by Heidi Bright Parales, DisciplesWorld contributing writer

INDIANAPOLIS (1/30/09) — A new Interfaith Toolkit is available online, providing Disciples congregations with numerous resources for interfaith encounters and study. How-to guides, models to follow and reflective materials on interfaith relationships are featured.

The toolkit, developed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in partnership with the United Church of Christ and Presbyterian Church (USA), includes the following:

•    Ideas on how to get started in interfaith relations (including concise introductions to five major religions; strategies for living together as friends; and a bulletin insert);
•    Basic guides and troubleshooting tips (including frequently encountered challenges; guidelines for respecting religious diversity in one’s community; and “Visiting the Other Children of Abraham,” published in the October 2008 issue of DisciplesWorld magazine);
•    Interfaith dialogue models that work;
•    Workshop information and further study materials (including a Disciples interfaith study guide and a list of recommended books); and
•    Resources for faithful witness among neighbors (including a resource about issues of evangelism viewed from both an evangelical and a mission perspective).

Interfaith dialogue will be increasingly important as the United States becomes more and more a society made up of differing faith groups, said Robert Welsh, president of the Council on Christian Unity, who worked on the kit.

“It is reported that there are more Muslims in the USA today than Episcopalians,” he said. “Interfaith is no longer a topic related to learning about persons on the other side of our world, but an issue of learning to live with persons in our own back yards and our own communities.”

This makes interfaith dialogue and engagement one of the top priorities in the life of Disciples and the ecumenical church, he said. Christians seek to help people understand those of other faiths, especially now that many current wars and hostilities have, at their base, issues involving religion.

“Surely religion should be about advancing understanding and peace, rather than supporting hatred and war,” he said.

He said he suspects the biggest barriers to interfaith dialog are prejudice and lack of knowledge or experience with people of other faiths. The new toolkit is designed to address those issues.

The Disciples interfaith study guide, linked to from the toolkit website, is designed for small groups and includes six study sessions on the “Disciples of Christ and Interreligious Engagement” report created by the CCU and the UCC Council for Ecumenism. The second part of the guide is a “Key Questions for Disciples of Christ and Interreligious Engagement,” including questions related to the report.

The handbook on Faithful Living Workshops grew out of an ecumenical project involving four communities in the United States, conducted by Jay T. Rock, coordinator for interfaith relations with the Presbyterian Church (USA), and funded by the Greenville Foundation and the UCC/Disciples of Christ.

During a Faithful Living Workshop, a group of people from a variety of traditions spend three full days living and sharing their stories together. Through structured sessions, they engage each other in exploring what is involved in trying to live as a person of faith. 

The Interfaith Toolkit planning team included Welsh; Rock; Peter Makari, area executive, Middle East and Europe, Global Ministries; and Lydia Veliko, ecumenical officer, UCC.

“Our goal was to create an easy-to-use, hands-on resource for folk in congregations and local settings who have a variety of experiences and backgrounds, from beginner to experienced, in a format that would be available on the internet,” Welsh said.