The internationally renowned Interfaith Amigos will visit Marietta and other sites in southeast Ohio November 10-12. These three clergymen have given their inspiring presentation in the U.S. — from Seattle to New York City– as well as in the Middle East and Japan. They have been featured as TED Talk presenters.

This trio is comprised of Jamal Rahman (an Imam of the Islamic Sufi tradition), Pastor Don Mackenzie (a United Church of Christ Minister), and Ted Falcon (a Reform Jewish Rabbi). Since September 11, 2001, these three have dedicated themselves to the promotion of interfaith dialogue through public presentations and workshops. Their goal is to promote cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction among people of different religious faiths.

The first presentation will be Friday, November 10 at 7pm at the McDonough Center of Marietta College. The following day, on November 11 at 10am there will be a workshop in the Great Room of Andrews Hall on the MC campus. Both of these events are free and open to the public.

In addition, the Interfaith Amigos will give a presentation in Athens at the Baker Center on the campus of Ohio University on Saturday, November 11 at 7pm. and at the Boyd Science Center on the campus of Muskingum University on Sunday, November 12 at 2 p.m. These events are also free and open to the public.

During their presentation the Interfaith Amigos share the promises as well as the challenges related to developing interfaith dialogue that can support collaborative action in our world. With warmth, humor, and wisdom, they guide an interfaith process that opens their audiences to spiritual treasures which support healing and wholeness.

Their visit to southeast Ohio is sponsored by the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Marietta, the First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Athens OH, the Institute for Learning in Retirement, the Evans Trust Fund, Marietta College, and numerous individual donors.

The visit, along with preparatory and follow-up activities, has been arranged by the Interfaith Planning Group of Greater Marietta, which is composed of Muslims, Jews, Christians, and people of other faiths. The group has been meeting for 15 months to arrange for the visit by the Interfaith Amigos and develop other events to reinforce the message of the Interfaith Amigos about the importance of interfaith dialogue.

          The preparatory have included a course on interfaith dialogue, coordinated by Dr. M.J. Ebenhack, currently being offered through the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Marietta College; a course, “Understanding and Appreciating Islam,” presented at two Marietta congregations: Christ United Methodist Church and the Unitarian Universalist Society; a campus-wide program, “Marietta Reads”, at Marietta College, featuring the first book by the Interfaith Amigos, Getting to the Heart of Interfaith, as its common reading for the current academic year.

Their second book, Religion Gone Astray: What We Found at the Heart of Interfaith, received a Spirituality & Practice Book Award for one of the best spiritual books of 2011, an honor awarded also to their first book in 2009.

            Future activities will include interfaith service projects, interfaith dialogue discussion groups, reading club sessions focusing on interfaith dialogue, and a visit to the Arab-American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, in spring, 2018.

            Convener of the Interfaith Dialogue Planning Group, Dr. George Banziger noted, “It is an honor and a privilege to have these distinguished practitioners of interfaith dialogue visit the southeast Ohio. We hope that their visit gives lasting impact to their much-needed message about the importance of interfaith dialogue in this world that is so torn by divisiveness.”

In describing his experience as part of the planning group, Dr. Ziad Akir said, “It has been a pleasure to be part of this very productive group that is thirsty for knowledge about other faiths and is committed to finding common ground among different faiths. As a life-long practicing Muslim, I am gratified with their openness and appreciation of Islam.”

For further information contact:

George Banziger (740-434-5685; gbanz42@suddenlink.net) or

M.J. Ebenhack (740-434-5638; ebenhack@gmail.com)