The Rev. Eboo Patel (right), Founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Youth Core, braved blizzard-like conditions to cross town to offer a lunch program for our students earlier this month.
Jan Taddeo, a student in Meadville Lombard's Modified Residency Program, asked Rev. Patel to join the students for a 'bring your own lunch' session to talk about the need for and practice of interfaith work. "I took Eboo's class this past summer through Chicago Theological Seminary. I had heard Eboo on Speaking of Faith in 2006 and he totally blew me away with his ideas about interfaith action and dialogue, and especially his application of these ideas in youth ministry," said Taddeo.
"While taking his class we discussed the importance of educating seminary students to be interfaith religious leaders in order to promote pluralism in the world," Taddeo continued. "Eboo believes, as do many others, that promoting and achieving true religious pluralism is foundational to achieving a lasting peace in the world. Developing religious leaders who are skilled in interfaith action and dialogue is essential to this vision."
Rev. Patel talked with the students giving very simple strategies for reframing the dialog that is often had when 'violence' and 'religion' intersect. As religious leaders, he told them, it will be important for them to know how to respond when acts of violence in local communities and around the world are connected to religion. Calling a press conference with leaders of other faiths and calling violence what it is gives a visual representation to the world of people of faith together, standing up against violence.
The Interfaith Youth Core's philosophy is one that requires more than simple tolerance of other faith viewpoints, but the action of working together to build relationships and to improve communities. "The Unitarian Universalist tradition of 'walking together' is precisely what is required in the world today," said Patel. "The world needs the UU community to apply the gifts of its tradition to the enormous challenge of building interfaith cooperation."
"I am so glad Jan invited Rev. Patel to talk with our students here at Meadville Lombard," said Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman, Meadville Lombard's Director of Contextual Ministry. "His work with the Interfaith Youth Core, of creating an understanding across the faith traditions and bringing people of faith together to speak out against violence--all violence--is work that resonates with our Unitarian Universalist students. He noted that we Unitarian Universalists bring skills to the interfaith dialogue that other faith traditions don't necessarily have--skills honed in congregations where theological perspectives vary as greatly as they do outside the congregations. I hope to establish a working relationship with the Interfaith Youth Core as we move forward in our Community Partnership Program."
