Trinity Presbyterian Church, Hendersonville, North Carolina

The “Pilgrimage Project”
Strengthens Christian, Muslim and Jewish Relationships

Rev. Mark Stanley will be participating as the Christian Faith Community Leader for this “Pilgrimage” to Turkey on November 10-19, 2008.

You are encouraged to make application to be a representative of the Christian Faith Community on this shared journey.

A group of citizens of Western North Carolina will travel this fall on a faith diplomacy mission sponsored by Friendship Force International (FFI), an Atlanta-based global exchange program.

The travelers will represent the three Abrahamic faiths—Christianity, Judaism and Islam—as part of The Pilgrimage Project of Friendship Force International. The project is themed “People of Faith Moving Toward Common Ground.”

FFI, a non-profit exchange organization dedicated to the principle that each person can make a contribution to global goodwill, was founded more than thirty years ago by the late Wayne Smith, a Presbyterian minister. Home hospitality is the heart of the concept.

The organization was established in 1977 with the support and endorsement of President Jimmy Carter and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992. Some 374 chartered clubs and programs now exist in 54 countries.

After the tragedy of 9/11, Smith was convinced that the biggest obstacle to peace is the hostility and lack of understanding among people of different faiths, particularly Muslims, Christians and Jews. Smith organized the first pilgrimage from Atlanta as an individual.

The Cousins Foundation of Atlanta has awarded a grant to take the Atlanta pilgrimage model and expand it to ten additional communities in the U.S. The CF Foundation is a family foundation in Atlanta that is primarily involved in community development. The foundation subsidized pilgrimages from Atlanta in 2005 and 2006 and has provided funding to FFI to organize pilgrimages in ten additional cities over the next two years.

FFI recently invited its U.S. clubs to consider organizing a pilgrimage. The WNC chapter is privileged to be the first U.S. group to have the opportunity to do so.

The grant will cover partial costs of the trip. Other funds will be raised locally, most likely through two special concerts. More details on fund-raising activities will be announced in the near future.

For more information on plans, contact Richard Wolgamott at (828) 685-8543, or: Rabbi Philip Bentley, (828) 693-9838; Elmoiz Abunura, (828) 337-1463; the Rev. Mark Stanley, (828) 553-6425.