c. 1996 Religion News Service
STAMFORD, Conn. (RNS)-Organizers of a major national conference to promote Christian-Jewish relations to be held here in October say they want to pose an alternative to”religious extremists,”whom they blame for fragmenting the country.”We will be making a case for the moderate voice of religion,”said Rabbi Robert Lennick of Greenwich, one of the conveners of the 15th National Workshop on Christian-Jewish Relations to be held Oct. 27-30.
Planners expect 1,500 to 2,000 participants, at least 1,000 of them from out of town as well as from other countries.”This is the largest gathering of Jews and Christians in the world for conciliation, understanding and collaboration,”he said.”Our conference represents the absolute antithesis to the spirit of fragmentation.” Lennick said he is not directly challenging groups like the Christian Coalition-or any other religious players in election year politics-because”we don’t want to see the conference waylaid”in a political brawl.
To hold such an event a week before the presidential elections, he said,”stands as a challenge to all voices of extremism. It is a counterpoint particularly to extremism in the religious community.” The theme of the conference is”Seeking God: The Challenge of Being Religious in America.”Karen Armstrong, the English scholar and author of the best-selling book,”A History of God,”is scheduled to deliver the keynote address.
Other scheduled speakers include Stephen L. Carter, the Yale Law School professor and author of”The Culture of Disbelief”; Margaret O’Brien Steinfels, editor of Commonweal, the lay Catholic opinion magazine; and Julius Lester, professor of African-American and Judaic Studies at the University of Massachusetts.
Rabbi Michael Cook of Hebrew Union College and Lutheran Bishop Emeritus Krister Stendahl of Stockholm are scheduled to join in an examination of New Testament Scripture. Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism and the Rev. Cecil Murray of the 9,000-member First Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles are scheduled to consider the impact of religion on society.
The biennial National Workshop grew out of a 1973 gathering of 75 people exploring Catholic-Jewish relations. It later expanded to include Protestant and Orthodox Christian participation. This year, some Muslims are expected to participate as well.
Lennick spoke at a press conference here Tuesday (Feb. 13) to announce the preliminary agenda for the workshop, two years in the planning. Fifteen national organizations are among the co-sponsors, including the American Jewish Committee, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and the National Council of Churches.
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