he United States today is an increasingly multi-religious society, and many who are engaged in religious formation, training, and ministry are seeking opportunities to dialogue with people outside their religious tradition. 

Some programs are open to the community. Please check the CRES web site for schedule changes. All dates are in June.

* 13 Wed 3-4p  Press Conference, SPST

* 14 Thu 4-5p  Introducing the partners

* 18 Mon 7:30p  "Divided We Fall"s at the Tivoli with an expert panel and audience discussion following a special showing of this  important film about religion and violence, in cooperation with OpenCircle 816  931 0738 www.opencircleonline.com at the Tivoli, followed by a panel with Tarunjit Singh Butalia, principal respondent, Dr John Thatamanil, Prof Yehezkel Landau, the Rev Peggy Thomas (from the Academies) and  Kansas City  Star religion columnist Bill Tammeus. The panel/audience Q&A is moderated by Dr Vern Barnet; Tivoli Cinemas, 4050 Pennsylvania. 

* 23 Sat 3-5p  "Religion and the Media" panel, 5123 E Truman Rd, Holter Center Large Meeting Room. panelists:
*Jack Cashill (editor of Ingram's)
*Fatimeh El-Zahra (former editor of the UMKC campus paper, now law student)
*Tom Fox (former publisher, and before that, editor of The National Catholic Reporter)
*Dave Helling (electronic and print reporter for The Kansas City Star)
*Bill Norton (assistant features editor at The Kansas City Star including the faith page

The goals
1.Create opportunities for religiously diverse participants to learn about some of the major religious traditions in the US;
2.Generate discussion and form healthy perspectives among participants about the meaning of religious pluralism in our society;
3.Encourage the exploration of how to do public ministry in a multi-faith world from within the tradition of each participant;
4.Explore ways that different religious communities could cooperate and collaborate around common issues; and
5.Provide the basis for future partnership among participants.

Five areas of exploration for each religious tradition
1) Primary force shaping faith and practice (text, tradition, reason, experience, etc.)
2) Central narratives that shape conception of the divine, humanity's place in the world, and human relationships
3) How faith is applied to daily life in terms of spirituality and social engagement
4) View of other religious traditions
5) How to address a particular social issue, as a comparative example (poverty or situations of conflict, for example)

The Three Emphases:
1) A basic introduction to a variety of religious traditions
2) An interreligious discussion of the meaning of religious pluralism in the US.
3) An interreligious discussion of how to do public ministry within one's own tradition in a multi-faith world

The Approach is similar to that of Yehezkel Landau in his Building Abrahamic PartnershipsTM program at Hartford Seminary, including:
1) presentations clarifying the tenets and practices of each faith tradition
2) historical overviews of each tradition and how they have interacted in history
3) shared text study using source material from each tradition, including prayers
4) visits to religious centers and subsequent discussion of those liturgical experiences
5) demographic and sociological data on these communities in America
6) skills and sensitivities needed to establish and sustain effective interfaith partnerships
7) the role of the media in creating images of one another, and strategies to counter negative media stereotypes
8) developing ideas for ways and means of interfaith collaboration