Interfaith/Intercultural Dialogue is needed more today than at any other time in the past, and the first step to interfaith dialogue is learning and knowing about “the other”. Such an effort requires us to go beyond meetings at lunch time or late afternoons that last only two hours. Observing people of other faiths in their daily routines, in their prayers, and spending friendly time together are the kinds of activities that will make us, the people who believe in interfaith dialogue, a community instead of individuals who occasionally gather to talk about religious topics. As a humble attempt to serve the development of interfaith relations in Ohio, Scioto Educational Foundation (SEF)
organized its first Interfaith Dialogue Retreat and Workshop which aimed at 1) improving the mutual understanding between the members of different faiths, 2) discussing possible joint community actions and experiencing the spiritual aspects of “the other” –such as how s/he worships, prays, etc.–, and 3) building an interfaith friendship.
The retreat took place between
June 14, 2007 and June 16 at 6:00 pm. It was held at Deer Creek
Resort and Conference Center located in Deer Creek State Park, 40
minutes south of Columbus. Professor Martin Forward from Aurora
University, Professor Barbara Finan from Ohio Dominican University,
and Marcia Hermansen from Loyola University were the featured speakers
of the retreat.
