Penn PRISM, the umbrella group for religious organizations at the University of Pennsylvania, hosted an Interfaith Shabbat Meal (In Memory of Avi Schaefer) on February 8 at 7:00 pm. The Jewish tradition includes a festive Shabbat (Sabbath) meal on Friday nights as a means of honoring the day of rest and celebrating the values of family and community. The event was centered around interfaith exposure and dialogue through this ancient tradition. We were able to include prayers and rituals from various religious faiths, in addition to having 10 different faiths represented, to make it a truly interfaith meal.

An Interfaith Celebration and Dialog focusing on the "A Common Word", held simultaneously last February 4 on four major cities in the Philippines: Quezon City, Iligan City, Cebu City and Zamboanga City. It aimed to bring together members of different faiths and religious sectors as brothers and sisters to achieve a lasting peace and understanding by making Love of God and Love of neighbors center of their lives. Held in: PCID Conference Hall, Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy, UP– Diliman, Quezon City NCMF Hall, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, Cebu City Women Support Center, Zamboanga City Maahad Al-Noor Al Islamie at Ceanuri, Iligan City

Earl Hill Interfaith Academy • Dates: Tuesday evenings, 29 Jan. - 16 April, 2013. Time: 18:00-20:00 • Description: o Organizers: The Institute of Interfaith Dialog, Beth Israel Congregation, and Wells United Methodist Church. o Participants: Wells UMC congregants, Beth Israel congregants and Muslims from the Jackson metro area. o Program Duration: It is 8 week program. Each program takes 2 hours: 30 minutes for a dinner and then 90 minutes for the program. o Beginning session, 29 January 2013: o Principles for the Program 1) Enter into dialogue so that you can learn and grow, not to change the other. 2) Be conscious of the need to allow people the space to enter the discussion. Some people are less assertive about offering their thoughts, but will be encouraged to do so if more outspoken persons avoid dominating the exchange. 3) Be honest and sincere, even if that means revealing discomforts with your own tradition or that of the other. Assume that everyone else is being equally honest and sincere. 4) Everyone must be permitted to define their own religious experience and identity, and this must be respected by others. 5) Proselytizing or seeking to “convert” the conversation partner is not permitted in an interreligious dialogue setting. Participants should feel free to express their own faith traditions and beliefs, but not try to persuade others to assent to them. 6) Don’t feel that you are the spokesperson for your entire faith tradition or that you ought somehow to know everything there is to know about it. Admit any confusion or uncertainty you might have if a puzzling question arises. 7) Don’t assume in advance where points of agreement or disagreement will exist. 8) Everyone should be willing to be self-critical. 9) All should strive to experience the other’s faith “from within” and be prepared to view themselves differently as a result of an “outside” perspective. 10) Trust is a must. o Introductions: Participants split into small groups of six to eight with at least two members of each faith present in each group. They should take 10-15 minutes to get to know one another and then introduce discuss and share the following questions: 1) What religious values are most important to you? 2) Why are you interested in Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue? 3) What ritual item most represents your religion (e.g., something that you may have at home)? How does this item capture the meaning of your religion to you? o Goal Setting: After the introductions, participants should spend a few minutes, as a large group, enumerating their goals for this dialogue: 1) What are your individual goals and motives for participating in this dialogue? 2) What do you hope to be able to take away from this dialogue? 3) What do you hope the benefits to your community will be in participating in this dialogue? o • Location: Beth Israel Congregation, Wells United Methodist Church, and the Institute of Interfaith Dialog. Jackson, Mississippi, USA. • Event Type: Lecture/Seminar, Other. • Name: Institute of Interfaith Dialog • Email: [email protected] • Phone: +16014544782 • Website: http://interfaithdialog.org/upcoming-events/1371-earl-hill-interfaith-academy

