Article May 19, 1997 Issue

Deepening our own faith by listening to others

by Kim Shippey

This week we share some observations on the annual convention of the Religious Public Relations Council, which was founded in 1929 and is the oldest professional public relations organization in the United States. It is an international interfaith association of religion communicators at work in print and the electronic media, in marketing, and in public relations.

One of the welcoming speeches on behalf of the host city of Boston was given by John L. Selover, a member of The Christian Science Board of Directors. He said that, in interfaith conferences, welcomes come in different forms, but that nothing could surpass the welcome implied in the Apostle Paul's words in the New Testament: "I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" (II Cor. 6:17, 18). Mr. Selover applauded the work of the council in "melting the ice and snow of human opinion so that any misunderstanding of other people and their ideas falls away, and attention can be more effectively given to things of the Spirit."

In her opening remarks, Deborah Weiner, chairperson of the 1997 convention, went straight to one of the main themes of the conference—the importance of building interfaith dialogue in pluralistic societies. She asked: "When we look in the mirror, what face do we see? Do we see just our own? Or is it possible also to gaze in the mirror and see many different faces?

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