Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council

We are building the most welcoming community for all people.

Highlights from 2007

World Peace Meditation
December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2007, Rime Buddhist Center, 700 W. Pennway, Kansas City, Missouri
The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council participates annually with the Rime Buddhist Center in its Annual Meditation for Peace, every December 31st at 5:30 a.m. to about 7:30 a.m. The program consists of religious observances from various faith traditions represented on the Council. Highlighting the event is the presentation of the Bodhisattva Award that recognizes an individual who personifies a Bodhisattva, an enlightened being who works for the benefit of others The Annual Meditation for Peace is endorsed and co-sponsored by Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, CRES, Harmony/NCCJ, KCInterfaith Peace Alliance and the American Friends Service Committee-Kansas City Program.

Peace Celebration Concert and Meditation and Chanting Workshop
February 18-19, 2007. Snatam Kaur and her group (Guru Ganesha Singh and Krishan Singh) played for an appreciative audience at the Community Christian Church (47th & Main) on Feb 18th and led a meditation workshop the next day at the same location. Everyone who attended either or both of the events were enthusiastic about her talents and many expressed their amazement at their own voices when they joined in the singing. The Peace Concert was jointly sponsored by Sikh Dharma/3HO Foundation and the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Celebration
Sunday, January 28, 2007, Blue Ridge Presbyterian Church, Raytown, Missouri. GKCIC members participated with pre-service music and prayers for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Multi-Cultural Celebration Service, “Keep the Message Alive” along with Brother John Anderson, KGGN Radio “Legacy Alive” Program Host, Raytown South High School Choir, and the Memorial Missionary Baptist Choir, praise dancers and clergy.

Unitown/Interfaith Our Town
February and November 2007, Harmony
In February 2007, a group of 31 Kansas City area high school students participated in the first Interfaith Unitown program, co-sponsored with Harmony. Youth came from Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Baha’i Faith, Buddhist, Humanist, Agnostic and Catholic traditions.  Notre Dame de Sion High School hosted the event. Funding was provided from the Jewish Heritage Foundation of Greater Kansas City and the Oppenstein Brothers Foundation.  The Unitown program empowers students to become leaders in transforming their communities into more just and inclusive places to live.   The Interfaith Our Town features an expanded segment that helps young people appreciate the sacred in their lives and the rich potential of religious pluralism.  Learning about other people’s spiritual paths often leads to new appreciation of one’s own religion.  Discussing commonalities and differences can help youth appreciate that we are all part of one world family.

Human Family Reunion

April 24, 2007, William Jewell College, Dr. Ed Chasteen, Hatebusters Founder at hatebuster@aol.com.
The first Human Family Reunion was held in 1976 at William Jewell College. Hundreds have since been held all over the world. The Human Family Reunion uses as its model Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address of November 19, 1863 and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s  “I have a Dream” speech of August 28, 1963. Amid the ambiance of these two speeches, members of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council join with generations of school children every April to endorse one another by our presence together: “red and yellow, black, brown and white, Christian, Buddhist and Jew; Hindu, Bahai and Muslim, too; all are precious in our sight.”

Interfaith Academies
June 13-20, 2007, Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Missouri
This past June, Kansas City hosted the nation’s first Interfaith Academies, one for religious professionals, one for students, run concurrently, with international participation. Funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, partners for the Academies were the Pluralism Project at Harvard University, Religions for Peace-USA, the Saint Paul School of Theology where the participants were housed, and the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, with several members addressing the Academies about our local work. CRES arranged for visits to six religious sites and numerous other programs that enriched the academic experience with a faculty drawn from around the country. Harvard’s Ellie Pierce began her presentation by saying, “At the Pluralism Project, we consider Kansas City to be truly at the forefront of interfaith relations.”

Many Songs-One Voice
One of the many commonalities that people share is the use of song as an expression of faith and belief.  The concept behind this program is to build interfaith connections through song.  Cultural Crossroads and the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council have co-sponsored this unique interfaith event in which everyone in the community from all faith traditions is invited to gather and share songs of prayer and praise, petition, and thanksgiving---with all voices uniting in friendship and caring for each other.  Song-sharing is led by members of the various faith traditions either with or without musical accompaniment.  This program was first held in July 2007 at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church. 

