Five Minutes with the Rev. Sef Carroll
How did you become interested in interfaith work?
I probably have to say that my interest in interfaith work was accidental.
I was born and spent my formative years in Fiij. Fiji is both a multicultural and multireligious country. I had a theologically conservative upbringing whereby I was brought up to believe that non-Christian faiths were not valid and that Christianity was the only way. So although I lived alongside and went to school with Hindus and Muslims, I don't believe I learnt or was even encouraged to appreciate the wisdom of their faiths and traditions.
It was, ironically, in Australia that I began to unravel the unhelpful theological threads of my conservative upbringing. The premature birth of my daughter Sarah at 27 weeks in 1996 compelled me to think about my inherited theological history and legacy. It led me to do my MTh(hons) in cross cultural theology. I became increasingly aware as I did my research that there was another story that needed to be told alongside that of my cultural identity.
At about the same time I accepted a call to Chaplaincy at MLC School. MLC has students from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. About a year after I started my placement at MLC, I was approached by Wendie Wilkie, (Assembly Associate General Secretary at the time) to consider membership on the Assembly Relations with Other Faiths committee. At the time the invitation seemed so left field as my focus, emphasis and experience was in cross-cultural ministry and theology. Nevertheless, I accepted the invitation and found myself two years letter as acting Convenor, then Convenor of ROF.
After I completed my MTh(hons) it was very obvious to me that my next step would be to do further studies in the area of interfaith dialogue/Christian theologies of other faiths. On reflection then, my involvement in interfaith work was not so accidental after all but rather an ongoing journey of articulating God's call on my life, ministry and academic career.
What motivates you to continue fostering interfaith relationship?
There are several things that continue to motivate me in my work.
The first is obvious - my background, growing up in Fiji. I have experienced first hand the effects of prejudice and the cultural and theological justifications for it. I don't think anyone ever benefits from misunderstanding and segregating difference. I am committed to finding ways of bringing diverse peoples together - in terms of how we can share space, resources and making our differences work for the common good.
My second motivation is theological and it is two pronged.
I have a theological interest in "home" - the "oikos" and what this means in terms of how we live and create "home" in the here and now for the sake of the future. The second has to do with the ethical imperative of hospitality to the neighbour/stranger - whoever that neighbour or stranger may be. Both of these require a commitment to relationship and friendship with those we share the nation space and world with.
Finally, I believe that there is wisdom in all faith traditions that brought together can be used to influence and shape the type of society and world we want to become. This requires a commitment to building and maintaining relationships with people of other faiths from which there can be continuing collaborative action.
Do you have a recommendation for someone wanting to get involved in interfaith relations / dialogue?
There are a number of ways or things one could do to get involved in interfaith dialogue and relationships. Making contact is the key. Sometimes this may take awhile and it is important to make contact with people who share a commitment to interfaith understanding and collaboration. My suggestion would be to find out what is happening in your local area with interfaith relationships.
You could contact someone in the ROF committee in your Synod.
Consult the UCA ROF website as this is a great resource and has contact details of interfaith networks and people. If you would like to get involved in an interfaith dialogue network, contact the relevant people involved.
If you would like to join a UCA Assembly dialogue group, contact the Convenor of the ROF Working Group.
The most simple way to get involved is by attending interfaith events as it is a great way of networking and building relationships.