URI Lights Up San Francisco!
January 29th, 2006
On Saturday, January 21st, 2006, 27 souls came together "with spirits united for peace, justice, and healing" at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio in San Francisco, California. They joined "URI sisters and brothers around the world" as part of a distributed, global Meeting of members. Participants made new connections, enthusiastically shared the nature of their organizations’ work, and candidly discussed the nature and inclusiveness of the emerging culture of interfaith dialogue.
URI Members at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio. Photo by Anne Roth.
The San Francisco Bay area is home to both the URI Global Support Staff and to 14 Cooperation Circles (CCs) – giving the region the highest concentrations of CCs in North America. The 27 participants together represented 15 CCs, 7 staff members and volunteers, 2 members of the board of the North American Interfaith Network, and 5 guests not presently affiliated with the URI.
In addressing the "culture of dialogue," it was clear that there are two dominant modes of being in the interfaith movement – outward and inward, or service and dialogue oriented. Some groups seem to thrive in both domains. But some, finding action preferable to dialogue, focus their energy on service to humanity. Others feel that they cannot accomplish anything together without coming to know themselves and each other better. The one thing that is clear is this – every interfaith group is different and no one mode is appropriate for all.
Beyond the service / dialogue dichotomy, the concept of "interfaith dialogue" came into question. Several participants felt that our ways of dialoguing were in danger of becoming so rigid that they may become, paradoxically, exclusive. It was observed that many people are not willing to express the openness required in traditional dialogue, or simply do not immediately catch on to the language we tend to use. To be truly inclusive, we must recognize these tendencies and work to make a comfortable space at the table for all.
It was truly exciting to hear about the amazing projects in which Bay Area CCs are involved, such as the International Convention on Human Rights; Ik Onkar’s essay competition asking young people to reflect on what they have learned in their encounters with other faiths; a renewal of local programs by the Bridge CC, a group that bridges URI with the Parliament; opportunities for connecting with the real life-and-death interfaith in many parts of the world; and many more. Amongst the "not-yet-CCs" was a group working on global warming, and individuals working with interfaith dimensions of family and health.
Though our time together was short, everyone left the gathering with smiles, and, I hope, feeling greater appreciation for the URI and renewed dedication to the interfaith movement for "peace, justice, and healing."