1st Interfaith Heroes Month runs ’til Jan 31!
Here’s how BOLD we are in our new approach to faith:
We’re launching a new global observance! It’s
Interfaith Heroes Month, which will be observed every January for 31
days — expanding upon the U.S. holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King
so that we can more broadly highlight the importance of building
bridges as peacemakers in our troubled world.
How do we
celebrate? By inviting people across the U.S. and around the world to
read 31 daily, inspirational stories about men and women like King and
his mentor Mahatma Gandhi who reached out across religious boundaries
to build stronger communities. ReadTheSpirit is producing the online
home for all of this at a new “landing page” within our family of Web
pages: www.InterfaithHeroes.info
We have also published the companion book, “Interfaith Heroes,”
written by the Rev. Daniel L. Buttry, an international peace negotiator
for American Baptist Churches. The book is an ongoing extension of this
month — packed with extras, like questions for daily reflection, group
study guides and tips for making interfaith connections where you live.
Click on the book cover or title to buy a copy for use in any season
this year. It’s available through the regular Amazon online store.
The heart of the celebration is right here
in January: all 31 stories appearing free online day by day — along
with listings of events to attend and invitations to add your voice to
the global conversation!
YOU
are an essential part of this celebration! Each day at our site, we’re
inviting men, women and young people to add their personal reflections.
AND, we’re inviting YOU — as an individual, a class, a group or a
congregation — to nominate the 31 “heroes” we will honor in January
2009. So, your voice can be heard around the world!
IN
MICHIGAN, the home state where an array of longstanding peacemakers,
journalists and community leaders joined in launching this new global
observance — excitement is growing.
By January 1, nearly 2,500
other Web pages around the world carried news items or mentions of this
new observance! That’s an inspiring sign of hope in itself!
The
major organization behind this new observance and the research that
went into the first 31 inspirational stories is the Michigan Roundtable
for Diversity and Inclusion’s nationally known Interfaith Partners organization.
This pioneering interfaith group sponsors and coordinates a broad array
of diversity programs that are reaching out across the U.S.
Here
at ReadTheSpirit, we’re partnering to publish these daily stories,
provide the online, interactive experience for all of us — and we’re
publishing the new companion book, too.
Another major partner is WWJ NewsRadio
950 AM, the giant CBS news-radio station in southeast Michigan, which
plans to highlight these heroes and the ongoing observance throughout
the month of January.
If you’re a news media professional in another part of the U.S., Email David Crumm
to learn more about the unfolding schedule. This event will spread out
around the world in coming years — as have many other seasonal
observances and holidays that began with grassroots creativity in one
corner of our nation or another.
Already, this is a
first-of-its-kind partnership between media, educators, religious and
community leaders to make a spiritual difference in the world!
Don’t miss it — because you’ve got an essential role to play!
Coming in February:
Our Lent: “Things We Carry”
An entirely new approach to inspirational reading in this season
marked by nearly 2 billion Christians around the world. Stay tuned!
We’re organizing diverse Christian voices for this special, brand-new
online project.
Early in 2008:
“The Spiritual Wanderer”
Who’s HE? He’s a guy just like you and me –– simply
trying to find that first cup of coffee before he can even contemplate
resetting his spiritual bearings for a new day. In early 2008,
ReadTheSpirit will be introducing the delightful new memoirist Rodney
Curtis — who’ll be a fresh shot of Espresso in your spiritual fuel
tank.
He’s already been described as “a male Anne Lamott” by
other writers who’ve glimpsed his work. Stay tuned for news about his
debut.
ALSO — Early in 2008:
ReadTheSpirit’s Top 10 Lists!
We’ve heard from so many readers that you need to find great books, films and other media in some very specific categories. SO, we’re
going to launch special new areas of our Web hub, built around our
recommendations of Top 10 titles in 6 categories: Inspirational, Great
with Groups, Scripture Study, Expand Your Horizon, Read the World —
and, finally, for all of those other rapidly expanding resources —
Multimedia Meditations.
