Peace Primer II

It is common today to hear the claim that we are engaged in ""a clash of cultures."" The first step in addressing conflict is for all parties to listen to each other. That is the goal of this publication: to allow Christians, Muslims and Jews to listen to each other's scripture and tradition, particularly to hear what each has to say about seeking justice, pursuing peace and working for reconciliation.

""The pious of all nations shall have a place in the world to come.""
Sanhedrin 105a/Babylonian Talmud

""I bring heaven and earth to witness that the Holy Spirit dwells upon a non-Jew as well as upon a Jew, upon a woman as well as upon a man, upon a maidservant as well as a manservant. All depends on the deeds of a particular individual.""
Tanna de Vei Eliyahu

""You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?""
The Apostle Peter, Acts 10:28-29



Lynn Gottlieb, one of the first women to become a rabbi in Jewish history, is a pioneer Jewish feminist, activist, writer, visual artist, ceremonialist, community organizer, master storyteller and performing artist.

She is co-founder of Shomeret Shalom Global Congregation and teacher of the path of the Torah of Nonviolence. Currently, Lynn is director of Youth and Family Programs at Chochmat HaLev Congregation in Berkeley, CA. She is a fellow with the Fellowship of Reconciliation and co-founder of The Community of Living Traditions at Stony Point Center, NY. Her journey includes 45 years of engagement with Israeli-Palestinian conflict transformation and she serves on the board of Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity. Her books include Trail Guide to a Torah of Nonviolence; Peace Primer II; She Who Dwells Within: A Feminist Vision of Renewed Judaism; and A World Beyond Borders Passover Haggadah, which she also illustrated. She is very funny.

Rabia Terri Harris, Founder of the Muslim Peace Fellowship (www.muslimpeacefellowship.org), launched MPF in 1994 as the first Muslim organization specifically devoted to the theory and practice of Islamic nonviolence.

Rabia received her religious education through the Halveti-Jerrahi Tariqa, a traditional Turkish Sufi order. She holds a BA in Religion from Princeton University, an MA in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures from Columbia University, and a Graduate Certificate in Islamic Chaplaincy from Hartford Seminary. In 2009, her three decades of experience in spirituality and community service led to her being chosen as the first president of the Association of Muslim Chaplains.

Currently, Rabia serves as chaplain and scholar in residence at the Community of Living Traditions at Stony Point Center (http://stonypointcenter.org/multifaith-community), an Abrahamic residential community devoted to the pursuit of peace and justice through the practice of hospitality and the care of the earth. You can contact Rabia at MPFrth@gmail.com.


Rev. Ken Sehested is the author and editor of prayer & politiks, an online journal ""at the intersection of spiritual formation and prophetic action."" An award-winning author, his most recent book is In the Land of the Living: Litanies, Prayers, Poems, and Benedictions. His writing and poetry have appeared in more than two dozen magazines and books. Previously, he was founding co-pastor of Circle of Mercy Congregation in Asheville, NC, and, before that, founding director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America. His work has taken him to more than 20 countries on every continent as a speaker, journalist, and confli