Coinciding with the World Interfaith Harmony Week, on the 19th of February, 20 private and UNRWA schools (350 high school students) joined our interfaith workshop "Who is my Neighbor?", which was held at the Islamic Educational College- Jabal Amman, pointing how interfaith dialogue can positively influence the Jordanian local community through creating good local and global citizenship, and how Jordan is acting as a model in interfaith harmony for communities of surrounding countries specially in the turbulent times of the Arab Spring. Special guests were: 1. Rev.Fr. Nabil Haddad Director of Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center 2. H.E. Sheikh Dr. Hamdi Murad Member of Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center Professor of Islamic Sharia'a 3. Sister Dr. Lylia Al Nimri Principal of Rosary College Marj Al Hamam. 4. Members of the Islamic Educational College (IEC) board and Principals of ICE 5 branches. We started the event by the royal anthem, and some verses from the Holy Quran. Welcoming note and sharing about interfaith Harmony in Jordan was presented by the Face To Faith country coordinator Carol Jadoun. Welcoming note from Director General Mr. Ghaleb Al Mu'men. The Rosary College presented a PPP about "Who is my neighbor in Christianity" with 2 students commenting on it. The presentation had a part of Jesus film and many verses from the Bible about accepting and living peacefully with the different other. IEC presented a short video about "Who is my neighbor in Islam", the video shared many verses from the Holy Quran about coexistence and respecting the others beliefs. Father Nabil and sheikh Hamdi had a wonderful one hour discussion with students about interfaith in Jordan, how it started, its challenges, its reality in Jordan and its benefits on the community…they answered many challenging questions asked by students. I list some of them below: 1 - Does Christianity says that they should fight Islam? And why all west world are fighting against Islam? 2. How does Media affect our conceptions about the other faith? Why we don’t see many strong relations between Muslims and Christians? 3. How come you say that you are twins? How could you develop this strong relationship while you are from different faiths? 4. How come the bible says the Jesus is the son of God while Islam says God has no sons? Can you explain this? And many other questions that has to do with Interfaith and youth in Jordan. Students from 5 schools ( 13 students ) shared their wonderful experience in participating in FTF program and encouraged their colleagues to be a part of it. . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F69XjdXL9E0&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ucDhSnGYBY&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwrt8HKvfAY&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5LxUldCTbM&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOWcRhKP65c&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBXUShOjCnA&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn4e_ansbxE&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1WCj2H6iXg&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdUBCqW3qAQ&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECj9Uw6yH1U&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Yf8Sch7yU&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcLwa6gQyDQ&feature=youtu.be Mr. Ghaleb Mumen and Ms. Carol Jadoun handed the certificates to IEC students and teachers. Then Carol handed the school certificate and trophies to guests. Then Closure and Group picture. Ps) Journalist from the Jordan Times attended the whole event.

