F. Gerald Martin conference to address how we talk to others
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published July 27, 2007
Detroit — An upcoming conference at The Retreat Center at St. John's aims to provide attendees with the tools they need to communicate with others and those of other religions.
The F. Gerald Martin Pastoral Ministry Conference, scheduled for Aug. 6-8, addresses the question "Why Can't (or Won't) We Talk With One Another?" The annual conference invites people to expand the understanding of ministry, develop better dialogue skills, focus on pastoral practices, and look at ways to build relationships with diverse people.
Among the presenters are Fr. Donald Senior, CP, president of and professor at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, who will be making the two-part presentation of "Transformed by Dialogue: The Church Inside Out" and "Biblical Impulses for Dialogue and Communion." His presentations will discuss how the Church has been transformed not only by the Gospels but by its interaction with other people and worlds. Also, he'll discuss how bridging differences within the Church comes directly from the teachings of Jesus.
Fr. Senior said among what he'll be discussing is the Church's experience over the last 40-50 years in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, and both the practical experience and the theology behind it. "While the focus of our conference in Detroit is communion within the Church, we could learn a lot from the rules of the road of our experience — discussion with those outside the Church," he said.
He'll talk about our motivation, manners of speaking, and attitudes we have in speaking with each other, and how we can't be a "force of reconciliation" in the world if we are fighting among ourselves, he said. Even the seeking of common ground can sometimes be controversial, he said.
He'll also be discussing the examples the Bible gives for serving as a model of how we can communicate with each other — "how people tried to bridge differences and come together," he said.
The point is not for all of us to get together and have a single point of view, but to ask, "What is the manner in which we are dealing with each other where diverse opinion is going to be inevitable?" Fr. Senior said. Simple things, such as using respectful language, can make a difference.
"The kind of language we use can exacerbate a difference and make it toxic when it doesn't need to be," he said.
Not only does our global society make it necessary for us to be able to communicate with each other, but since we see diversity everywhere — in families, neighborhoods and politics, among other places — we'd do well to know that "we're a people first," he said. "To moderate and find some mutually respectful communion among ourselves is what Christ is calling us to do."
Fr. Senior also teaches New Testament and has published extensively on biblical topics, and spoke at the Gospel of Life Conference of the archdiocese earlier this year.
Other presenters are Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Flores; author and spiritual director Megan McKenna; and Fr. David M. Neuhaus, SJ, who teaches in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Scheduled panelists are Najah Bazzy, co-founder of the Young Muslim Association of the Islamic Center of America; Local 4 News senior anchor Carmen Harlan; Lutheran pastor Gustav Kopka, Jr., Ph.D.; and Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg, of the Shir Tikvah congregation in Troy.
Bishop Flores' presentation, "'Before a Word is Ever on My Tongue' (Ps.139, 4): Culture, Language and the Metaphysics of the WORD," will propose a framework for appreciating others' culture, language and intellectuality/spirituality. The idea is to explore how dialogue between people is possible, what its limits are and what its aims could be.
McKenna, who has taught all over the world and recently authored "Harm Not the Earth," will present "It's Not Right to Throw the Food of the Children to the Dogs," which will discuss how we see ourselves, and how we honor our differences; and "We Live inside a Story — What Story are We Dwelling Within?," which will look at our own stories and the stories of who we are in our religion.
Fr. Neuhaus, who's also spoken in Detroit before, will present "We Cannot Talk with Them" in two parts, discussing both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs in the Holy Land today, as well as Jews, Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem today. He'll discuss the dynamics behind the conflicts, as well as how the different religious traditions can lead to the justification of violence toward others.
|
