Interfaith Today, episode seven

This episode is a continuation of the interviews Rowan did in Menlo Park, California amongst attendees at the the United Religions Initiative Global Council meeting. Please listen to Episodes #5 and #6 for more interviews. The first segment of this podcast features Jonathan Rose, a coordinator for the Multiregional CCs. This is followed by an interview with Fr. Patrick Hanjoul of Belgium, who is a coordinator for URI Europe. Next I interview Fr. James Channan a Trustee from Pakistan and I end this episode with an interview with P.K. McCary, a North American Trustee.

Here is the link to the Everest Peace Project mentioned in my interview with Jonathan Rose.

P.K. McCary has a blog for The Peace Hour.

I would like to thank all the folks of the URI who helped me conduct these interviews and to all the interviewees who took time out of their busy schedules at the Global Council meeting to share a little of the rich stories they have to offer.

Trustee biographies from the URI

Fr. James Channan, O.P.
-- Catholic, Lahore CC, Lahore, Pakistan
-- My name is James Channan, and I am a Pakistani Christian and a Catholic priest. At present, I am serving as Director of the Pastoral Institute, a Catholic establishment and I am working with the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with Islam. My graduate and priestly study was in Pakistan. I attended the Pontifical Institute for Islamic Studies and Arabic language in Rome from 1982-85 and obtained a Licentiate Degree. I also was awarded a Masters Degree in Counseling from Emmanuel College, Boston, MA and received graduate Credits from Harvard University. I am the author of "Christian Muslim Dialogue in Pakistan" and have wide media exposure in the area of interfaith dialogue. Pope John Paul II appointed me as Consultor for the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the Vatican, and I served as Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Christian Muslim Relations for 17 years. I was the primary organizer of the URI’s 1,500 miles "Journey for Peace" from Karachi to Khyber. For the past three years, I have served as one of three URI Coordinators for Asia.

My vision for the URI is that Preamble, Purpose and Principles can play an integral role in bringing people of different races religions, and cultures together. The Global Council can make this vision come true. I will put forth my whole heart and soul for this effort. I believe the Global Council trustees can serve best by supporting one another and by sharing successes and challenges with each other. United, we can certainly bring change to the world.

Ms. Perri Kathryn "P.K." McCary
-- Christian/Lutheran, Women’s Spirituality CC, Houston, Texas, USA
-- Perri Kathryn, "P.K." is a story weaver and peace advocate who believes that we should invoke the simple prayer that "God bless the whole world. No exceptions" on a daily basis. She believes that we must believe in peace in order to see it and to that end, chronicles the stories that she witnesses from those who believe.

She is the former Director of Special Programs at the Rothko Chapel (an interfaith foundation) where she designed and facilitated several initiatives for peace, including the yearly "Prayer Vigil with Indigenous People;" the "99 Days of Intentional Peace;" and "The Meaning of the Dream," a tribute to Dr. King hosted at the St. Thomas University. All of these programs reached across cultural, age, religious, and geographic borders to build bridges of understanding, respect and reconciliation. P.K. strongly advocates for youth, from grammar (primary) school through university. She has presented at international conferences and on national TV programs. P.K. works with many interfaith organizations and is a member of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston and the Decade of Non-Violence (UN initiative to create a culture of peace.)

P.K. is an early member of URI, and belongs to several URI Cooperation Circles, including the Women's Spirituality CC and the Arts and Creativity CC. She conducts storytelling workshops around the world, helping people tell their own stories. She is the author of several books, the most recent, What Matters to the Heart: A Storyteller’s Anthology of Hope and Love. P.K. facilitates retreats for women and children.

P.K.'s advocacy experience began before college when she worked with Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. PK was the youngest and first secretary to the Texas Black Political Caucus. After college, she was the public relations spokesperson for the late Congressman, Mickey Leland. As a member of the Decade of Nonviolence, she hosts "The Peace Hour" on KPFT Pacifica radio. This program focuses attention on current issues, local and global, exploring solutions through non-violent means, and interviewing those on the path to peace. P.K. is the mother of three and a grandmother.