News From The Assembly

NPR Journalist Encourages Disciples to Reach Out to Other Religions  
July 25, 2007 - Disciples News Service - Fort Worth, Texas

Krista Tippett, host of the NPR talk show "Speaking of Faith", spoke at a unity dinner sponsored by the Council on Christian Unity and "DisciplesWorld" magazine on Wednesday, July 25.

People of different faiths should explore new and more effective ways to have conversation and unity around shared virtues, journalist Krista Tippett said during a unity dinner at the General Assembly July 25. The dinner, which took place under the theme, “Celebrating Unity: The Next Generation,” at the Fort Worth Convention Center, was sponsored by the Council on Christian Unity and “DisciplesWorld” magazine.

“The more we can put human faces and stories and voices to our religious claims, the better we are able to stay in conversation and relationship, even with those in a very different place” on the religious spectrum, said Tippett, host of the weekly talk show “Speaking of Faith” on National Public Radio.

Tippett has regularly interviewed religious leaders, artists, politicians, scientists, parents and others on her show. She is known for engaging her NPR guests in deep spiritual and theological conversation and reflection. Her interviews have crossed the religious spectrum, and included such people as Mariane Pearl, a Buddhist and the widow of former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was murdered by terrorists in Iraq, and Andrew Young, a former lieutenant of Martin Luther King Jr. and mayor of Atlanta.

Tippett’s speech was entitled, “Speaking of Faith: A New Imagination for a New Century,” and was the 24th Peter Ainslie Lecture on Christian Unity. Ainslie was a Disciples ecumenist who pushed for the creation of the Council on Christian Unity during the early part of the 20th century. The speech focused on how persons of different faiths can find new ways to have conversation and unity around similarly shared virtues. She mentioned three virtues in particular: hospitality, humility and respect for mystery.

Hospitality is a hands-on extension of a person’s ethical commitment, said Tippett, who spoke to a crowded dinner gathering. She explained that the virtue of hospitality in the Christian faith can be understood as living out Christ’s call to love both the neighbor and the enemy. She described humility as approaching that which is different from us with a sense of wonder, curiosity and expectance. Regarding the third virtue, she pointed out that respect for mystery keeps our earthly certainties and divine mystery in creative tension and whenever it enters into a discussion or debate, the conversation gentles.

“That new imagination and open mind calls us to engage one another in spirited conversation and at the same time be willing to allow others to enlarge and potentially transform our perspective,” she said. Her speech, much like her program, combined an articulate expression of moral intelligence and sophistication that is increasingly rare today in the “sound byte” culture of religion in the public sphere.

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Krista Tippett’s address will be published in the next issue of Call to Unity, a publication of the Council on Christian Unity. Please contact Robert Welsh at rwelsh@ccu.disciples.org for further information about this publication.

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By: Laura Odiorne, freelance writer in conjunction with Communication Ministries