How to Be a Perfect Stranger (1st Ed., Vol 2)

Description

These easy-to-use guidebooks help the well-meaning guest of any other faith feel at ease, participate to the fullest extent possible, and avoid violating anyone's religious principles or hurting their feelings. Not a guide to theology. Not presented from the perspective of any particular faith.

What will happen? What do I do? What do I wear? What do I say? When is it OK to leave? What should I avoid doing, wearing, or saying? What are their basic beliefs? Should I bring a gift? These are just a few of the basic, very practical questions answered in How to Be a Perfect Stranger, two books that belong in every living room, library, and office. Originally published in hardcover by Jewish Lights Publishing, these updated and expanded trade paperback editions now include information for the Canadian branches of each faith, plus an added chapter on the largest Protestant denomination in Canada, The United Church of Canada.

VOL.1: How to Be a Perfect Stranger is based on information obtained from authorities of each religion. Assemblies of God; Baptist; Buddhist; The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Churches of Christ; Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist); Episcopalian and Anglican; Greek Orthodox; Hindu; Islam; Jehovah's Witnesses; Jewish; Lutheran; Methodist; Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); Presbyterian; Quaker (Religious Society of Friends); Roman Catholic; Seventh-day Adventist; United Church of Canada; United Church of Christ.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Reference
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 11 février 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781594735561
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Foreword by Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, General Secretary, National Council of Chuches
African American Methodist Chuches Baha i Christian and Missionary Alliance The Christian Congregation Chuch of the Brethren Chuch of the Nazarene Evangelical Free Chuch of America International Chuch of the Foursquare Gospel International Pentecostal Holiness Chuch Mennonite/Amish Native American Orthodox Chuches Pentecostal Chuch of God Reformed Chuch in America Sikh Unitarian Universalist Wesleyan

Glossary
About the Editors
Copyright
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Acknowledgments

A book such as this is the product of many contributions by many people. It could be no other way given the broad tapestry of religions in America. If nothing else, the willingness of those approached for their wisdom and their knowledge about their specific denominations indicates that American religious leaders are eager to be properly understood-and to properly understand others.
Instrumental in the evolution of How to Be a Perfect Stranger were Richard A. Siegel and William Shanken, who developed the original concept and helped get the first volume into gear. Stuart M. Matlins, publisher of Jewish Lights, developed the methodology for obtaining the information, and with Arthur J. Magida, editorial director of Jewish Lights, oversaw the research and writing and provided the impetus for the project. Sandra Korinchak, editor at Jewish Lights, shepherded the project from start to finish with the help of Jennifer Goneau, editorial assistant. Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, generously agreed to write the foreword to this volume. Research assistant Susan Parks helped ensure that certain denominations responded promptly to our requests. And Jordan D. Wood generously assumed an initiative that delighted us all.
The essay on Native American faiths was written by Dan Wildcat, a member of the Wyuchi Tribe of Oklahoma and a sociology professor at the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas.
All other chapters were based on information obtained from an extensive questionnaire filled out by clergy and other religious experts coast-to-coast. Without the help of the following, this volume would never have become a reality:
Timothy Addington, Executive Director of Ministry Advancement, The Evangelical Free Church of America, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rev. E. Wayne Antworth, Director of Stewardship and Communications, The Reformed Church in America, New York, New York
Leroy Beachy, Beachy Amish Mennonite, Millersburg, Ohio
Ronald R. Brannon, General Secretary, The Wesleyan Church, Indianapolis, Indiana
Sharon Glidden Cole, Administrative Assistant, Executive Offices, The Christian and Missionary Alliance, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Archpriest George Corey, Vicar, Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, New York, New York
Rev. Ora W. Eads, General Superintendent, The Christian Congregation, Inc., LaFollette, Tennessee
Father Gregory Havrilak, Director of Communications, Orthodox Church in America, New York, New York
Marvin Hein, General Secretary, The General Conference of Mennonite Brethren, Fresno, California
John Hurley, Archivist and Public Relations Officer, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, Boston, Massachusetts
Rev. B. Edgar Johnson, Former General Secretary, The Church of the Nazarene, Kansas City, Missouri
Wesley Johnson, Executive Assistant, The Evangelical Free Church of America, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Hari Dharam Kaur Khalsa, The Mukhia Sardarni Sahiba, Sikh Dharma of New Mexico, Espa ola, New Mexico
David A. Linscheid, Communications Director, General Conference Mennonite Church, Newton, Kansas
The Very Reverend Protopresbyter Frank P. Miloro, The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese of the U.S.A., Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Mr. Ronald R. Minor, General Secretary, The Pentecostal Church of God, Joplin, Missouri
Rev. Dr. David Ocea, The Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, Grass Lake, Minnesota
Wardell Payne, Research Consultant on African American Religions, Washington, D.C.
Rev. Frank Reid, Senior Pastor, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Baltimore, Maryland
Howard E. Royer, Director of Interpretation, The Church of the Brethren, Elgin, Indiana
Trish Swanson, Former Director, Office of Public Information, Baha is of the United States, New York, New York
Lois Volstad, Executive Secretary, Executive Offices, The Christian and Missionary Alliance, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Deborah Weiner, Director, Public Relations, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, Boston, Massachusetts
Ronald D. Williams, Communications Officer, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Los Angeles, California
Pamela Zivari, Director, Office of Public Information, Baha is of the United States, New York, New York
Introduction

