July Meeting: Violence, Faith and Hope

The recent news of violence in the United States began the conversation for the Nashville Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council, but as each person put their deep-seated beliefs on the table, hope became the keyword during this bi-monthly meeting in the series: “Building Bridges Over Bagels."

Baha'i, Muslim, Remnant Fellowship member and Scientologist each engaged about how individual religious practices shape our lives, and how we can change the world by starting right in our own homes. Candace Anger, with Remnant Fellowship church, pointed out how they believe that it starts with oneself and being good to one's own family. This was echoed by every other person at the table, across religious lines.

The meeting took place at the Islamic Center of Tennessee. The next meeting location will be announced on the Nashville RCC website, and takes place on September 13th at 8:30am.  

Attending the meeting were: Tedd and Candace Anger of Remnant Fellowship Church, Miley Barcus of Remnant Fellowship Church, Carol Mansour with Baha'is of Middle Tennessee, Aisha Lbhalla with Muslim Women's Council, and Julie Brinker with the Church of Scientology. 

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Discusses Roles of Women

The Nashville Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council holds bi-monthly meetings to discuss hot topics and have deep discussions on what is happening in the world today.

What role do women play in religion? This was the topic of discussion as the Religion Communicators Council met on International Women’s Day for its bi-monthly meeting, “Building Bridges Over Bagels,” in Nashville, Tenn.

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) is the longest running interfaith communications organization in the United States, and has chapters across the country that meet regularly to promote “excellence in the communication of religious faith and values in the public arena and encourage understanding among religious and faith groups,” according to the RCC website.  

When the Nashville RCC chapter met recently, its president, Rev. Brian Fesler, had the group look at various news items and asked the attendees to vote on which they would take up to discuss at the meeting. The topic chosen: International Women’s Day, and the role of women in religion.

Each person discussed how their faith tradition has honored women or spoke of the women of great influence on their faith, then went further into discussing women of influence in other faith traditions that were not represented, such as women founders of more modern religions.

The meeting took place at the Baha’i Faith Community Center on Bell Road. Recent past meetings have been at the Church of Scientology, Islamic Center of Nashville and United Methodist Communications. The next meeting location will be announced on the Nashville RCC website, and takes place on May 10^th at 8:30am. For more information about the RCC or their next meeting, visit www.religioncommunicators.org.

January Meeting: Building Bridges over Bagels

RCC held its first meeting for the year in January at the Nashville Church of Scientology in a warm environment with hot coffee & tea and plenty of bagels for all. Chapter president, Rev. Brian Fesler, opened the meeting by welcoming everyone, getting introductions, then diving right into the hot news discussion of the day: in the 1970s, Southern Baptist leaders supported women's right to choice. Today, the SBC leaders are seeking an end to legal abortion. How can it be that a denomination can turn 180 degrees on such a basic issue? 

The group talked about various political issues and how they have impact, as well as if it is or isn't right to make government policy that is based in religious beliefs, and most importantly how to reach those who do make policy to try and get it all right. 

This meeting series is called “Building Bridges over Bagels,” drawing attention to making strong and lasting ties between people of faith while breaking bread together. According to Fesler, the concept for these meetings is “to bring diverse people together to dialogue about hot topics and how we can unite to bring more inspiration and good news to the world.”

Attending the January meeting were: Julie Brinker with the Church of Scientology, Drew Pope with the LDS Church, Carol Mansour with Baha'is of Middle Tennessee, Prem Singh Kahlon with the Sikh Temple, Royya James with United Methodist Communications, Rev. Brian Fesler with the Church of Scientology, Teresa Suarez with United Methodist Development Center, Brooke Baker with Faith and Culture Center, and Amy Hurd with the Tennessee Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Discusses Teaching Religion in Schools

The longest running interfaith communications organization in the United States, the Religion Communicators Council (RCC), has chapters across the country that meet regularly and promote “excellence in the communication of religious faith and values in the public arena and encourage understanding among religious and faith groups,” according to the RCC website. 

In Nashville, the RCC Chapter recently shifted the style of meetings to maintain the organization’s historic integrity while adjusting to 21^st century ideals by holding bi-monthly meetings to discuss hot topics and how they, as people of faith, may influence others.

In November, the group talked about the teaching of religion in public schools, citing the recent news of parents in Williamson County who were upset about the amount of attention paid to teaching about Islam during a social studies class.