Spiritual Response During a Public Health Crisis
On July 20, 2007 the Kansas City, Missouri Public Health Department sponsored a Leadership Summit to help inform and prepare faith community leaders about the challenges facing them and their congregations/religious communities in case of an area-wide health crisis, natural disaster, weather event, or man-made occurrence.  Over 100 faith leaders and health care providers attended this one-day program, held at the Nazarene Theological Seminary.  CRES founder, Rev. Dr. Vern Barnet, facilitated the discussions following presentations by federal, state and local health officials, as well as by the Salvation Army.  The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council was represented by Father Michael of the Christian Orthodox faith; Cathy Knight, representing the Sufi community; and Sat Inder Khalsa of Sikh Dharma. 

Unity’s 14th Annual World Day of Prayer
September 12, 7p.m.Unity Village, Activities Center near Lee’s Summit, Missouri, www.worlddayofprayer.org, or www.unityonline.org
Representatives of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council shared a brief Peace Prayer reflective of their faith marking the opening ceremonies for Unity’s 14th Annual World Day of Prayer. The theme this year was World Peace. After the opening ceremony, attendees held a candlelight procession from the Activities Center to the Silent Unity Chapel. A continuous prayer vigil over individual names submitted for this event, continued through the actual World Day of Prayer on September 13 and into subsequent days until all names had been prayed over.

5th Annual Health and Spirituality Workshop
September 14-15, 2007, Community of Christ Temple, Independence, Mo Community of Christ Health Ministries Association, hma@cofchrist.org “Embracing Community; who IS my neighbor” was the theme for the 5th Annual Health & Spirituality Workshop for which the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council was a cooperative partner. The workshop provided health and wellness educational opportunities for clergy, lay ministers, professionals, and people interested in increasing their personal learning to bring ministry to others.

Independence Heritage Festival
Saturday, October 6, Independence celebrated it's rich history and ethnic and religious diversity at McCoy Park, across from the Harry S Truman Presidential Library. Native American, Baha'i, Hindu and other religions were represented. http://independenceheritage.org

Blessing of the Animals
October 7, 2007, Southmoreland Park, Kansas City, Missouri
On Sunday, October 7, 2007 at 8:30 a.m., a coalition of midtown faith communities celebrating creation met together for “The Coming of the Greater Kansas City Ark” 2007 Blessing of the Animals Service. Members of the GKCIC offered prayers as part of a litany of blessings after a call to worship by Dr. Robert Lee Hill, welcome by Donna Muiller, LM and the praying of St. Francis’ “Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace” led by Rev. Kelly Driscoll, all of the Community Christian Church. Four “Blessing Stations” were available for participants to bring their animal friends to receive words of blessing by the faith community representatives. Also on hand were Animal Blessing friendly organizations Greyhound Pets of America (MOKAN), Humane Society of Greater Kansas City, Missouri Search and Rescue K-9, Operation Wildlife and Pets for Life.

Blessing of the Kansas City Art Museum
September 30, 2007
Members of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council took part in a blessing ceremony of the Kansas City Museum located at 3218 Gladstone Blvd in the northeast section of the city. Council participants offered prayers to bless the museum’s work as a storehouse of knowledge and tradition in the area. Council members participating included American Indian Spirituality, Christian-Protestant, Sikh Dharma, Hindu, Unitarian Universalist and Pagan.

Raymore Disciples of Christ Peace Pole Blessing
Raymore Missouri, October 28th
GKCIC member Gary Langston participated in the dedication of the Peace Pole erected on Church grounds and addressed members of the congregation on American Indian Spirituality, Sunday, October 28th at 2 p.m.  There are over 200,000 peace poles in over 180 countries, some of which have been dedicated by a U.S. President, many governors, a Pope, the Dalai Lama, et al. The Raymore Peace Pole is dedicated with the words inscribed upon it, May Peace Prevail on Earth, in eight languages. Members of other cultures and faiths participated in the dedication.

 

We were honored to be able to help Park University host the authors of The Faith Club this fall.