April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
ECUMENISM/INTERFAITH
Local faith groups work together well
"I have seen absolutely tremendous strides," said Audrey Hughes, a member of the diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs commission since 1970. She has chaired the Jewish-Catholic dialogue committee and now heads the Muslim-Catholic dialogue committee.
Muslims' devotion to their faith "puts [Catholics] to shame sometimes," she said, and Catholics need to learn more about the Quran and the tenets of Islam.
She wishes more pastoral councils included ecumenical liaisons: "You have to get to know people as people."
A parishioner of Immaculate Conception Church in Glenville, Mrs. Hughes is also a past president of the Interfaith Community of Schenectady, which fosters understanding among different faiths through dinner meetings and an annual concert.
Many groups
It's the oldest interfaith organization in New York State and recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. The IFC joins dozens of other ecumenical and interfaith organizations in the Capital Region; some are made up of clergy, while others include congregations and individuals. Major groups include:
• the Capital Region Ecumenical Organization (CREO), which has more than 15 member groups, including diocesan Catholic Charities and the Diocese of Albany. It has helped develop ministries that feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and advocate for social justice;
• Schenectady Inner City Ministry (SICM), an ecumenical partnership of 54 congregations that runs the largest emergency food organization in the county, a hospitality and resource center for people affected by HIV/AIDS and a summer lunch program for youth;
• Troy Area United Ministries (TAUM), an ecumenical and interfaith organization of 40 congregations that sponsors a furniture program, a scholarship fund, campus ministry at two Troy colleges and more;
• the Capital Area Council of Churches (CACC), an ecumenical group of 80 congregations that runs a homeless shelter, a hunger walk, campus ministry at The University at Albany and baptism witnesses;
• the Capital Region Theological Center, an ecumenical organization that offers classes and promotes understanding among the 23 faiths represented in its student body;
• the Sidney and Beatrice Albert Interfaith Lectureship at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, which brings notable speakers or panels to the campus every year; and
• the Hayyim and Esther Kieval Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies at Siena College in Loudonville, which has similar goals.
Decline hurts
Leaders say declines in membership in faith communities across the board - a study by the Pew Center for the People and the Press found that nearly one in five Americans has no religious affiliation - has cut attention on collaboration and dialogue.
"When resources and people are diminishing, it's harder to reach out," said Rev. Donna Elia, executive director of TAUM and pastor of First United Church in Hoosick Falls.
All congregations, she said, need to do a better job "to reach out and say, 'Here's why being a person of faith matters.'"
Instead of focusing on numbers, leaders should encourage deeper relationships with God, learn from one another and serve their communities together, Rev. Elia said.
"We can model to a larger arena that, 'Yes, we can work together, and no, we're not always divided,'" she said. "It will, at the very least, show that people of faith can be people who are trying to make a difference on behalf of our communities, and hopefully that will translate to something."
Lively dialogue
Rev. Elia noted that a dozen clergy, including a rabbi and an imam, meet 10 times a year in Troy.
"There's an openness," she said. "We have some really fine, long-standing relationships here."
Rev. Thomas Krupa, pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Castleton, agreed that ecumenism is "very much alive.
"All of the churches respond to whatever needs are in the area," said Father Krupa, who heads Cooperative Christian Ministries of Schodack, a six-church partnership that runs a thrift store, a food pantry, a vacation Bible school, holiday gifts, an ecumenical Thanksgiving service and baccalaureate services for graduates.
Rev. George Brennan, executive director of CACC and pastor of Our Lady of Hope parish in Copake Falls, moved to the Albany Diocese about eight years ago. The ecumenism in the region impresses him.
Recently, for example, churches convened to discuss racist vandalism at Macedonia Baptist Church in Albany. They've also discussed how an Albany cabaret law might affect their communities. Father Brennan hopes to see CACC evolve from an ecumenical to an interfaith organization, which would include Jewish, Muslim and other non-Christian congregations - but "there already is an interfaith consciousness," he said. "It should not be an either/or choice."
(For information on any of these groups, call the ecumenical commission at 453-6660.)[[In-content Ad]]
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