As part of a five - day interfaith conference, the San Francisco Interfaith Council will host a banquet 6:30 p.m. July 27 at St. Mary's Cathedral. The banquet will be held in conjunction with the 20th anniversary gathering of the North American Interfaith Network, and will honor religion scholar Huston Smith.
NAIN will also sponsor public workshops at Fromm Center at the University of San Francisco. The free workshops include presentation on Native American spirituality, a talk on "Compassionate Listening" from Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, a screening of the PBS documentary "Beyond Theology," and an interfaith youth outreach seminar.
Father Gerard O'Rourke, director emeritus of the Office of Ecumenical and Inter - religious Affairs for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, told Catholic San Francisco NAIN is a "pioneering" group, and said he looks forward to participating in the event now that it has been scheduled in San Francisco.
Father O'Rourke also said the children's workshop is of particular interest.
"Children are up to their ears in ( interfaith issues ) because of ( inter - religious ) marriages," the priest said. "To have a recognition that they need attention is great."
The Rev. Paul Chaffee, executive director of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio, said he relished the opportunity to hold the event at USF in the heart of San Francisco.
"We decided to make a big deal about it this year because it's the 20th anniversary," said Chaffee, whose organization will host the conference.
Chaffee said religious diversity has become a cornerstone of life in North America.
"People think this interfaith stuff is about San Francisco and Los Angeles, maybe Chicago and New York," Chaffee said. "It's happening in Tulsa and Toronto. Across the country we have this diversity and people are waking up in a new kind of religious America and trying to figure that out."
The free workshops will be held July 24, and precede the conference to run July 24 - 28. The conference itself will feature 27 workshop opportunities, and an optional dinner cruise on the San Francisco Bay. Registration for the conference is $350, while the cruise costs an additional $80. Reservations are required for the Sunday banquet. For more information or to register, contact Corbin Davis at ( 510 ) 229 - 2506 or corbin@interfaith - presidio.org.
