RCC member attends interfaith dialogue in Indonesia

A member of RCC's New York Chapter helped lead a Jan. 25-27 dialogue in Jakarta, Indonesia, between American and Southeast Asian religious and civic leaders.

Bud Heckman, director of external relations for New York-based Religions for Peace, was among 20 Americans at "Building Collaborative Communities: Enhancing Cooperation among People of Different Faiths." The event, arranged by the U.S. government, was designed to encourage cooperation between the United States and Muslim-led countries.

Heckman is a member of the Inter-religious Cooperation Task Force of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

"Cooperation between people of different faiths builds social cohesion," Heckman told the United Methodist News Service. "The more we can foster religious cooperation, the better we will understand one another and the less likely it is that there will be people willing to commit acts of violence over religious differences."

While these differences are real, he said, "We shouldn't be daunted by the size of the task of building understanding between people of different faiths and of addressing the social inequities that are at the heart of terrorists' motivations."

Participants in Jakarta were to share ideas and strategies on dealing with poverty, education, climate change and good governance.

The dialogue in Indonesia, both the world's largest Muslim country and a multireligious society, was to inaugurate a regional interfaith working group in Southeast Asia. It would help build new partnerships between faith and civic communities.