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Benedictine Sister of Perpetual Adoration Sarah Schwartzberg, OSB attended a meeting of the board of directors of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (MID) in October at Mount Saint Benedict in Erie, Pennsylvania.
MID is a board of Catholic monastic religious from the Benedictine and Cistercian orders, as well as advisors from various backgrounds and religious traditions. It works under the aegis of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in Rome.
The purpose of MID is to foster dialogue with the monastic traditions of other religions, particularly Buddhism, which has an ancient monastic tradition. However, individually many members also dialogue with religions that do not have a monastic tradition, such as Islam.
Most of the meeting concerned budgetary and business matters, but it also included discussion of possible future events to be sponsored by the board.
Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, who is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, spoke to the board about the Global Peace Initiative of Women, with which she has been involved since its founding in 2002. This organization is a multi-faith, international network of women leaders who are dedicated to the peace and reconciliation process in conflict and post-conflict regions. The Board members had the opportunity to ask questions and to enter into some discussion with Sister Joan before delving into their own agenda.
To learn more about Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, please visit monasticinterreligiousdialogue.com. For the Global Peace Initiative of Women, visit http://www.gpiw.org. |
