During the 2010 FGC Gathering, I gave five presentations sponsored by QUF and the Christian and Interfaith Relations Committee of FGC. The series was entitled “Expanding Our Spiritual Horizons through Interfaith and Intra-faith Encounters.” Each session attracted from 15-30 Friends.
In addition to these sessions, QUF had a display with its many interesting publications (you can find downloadable copies at http://www.universalistfriends.org/). A couple of hundred QUF pamphlets were picked up by Friends, including all the ones by Sallie King and Harvey Gillman.
I also had numerous opportunities to engage in informal discussions about universalism and the interfaith movement in the dining hall and other places, including the “Contemplative Cluster” meetings that took place in my dorm. I received many positive comments as well as invitations to speak to Friends in Cambridge, Baltimore and other places… Interest was so keen I plan to travel again this summer, and will be giving a workshop on “Friends and the Interfaith Movement” at the 2011 FGC Gathering at Grinnell College in Iowa.
Here are some highlights of what happened during the formal sessions.
“God and Allah Need to Talk.” This session focused on how the Abrahamic faiths—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—responded to the post-9/11 world in creative, positive ways. I showed an upbeat video by Ruth Broyde-Sharone about interfaith seders that took place after 9/11 in Los Angeles, and we had a lively discussion about how to bring people of different faiths together. I stressed the importance of trust building and taking part in interfaith meals, celebrations, etc.
“Compassionate Listening and Mutual Irradiation: Quaker Ways to Deepen our Spiritual Awareness of Other Faiths.” This session dealt with the challenges of interfaith work—how to deal with conflict, misunderstanding, etc. especially relating to Israel/Palestine. I showed a 12-minute video about the “Compassionate Listening Project” and we talked about how this technique works. We also talked about how prayer, ritual, celebration and worship sharing (interfaith cafes) can help to create safe spaces for what Douglas Steere called “mutual irradiation.”
“Beyond belief: the future of fundamentalism and Quakerism.” I opened with the question: How can we share our faith and work with Friends and others who ascribe to a fundamentalist perspective? This led many Friends to talk about difficult encounters with fundamentalists, namely, how to respond in questions such as “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?” or are made to feel that one is going to hell for not believing a certain way. I shared with the group what I have learned from James Fowler’s book Stages of Faith and suggested that we need to be sensitive to another person’s spiritual state or condition and try to see things from another person’s stage of spiritual development. We also talked about how to respond to a fear-based religion by being grounded in love (not always easy!). I reminded Friends of the wisdom of Phil Gulley’s words: it sometimes takes a “peak experience” (or therapy) to overcome the hurt caused by spiritual abuse in childhood. Being part of a loving, supportive faith community (e.g. Friends) can also help to overcome the trauma of spiritual abuse.
Rosemary Coffey suggested a helpful way to deal with questions such as “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?” Respond with an open-ended question: “What does that mean to you?” (And be prepared to listen compassionately!)
Wendy Michener suggested using a technique known as LARA (Listen-Affirm-Respond-Add). Using LARA, one might say: “I see how believing in Jesus has saved many people from selfish and bad behavior (AFFIRMATION), and I try to live by Jesus’ teachings (RESPOND), especially when he says to ‘love your enemies.’ That is the basis of our Peace Testimony (ADD).”
We didn’t have time to go into much theological discussion, but participants in this workshop told me later that they found Sallie’s theological responses to fundamentalism very helpful. To do justice to this pamphlet would require much more time than the one hour we had to discuss it.
Recommended readings: Sallie King, A Quaker’s Response to Christian Fundamentalism (QUF, 2009) and Harvey Cox, The Future of Faith (Harper, NY: 2009).
“What is spirituality and why does it matter?” Friends in this workshop included non-theists as well as Friends who believe in God, Spirit, etc. I made it clear (and non-theists agreed) that non-theists can be “spiritual,” though their definition of spirituality doesn’t include the transcendent. I read Harvey Gillman’s definition of “spirituality” as a kind of energy that binds people together in love. We talked about the importance of spirituality both as a personal and social experience: how spirituality helps us individually to get in touch with our inward life, and how it also helps us to connect with others at a deeper level, thereby building community. We tried to clarify the difference between spirituality and religion, and concluded that although both are very different, they are not necessarily diametrically opposed. Religion can help as well as hinder our spiritual practice. We also got into an interesting discussion about a psychological concept known as a “flow state” in which a person engaged in a task such as, say, playing basketball loses a sense of ego and becomes one with the game and how this relates to spiritual practices such as prayer or Zen meditation (see the work of Csíkszentmihályi). All in all, we had a rich and deep discussion about the importance of spirituality. I concluded this session by reading Walt Whtman’s marvelous poem “Miracle,” which was quoted in Harvey Gilman’s 2009 QUF pamphlet, What is spirituality?
Why! who makes much of a miracle?
As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love—or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with my mother,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds—or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down—or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring;
Or whether I go among those I like best, and that like me best—mechanics, boatmen, farmers,
Or among the savans—or to the soiree—or to the opera,
Or stand a long while looking at the movements of machinery,Or behold children at their sports,
Or the admirable sight of the perfect old man, or the perfect old woman,
Or the sick in hospitals, or the dead carried to burial,
Or my own eyes and figure in the glass;
These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring—yet each distinct, and in its place.To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every spear of grass—the frames, limbs, organs, of men and women,and all that concerns them,
All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles.
To me the sea is a continual miracle;
The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the ships,with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?
On Friday evening I gave a presentation on the Parliament of the World’s Religion. Only ten or so Friends showed up (there were many other interest groups on Friday), but the presentation went well and inspired a thoughtful discussion. I was especially pleased that Steve Angell, a professor of religion at Earlham College, attended. He has recently published a QUF pamphlet on this trip called “Quaker in Iran” which is available at universalistfriends.org.—Anthony Manousos