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From left to right: Jamal Rahman,
Ted Falcon and Don Mackenzie
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PULLMAN – The Common Ministry’s 33rd annual Roger Williams Symposium will explore the process of discussing faith across religious lines, featuring accredited panelists and co-authors of the book “Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: The Eye-Opening, Hope-Filled Friendship of a Pastor, a Rabbi and a Sheikh.“
Panelists Rabbi Ted Falcon, Pastor Don Mackenzie and Sheikh Jamal Rahman have been called “The Three Amigos” as they appear on national television and throughout the country to speak and hold programs on interfaith spirituality.
Gail Stearns, director of The Common Ministry at WSU and adjunct professor of the Honors College, said the symposium is aimed at educating students, faculty and staff about what it means to understand faith across religious lines.
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| Gail Stearns |
“It’s a timely topic,” Stearns said. “We will discuss how to be open to other religions and why we want to engage with other religions. [Panelists] will talk about exclusive theologies and other obstacles that stop us from connecting, as well as the rewards of understanding religion across the board.”
The symposium will kick off at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, with a reception in the CUE Atrium, followed by the keynote panel discussion “Getting to the Heart of Interfaith,” which begins at 7 p.m. in CUE 203. The panel discussion is free and open to the public.
Starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, at the Interfaith House, The Common Ministry will provide breakfast and conversation with “The Three Amigos” focused on the process of building interfaith relationships.
Falcon, ordained in 1968 at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, served in Los Angeles as a congregational and then a campus rabbi until earning a doctorate in Professional Psychology in 1975. He is teacher of Jewish traditions of meditation and spirituality whose books include “Judaism for Dummies” and “A Journey of Awakening: Kabbalistic Meditations on the Tree of Life”.
Mackenzie recently retired as Minister and Head of Staff at University Congregational United Church of Christ in Seattle and enjoys playing in his country music band, Life’s Other Side. He had previously served congregations in Hanover, N.H. and Princeton, N.J.
Rahman is co-founder and Muslim Sufi Minister at Interfaith Community Church and adjunct faculty at Seattle University. A graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of California, Berkeley, his books include “The Fragrance of Faith – the Enlightened Heart of Islam” and “Out of Darkness into Light – Spiritual Guidance in the Quran With Reflections from Jewish and Christian Sources”.
The Common Ministry at WSU at the International House provides “a safe place for spiritual development” with central programming for Christian students as well as hosting persons from many faiths and service traditions.
Registration cost is $60 and is due by Nov. 8. Find further information on the The Common Ministry at WSU, Roger Williams Symposium and registration here.