When the first volume of How to Be a Perfect Stranger received the Benjamin Franklin Award for the Best Reference Book of the Year, we were pleased and proud. From our research, we had known that many people were looking forward to this practical, helpful book. What we did not expect was that so many people would tell us in letters and in person that they not only referred to this intriguing volume, they were reading it from cover to cover-and they wanted, and needed, more. Therefore, we compiled this second volume of How to Be a Perfect Stranger . People are hungry for information about their neighbors faiths, and need it at a most practical level.
The 20 denominations in Volume 1 were typically among the largest in the United States, with membership, in many cases, running into the millions. Volume 2 is devoted to denominations with fewer members, but most still over 50,000-or to those that are less frequently encountered, such as Native American religions, and the Amish, Mennonite, Baha i and Sikh faiths.
One of the special features of this volume is a chapter on Native American faiths. As you will see, it differs in presentation and content from the other chapters in either volume of How to Be a Perfect Stranger . Because there is not a single Native American faith, we found the standard question-and-answer format used in these volumes inadequate to properly explain the practices and spirituality of indigenous North American peoples. At the same time, their faith differs so basically from those religions in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions or from Hinduism or Buddhism (which are in Volume 1) that adhering to the standard format would have been more of a disservice than a virtue. For example, ceremonies and their content vary greatly among tribal groups, and even native religions basic concept of a Creator bears little relation to concepts of a Creator in most western and Asian religions.
This chapter was written by a Native American, Dan Wildcat, a member of the Wyuchi Tribe of Oklahoma and a sociology professor at the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas.
The enthusiastic reception from readers and reviewers to Volume 1 suggests that, while each denomination in America worships in its own unique and idiosyncratic way, we, as a country, fervently want to know what is going on in the churches and mosques and synagogues and meeting halls that sustain our spiritual life. But perhaps even more fervent is the urge to be personally comfortable and inwardly and outwardly respectful of other beliefs and traditions, customs and rituals when dealing with a faith not our own. While we may not subscribe to another s religious beliefs, we just as surely wish to understand the basis of that faith and the purposes and manner of its rituals and ceremonies.
This impulse is certainly rooted in the fact that we Americans live in a remarkably fluid society. There is movement between class and race; between the many cultures that form the patchwork known as American culture ; and between religions, that most personal- and often most deeply embedded-of the institutions that shape us, inform us, inspirit us, enlighten us.
As Americans, we often celebrate the diverse ways we worship God. This pluralism and cross-fertilization, we say, is part of what makes this country special, and it often occurs at the most personal of levels. It is not uncommon, for instance, to be invited to a wedding, a funeral or a religious celebration in the home of a relative or friend of a different faith than one s own. Such exposure to the religious ways of others can give us a deep appreciation for the extraordinary diversity of faith and the variety of ways it surfaces.
Also, as the insightful Catholic writer, Father Andrew M. Greeley, has observed, religion is a collection of pictures that we use to give order and meaning to our lives and everything around them. Viewing others religious pictures and noting the contrast between what we see and what we ve experienced in our own religious traditions can also deepen and solidify our own faith by making us consider how our tradition speaks to us, comforts us and challenges us.
Yet, we may be uncomfortable or uncertain when we meet the othe