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Dan with Mr. Timmermans and interfaith leaders
Journal—April, 2009
Detroit, USA
Who would have guessed six years ago that living in Detroit would be so helpful in doing my global peacemaking work? Being a global missionary with International Ministries I can live anywhere (in consultation with IM). Because of my wife’s deep calling to urban mission in Detroit and because Detroit has a great international airport, it was agreed when I came on missionary staff that I could live in Detroit. Little did I realize how many doors for peacemaking that home base would open to me.
Today I met with the Minister in the government of the Netherlands who deals with interfaith and inter-religious issues, Frans Timmermans. I was invited by some of my Muslim friends who were meeting with Mr. Timmermans at the Islamic Center of America as part of Timmermans’ effort to open channels for dialog to help with relationships in his own country between Muslims and the larger society as well as to connect to the global community. You may recall the furor around the world a couple years ago over cartoons published in the Netherlands that depicted Muhammad in insulting ways. Timmermans is a pro-active kind of person, very impressive for his desire to face problems head-on in constructive ways. We had a delightful and frank discussion.
During the discussion I expressed appreciation for the sanctuary the Dutch provided for Baptist refugees fleeing religious persecution in England 400 years ago. I also presented him copies of my books Interfaith Heroes and Interfaith Heroes 2, each of which includes a Dutch interfaith hero, one Jewish and one Christian. The Dutch have many things to teach us, but Timmermans was coming to learn about how to move beyond mere tolerance (the Dutch are very good at that) to respectful interaction where we take responsibility for one another and for how our own actions impact others. Interestingly Baptists have modeled, in our best moments, that kind of respectful engagement to build a shared community.
A new project may develop (or it may fizzle out!) in the Netherlands. We had a Dutch Baptist participant at the Global Baptist Peace Conference in Italy who attended my interfaith heroes workshop. He and I have continued our communications since about ways I might be a resource to the Baptists in the Netherlands as they seek positive ways to relate to their Muslim neighbors and help move their society through some of the tense issues they are facing. Shortly after he and I began pursuing plans I was invited to the event with Mr. Timmermans. I’ve been talking with some of my Muslim and Jewish about ways we might go to the Netherlands together in response to Timmermans’ challenges. Is God brewing something up? Will my Muslim interfaith partners in Detroit and the global Baptist peace network converge in a way to open new doors for community peace-building?
This wouldn’t be the first time my interfaith community in Detroit has opened doors in other countries. Detroit friends helped me connect to the Imam Al-Sadr Foundation in Lebanon, and then later I was able to help link them to the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary for some program connections. Including Imam Al-Sadr in Interfaith Heroes has opened many doors for me to be welcomed among Muslims as we look for ways forward in peacemaking together. A Hindu friend in Detroit has helped me make some connections which may help in exploring ways for constructive dialog about the violence of Hindu militants in Orissa and other parts of India. All the ministry I’ve done in Ethiopia was also the direct result from an Ethiopian living in Detroit inviting me into contexts to which I did not have access at the time.
Our world is no longer a set of isolated communities to which we might travel periodically to live or do our work. Rather we are woven together, networked. Just like you can get into the world wide web from your workplace, from your home, from a wi-fi hotspot at your local coffee shop, or from an internet café in a shack in Cameroon or a storefront in Myanmar, so too we can jump into global peacemaking from so many areas, far but also and most especially near. Detroit has proved to be not only the gateway for my international air travel, but in some totally unexpected ways the gateway into peacemaking opportunities I’d never imagined.
For you that means that there are peacemaking opportunities near at hand that are of significance both locally and globally. Don’t overlook these opportunities! How do you relate to your neighbors, especially those coming from other cultures and other faiths? The communities we build here are woven into that global web of humanity, and what we do here for good or ill sends ripples to distant places. Our trust-building, our stereo-type shattering, our standing for freedom, respect and responsibility, can give strong nudges for similar efforts in other communities of faith and other countries. What you do at home is important globally. You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth, not just in one local community, but literally in the world, the earth, the entire planet, because of the incredible globalized interconnectedness of our current age.
Between my international trips to Italy in February and India in June, I’ve got a lot to do including fund-raising. The current financial crisis has hit International Ministries hard. To do my share in keeping our ministries financially viable I need to double my support. I can’t do that alone. I have a wonderful Mission Partnership Team working around me to help in the process. Then there is the Mission Partnership Network, those who care about my ministry and support it with prayers, money, encouragement, connections and wisdom. If you are reading this journal (especially down to this point!) you are part of the network! I need your help.
One key area of needed help is gifts from new donors. If you have never given in support of my ministry with International Ministries, a donation of between $200 to $2,000 made before the end of June could be doubled through matching funds from the Luther Rice Society. Such gifts can be made by credit card through the IM website (www.internationalministries.org) or through my new website (www.danbuttry.com –there’s a link to take you to IM’s giving page). You can also send a gift by check to International Ministries, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482, noted “for support of Dan Buttry.” I need to double my support by the end of September and then sustain that level of support into 2010. Thank you!
