-15, 2012 ~
    11TH ANNUAL CAPITOL CELEBRATION ~ MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012
    “encouraging citizens to learn more about each others' beliefs in the spirit of community.”

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • Thursday, December 01, 2011

    Madison Times Article: Interfaith encounters for a better world

     
    "Interfaith encounters for a better world"
    by A. David Dahmer
    November 30, 2011

    [picture of selena fox] Rev. Selena Fox will be the keynote speaker at Interfaith Awareness Week

    Rev. Jon-Brian Paprock feels that the only way to have real peace is to understand our differences.


    Muslim, Judaism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Bahai, Pagan, Buddhism, Christianity … People of different religions and faith traditions will again gather at the capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 7 as part of Interfaith Awareness Week. Reverend Selena Fox, local and international speaker and organizer, will be the keynote speaker at the noon program.  Then title of her address will be "Interfaith Encounters For A Better World."  


    “Interfaith Awareness Week is an opportunity for people in the Madison area and throughout the state to learn about people of different faiths and to learn a little about themselves so we can be a better community,” says Interfaith Awareness Week organizer Jon-Brian Paprock. “It's about moving away from misunderstanding and intolerance but it's more than that... it's about developing community and understanding that people are born different, they believe differently, and they act differently but that doesn't make them somebody to be avoided or to be scared of.”


    This is the 14th Annual Interfaith Awareness Week proclaimed by the Wisconsin governor and other leaders.  There will be displays of world religions and interfaith groups in the capitol rotunda from Monday, Dec. 5 through Friday, Dec. 9.


    “Fourteen years ago [former Gov.] Tommy Thompson signed the first proclamation of Interfaith Awareness week in the state,” Paprock remembers. “Wisconsin was the first state ever to have a proclamation made. This was even before [former President] Bill Clinton signed an Interfaith document. Wisconsin was a pioneer in this idea of interfaith awareness as being important to our community.”


    On Tuesday Dec. 6, there will be an interfaith dialogue event in Middleton. In the evening (6:30pm), the 6th Annual Good Neighbor Interfaith Gathering will meet at the Middleton Library to discuss "Light For Dark Times."


    The Capitol Celebration on Wednesday Dec. 7, in addition to Rev. Fox's address, will have the also have the Interfaith Awareness Week proclamation read aloud by senior student of Sauk Prairie High School.   “They will bring the entire class down and we let one of the kids read the proclamation,” Paprock says. “This year we've gone with an all-woman theme.


    The event will include music from Women With Wings and an opening prayer from Muslim women's leader, Rohany Nayan.  Interfaith Awareness Week co-coordinators, Rev Anne Wynne and Rev  Paprock, will be making introductions and welcoming remarks.


    “There's no question that humanity has diversified and is diverse,” Paprock says. “Here we are in a culture that we are literally seconds from communicating around the world with Facebook, Tweeting, and Internet.  We end up connecting with people all over the world — very diverse peoples. The capacity for us to know people who are different from ourselves is much greater than it ever was before, and yet when we come back to our community here in the Madison area and find that there is a lack of understanding of our neighbors and those people around us that we walk down the street with, walk in the mall with, or are competing with on Black Friday for electronic devices.”


    Paprock is very excited about keynote speaker Rev. Selena Fox, who has been active internationally, nationally, regionally, and locally in interfaith work for more than 40 years. She is a speaker and organizer of a variety of regional and global interfaith events, including Thanksgiving Celebration, Madison-area Winter Solstice Pageant, Charter for Compassion, and Parliament of the World's Religions. She is a member of the monthly Madison Interfaith Dialogue Group and the current president of the Greater Madison Inter-religious Association.


     “It's an amazing thing because never in my wildest dream did I imagine that I would be in a regular dialog with somebody who considers themselves to be a Pagan,” Paprock says. “And yet over the years she has proven a couple of key things: that Pagans are people who have a religious belief and should be treated as anyone else who has a religious belief, and that they can be very generous and helpful and kind to society and that there are real issues of prejudice and bias built into our society that doesn't allow as much freedom of expression as we thought.”


     Rev. Fox is senior minister of Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church which has been serving Nature Religion practitioners worldwide since 1974.  Active in diversity education and religious accommodation consulting, Rev. Fox works with chaplains and other staff at a variety of institutions, including hospitals, hospices, military installations, prisons, and university campuses.  She has a master’s of science in counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and does spiritual counseling as part of her work.
    “Since the 70s, she's really done a great amount for society by bringing Pagan beliefs into dialog,” Paprock says. “ She's a pioneer in that field.”    


    There will be many open houses throughout Madison to showcase the many faiths. (see sidebar in Middleton Times paper or at www.interfaithsociety.blogspot.com ). Diverse faith groups will host these open houses, inviting people to learn about the diverse traditions in the Madison area. 


    “We use these Open Houses to show the diversity and all of the things that are going on,” Paprock says. “We're giving people more chances to learn things outside of our regular programs.”


    Interfaith Awareness Week events are co-sponsored by Inroads Ministry and the Greater Madison Inter-religious Association as well as other Madison area interfaith, religious and faith groups.


    “My personal reason for being involved is the Christian message of love of others regardless of whether they are my friend, a stranger, an enemy, or a neighborhood,” Paprock says. “The bottom line issue is that we have to live with one another on this planet at this time when so many dynamic things are happening and we have to find a way to live together in harmony and peace to the best of our ability.”

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock
  • Ecumenical Patriarch highlights freedom of religion and minority rights

    World Council of Churches - News

    ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH HIGHLIGHTS FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND MINORITY RIGHTS

    For immediate release: 01 December 2011

    In a presentation to a gathering of experts on religious freedom and
    religious rights of minorities, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said
    there must be respect for the "inherent rights of all human beings and their
    aspiration and rights of religious freedom should be important components to
    sustain tolerance among all God's creation."

    Bartholomew made his comments on 30 November at a consultation in Istanbul,
    Turkey, called Freedom of Religion and Rights of Religious Minorities which
    is sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the
    Churches on International Affairs and hosted by the Ecumenical Patriarch.

    "We are called to promote dialogue among all communities and peoples to
    create peace, harmony and tolerance in a world that is faced with violence,
    conflicts and religious hatred" Bartholomew, who is widely recognized for
    his role in promoting dialogue for peace and prophetic witness of religion
    for reconciliation. "In order to avoid such situations of hatred and
    intolerance, allowing individuals to believe, practice, and promote the
    religion according to their belief and choice without any obstacles are part
    of the rights of any individual."

    The consultation features 30 experts on religious rights from 23 different
    countries. Each are presenting case studies related to rights of religious
    minorities and religious freedom. The consultation ends 2 December.

    WCC advocacy for human rights (Link:
    http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=27f500025e65bc108fc0 )

    Accompanying churches in situations of conflict (Link:
    http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=0c18762e15650f70064e )


    The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and
    service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches
    founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox,
    Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in
    over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church.
    The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran]
    Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

  • Buy "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else" a book by Rev John Brian Paprock