Our friend Jim Henderson talks about two sorts of explorers: Those who say, "You should’ve seen what we saw…" and those who say, "Here’s a map that shows where we went and how we got there…" 

We are organizing the Seattle Multifaith Summit as mapmakers. We have gone, and are going new places together. We don’t get to these places borne by wings of eagles … we walk. When we encounter obstacles, we find workarounds. When we take wrong turns, we retrace our steps. When we can’t agree on a route, we look for a third way.

In all this, we are mapmakers. We serve all who wish to go where we are going — marking the obstacles, the wrong turns, the third ways, the path forward.

Our gathering next month is organized around showing our maps so far. 

If you’d like to see our progress — and, especially, if you have your own maps to share — we’d be honored to have you with us.

The 2018 Seattle Multifaith Summit
Saturday. August 25
Queen Anne United Methodist Church.

​@multifaithsummit

The people preparing to gather for the 16th Annual Seattle Multifaith Summit on August 25, 2018 are a peculiar lot — and we mean that in the kindest, most good-humored way.

The organizers  think of ourselves as pilgrims — traveling with purpose, fueled by devotion.

[We also think of ourselves as neighbors.]

Frankly, we don’t all agree on the exact nature of pilgrimage. We don’t necessarily agree about the ultimate destination … or the route … or the provisions for the journey … or what, or who, we’ll find when we arrive. To those who say, "Total alignment or no deal," we say, "Don’t hold your breath."

We do agree about this, at a minimum: What we would not have done to us, we will not do to another pilgrim. 

So, when people say, “Religion, Race, and Politics Complicate Building Community in Seattle,” we say, "Sure, but not always … not inevitably … not forever…."

We refuse to treat another pilgrim with contempt. We won’t intentionally cause another pilgrim to stumble and fall. We don’t cheat another pilgrim, and we won’t lie to - or about - another pilgrim. If we have water or bread, we will not see another pilgrim go hungry or thirsty. 

If you’re that sort of pilgrim — or wish to be — we would be honored to have you join us for the 16th Annual Seattle Multifaith Summit | August 25 | Queen Anne United Methodist Church

@multifaithsummit

"Religion, Race, and Politics Complicate Building Community in Seattle."
​That’s the common wisdom, but we don’t accept that as a given, steady state. That’s why we’re convening the 16th Annual Seattle Multifaith Summit next month.

The people behind the Summit are drawn together, with all our distinctions and differences, by the fact that we are neighbors. 

We’re neighbors to each other in a sense held by all our traditions — even, we are learning, many folks who disavow religious traditions — that we are connected to each other in time and space by regard for a common good. 

Safe drinking water benefits everyone … even folks who don’t mind putting a thumb on the scale from time to time, value fair weights and measures when they’re on the buying side of the transaction ... and so it goes.... 

We gather for this Multifaith Summit in Seattle because we are in this together, as neighbors.

We’ll be honored to have you join us for the 16th Annual Multifaith Summit — August 25, 2018 — at Queen Anne United Methodist Church.

@multifaithsummit