It all began when I sat next to Prof. Barbara McGraw at an Interfaith Youth Core conference in Chicago in 2009. We were both impressed by the energy and passion of the religiously diverse young people gathered to talk about models of interfaith cooperation. Having helped launch the IFYC in my younger days and now learning the ropes of academic life in my position at Andover Newton Theological School, it struck me how powerful it would be to combine the scholarly depth of the academy with the passion of the interfaith movement. Barbara looked at me and suggested simply, “what about starting a new area at the AAR (American Academy of Religion) focused on interfaith work?”
Learning to Build Interfaith Community
Early last June, while most students were packing their books and looking forward to a summer respite from papers and tests, twenty-three women and men, affiliated with Boston Theological Institute’s network of seminaries, participated in an intensive two-week seminar focused on developing interfaith leadership and community-building skills.
Finding My Voice in Interfaith Work
“16 Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”… 22 So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab.”
- The Book of Ruth, Chapter 1