I attended a session with some officials from the White House. A few months ago, President Obama gave a speech in Cairo, his “address to the Muslim World”, where he affirmed America’s commitment not only to community service but interfaith dialogue and action. These officials came to the conference to explain a bit about what specific initiatives the White House has engaged in to promote interfaith dialogue and service, and what the future of that work means for people in the interfaith movement.
I’ll present each speaker as a series of short talking points. :)
Mara Vanderslice – White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (OFBNP)
Interfaith cooperation through service is a huge part of what the OFBNP has been promoting since President Obama’s Cairo speech.
The administration is working hard to find a role for religions and religious actors in solving the world’s problems.
The influence of people like those in the interfaith movement is helping provide the government with the impetus to make these changes happen.
Robert Lalka – Global Partnerships Liaison at the Office of the Secretary of State
Movements of empowered individuals using 21st century technology create the potential for BIG change – the government is trying to figure out how these movements can become partners in the new spirit of service.
How does the government approach these forces?
“Our true engagement with faith-based organizations was ad-hoc”. If we don’t make sure that we engage with the ways in which FBOs are working in the world, then we aren’t doing our jobs as diplomats.
John Kelly – Strategic Adviser from the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Patnerships at the Corporation for National and Community Service (largest grantmaker for volunteer service).
4 million Americans participate in their service programs every year.
Obama’s first push for legislative action by name was the reauthorization of the CNCS. The bill would triple the size of the CNCS by 2017.
The CNCS has already greatly expanded its programs – lots of new things to do. United We Serve, which launched in June, included an interfaith service component. There were 4000 interfaith service events across these last four months.
86% of American faith communities have service projects going on. 91% of them recruit all of their volunteers from within, and 71% of them return to do the work year after year. 15% of secular service organizations partner with faith-based organizations. That’s a big divide.
Conclusions
Big takeaway = The White House and its service initiatives need us, the people within the interfaith and service movements, to reach out to them and make the connections. They want to find us because we make the work possible. So let’s get working.
No related posts.
