NEWS

Seek interfaith opportunities to grow,
Faculty speaker advises Convo audience

In an increasingly pluralistic time, Lutherans have the kind of history and tradition mandating that they not isolate themselves from connecting with the myriad religious traditions that increasingly dot the landscape, a Seminary Professor told a Spring Convocation audience of alums and friends April 24.

The Rev. Dr. Adele Stiles Resmer, center, with New York Times correspondent Gus Niebuhr, right; and the Rev. Roy Lloyd, Class of 1969, who moderated a Convocation Town Meeting.

"Lutherans have a long history of dialogue and conversation with other religious groups so that isolating ourselves is not on our radar screen," said the Rev. Dr. Adele Stiles Resmer, Associate Professor of Homiletics. Dr. Resmer was addressing the matter of "Local Implications for Ministry" concerning the Convocation theme, "The Challenges of Religious Pluralism in 21^st Century America." Her afternoon address followed a morning presentation on the theme by Gustav Niebuhr, National Correspondent for The New York Times. Niebuhr writes on trends in religion for the newspaper.

Resmer began her presentation by tracing her own experience – growing up in Canada, then moving to the U.S. during a time when civil rights concerns and justice issues dominated the civil scene. She said her early life experience taught her much about the relationship between culture and religion and how people with "deep convictions" from varying traditions may push each other, love each other and "come to common ground" as they work together to make progress on issues of culture and justice.

Regarding pluralism, she said that as Lutherans "if our community doesn't have a mosque, that doesn't let us off the hook. We come and go from our immediate contexts. We have family members in different places and with expanding relationships. And we are connected by the media. We need to be open to being reshaped by the overall context we are a part of." And, she said, one way for individuals to learn more about their own tradition is to dialogue with believers from other perspectives. "When you engage others," she said, "you have to listen deeply, and you can't take shortcuts. You have to know, for example, what Lutherans mean by the term 'grace.' Learning from others is a way of holding up and strengthening our own faith."

As one who teaches homiletics (preaching), Resmer said that sermons are an opportunity to "reflect how we are not alone in our faith perspective" in addition to reflecting "what we believe."

She urged her audience to "go talk to local people (of other faiths)….Find out who is there, and then see what you learn may do to influence your approach to ministry." The outcome of such an outreach may be to form a new group of professional colleagues that through conversation may "learn, push and clarify what we are all about. Conflict is likely, but it is important to stay with it."

Another important context for pluralism is the area of social justice, she said, in areas such as homelessness, the environment, peace and justice. Vigils, prayers together and advocacy are possible outcomes from such pluralistic collegiality, Resmer said, noting that Americans from different faith contexts have often found comfort working on justice issues "because we know we can't do it alone. We have to work together." She urged a model as lived by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to "engage the pain (around us) and think deeply" about the opportunities to engage people of other faiths as part of our individual faith journeys.