People of Many Faiths

By Kurt Kloblen, "Louisburg woman leads Interfaith Council" - Louisburg Herald - Louisburg, KS, USA
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

It might sound like the start of a joke: What happens when a Pagan, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian sit down at a table?

But when members of 15 different religions sit down in Kansas City, they are part of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, a place to help understand other religions and to increase tolerance for all religions, according to the group’s goals.

“The whole idea is to really encourage interfaith dialogue,” said Lama Chuck Stanford, of the Rime Buddhist Institute and council member. “In this world that is becoming so fragmented and really divides people, we want to bring people together.”

Religions included in the council are American Indian Spirituality, Baha’i, Buddhism, Orthodox Christian, Protestant Christian, Roman Catholic, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Paganism, Sikhism, Sufism, Unitarian Universalism, Vedanta and Zoroastrianism.The group also has at-large members and alternates from a number of faiths.

The group, formed in 1989 by the Rev. Vern Barnet, worked under the name Center for Religious Experience and Study until 2005, when Barnet moved on and the group organized itself into an official nonprofit group.

The group used proceeds from the event to hire its first staff person, Executive Director Shannon Clark, in June 2008. Clark, a Louisburg resident, has tried to help push forward the organization in a number of ways. “My job is to really oversee the organization of council,” Clark said. “There are lots of tasks, but one of the main ones is to make sure the committees function smoothly and to lead the direction the council is going.”

Through its existence, the group has taken on many different roles, but one of the main roles is to help educate the community about various religions. The longest running program of the council is the speaker bureau. Through its Web site, interested people can have speakers from different religions come speak to various groups.

Since it became the council, the group has run an annual event called Table of Faiths. The event is a community luncheon where each of the 15 religions sets up a booths about their religion.

Each religion on the council has one representative. For any council decision, there must be unanimous approval, something Stanford said is not always easy. “If one person wants to block it, they can veto the whole thing,” Stanford said. “It’s very interesting and very time consuming.”

The council has taken stands on issues throughout the years, most recently releasing a statement of disapproval of a nationally circulated DVD about the dangers of Islam. It also offered support of Islam and understanding after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Stanford said the best part he has gotten from his nearly 17 years on the council is the number of friends he has from all religious backgrounds. He said he and friend Alvin Brooks have a monthly dinner to get together people of many faiths.

[Pictures from the 2008 and 2007 Table of Faiths at The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. Photos by http://www.kcinterfaith.org/].