Peace,
Dan
Detroit, USA
Who would have guessed six years ago that living in Detroit would be so helpful in doing my global peacemaking work? Being a global missionary with International Ministries I can live anywhere (in consultation with IM). Because of my wife’s deep calling to urban mission in Detroit and because Detroit has a great international airport, it was agreed when I came on missionary staff that I could live in Detroit. Little did I realize how many doors for peacemaking that home base would open to me.
Today I met with the Minister in the government of the Netherlands who deals with interfaith and inter-religious issues, Frans Timmermans. I was invited by some of my Muslim friends who were meeting with Mr. Timmermans at the Islamic Center of America as part of Timmermans’ effort to open channels for dialog to help with relationships in his own country between Muslims and the larger society as well as to connect to the global community. You may recall the furor around the world a couple years ago over cartoons published in the Netherlands that depicted Muhammad in insulting ways. Timmermans is a pro-active kind of person, very impressive for his desire to face problems head-on in constructive ways. We had a delightful and frank discussion.
During the discussion I expressed appreciation for the sanctuary the Dutch provided for Baptist refugees fleeing religious persecution in England 400 years ago. I also presented him copies of my books Interfaith Heroes and Interfaith Heroes 2, each of which includes a Dutch interfaith hero, one Jewish and one Christian. The Dutch have many things to teach us, but Timmermans was coming to learn about how to move beyond mere tolerance (the Dutch are very good at that) to respectful interaction where we take responsibility for one another and for how our own actions impact others. Interestingly Baptists have modeled, in our best moments, that kind of respectful engagement to build a shared community.
A new project may develop (or it may fizzle out!) in the Netherlands. We had a Dutch Baptist participant at the Global Baptist Peace Conference in Italy who attended my interfaith heroes workshop. He and I have continued our communications since about ways I might be a resource to the Baptists in the Netherlands as they seek positive ways to relate to their Muslim neighbors and help move their society through some of the tense issues they are facing. Shortly after he and I began pursuing plans I was invited to the event with Mr. Timmermans. I’ve been talking with some of my Muslim and Jewish about ways we might go to the Netherlands together in response to Timmermans’ challenges. Is God brewing something up? Will my Muslim interfaith partners in Detroit and the global Baptist peace network converge in a way to open new doors for community peace-building?
This wouldn’t be the first time my interfaith community in Detroit has opened doors in other countries. Detroit friends helped me connect to the Imam Al-Sadr Foundation in Lebanon, and then later I was able to help link them to the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary for some program connections. Including Imam Al-Sadr in Interfaith Heroes has opened many doors for me to be welcomed among Muslims as we look for ways forward in peacemaking together. A Hindu friend in Detroit has helped me make some connections which may help in exploring ways for constructive dialog about the violence of Hindu militants in Orissa and other parts of India. All the ministry I’ve done in Ethiopia was also the direct result from an Ethiopian living in Detroit inviting me into contexts to which I did not have access at the time.
Our world is no longer a set of isolated communities to which we might travel periodically to live or do our work. Rather we are woven together, networked. Just like you can get into the world wide web from your workplace, from your home, from a wi-fi hotspot at your local coffee shop, or from an internet café in a shack in Cameroon or a storefront in Myanmar, so too we can jump into global peacemaking from so many areas, far but also and most especially near. Detroit has proved to be not only the gateway for my international air travel, but in some totally unexpected ways the gateway into peacemaking opportunities I’d never imagined.
For you that means that there are peacemaking opportunities near at hand that are of significance both locally and globally. Don’t overlook these opportunities! How do you relate to your neighbors, especially those coming from other cultures and other faiths? The communities we build here are woven into that global web of humanity, and what we do here for good or ill sends ripples to distant places. Our trust-building, our stereo-type shattering, our standing for freedom, respect and responsibility, can give strong nudges for similar efforts in other communities of faith and other countries. What you do at home is important globally. You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth, not just in one local community, but literally in the world, the earth, the entire planet, because of the incredible globalized interconnectedness of our current age.
Between my international trips to Italy in February and India in June, I’ve got a lot to do including fund-raising. The current financial crisis has hit International Ministries hard. To do my share in keeping our ministries financially viable I need to double my support. I can’t do that alone. I have a wonderful Mission Partnership Team working around me to help in the process. Then there is the Mission Partnership Network, those who care about my ministry and support it with prayers, money, encouragement, connections and wisdom. If you are reading this journal (especially down to this point!) you are part of the network! I need your help.
One key area of needed help is gifts from new donors. If you have never given in support of my ministry with International Ministries, a donation of between $200 to $2,000 made before the end of June could be doubled through matching funds from the Luther Rice Society. Such gifts can be made by credit card through the IM website (www.internationalministries.org) or through my new website (www.danbuttry.com –there’s a link to take you to IM’s giving page). You can also send a gift by check to International Ministries, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482, noted “for support of Dan Buttry.” I need to double my support by the end of September and then sustain that level of support into 2010. Thank you!
Peace,
Dan