by Donald Mackenzie
Date: Wednesday, November 20 at 9:00 AM PDT
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Cost: Suggested donation $10 US.
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Watch the Recording of the Program
Description
Welcome to the deeper dimensions of interfaith dialogue―exploring that which divides us personally, spiritually and institutionally.
"We believe that interfaith dialogue holds the key to a healing that calls us back to purpose and to meaning. We have risked confronting aspects of our traditions usually hidden, and the consequences have been deeply life-affirming. We risk becoming vulnerable as we share awkward and even unacceptable texts and interpretations, but it is this very vulnerability that allows our dialogue to move forward."
~ from the Introduction
Expanding on the conversation started with their very successful first book, the Interfaith Amigos―a pastor, a rabbi and an imam―probe more deeply into the problem aspects of our religious institutions to provide a profound understanding of the nature of what divides us. They identify four common problem areas in the Abrahamic faiths:
* Exclusivity: Staking Claim to a One and Only Truth
* Violence: Justifying Brutality in the Name of Faith
* Inequality of Men and Women: The Patriarchal Stranglehold on Power
* Homophobia: A Denial of Legitimacy
They explore the origins of these issues and the ways critics use these beliefs as divisive weapons. And they present ways we can use these vulnerabilities to open doors for the collaboration required to address our common issues, more profound personal relationships, and true interfaith healing.
About Author Donald Mackenzie
Pastor Donald Mackenzie is a minister of the United Church Christ. He is a graduate of Macalester College, Princeton Theological Seminary and holds a PhD from New York University. He has served on the faculty of Princeton Seminary and was an associate minister at Nassau Presbyterian Church before becoming Pastor of the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College, a congregation of the United Church of Christ. He also served as Minister and Head of Staff at University Congregational Church in Seattle.
After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, he and Rabbi Ted Falcon and Imam Jamal Rahman formed what became known as the Interfaith Amigos. After twenty years, Rabbi Ted retired in the summer of 2022 and he and Imam Jamal welcomed Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan to their interfaith work.
Don’s country band, Life’s Other Side, played at the Midnight Jamboree at the Grand Ol’ Opry in Nashville in January of 2005. They also recorded the soundtrack for the documentary film “Family Name.”
About Facilitator Jamal Rahman
Jamal Rahman, Imam, Writer, Speaker, Spiritual Advisor, is a popular speaker on Islam, Sufi spirituality, and interfaith relations. Along with his Interfaith Amigos, he has been featured in the New York Times, CBS News, BBC, and various NPR programs.
Jamal is co-founder and Muslim Sufi minister at Interfaith Community Sanctuary and adjunct faculty at Seattle University. He is a former co-host of Interfaith Talk Radio and travels nationally and internationally, presenting at retreats and workshops.
He is the author of Sacred Laughter of the Sufis: Awakening the Soul with the Mullah's Comic Teaching Stories and Other Islamic Wisdom; Spiritual Gems of Islam: Insights & Practices from the Qur'an, Hadith, Rumi & Muslim Teaching Stories to Enlighten the Heart & Mind; The Fragrance of Faith: The Enlightened Heart of Islam; and co-author of Finding Peace Through Spiritual Practice: The Interfaith Amigos Guide to Personal, Social, and Environmental Healing; Religion Gone Astray: What We Found at the Heart of Interfaith; Out of Darkness into Light: Spiritual Guidance in the Quran with Reflections from Jewish and Christian Sources; and Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: The Eye-Opening, Hope-Filled Friendship of a Pastor, a Rabbi, and an Imam; and The Teachers of Spiritual Wisdom: Gaining Perspective on Life's Perplexing Questions co-authored with Duncan S. Ferguson and Mary Petrina Boyd.
His most recent publication is Fragrance of the Qur'an, Reflections on Verses of Beauty and Wisdom.
Jamal's passion lies in interfaith community building. He remains rooted in his Islamic tradition and cultivates a "spaciousness" by being open to the beauty and wisdom of other faiths. By authentically and appreciatively understanding other paths, Jamal feels that he becomes a better Muslim.
This spaciousness is not about conversion but about completion. Since 9/11 Jamal has been collaborating with Rabbi Ted Falcon and Pastor Don Mackenzie. Affectionately known as the Interfaith Amigos, they tour the country sharing the message of spiritual inclusivity. In 2022, Rabbi Ted Falcon decided to retire and Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan has been welcomed in his place.
Imam Jamal, originally from Bangladesh, has an abiding faith in the power of heart-to-heart connections to encompass differences and dissolve prejudices. He enjoys programs that celebrate life and unity through delight, laughter, and food. He has a private spiritual counseling practice serving individuals and couples, and is available for interfaith weddings and ceremonies.
Jamal offers a variety of classes and workshops, including the popular "Blush of the Beloved," a course in spiritual deepening and discernment drawing upon the practices, insights, and wisdom within Sufism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
About Facilitator Laura Duhan-Kaplan
Laura Duhan-Kaplan is Director of Inter-Religious Studies and Professor of Jewish Studies at the Vancouver School of Theology, and Rabbi Emerita of Or Shalom Synagogue.
She has won many awards for her teaching of religion and philosophy, including the Carnegie Foundation’s prestigious U.S. Professor of the Year.
Rabbi Laura is the author of Mouth of the Donkey: Re-Imagining Biblical Animals and Shechinah, Bring Me Home: Kabbalah and the Omer in Real Life. She has also collaboratively authored four books on interfaith topics including friendship, reconciliation, othering, and hope.
She is delighted to be part of the Interfaith Amigos, after admiring their work for many years.
When Rabbi Laura is not working or exploring spiritual practice, she’s usually volunteering at a synagogue or interfaith initiative; hiking, singing, or leading prayer services with her spouse; laughing with family; or hanging out with companion animals.
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