Please plan to join us this Saturday December 11, 2010 at the Indiana Interchurch Center for a fun, informative and delicious celebration of Zimbabwean culture.  International Interfaith Initiative is sponsoring this event with Healing Friends Foundation which supports micro-finance projects and builds relationship with Hoosiers and this beautiful yet extremely challenged Sub-Saharan African country.  Learn more and register on our website at www.internationalinterfaith.org

It has been a busy and gratifying year for International Interfaith Initiative and November was an exemplary month.  On November 5^th III held its 4^th annual conference Interfaith Peacebuilding: Global and Local Perspectives. This year we partnered with Indiana University School of Social Work to plan and implement the conference which provided meaningful opportunities for learning and growth.  Weaving the strengths of academia and the faith community is not a simple task but certainly well worth the benefits if we can authentically infuse the motivation of faith into programs that effectively address humanities' chronic issues like war, poverty and the environment.  At the conference keynote speaker Eboo Patel

Eboo Patel speaking at III's annual conference

convincingly established the necessity and benefits of interfaith cooperation.  Cooperation was evident in the sponsors that included Peace Learning Center, Muslim Voices and Visions, Indiana Humanities Council, American Indian Center of Indiana, and the Danesh Institute which is an Iranian-American academic organization. Pictures and video from the conference are available on our website.

Also on the website are pictures from our November 17th concert with the Yuval Ron Ensemble and a reception hosted by our Pakistani community.  The concert featured vocalist Talia Goren and the reception celebrated Ensemble member Sukhawat Ali Kahn and his mastery of classical raga music and Sufi Qawwali singing.  The Indianapolis Museum of Art hosted the concert which drew over 350 people who feasted on an eclectic blend of insightful stories from the Abrahamic faiths and the wisdom of the poet Rumi while listening to traditional music from Northern Africa, Andalusia Spain, the Middle East and the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. Dancing was a primary theme at both events as

Yuval Ron Ensemble at the IMA

we marveled at the grace and eloquence of Whirling Dervish Aziz and witnessed many audience members up on their feet during several of the ecstatic songs.  Sukhawat Ali Kahn was incredibly charismatic and expressed an unconditional positive regard for everyone he met.  He had members of our Sephardic Jewish community dancing hand in hand with members of our Pakistani Muslim community during the reception while Norik Manoukian joined in on woodwinds and Yuval Ron and Jamie Papish played percussion.  It was truly a magical evening of music, laughter, and dancing and there was a palpable hope for a better future together!

Click here for a beautiful slide show of the concert provided by local artist and photographer Denis Kelly.

This was a banner year for the interfaith community in Central Indiana with a visit by the Dali Lama benefitting the Interfaith Hunger Initiative, a letter from the Jewish community affirming their respect for the Muslim community, the 28^th annual Interfaith Peace Prayer Service at Marian University, the Muslim Alliance of Indiana's conference encouraging assistance for victims of Agent Orange in the United States and in Vietnam, Pedals for Peace and Greg Mortenson fundraising for women and education in Afghanistan, the Kenya Carnival supporting students in Africa, a celebration with the Sikh community at the State House, youth and adult dialogues,  numerous celebrations with food and music- and the list goes on.  We are fortunate to live in a community that values its diversity and offers a wealth of opportunities to reach across ethnic, national and religious boundaries to benefit the common good while enriching our own lives. This is truly an advantage of living in America and a responsibility for us to share with other societies.

As you settle in for the winter and think about what it means to celebrate as people of faith all around the globe, we encourage you to lift up good thoughts for families everywhere. As one global family, we wish for each other all good things--peace, harmony, safety, and provision--until we have the chance to be in each other's presence once again.

Many blessings this December, with a sincere hope for ever-increasing understanding in our future.

Charlie, Alfan, and Katherine

International Interfaith Initiative staff