by Tarunjit Singh Butalia
As a kid growing up in North India, I was thrilled whenever both my parents went out since I would have the full attention of my frail and aging grandmother.
The Day My Grandparents Left Our Ancestral Home
Abraham and the Old Man
by Carrie Sue Ayvar
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I spent every summer from the time I was a year old until I went away to college at my maternal grandparent’s house in North Miami Beach, Florida.
Grow to Give: An Interfaith Food Equity Project
by Heather Forest
Every year in my town of Huntington, Long Island, New York on Martin Luther King’s birthday, there is an interdenominational prayer service dedicated to a social justice theme.
Accessing the World’s Faith Traditions Through Story
by Vicki Garlock
Everyone loves stories, and most of us are familiar with the idea of Bible storybooks as a point of entry for kids being raised in the Judeo-Christian traditions.
In Search of a Shared Narrative
by Ralph Singh
I have been a storyteller for as long as I can remember. I honed my skills at the feet of the great Master, H.H. Baba Virsa Singh ji of Gobind Sadan. As his first foreign devotee, I had the privilege of translating stories from the lives of those we refer to as Messiah, Prophets, Avatars, and Saints.
Shedding Light Along the Way
by Pam Faro
I am not Hindu, but one of my favorite stories is: Hanuman the Monkey God came upon Lord Brahma, creator of the universe, and Lord Brahma was weeping…
Sacred Storytelling
by Mark Novak
People of faith understand the power of storytelling. We know that the meaning of our traditions are often best conveyed not by theological statements or scholarly arguments, but by telling stories.
Laughing, Learning, Listening
by Sari Heidenreich
Laughter, listening and learning — these are the three things that come flooding back to me as I look at photos from the weekend I spent at Kashi with peacebuilders from half a dozen southern states.
Digital Storytelling to Advance Peace in Pakistan
by Ruth Broyde Sharone
The iconic image of a male storyteller addressing an enraptured audience pressed shoulder to shoulder around a glowing campfire may soon be replaced by hijab and sari-clad young women holding their smart phones.
Taking Advantage of Stories
by Paul Chaffee, Editor
Truth be told, every issue of TIO is a celebration of interfaith story-telling. This month, though, we wanted to focus on the subject itself – telling stories – and the special power they have, particular when interfaith realities are addressed.
And the Enemy is Interfaith
by Paul Chaffee, Editor
“It makes me crazy!” my pastor cried out, more than once, in last week’s sermon. She was responding to a New York Times article about American Christian nationalism she’d read the day before.
Meditating on the Buddha in the Midst of Buddhist Terror
by Richard Reoch
The Buddha was no stranger to genocide. His own people, the Sakyas, were the victims of mass slaughter. One of the final acts of his life, recounted in the opening verses of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, was to refuse a request to give his blessing to an act of genocide.
Preparing the Heart for Engagement
by Ruth Broyde Sharone
There is one particular passage in the Torah, in the tenth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, that both disturbs and delights me. For centuries it has provoked lively debate and wide-ranging interpretations among our sages and rabbis.
Reimagining Interfaith: Taking Our Lead from Kids
by Vicki Garlock
The interfaith movement is all about bringing people together. Most of the time we focus on adults, and social justice issues. Don’t get me wrong. I fully support any and all interfaith efforts. But we need to do more, and we need to do it better.
Where do we go from Here?
by Tarunjit Singh Butalia
As a kid growing up in Punjab, India my first formative engagement with interfaith understanding was with a high school friend who was Muslim.
Naming, Growing, and Collaborating
by Marcus Braybrooke
What’s in a name? In June, the Three Faiths Forum, founded 21 years ago in the UK, is changing its name to the Faith & Belief Forum. This reflects the way its work has expanded to include people of all faiths and beliefs, both religious and non-religious.
Opening the Door to Collaboration
by Paul Chaffee
The most important thing to know about Reimagining Interfaith (RI), the upcoming conference in Washington DC (July 28-August 1), is how collaborative it is.
Reimagining Interfaith Narratives
by Aaron Stauffer
Good organizers consistently emphasize the importance of leaders “understanding” and “working” on their stories. When they are first getting to know a leader, they ask questions like: What keeps you up at night?
Reimagining the "White Man's Burden"
by Maha Elgenaidi
After decades of leading a national nonprofit that counters bigotry through education, I am now firmly convinced that we need new partners to overcome racism, Islamophobia, and exclusivist thinking in our nation.
From the Shared Love of Justice and Humanity
by Kathleen A. Green
Three years ago, I shared my idea for a doctorate of ministry dissertation – bringing humanists and religious adherents together in interfaith engagement – and received some blank stares, a few shaking heads, and even a couple of flat out discouraging declarations such as “What’s the point?