From The Examiner

Gathered at the historic Antioch Baptist Church in downtown San Jose last week, a group of local religious leaders took another step towards creating a new multi-faith organization in the South Bay.

The new effort will be called the Silicon Valley Interreligious Council and will involve people from the diverse religious communities of the South Bay in joint activities to build relationships, provide educational opportunities, and offer opportunities for cooperative action on behalf of the whole community of the South Bay.

At last weeks’ meeting, those present heard presentations from the Rev. Carol Hovis, Director of the Marin Interfaith Council, and from Rabbi Jay Miller, Director of the Peninsula Clergy Network. They represented two significantly different models for interreligious organizations.

Previously, the group had hosted the Rev. Brian Stein-Webber, Director of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, and Michael Pappas, Director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council, who was accompanied by board members Rita Semel and Jim DeLange.

Following an organizing meeting in May at the South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose, a planning team has been meeting regularly to work out the mission, objectives, and organizational structure of the Council. The twelve members of the planning team include Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Jewish, and Muslim participants along with people from Santa Clara University, Silicon Valley FACES, and the Santa Clara County Council of Churches.

One of the objectives of the new group will be to act as a coordinating point for activities related to Silicon Valley’s status as a Partner City of the Parliament of the World’s Religions.

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This week we have seen some significant steps taken to strengthen the relationships among the diverse religious communities of Silicon Valley.

For the past several months, two Faiths Act Fellows, Tim Brauhn and Hafsa Arain, have been stationed in San Jose to help build a network of students interested in cooperative efforts of service to address global poverty. Sponsored by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and the Interfaith Youth Core, Tim and Hafsa have been working with students up and down the Peninsula to join together in working to eradicate malaria.

As their term of service comes to an end, they have sponsored meetings in San Francisco earlier this month and again this last Monday, May 10, in San Jose, to report on their efforts and to lay a groundwork for continuing after they go. In the time they have been in this area, they have held fourteen gatherings, have gathered a “Hub” team of 25 people, and have built groups at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, UC Berkeley, University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, and Stanford.

Also this week, over forty people representing a wide range of religious and community organizations met at the South Bay Islamic Association center in San Jose and resolved to take the necessary steps toward building a multifaith organization that would enable the religious communities of the South Bay to take a more visible and active role in service to the wider community, engagement with governmental and educational institutions, and stronger relationships with one another in building a peaceable environment for all.

The new organization would take on the functions of Silicon Valley’s status as a member of the Partner City Network of the Parliament of the World’s Religions.

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The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions was proud to send representatives to the launch of the Center of Spiritual Enlightenment in San Jose, United States on November 12th. Board Chair Rev. Dr. William Lesher and Partner Cities Director Ms. Zabrina Santiago attended and spoke at the inaugural event, along with Mayor Chuck Reed of San Jose.

The Center offers worship services, adult education classes in spiritual philosophy and practice, healthy living, Hatha Yoga, retreats, leadership training, spiritual direction and counseling, children’s education and a thriving spiritual community. For more information on the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, click here.

The Tri-City Voice has written a nice article on San Jose’s admission to the Partner Cities Network.  According to the report, “a delegation from Santa Clara County will travel to Melbourne, Austrlia to receive the award at the World Parliament in December 2009.”  To read the full article, click here.

The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions is proud to announce that the San Jose has been selected as the Inaugural City for the Partner City Network.  San Jose joins the ranks of legacy Partner Cities Chicago, Cape Town, Barcelona, Monterrey, and Melbourne who have each hosted or will host the Parliament of Religions.

To learn more about the Partner Cities Network, click here.