Global College
The Ridd Institute for Religion and Global Policy
Director: James Christie
Email: j.christie@uwinnipeg.ca
Phone: 204.786.9247
About the Institute
About the Director
Past Workshops
About the Institute
The reach of our communications media, economic ties, travel capabilities and weapons systems has made the world small enough to be considered a city. But despite the world’s shrinking size, we are a long way from establishing a truly global citizenship. Religion plays an important role in how we understand and shape this new situation. The Ridd Institute for Religion & Global Policy offers a nexus through which scholars and practitioners from many different religious traditions may address issues of global policy together, testing the ways that religion proves to be good, bad or indifferent in a variety of contexts.
The Ridd Institute for Religion and Global Policy is in partnership with the Freeman Family Holocaust Education Centre.
"The Holocaust Education Centre was founded by local survivors who were dedicated to building a museum where various groups, especially students, could come and benefit from presentations by Holocaust survivors and educators and look at their precious artifacts which illustrate even further the families and the world that these brave men and women have lost."
About the Director
The Reverend Doctor James Taylor Christie, B.Th., M.Div., M.A., D.Min. J
Phone: 204.786.9247
Email: j.christie@uwinnipeg.ca
Dr. James Christie is Professor of Whole World Ecumenism and Dialogue Theology and former Dean of the Faculty of Theology of The University of Winnipeg, a life-long ecumenist and a pioneer in dialogue theology. In July of 2010, he was appointed Director of The Ridd Institute for Religion and Global Policy in the Global College of The University of Winnipeg.
A bilingual native of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, he studied at Bishop's University, McGill (Birk’s Award; University Scholar), United Theological College in Montreal (Nordberg Prize for Contextual Theology) and the Toronto School of Theology. His M.A. thesis in social ethics, Love and Fine Thinking: H.G. Wells and the World State, broke new ground in examining issues of religion and world order. His doctoral thesis, Beyond Tolerance: Christians and Jews in Dialogue, which explored historical, biblical and theological issues in interfaith relations, proposed a 'grass-roots' model for interfaith dialogue.
Dr. Christie has practiced congregational ministry in Montreal, New York State, Toronto and Ottawa, and has also worked in teaching, academic administration and the investment industry. He served on the Emmanuel College Council in Toronto; developed and taught short courses for Queen's Theological College and the United Church of Canada in Faith, Culture and Politics; and designed and taught the first Queen’s course on Science, Religion and Society: An Emerging Dialogue. In 2003, he was Theologian to the Justice Department of Canada Forum on Genetic Futures, and participated in the first Canadian Church Leaders’ Study Mission on HIV/AIDS to East Africa.
In the wider church, Dr. Christie has held several senior positions, including Chairperson of the Presbytery of York, President of Toronto Conference and Interim General Secretary for Ecumenism and Interfaith Dialogue for the United Church of Canada. He has represented the United Church on the Faith and Witness Commission of the Canadian Council of Churches, was a long-time director of both the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto and the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of the National Capital Region, and represented the Protestant world at the 49th World Eucharistic Congress of the Roman Catholic Church. In 2009, both York and Winnipeg Presbyteries nominated him as a candidate for Moderator of the United Church of Canada.
Dr. Christie is Past President of the Canadian Council of Churches, and served as Secretary General of the 2010 Religious Leaders’ Summit, a parallel and complementary gathering of world religious leaders coinciding with the G8 political leaders’ summits. In 2009, he was appointed to the steering committee of the Interreligious Roundtable of Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation.
An internationalist, Dr. Christie is a leader in the NGO movement for global democracy, UN reform and human rights, chairing the Council of the World Federalist Movement/Institute for Global Policy (a 2002 Nobel Peace Prize nominee for leadership in the International Criminal Court Treaty).
His articles, essays and reviews may be found in The United Church Observer, the Practice of Ministry in Canada, the Canadian World Federalist, Mondial, the Federalist Debate, Dialogue, Emmaus, Context, Pilgrimage (the Journal of the C.S. Lewis Society), The Winnipeg Free Press, Christian Week, Touchstone and The Ottawa Citizen.
Past Workshops
Longing and Lament
Interfaith Dialogue on Peace and Justice for Israelis and Palestinians
A THREE-PART WORKSHOP SERIES
May 19, 26, June 2
7:00-9:30 p.m.
The University of Winnipeg
Sponsored by:
Winnipeg Mosaic
In cooperation with:
Institute for Community Peacebuilding
Manitoba Interfaith Council
Ridd Institute for Religion and Global Policy
Many Manitobans care deeply about the ongoing conflict and lack of security and justice in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, and the broader Middle East region. This dialogue workshop offers community members from various faith traditions an opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion about challenging questions:
- What are your deepest desires for Israel and Palestine?
- What are your fears and hopes for this region?
- What motivates your thoughts and actions?
The purpose of the dialogue workshop is to provide a respectful space for Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Winnipeg to explore their hopes and fears regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to enter into dialogue with people of differing views.
The goal is not to solve "the Middle East problem,” but rather to foster greater understanding and insight among interested individuals in our local community. It is an opportunity for dialogue and more fully hearing the divergent views rather than trying to argue for the rightness of one’s own perspective.
Consider joining us if:
- You have a deep desire for peace, security, and justice
- You would like an opportunity to listen and talk with people with whom you may disagree, and to learn from one another
- You are trying to make sense of competing needs and histories in the region
Although the workshop is structured around Jewish, Muslim, and Christian religious traditions, individuals of all backgrounds are welcome to participate. As we are trying to create a safe context for dialogue, participants are asked not to file journalistic reports or otherwise publish the discussion.
The workshop format will include a combination of brief presentations, small and large group discussions, and opportunities for reflection. To build continuity, it is important that participants plan to participate in all three sessions.
WORKSHOP FACILITATORS
NATASHA MOHAMMED is the child of an interfaith union, and has had her sense of the world cultivated by a multicultural, multifaith family. She is a founding member of Winnipeg Mosaic and works in the federal Multiculturalism Program. Natasha has taught conflict resolution and international peace studies in community and university contexts, and has a special interest in conflict and culture.
DEAN PEACHEY is an interfaith discussion group member who enjoys exploring religious and political differences. He teaches conflict resolution studies at Menno Simons College, and is currently a visiting professor at The University of Winnipeg Global College. He has three decades of experience as a mediator and conflict resolution trainer, with a special interest in conflict in religious communities.
BRUCE SARBIT recently retired from Brandon University after twenty-seven years as a counsellor there. Since moving to Winnipeg, Bruce has taken up playwriting, taught counselling courses and run a group for persons grieving the loss of a loved one by suicide. He is excited by opportunities to help
people of different religious identities explore paths to peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians.
Opening readings for each session provided by RABBI ALAN GREEN, ALIA HARB, and LYNDA TRONO.
WINNIPEG MOSAIC is a gathering of people who seek to better understand the role of religion, and of culture shaped by religion, in our community. We want to resist the tendency for religion and culture to divide people or foster fear and misunderstanding. We gather to share stories of personal experiences and group histories, discuss related literature, and celebrate festivals and holidays in ways that bridge and blend our traditions.
REGISTRATION
Registrants must plan to attend all three sessions. Registration will be limited to 45 participants in order to foster optimal conditions for dialogue, and we will attempt to balance the number of participants from various faith traditions. The workshop fee to cover direct costs is $20.
To register for Longing and Lament, send email to d.pankratz@uwinnipeg.ca or call 204.953.3865 with the following information:
Name
Telephone
Religious tradition with which you identify