WHAT INTERFAITH CLERGY WANT TO KNOW… NEED TO KNOW…

ABOUTTHE PROFESSIONAL

INTERFAITH CLERGY MOVEMENT

Interfaith Clergy in Partnership (ICIP)A Peer-Based Support Network

© Interfaith Clergy in Partnership (2011)

What Clergy Often Don’t Know We Don’t KnowThat Perhaps We Ought to Know about our Profession…

1. What is Interfaith? Who Are We? To Whom Do We Minister?2. Interfaith History : Those Who Paved the Way – How Does

Knowing our Past and Being Aware of Today’s Movement Leaders Help Us?

3. The Language of Ministry – A Glossary of Terms Used within our Profession that We Believe Every Clergy Should Know

4. Education - If and When It May Be Wise to Seek Accreditation, Peer Endorsement, Certifications, Clinical Pastoral Education Credit, Masters and Doctoral Degree Programs for Interfaith Clergy

continued…

What Clergy Often Don’t Know We Don’t KnowThat Perhaps We Ought to Know about our Profession…

5. An Employment Boot Camp: Resumes? Job Qualifications? What Kind of Jobs are we Professionally Ready For? How Do We Get Those Jobs?

6. Spiritual Health: Peer Supervision is One Solution to Facing our Fears, Keeping Our Egos in Check, Shining the Light on our Shadows as Clergy

7. The Cost of Ministry - Maintaining a Spiritual Practice and Self Care while Serving Others

8. Remembering our Calling: The Value of Connecting with other Clergy – Workshops that Connect Us

W H O A R E W E ? T O W H O M D O W E M I N I S T E R ?

W H AT I S I N T E R FA I T H ?

Part I

Who Are We?

The Faces of Interfaith Clergy

We are informally organized

We have fun, too…

To Whom Do We Minister?

Who are the Six Billion of us Spiritually?

Adherents.com is an Internet initiative and is not affiliated with any religious, political, or educational organization.

Who are the 300 Million of us in the USA?

To Whom Do We Minister?

The Unaffiliated? The Unchurched?

To Whom Do We Minister? Everyone

We have the training and potential to minister to anyone.

Many of us, however, are called to serve the unaffiliated, those in families of multiple traditions and those who are on their own spiritual journey or those who practice no faith.

What is Interfaith?

“Like the bee gathering honey from the different flowers, the wise person accepts the essence of the different scriptures and sees only the good in all religions." --Mahatma Gandhi

What is Interfaith?

“Never instead of; always in addition to.”-- Rabbi Joseph Gelberman

Rabbi Gelberman with Swami Satchidananda Source: http://nheriza.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/h-h-sri-swami-satchidananda/

END OF POINT I

Interfaith History – The Ancients

Ancient history…. (to come)

Interfaith History

United Nations

20th Century Interfaith History and Heroes

One of the first times interfaith was used in its modern incarnation was at the memorial dedication of the famous “Four Chaplains” – a Roman Catholic, a Jewish Rabbi, a Methodist and a Dutch Reformed minister- who sacrificed their lives collectively by ministering to survivors and giving away their survival gear without regard to anyone’s faith on the sinking battleship Dorchester in 1943.

President Harry S. Truman, in his dedication speech, said, “This interfaith shrine... will stand through long generations to teach Americans that as men can die heroically as brothers so should they live together in mutual faith and goodwill.”

Source: www.fourchaplains.org

What is Interfaith?

Interfaith flourished in the 1960’s, with our society’s realization that people of different faiths, races and cultures were going to marry each other, have children and raise families, and that something had to be done to give these diverse families much-needed religious and spiritual and legal services.

What is Interfaith?

Vatican II

What is Interfaith?

Today…Regardless of one’s religious affiliation of

origin, culture, faith or lifestyle, the events of life happen: two people of varying traditions decide to marry a new baby is welcomed into its interfaith family and

community; People we love get sick or go through tough times,

and when the time came to say good-bye, we needed

remember someone according to their wishes, & in a dignified manner.

What is Interfaith Mean to Me?

ICIP encourages the belief in an individual, synergistic and evolving definition of interfaith.

Personally, I believe interfaith is evolving into something more. There are some who are seriously wrestling with it as a possible solution to one of our world’s most pressing problems - war. As we have seen historically (and recently), regardless of the reasons for starting a war, religion pretty quickly comes into the mix.

Interfaith – the acceptance of the good in all religions and spiritual paths - may mean that our world has a chance not just for survival, but for lasting peace.

WE STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

WE ARE ABLE TO PRACTICE OUR PROFESSION BECAUSE OF THEM

CONSIDER:KNOWING OUR PREDECESSORS AND

CURRENT LEADERS MAKES US STRONGER AND BETTER

Part I:Our History and Our

Heroes

Interfaith History

Our History

Gatherings

Congregational Ministry

Congregational Ministry

Yanchy….

What do we believe?

About Interfaith Clergy in Partnership (ICIP)

Founder - Rev. Eric JenningsFounding Members –

Rev. Veronica Owens Rev. Hasifa Rahman Rev. Sherri Rev. Rev. Carol O’Rourke

About Interfaith Clergy in Partnership (ICIP)

ICIP is a loose configuration of interfaith clergy who have come together to offer information and professional peer support to ordained interfaith clergy.

We hope to provide up-to-date information about what it means to be a professional interfaith clergy, to note trends in our profession and offer connection and touch-points to clergy often left to their own devices in ministering to those who come across our path while on our own sacred journey.