In today’s global society, being able to understand and dialogue cross-culturally and interfaith is critical to finding God’s path to a just world. American Baptist Women’s Ministries is focusing on interfaith and cross-cultural relationships as a national organization, and seeks to provide vision and resources for you to do the same in your community.
For Your Study
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Visit “A Common Word” website at www.acommonword.com. “A Common Word between Us and You” was an open letter signed by 139 leading Muslim scholars and intellectuals to the leaders of the Christian churches and denominations of the entire world, calling for peace and harmony between Christians and Muslims worldwide. The Common Word website contains the original letter, as well as responses from Christian and Jewish communities. ABCUSA General Secretary Roy Medley was part of signing an ecumenical response by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Additionally, there are several resources, audio and video files, and recommended reading lists available through the website.
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Read The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew—Three Women Search for Understanding, by Suzanne Oliver, Ranya Idilby, and Priscilla Warner. Use the questions for reflection at the back of the book for your own personal time of reflection or for group study. (Using this Amazon link helps support AB Women's Ministries.)
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Read the May 3, 2013, press release from American Baptist News Service regarding “Common Ground: A Baptist Muslim Conversation.”
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Visit www.karenkonnection.org for more information about Karen and other ethnic groups from Burma as they form communities and congregations here in the United States.
AB Women’s Ministries Involvement
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AB Women’s Ministries sent a group of six women to the Republic of Georgia in June 2014, and again in April 2015, to build relationships with Baptist and Muslim women there, and hear about interfaith dialogue in the context of that country and cultural groups. Read more about their experiences on our In Their Shoes blog.
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We are planning interfaith dialogue experiences for groups of women to take place in 2015.
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AB Women's Ministries participated in the Burma Diaspora meetings at the ABCUSA Mission Center in Valley Forge, PA, in April 2014. Executive director Virginia Holmstrom and associate executive director Rev. Sandra Hasenauer hosted a dinner for the women leaders (clergy and lay) of the Burma ethnic communities for dialogue and support. Conversation continues.
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Rosalyce Grubbs, former executive committee member of AB Women's Ministries, provided leadership at the Karen Baptist Women's conference in June, 2014. Virginia Holmstrom and Sandra Hasenauer have also both done the same in past years. Many Karen and Chin women and girls have attended American Baptist Women's Ministries national events as well as often participating in regional events across the country.
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AB Women's Ministries and International Ministries co-sponsored a mission encounter for women to attend the Judson Celebrations in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) in December, 2013. Virginia Holmstrom participated in that mission encounter. Sandra Hasenauer traveled with an American Baptist delegation to visit the refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border in 2008 and travelled to Myanmar (Burma) in December, 2014, to visit Kachin Baptist women's leaders and women's ministry groups. Read more about the 2014 visit with the Kachin people on our In Their Shoes blog.
Taking Action
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Check this resource available for interfaith relationship-building this summer!
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Form relationships with women of the Burma diaspora communities here in the United States. Many have joined American Baptist Churches or have worshipping communities in ABCUSA church buildings. There are many faiths represented in the Burma diaspora in the U.S., including Muslim, Buddhist, and animist. There is plenty of opportunity for both interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue here!
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Form a study group around the information available at www.acommonword.com.
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Explore interfaith dialogue groups available in your community and plan to begin participating. If there are no such groups already in existence, explore how you may be able to begin getting together with an interfaith group of women.