Course information and syllabus for Building Abrahamic Partnerships II, Summer 2007

This eight-day intensive training program offers a practical foundation for mutual understanding and cooperation among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Participants learn about the tenets and practices of the three faiths, study texts from their respective scriptures together, attend worship at a mosque, synagogue, and church, and acquire pastoral skills useful in interfaith ministry. Combining the academic and the experiential, the course includes ample time for socializing over meals and during breaks. Building on Hartford Seminary’s strengths as an interfaith, dialogical school of practical theology, this team-taught program is a resource for religious leaders who are grounded in their own traditions while open to the faith orientations of other communities. Part 2

Meeting Day, Time and Dates:
June 22-27, 2008 (intensive schedule, includes some evenings)

Yehezkel Landau
Faculty Associate in Interfaith Relations

Contact Information:
phone: (860) 509-9538
email: ylandau@hartsem.edu

Professor Landau's web page

Course Syllabus

Syllabus for BUILDING ABRAHAMIC PARTNERSHIPS II

Sunday, June 22: Opening dinner, self-introductions combined with initial exercise

Monday, June 23: Facilitating Interfaith Workshops (facilitators: Yehezkel Landau,
Karen Nell Smith, Abdullah Antepli)

Reading: The Little Book of Cool Tools for Hot Topics by R. Kraybill and E. Wright
Peace Skills Leaders’ Guide by Alice Frazer Evans and Robert A. Evans
with Ronald S. Kraybill

Tuesday, June 24: Morning: Compassionate Listening and Nonbelligerent
Communication (facilitators: Gail Syring and Jan Bennett)

Reading: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B.
Rosenberg
That’s Not What I Meant! by Deborah Tannen
Recommended: Nonviolent Communication Companion Workbook by Lucy Leu
Speak Peace in a World of Conflict by Marshall B. Rosenberg
Connecting Across Differences by Jane Marantz Connor and Dian
Killian

Afternoon: The Dynamics of Diversity (facilitator: Tamar Miller)

Reading: Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny by Amartya Sin

Wednesday, June 25: Comparative Text Study (facilitator: Prof. Raquel Ukeles)

Reading: Sh’ma issue on Muslim-Jewish Dialogue, May 2005, featuring articles by
Reuven Firestone (“Dialoguing Text Study”) and Raquel Ukeles
(“Creating a New Model for Dialogue”)
Contesting Texts: Jews and Christians in Conversation about the Bible
edited by Melody D. Knowles et. al. (selected chapters, on reserve)
Scriptures in Dialogue: Christians and Muslims Studying the Bible and
the Qur’an Together edited by Michael Ipgrave (selected chapters, on
reserve)

Thursday, June 26: Spiritual Resources for Conflict Transformation (Landau, Smith,
Antepli)

Reading: Healing the Heart of Conflict by Marc Gopin
The Art of Forgiveness by Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz
Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam by Mohammed Abu-Nimer

Friday, June 27: Designing Interfaith Worship (Landau, Smith, Antepli)

Morning: Christian prayer, followed by interfaith devotional exercises and discussion
Mid-day: Muslim Juma’a prayer, followed by lunch
Afternoon: Interfaith devotional exercises (designed by the group)
Evening: Shabbat prayers, followed by closing dinner and exercise

Reading: selected articles on interreligious prayer (on reserve)

Hartford Seminary 77 Sherman Street Hartford, CT 06105 860-509-9500 info@hartsem.edu