A City In The Philippines Just Gave Us The Most Powerful Example Of Interfaith Cooperation

In September, Zamboanga City in the Philippines was ravaged by an armed conflict between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the local government. The battle created tension between local Christians and Muslims, but when the fighting ended, members of both religious groups joined forces to pick up the pieces, the Inquirer Mindanao reports.

Hospitality, Community, and Friendliness

Mollie Griminger*

Originally published in KidSpirit's God issue. In her essay for the Global Beat, Mollie reflected on whether people with different conceptions of God could live together peacefully, using her community as an example.

3 Reasons Interfaith Efforts Matter More Than Ever

Eboo Patel

In the wake of the Boston attack and manhunt, I've been getting a lot of messages about how interfaith efforts matter more than ever, and I've sent out a volley of tweets expressing the same sentiment myself. So, does this view hold up to analysis, or is it just a surface salve for a really deep wound?

Sacramento church will celebrate Easter at Muslim center

Bill Lindelof

A large Sacramento Christian congregation soon to be without a home will celebrate Easter at an Islamic center.

Spiritual Life Center of Sacramento, whose lease expires March 31 at a downtown church, will be conducting Easter services at the Sacramento Area League of Muslims (SALAM) property near American River College.

Matters of Faith: Interfaith prayer in times of trouble

Rabbi Brad L. Bloom

The ultimate irony after the Sandy Hook Elementary School slayings in Newtown, Conn., occurred recently when Pastor Rob Morris of the Missouri Synod Branch of the Lutheran Church was reprimanded by his national leadership for participating in the interfaith service held immediately after the shootings.

According to wire services, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod President Matthew Harrison stated "the presence of prayers and religious readings" was a violation of their policy and teachings.

Amen (again) to faith-based initiatives

John J. DiIulio Jr.*

You probably know that millions of low-income children receive federally-funded free and reduced-price meals in school. But do you have any idea how these same needy children are fed during the summer months when school is out?

No? Then ask Max Finberg, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Finberg will tell you that about 19 million children receive USDA-funded meals in school, but only about 2.3 million participate in the agency’s summer program. He will also tell you that were it not for faith-based organizations by the thousands, the annual summer spike in childhood hunger would be even worse than it is.

Building Sandwiches and Interfaith Relationships

Dionysios Koroulakis*

Once a week students from various faith groups such as the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Daughters, Jewish Student Association, Muslim Student Association, and Buddhist Meditation Sangha gather in the Village C Alumni Lounge for an industrious 40 minutes of sandwich making. The effort, producing roughly 180 sandwiches a week (at this time), is funded by those students’ own $5 contributions, a symbolic sum to highlight the necessity of personal sacrifice in service, and additional funding from Campus Ministry. Representatives of the faith groups deliver the meals to the nearby Georgetown Ministry Center—a center that cares for the needs of local homeless men and women. The center’s program director recently sent us a humbling message stating, "the sandwiches we pass out are the homeless members’ lunch... they are sometimes the only food they receive during the day," emphasizing the real and immediate difference this project can make in the lives of those without food and homes.

U.N. chief says crises show need for interfaith amity

Tom Heneghan

KAICIID opening ceremony, Nov. 26, 2012

REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

VIENNA (Reuters)- The violent crises in Syria, Gaza and Mali show how important it is for different religions to work together to promote understanding rather than sow hatred, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Monday.

Addressing the opening of a new Saudi-backed interfaith centre in Vienna, he said the Syrian conflict was "taking on troubling sectarian dimensions" and "unrest (continues) between Israelis and Palestinians."

On Thanksgiving, Jews And Muslims Volunteer Together Despite Middle East Violence

It's an idea that feels particularly poignant this Thanksgiving: American Jews and Muslims banding together to help the homeless and other needy people.

The interfaith collaboration has been going on for five years, but the recent exchange of rockets between Gaza and Israel is weighing especially hard on both communities this week. That's why a joint session of sandwich making or a group visit to a nursing home has taken on added significance.

Muslims, Jews gather at Denver mosque to help feed the hungry*

Electa Draper

(Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)

Local Muslim and Jewish groups worked together Sunday, November 18th, 2012, to make roughly 1,000 peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches to hand out to Denver's homeless and hungry at the Northeast Denver Islamic Center.