During the meeting, the group reviewed the possible ways that religion could be discussed in a grade school setting to promote tolerance and diversity without enforcing any one particular belief or faith values on students. RCC members also agreed parents are the ones that need to teach their children about religion, not just their own, but open the discussion so their kids understand that there are other people in the world who believe differently than oneself.

According to the President of the Nashville Chapter, Rev. Brian Fesler who also Pastors the Nashville Church of Scientology, the chapter meetings take place on the second Tuesday of every other month during breakfast. “The concept for these meetings is to bring diverse people together to dialogue about hot topics and how we can unite to bring more inspiration and good news to the world,” he said.

The RCC has members from every faith group and walk of life including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, Sikhs, Hindus and more. For more information about the RCC or their next meeting, visit www.religioncommunicators.org.

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Announces New Series of Breakfast Meetings

The Nashville Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council has announced a new series of meetings, beginning in September.

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) was formed in the 1920s to promote “excellence in the communication of religious faith and values in the public arena and encourage understanding among religious and faith groups,” according to the RCC website.  As such, the RCC is the oldest interfaith communications organization in the United States. In Nashville, the RCC Chapter is shifting the style of meetings to maintain the organization’s historic integrity while adjusting to 21^st century ideals.

Beginning in September, Nashville’s RCC meetings will consist of more open dialogue and communication among members about hot topics and current events. This shift comes after the organization’s executive committee did a survey of members and found that they were looking for more participation.

According to the President of the Nashville Chapter, Rev. Brian Fesler who also Pastors the Nashville Church of Scientology, the chapter meetings will take place on the second Tuesday of the month over breakfast. “The concept for these meetings will be to bring diverse people together to dialogue about hot topics and how we can unite to bring more inspiration and good news to the world,” he said.

The RCC has members from every faith group and walk of life including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, and more. For more information about the RCC or their next meeting, visit www.religioncommunicators.org.

Religious Communicators Discuss Care for the Environment

The Religion Communicators Council exists to spread the good news to the world. Its members come from all religious groups and work in various public relations arenas.

What does the environment have to do with religion? That is what a group came together to discover in June during the monthly meeting of the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) in Nashville, Tennessee.

RCC hears regularly from a variety of organizations and groups which better the community, promote messages of faith or give tips on how to spread the good word. This month, the topic was care for the environment.

Guest speakers discussed the community garden in the Edgehill neighborhood and how young and old alike join forces to create wonderful fruits and vegetables. A horticulturist was happy to share the best practices for planting trees so they aren’t going to grow to be a problem for power lines and so they aren’t planted near water pipes underground. She also discussed the best ways to trim trees so they grow big and healthy while at the same time not growing in such a way that would be dangerous, in the case that they were to fall in a storm for example.

“It’s great to know what we can do to make the city a more beautiful, greener and cleaner place to live,” says president of the Nashville RCC chapter and pastor of the Church of Scientology, Rev. Brian Fesler.

The discussion was all the more appropriate due to the timeliness of the United Nations annual World Environment Day which occurs in the month of June.

RCC is open to members from all denominations, and the Nashville group includes Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, and more.  For more information about the RCC, visit www.religioncommunicators.org.

April 2015: Paul Galloway, American Center for Outreach

In April, Nashville's RCC Chapter met at the American Center for Outreach Office to meet Paul Galloway and learn more about the center which was formed in 2011.
 
What does a religious community do when they are attacked on the political stage? The answer: form a non-profit to address this. That is exactly what happened in 2011 when the American Center for Outreach was formed by Muslim leaders in Nashville, Tennessee.

Paul told Nashville RCC members about how he was recruited from Houston, Texas to come to Nashville which was steeped in anti-Muslim legislation and how the American Center for Outreach was formed as a 501(c)4 to address this.

Tennessee already had AMAC (American Muslim Advisory Council) which operates as a 501(c)3 to address issues with law enforcement, but the Muslim community didn't have a way to fight bigoted legislation at the capital. ACO (American Center for Outreach) was the answer to this need.

Current legislation that ACO is working to address includes Senate Bill 1040 / House Bill 1141 which deals with "no-go zones." It states that there are areas in Tennessee that are "controlled" by extremist gangs where average citizens aren't welcome. This is entirely untrue and perpetuates myths surrounding faith communities.

Paul has written for a blog titled "Muslim Matters." Some of his writing can be found here under the name Paul "Iesa" Galloway.

For more information on the American Center for Outreach or current campaigns, visit www.acotn.org.