Five Minutes with the Rev. Sef Carroll
Have you attended any interesting interfaith events lately? Do you have any interesting interfaith work happening at the moment?
One of the exciting events I attended was the October, 2009 meeting of the Asia Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue in Perth. The theme and focus of the dialogue was "growing young interfaith leaders for the next century". One of the practical outcomes of the dialogue is the creation of an interfaith website. DFAT has provided a grant towards its development. For me personally, these dialogues provide the opportunity to network, make new friends (and strengthen existing friendships) and is a feeler for what is happening elsewhere within the region.
Another exciting event I attended last year (aside from the Parliament of World Religions & the Regional Interfaith Dialogue Conference) was the post-Parliament reflection organised by the School of Political and Social Inquiry (Monash University) day held at Monash University. As a result of this I am working on an article titled "The face of the suffering other: a theological basis for interfaith solidarity". I am working off Paul Knitter's idea that by and in recognising the face of the suffering other, provides a basis for theological solidarity. Interfaith praxis is a point of connection that enables and creates a space or habitus for conversations about difficult doctrinal issues. This article along with others authored by others such as Kath Engebretson will be collated and published. The book should be available later this year or early next.
Of course, the other major project I’ve got going at the moment is finishing my PhD. It is titled "Making room for the religious other: a feminist diasporic reading of interfaith encounters and dialogue in Australia." I am exploring how the notion of home and the theological/feminist concept of homemaking can be a basis for a Christian theology of other faiths in the Australian context.
What direction would you like the work of the Relations with Other Faiths Working Group to take during 2010?
There are two goals we have set for this triennium. The first is to revise the existing UCA statement on other faiths and secondly to look at developing an interfaith education policy. We are working on both of these now, with Mark Hillis taking responsibility for the interfaith education statement.
It would be good to spend some time looking at how the Uniting Church can work in partnership and collaboration with other religious organizations on a project to do with either peace, or education or other issues such as poverty or gender. This collaboration could be in a form of a conference or by the joint production of resources / publications. It is something worth considering.
Finally, it would be great to develop new relationships with other dialogue partners. This is something that we can always do more of.
