Dear Friends,

I begin with an expression of gratitude and best wishes to my friend and colleague Rev. Dr. Hans Ucko who since 1989 has given outstanding leadership to WCC's Program on Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation. Cutting edge programs such as the consultations on conversion that are featured in this issue, the work of the Thinking Together group, the Critical Moment in Interreligious Dialogue conference only begin to scratch the surface of WCC's recent accomplishments in interreligious dialogue. We wish him well in his new endeavors.

I am deeply honored to step into the shoes of such ecumenical luminaries as Stanley Samartha, Wesley Ariarajah, Hans Ucko and Tarek Mitri who, among others, have left an indelible mark on the ecumenical movement's journey into interreligious dialogue. My spiritual formation in religiously diverse Sri Lanka and in the ecumenical environment of Sri Lanka's Protestant theological college has prepared me for the present challenge. I offer the following brief self-introduction in humility and gratitude.

I come to this work from the National Council of Churches USA, where I served as the Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations and the Director of its Interfaith Relations Commission.

Among the highlights of that tenure is a Jewish-Christian dialogue table that I co-convened on behalf of Christian partners, which brought together executive staff leaders from the mainline Jewish organizations and Christian denominations in the United States. The strength of the table was its ability to weather serious tensions that occurred, for example, during the 2004 controversy over divestment of funds from corporations that do business in Israel and the 2006 Israel-Hezbullah war. The partners agreed that particularly during times of heightened tension religious people must be in dialogue with each other. A similar Muslim-Christian leaders' dialogue table is presently being planned.

Convinced that Christian theology as a discipline does not take the reality of religious diversity with adequate seriousness, I organized on behalf of the Interfaith Relations Commission, a series of sessions at the American Academy of Religions. Aimed at theologians and seminary deans, it seeks to influence mainstream Christian theological thinking and to encourage a re-evaluation of seminary curricula. The commission also explored the methodological ramifications of WCC's "Thinking Together" model exploring how the Christian theological table must seek the participation of scholars and leaders of other religious traditions, to test, refine and sharpen our own theological reflections. 

At the same time, since the work of interfaith relations must move beyond theological conversations, I advocate for "faith-based diplomacy" where religious leaders take the lead in diplomatic initiatives, particularly in conflicts that are religion-related and where diplomatic manoeuvres of politicians are failing. The WCC program on Accompanying Churches in Situations of Conflict lends itself easily to such diplomatic engagement by religious leaders.

Prior to my tenure at the National Council of Churches USA, I served as the senior pastor of Ellis Avenue Church (Alliance of Baptists) in Chicago, leading them to invest considerable resources in building relationships with other religious communities. A coalition that brought organized communities across religious, racial/ethnic, linguistic and economic lines proved to be powerful in winning victories for economic justice and immigrant rights. I also served my denomination as its vice-president and the chair of its standing committee on ecumenical and interfaith relations.

At a time when religions are often implicated in wars and violence, the work of interreligious dialogue and cooperation is critical. While we will continue to engage senior religious leaders and scholars to experiment with the most cutting-edge models for this work, we will also seek new ways to encourage our national and regional partners as well as local churches to engage their neighbors from other religious communities.

I am very aware that many excellent initiatives of interreligious dialogue and cooperation are going on in local, national and regional contexts in many parts of the world. I encourage you to be in communication with our office, to let us know the exciting achievements of your work and the challenges that you face, so that we may learn from what you are doing. It is only through such communication that our work can be mutually enhanced.

In the meantime, I seek your friendship, collegiality, encouragement and prayer.

Sincerely,

Shanta Premawardhana

Director, Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation