Council Member Faiths
American Indian Spiritulality
Faith Contact: Rev. Dr. Kara Hawkins karahawk@aol.com 913-268-7223
Bio:
Rev. Dr. Kara Hawkins is Secretary of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council (GKCIC) and its American Indian Spirituality faith member. Hawkins is a board member of the Institute for Spirituality in Health at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Shawnee, Kansas, and participates in its Clergy-Physician monthly dialogs. Ministerial trainer (1995) and faculty member (2003) of the Alliance of Divine Love, Inc. (ADL), Hawkins writes a monthly column for its international interfaith newsletter, Dayspring: Kara’s Korner-- American Indian Spirituality. allianceofdivinelove.org
Other Speakers for American Indian Spirituality:
Rev. Lee Slusher (Stumbling Deer) lslusher@earthlink.net 913-362-0904
Rev. Gary Langston (Red Bear Who Sees All Worlds) RevSaw@kc.rr.com 816-942-5418
Rev. Kevin G. Bear yogabearx3@yahoo.com 816-531-5784
Rev. Karen West (Black Heron Woman) blackheronwoman@earthlink.net 816-547-8490
Buddhism
Faith Contact: Lama Chuck Stanford Lama108@aol.com 913-897-5316
(Lama Changchup Kunchok Dorje)
Bio
Lama Chuck Stanford was ordained a Lama within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in 1998. Stanford is co-founder of the Rime Buddhist Center & Monastery & Institute of Tibetan Studies located in Kansas City and also serves the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council (GKCIC) as its Buddhist member. Currently, Stanford is the spiritual leader and Executive Director of the Rime Buddhist Center, teaching classes on meditation and Buddhism, and performing Buddhist ceremonies, including weddings and funerals. Stanford serves on the boards of Harmony, the Institute for Spirituality in Health at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, and the Friends of the Dept. of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas. In addition, Stanford writes a monthly Buddhism column for the Kansas City Star and has written a study guide for use by other Buddhist Centers, “Basics of Buddhism.” Lama Stanford serves as part-time chaplain at Leavenworth Federal Prison and volunteer chaplain at Lansing Prison, and meets regularly with Buddhist inmate groups at four area prisons.
Other Speakers for Buddhism:
Dr. Teri Brody barkitup@gmail.com 913-248-1669
Ray Porter, PhD ananda50@kcweb.net 816-588-6617 Cell; 816-540-2694 Home
Matt Rice mattrice@kc.rr.com 913-789-8124
Sikhism
Faith Contact: Singh Sahib Karta Purkh S. Khalsa kpurkakhalsa@kc.rr.com 816-561-5337
http://kartapurkhkhalsa.typepad.com/
http://kckundaliniyoga.com
http://kartapurkh.smugmug.com/
Sufism
Faith Contact: Cathy Knight caknight@cmh.edu 913-262-2509
Vedanta
Faith Contact: Linda Prugh (uma) info@vedantakc.org 816-444-8045
Bio:
Linda Prugh is the Vedanta faith member for the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council.
Since 1980 she has served as secretary of the Vedanta Society of Kansas City. She is the author of Josephine MacLeod and Vivekananda's Mission, a biography of an American woman (1858-1949) who helped introduce to the West spiritual teachers from the Ramakrishna Order of India in the first half of the 20th century.. She has written a number of articles on Vivekananda for Vedanta journals. Linda's Sanskrit name is uma, which serves as a reminder of the importance of steadfast devotion to one's Spiritual Ideal.
Other speakers for Vedanta:
Diane Marshall dma88@sbcglobal.net
Arvind Khetia akkhetia@hotmail.com 913-381-0896