Blog

Unofficial forum goodness

Bryan Campen — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 08:38:00 PST

There is nothing better for a movement than spontaneous initiative from the efforts of great people, so we all need to show Brad in Cincinnati, Ohio some love for his informal message boards. Check it out here: http://ifyc.informe.com/forum/

Along with a note from the man himself here

Hat tip to our ever vigilant ...

All You Need Is Love

Farah Qureshi — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 22:09:00 PST

I honestly believe that this time of year brings out the best in people. Maybe it's the sparkling lights, maybe it's the eggnog, I don't know. Either way, during the holidays, I've always felt like people have a bit more spring in their step and a warm smile on their face. Whether or not someone has a religious holiday to celebrate come December, we all get enveloped in this overwhelming sense of goodwill. Of community. When I tried to put my finger on what this season means to me that's...

New Trier! Mark Twain's Muslim friend! Eid and Halloween!

Hind Makki — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:55:00 PST

For some reason, this December has been a month of weddings in my social circle. I will have attended a wedding or a wedding-related party every single weekend by the end of this month. The parties are fabulous, so I'm not complaining, but I will tell you how it relates to the world of interfaith youth work. You see, one of my co-workers is one of the many December brides in my life, and last week I accompanied her to a presentation on Islam to the freshman classes at New Trier High School...

When Religions Collide

Austin Maness — Thu, 6 Dec 2007 14:30:00 PST

Growing up in a religiously homogeneous community makes it easy to accept your beliefs as fact. It goes something like: “Well, everyone I know is Christian, so of course I’m Christian.”

My first genuine encounters with non-Christian were during the summer before my senior year of high school. For some of you this may seem strange, but growing up in the rural South, it’s very uncommon to meet a Muslim, a Hindu, or a Jew. Where I come from...

The Garden Inside

Jenan Mohajir — Wed, 5 Dec 2007 12:50:00 PST

I was sitting in my car looking in the mirror, touching up my lip gloss. It had been a painful drive from my hometown of Frankfort to Wheaton College. My colleague, Cassie and I were speaking at weekly dinner hosted by two professors, geared for students who were interested in social justice issues. Everything I knew about Wheaton's campus was associated with the words "conservative" and "Christian." I was nervous. I knew I would be the only Muslim woman at this gathering. I knew...

The poorest man in the room

Asad Jafri — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:03:00 PST

On Thursday, November 15th, IFYC held a training for the recipients of the Inspired to Serve grant. I really did not know what to expect at this training, and it came after a long day of meetings and running around Chicago. I also had another meeting after the training, so I was honestly hoping the training would serve as a boost of energy to keep me going. The training definitely exceeded my expectations. The casual nature and wonderful (vegetarian) food helped put me at ease, and...

IFYC in all its flickry goodness

Bryan Campen — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:29:00 PST

www.flickr.com

Pitching the Peace

Mariah Neuroth — Fri, 2 Nov 2007 12:29:19 PST

I never imagined equating the interfaith movement with the iphone. . . . Or inter-religious peace-building with the Nike swoosh. But alas, there we were at the Interfaith Youth Work Conference, deep in conversation about what we could learn from our corporate counterparts. I used to believe that all things marketing or advertising were evil and the only thing the corporate world could teach us in the interfaith movement was how not to care about the environment or our employees. ...

Dreams and reality

Chuck Levesque — Thu, 1 Nov 2007 08:59:00 PST

At yesterday’s closing session of the 5^th Interfaith Youth Work Conference, we heard about dreams and plans that became reality. Sally Quinn, observing the centrality of religion in US public and private life and its absence from the broadsheets, convinced the Washington Post to create a website dedicated to religion. Krista Tippett explained how she wanted to build a space for a serious, measured conversation about religion on the radio and how,...

Day Two: For a Laugh

Katya Maslakowski — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:15:15 PST

The Yates Ballroom was packed. Presenters, attendees, staff and volunteers were tired from another full day. I stood at the back of the theater, tucked away behind the buffet tables with the rest of the staff. All conference long we've had leaders of different faith communities bless each meal. Tonight Rabbi Josh Feigelson was doing the blessing. A solemn string of Hebrew rang over the quiet crowd. We were so focused that it took a beat for us to notice that the prayer d...