The National Hindu-Christian Dialogue, co-sponsored by the National Council of Churches, the Vedanta Society of Southern California, and The Guibord Center, met on May 30 in Los Angeles, CA. This session of the dialogue, which generally meets twice per year, was hosted by the Vedanta Society, under the leadership of Swami Sarvadevananda. The dialogue, which began meeting in 2018, is one of five national dialogues co-convened by the NCC and its interfaith partners, including the National Buddhist-Christian Dialogue, the National Jewish-Christian Dialogue, the National Muslim-Christian Dialogue, and the National Sikh-Christian Dialogue.
The National Council of Churches is an ecumenical partner supported by the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund apportionment, which enables United Methodists to share a presence and a voice in the activities of several national and worldwide ecumenical organizations.
One main topic of the session was “Creating a mission statement for the dialogue table.” Moderated by Dr. Don Thorsen (Azusa Pacific University and the Wesleyan Theological Society), it provided an opportunity to articulate a self-definition of the dialogue and think in aspirational terms about the table’s direction. Discussion on the latter evolved into a draft vision statement for the dialogue that affirmed:
vision statement for the dialogue that affirmed:
- engagement in dialogue to foster mutual understanding, promote respect for religious diversity, create well-informed and spiritually robust friendships, and collaborate on shared principles;
- the importance of recognizing common values (such as compassion, love of the sacred, and ethical living), as well as learning from acknowledged differences in belief, experience, and practice;
- the role of interreligious dialogue as crucial for dispelling stereotypes, prejudices, and misunderstandings;
- and the imperative to lift the well-being of others’ communities, contribute to harmonious coexistence, and build bridges of empathy to better serve the human family.
Dialogue members intend to review and finalize the draft vision statement at the next meeting.
Another important topic addressed during the session was “Peacemaking rooted in our faiths: A roundtable discussion during a time of global conflict and domestic turmoil.” Moderated by Swami Mahayogananda (Vedanta Society), the discussion opened with presentations by Dr. Lo Sprague (The Guibord Center), Rev. Dr. Todd Yonkman (United Church of Christ), and Swami Ishwarananda (Chinmaya Mission), all of whom shared their concerns and hopes, as well as sources of strength and calls to action, as communities of faith confront multiple crises in our world. Prominent themes of the general discussion that followed were the suffering of others and the need to serve them, the wrongful justification of religiously motivated violence, and the response to despair among those in our local settings.
The next session of the dialogue will likely meet in late fall.
National Council of Churches website
One of seven apportioned giving opportunities of The United Methodist Church, the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund enables United Methodists to share a presence and a voice in the activities of several national and worldwide ecumenical organizations. Please encourage your leaders and congregations to support the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund apportionment at 100 percent.
