September
11 A Year Later Interfaith passport opens doors to a wider
world
By PAT MORRISON
Kansas City
Once the smoke cleared from the tragic events of Sept. 11, many
Americans came to realize that there was collateral damage far
beyond what the nation first imagined. It took various names: racism,
suspicion, religious intolerance, ignorance. As in cities around the country,
religious leaders in Kansas City, Mo., quickly convened their congregations to
provide interfaith services for the community, offering prayer and healing in
the wake of the disaster. But they also knew that in the post-9/11 climate they
needed to do even more.
Hatred and intolerance -- and a terrible distortion of one
religions beliefs -- had been a major force behind the death and
destruction America had suffered. One effective antidote to the poison, the
Kansas City religious community realized, would be a positive outreach to
promote better understanding among the areas faith traditions.
The result of their planning is a tangible aid to achieving
interfaith understanding: a passport -- more specifically the
Greater Kansas City Interfaith Passport -- a 32-page document thats the
same size as the official U.S. document (minus the hefty fee). The catchy
understanding-builder was a joint project of several groups active in
interfaith and interracial efforts in the community, including the Kansas City
Interfaith Council, Mosaic, CRES, Kansas City Harmony, and the Kansas City
region of the National Conference for Community and Justice (formerly the
National Conference of Christians and Jews).
The person who brought the passport from concept to reality was
the Rev. Vern Barnet, a Unitarian Universalist minister who serves as
minister-in-residence for CRES and writes a weekly religion column in The
Kansas City Star titled Faiths and Beliefs.
Barnet, a well-known figure on the Kansas City religious scene,
has a lifelong passion for interreligious and ecumenical understanding.
We felt that one of the best ways to get people out of their
denominational boxes and comfort levels was to provide a resource
that would encourage them to visit other faith traditions, to learn more about
other religions, he told NCR. And from there, tolerance and
understanding deepen, and appreciation and respect take root.
In addition to knowing little or nothing of religious traditions
other than their own, many people have no incentive to visit another
faiths house of worship, Barnet said. Kansas Citys religious
leaders felt they needed to build some bridges to get people moving beyond the
familiar. For Barnet, the passport concept was a natural one to achieve
that.
Just as travelers visit other cultures and countries, and
come home with a stamped passport as proof of their expanded world, we thought
an interfaith passport would do the same thing, he said. And there are
more than a dozen religious lands for the interested spiritual
traveler in metropolitan Kansas City to visit, from A (American Indian
spirituality) to Z (Zoroastrianism). In addition to the better-known religions
like Buddhism, Christianity (with a category each for Orthodox, Protestant and
Roman Catholic), Hinduism, Islam and Juda-ism, the passport also includes space
to visit other traditions, from Jain and Sikh to Wicca, as well as interfaith
activities and programs.
Each of the participating traditions in the metro-politan area has
agreed to offer a stamp, a self-stick visa or to sign the passport
when a person or group visits. Theres also a bit of healthy
entrepreneurial spirit at work: Those who accumulate at least one visa on 12
pages for specific faiths and at least five visas for interfaith activities
will be honored at an awards dinner and get a discounted rate to attend the
citys 2003 interfaith conference.
The interfaith passport was launched July 1, and Barnet said the
first printing of 5,000 is almost sold out. The $2 cost covers just the
printing, with a $5 donation asked to cover the booklet and postage if
its mailed. In addition to orders from individuals, Barnet said several
congregations have purchased quantities to give their members, encouraging them
to travel to other faith lands.
Besides the official pages where visas can be affixed,
the passport contains information on all the faith communities that are members
of the Kansas City Interfaith Council and their representatives. Also included
is the declaration from the Gifts of Pluralism Conference that
brought participants from the areas faith traditions together a year ago
and was the genesis for the passport.
This is a small step, certainly, Barnet said,
but its a practical, tangible way for people to learn more, widen
their perspective and embrace tolerance. Were all journeying together,
after all. Isnt it a wonderful thing if we can widen the circle of our
fellow travelers through respect and understanding?
To learn more about the interfaith passport or to obtain a
copy, visit the CRES Web site at www.cres.org/passport or
e-mail: harmony@kcharmony.org
National Catholic Reporter, September 6,
2002
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