A Brief History
Interfaith Maine grew out of the work of the Portland Interfaith Seminar, which was a collaboration of the University of Southern Maine, Bangor Theological Seminary, and St. Joseph’s College of Maine, beginning in May 2001. In its early days, it had an academic focus, and brought together scholars and teachers to explore the implications of the still-new emergence of religious diversity in Maine. There were over 30 participants in the initial gatherings, convened by Dr. Andrew Grannell, then-Director of the Portland Campus, Bangor Theological Seminary, and Dr. Abraham Peck, Director of the Academic Council for Post-Holocaust Jewish and Christian Studies at the University of Southern Maine.
During the summer of 2001 the Portland Interfaith Seminar began plans for an event to support “trialogue” among Jews, Christians and Muslims living in Maine.
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the imperative of interfaith relations became more acutely clear and with support from the Maine Council on the Humanities and all three of its founding institutions, the Portland Interfaith Seminar presented a symposium, “The Children of Abraham Downeast: Christians, Jews and Muslims Living in Maine” on March 3, 2002. The event included a keynote by Harvard Professor Diana Eck, author of “A New Religious America,” responses by Imam Talal Eid of the New England Islamic Center and Professor David Gordis on Hebrew College, a variety of workshops on carious aspects of religious pluralism, and a shared meal with concluding panel to consider next steps for our community.
Following the excitement and energy generated by the symposium, there was a long period of consideration about the direction of the Portland Interfaith Seminar. What has emerged is a decidedly grassroots approach to building relationships among lay people as well as religious leaders from the widest circle of religious and spiritual traditions in Maine.