Back from Australia,

Local Authors Create Interfaith Bridge to Peace

     In a world in which we see war, hatred and violence filling the pages of our daily newspapers, it is calming to learn about people who are engaged in attempting to bring some peace and awareness to the communities around us.  Rev. Abigail and Rev. Dr. Stephen Albert of the Poway-based All Faith Center, who are also the authors of The Interfaith Manual and The Interfaith Workbook, have just returned from The Parliament of World Religions conference held in Melbourne, Australia.  This seven day conference attracted approximately 9,000 participants from over 80 countries and 220 religious traditions.  The Parliament is held every five years in different locations and the participants work with others and within their own traditions to craft faithful responses to global poverty and global warming, environmental care and degradation, education of the young and social challenges, voluntary and forced migration, artistic expression and spirituality, and the value of sports and other topics.  Revs. Abigail and Steve were there representing their faith, New Thought, and also their love, which is Interfaith.

     Rev. Abigail said, “The magnitude of the conference was almost overwhelming and the people we met came for one beautiful purpose, to create friendships and to help establish peace between themselves and others.”  The Alberts who are two of the founders of the Poway Interfaith Team, were very active at the Parliament.  Rev. Abigail spoke on a panel and helped coordinate many of the New Thought activities.  Rev. Steve helped design the New Thought booth in the exposition hall and, for weeks prior to leaving for the conference, taught a series of Interfaith classes online to New Thought youth and ministers going to the conference.  “I have never felt so close to the possibilities of world peace as I had at this conference.  We hear the horror stories of people at war and how they fear people from different faiths or cultures.  This conference was like a microcosm of what the world can be like; imagine 10,000 people, all dressed differently, all speaking different languages, all getting along and anxious to dialogue with people who are different than they.  We quickly learned, fear is in our mind and we are all so similar inside.  This is what our All Faith Saturday gatherings in Poway are about!”

      The Albert’s new books have caught the interest of people from around the world and were very well received at the Parliament.  The Interfaith Manual is a hefty 380-page book which compares 12 faiths by topic.  “You look up Forgiveness or Love or Mysticism and it gives you paragraphs on what each of the 12 faiths believe about those subjects.  Clergy and educators from all 12 faiths edited the book before it was published to insure its accuracy,” said Rev. Steve.  “We are really excited about how well The Interfaith Workbook was received.  The workbook is the first book in the world through which anyone can teach Interfaith.  Non-clergy from interfaith groups, seminaries, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, teen organizations, senior centers and local dialogue groups of all types can easily lead interfaith classes and help create peace in the world; there are 40 prepared lessons.  We will also be approaching local school systems to see who wants to be the first to offer interfaith classes to their students.  We are really excited!  Delegates from Iran, India, Australia, Rwanda and some places we can not pronounce correctly told us how they plan to use the books in their community.”

     “The most important part of the manual and workbook,” the Alberts say, “comes from the discussions which the material evokes.”   The Alberts have also provided CDs of many of their PowerPoint Lessons so groups can use them to add interest to the easy-to-follow Interfaith Workbook.  Abigail and Stephen say, “We wanted to make it very easy for anyone to learn about the many similarities of the various faiths and to be able to respect the few differences and understand why they exist.  We NEVER want anyone to abandon their own religion but, rather, to love and respect it even more deeply than ever before.  When you do, you are then able to understand how someone else may feel that their faith is just as important to them as yours is to you.”  The Interfaith Manual and The Interfaith Workbook can be purchased by credit card through PayPal on their website www.allfaithcenter.org or by cash or check at any All Faith Saturday meeting.  For more information call: Revs. Abigail or Stephen Albert at:    858-487-8885 or email them at: allfaithcenter@san.rr.com .