Religions for Peace (RfP) is an international charity formally founded in 1970 after the World Conference of Religions for Peace in Kyoto, but in fact RfP’s earliest activities dates back to 1961 when a handful of senior religious leaders from the world’s major faith traditions started organising a “religious summit” to explore the need for believers to take action towards achieving a common goal for peace. In the past decades, RfP has been able to forge co-operative relationships with worldwide affiliates in Africa, Asia and Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Caribbean, and North America. We have built global networks for youth and also for women of faith which are spear-heading peace movements in different localities and amongst all faith groups. The UK chapter of RfP (RfPUK) is an integral part of the European Branch, and given that UK has benefitted from very solid ground work and is enjoying the fruits of open communication between faiths, our work has moved beyond merely facilitating dialogue into actively soliciting community involvement in making a personal difference in the peace movement. In celebrating the World Interfaith Harmony Week, RfPUK has organised an event named: “Choice: Empathy or Enmity”. It was a talk which took place at the House of Lords, Westminster Parliamentary Offices, which was hosted and chaired by Lord John Alderdice FRCPsynch. He was an integral part of the Northern Ireland peace process and is much appreciated for his continued efforts in championing RfPUK’s peace movement activities. The talk featured Jo Berry, daughter of Sir Anthony Berry MP, and Pat Magee, a former IRA activist. They have come to share their extraordinary journey with the participants, and pose for us the question of “Choice”. Sir Anthony Berry MP was killed in the IRA Brighton Bombing during the 1984 Tory Party Conference. His daughter Jo was utterly unprepared to face the conflict which caused this event, she knew very little about the story behind the deep seated struggle which left offenders feeling that violence was the only way to raise an otherwise unheard voice. After the devastation of losing a loving parent, she has visited Ireland many times and worked with both victims and perpetrators from both sides of the argument. The Belfast born Pat Magee, former IRA activist, was responsible for the death of Jo's father. He was given multiple life sentences for his active part in the bombing. He was released under the Good Friday Agreement in 1999, and has taken on peace work since then. In November 2000, these two met, face to face. Their dialogue continues to this day. Confronted by the irreversible loss, Jo struggles on with contemplating the possibility of hope by listening to the story of her enemy. It is never plain sailing as sometimes she can understand and sometime she simply cannot. Early on, she used to refer to "forgiveness" a lot, but now she feels that the term insinuates that she occupies the moral high ground, and is hence too condescending. By trying to understand the other side of the story, through intense exchanges filled with terror, pain, anger and anxiety, her own humanity has allowed her to find empathy towards the situation, knowing that had she been raised a republican her choices might not have been so different from Pat's. Pat was given multiple life sentences for his involvement in the Brighton Bombing, and he expressed profound regret by his candid apology to have caused the loss of life and so much injury. He looks back and acknowledges that he and his partners were doing what they felt they had to do, but he is dedicated to working towards healing and restoration so that future generations will not find themselves considering violence as the only means to voice an opinion. Jo and Pat have been working together over 12 years and in more than a hundred occasions. They have made a BBC documentary film Facing the Enemy (2001) and another new film called Soldiers of Peace (2009) together. They go to talks and lectures aiming to build bridges for peace. Participants at the event were deeply moved by the frank and open dialogue between them. The emotions are still raw, and issues at hand still need to be addressed, but their willingness to hear the other side of they story and the mutual trust they have built together meant that they are able to humanize each other, learn of each others aspirations and pains, and bring themselves to seek different ways to resolve conflict. They have travelled to many places together, not least to Palestine / Israel to continue their dialogue in hope to show that there is also a place for personal undertaking in the face of national / racial conflict. The event presented a unique chance for participants to experience a very personal peace process, that out of personal conviction and differences, it is possible to reach out to find and secure a better way forward. It is not an everyday occurrence that we can come face to face with people who are on a reconciliation process, and this event hopes to be first of such series to be presented to friends and members of RfP UK.

In a manifestation of their mutual support for World Interfaith Harmony Week, Our Lady of Peace Centre and LDS Charities joined to hold a Day of Harmony celebration in Amman, Jordan, on February 2. Our Lady of Peace Centre, owned by the Latin Patriarchal Vicariate, provides vocational training programs, educational services, and counseling services for persons with mental disabilities; physiotherapy and occupational therapy for the physically disabled; and early intervention for autism and other cases. LDS Charities has supported the Centre’s efforts by providing therapy equipment and specialized training for cerebral palsy. The two organizations are also co-sponsoring an upcoming symposium for autism awareness, detection, and treatment. Every seat in the audience was filled by family members of disabled children who were present for the introduction of the Centre’s new training program for mothers.

Prisons are considered to be the most violent places on earth. In a partnership with Getting Out by Going In (GOGI), The New Seminary and GOGI reached out to prisoners, asking them to create interfaith harmony from their prison cells. An essay assignment was submitted to hundreds of prisoners, asking them to create the possibility of Interfaith Harmony and to write their findings in essay form. The results are nothing short of a miracle!

1. Project’s Organization. Global Harmony Association (GHA): www.peacefromharmony.org 2. Project’s Authors on February 24, 2013. 35 GHA Members from 14 Confessions and 17 Countries 3. Project’s key feature. It is founded on the history first the ABC of Harmony and derived from it the global harmonious education and consciousness ensuring sustainable world interfaith harmony in the 21st century. 4. Project’s Start. December 7, 2012 5. Project’s Approval by the GHA. February 8, 2013 6. Project’s Location. Global. It is Unlimited on the Countries. 7. Project’s Life Time and Development. Unlimited 8. Project’s Discussion Participants during February 1-7, 2013. More than 80 people of 27 countries 9. Project’s Languages. English and Russian. It is planed in the UN six languages 10. Project’s Publication. Electronic. It is planed for paper publication as a world textbook 11. Project’s Content on February 24, 2013. 38 articles and 2 poems of the project 35 authors; Nicholas Roerich's 13 paintings of the Interfaith Harmony Leaders and 4 Appendixes. 12. Project’s Length on February 24, 2013. 161 pages 13. Project’s Phone Use. Smartphone App: Interfaith (see: www.author-me.com/worldpeacearticles.html) 14. Project’s using. As the second Global Textbook for interfaith harmony after the ABC of Harmony 15. Project’s analogs in the world. They do not exist.

1. Project’s Organization. Global Harmony Association (GHA): www.peacefromharmony.org 2. Project’s Authors on February 24, 2013. 35 GHA Members from 14 Confessions and 17 Countries 3. Project’s key feature. It is founded on the history first the ABC of Harmony and derived from it the global harmonious education and consciousness ensuring sustainable world interfaith harmony in the 21st century. 4. Project’s Start. December 7, 2012 5. Project’s Approval by the GHA. February 8, 2013 6. Project’s Location. Global. It is Unlimited on the Countries. 7. Project’s Life Time and Development. Unlimited 8. Project’s Discussion Participants during February 1-7, 2013. More than 80 people of 27 countries 9. Project’s Languages. English and Russian. It is planed in the UN six languages 10. Project’s Publication. Electronic. It is planed for paper publication as a world textbook 11. Project’s Content on February 24, 2013. 38 articles and 2 poems of the project 35 authors; Nicholas Roerich's 13 paintings of the Interfaith Harmony Leaders and 4 Appendixes. 12. Project’s Length on February 24, 2013. 161 pages 13. Project’s Phone Use. Smartphone App: Interfaith (see: www.author-me.com/worldpeacearticles.html) 14. Project’s using. As the second Global Textbook for interfaith harmony after the ABC of Harmony 15. Project’s analogs in the world. They do not exist.

1. Project’s Organization. Global Harmony Association (GHA): www.peacefromharmony.org 2. Project’s Authors on February 24, 2013. 35 GHA Members from 14 Confessions and 17 Countries 3. Project’s key feature. It is founded on the history first the ABC of Harmony and derived from it the global harmonious education and consciousness ensuring sustainable world interfaith harmony in the 21st century. 4. Project’s Start. December 7, 2012 5. Project’s Approval by the GHA. February 8, 2013 6. Project’s Location. Global. It is Unlimited on the Countries. 7. Project’s Life Time and Development. Unlimited 8. Project’s Discussion Participants during February 1-7, 2013. More than 80 people of 27 countries 9. Project’s Languages. English and Russian. It is planed in the UN six languages 10. Project’s Publication. Electronic. It is planed for paper publication as a world textbook 11. Project’s Content on February 24, 2013. 38 articles and 2 poems of the project 35 authors; Nicholas Roerich's 13 paintings of the Interfaith Harmony Leaders and 4 Appendixes. 12. Project’s Length on February 24, 2013. 161 pages 13. Project’s Phone Use. Smartphone App: Interfaith (see: www.author-me.com/worldpeacearticles.html) 14. Project’s using. As the second Global Textbook for interfaith harmony after the ABC of Harmony 15. Project’s analogs in the world. They do not exist.