Muskingum News

Imam Jamal Rahman, Pastor Don Mackenzie and Rabbi Ted Falcon, also known as the “Interfaith Amigos,” will share some of the promise and problems related to developing an interfaith dialogue at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12 in Boyd Science Center on the campus of Muskingum University. The event is presented free of charge and open to the public.

Imam Rahman, Pastor Mackenzie and Rabbi Falcon started working together after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and since then have brought their unique blend of spiritual wisdom and humor to audiences all over the U.S. as well as Canada, Israel-Palestine and Japan. The three have co-authored several books.

“The ‘Interfaith Amigos’ approach the usual taboos of interfaith dialogue with a unique blend of spiritual wisdom and humor that encourages healing, collaboration and wholeness,” said Muskingum University Professor of Religion and Interim Provost Dr. Rick Nutt. “We’re very pleased Imam Rahman, Pastor Mackenzie and Rabbi Falcon are bringing their important message to our campus.”

Pastor Don Mackenzie, PhD, now living in Minneapolis, has devoted himself to interfaith work since retiring as Minister and Head of Staff at Seattle’s University Congregational United Church of Christ. Previously, he served congregations in Hanover, New Hampshire, and Princeton, New Jersey. Ordained in 1970, he is a graduate of Macalester College, Princeton Theological Seminary and New York University. His country music band, Life’s Other Side, recorded the soundtrack for the documentary film Family Name, and has sung at the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Rabbi Ted Falcon, PhD, a spiritual guide, author, teacher and therapist, has taught Jewish traditions of Kabbalah, meditation and spirituality since the 1970s. Ordained in 1968 at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, he served in Los Angeles as a congregational and then a campus rabbi. In 1975, he earned a doctorate in Professional Psychology and, in 1978, founded the first meditative Reform congregation. He is the author of A Journey of Awakening: Kabbalistic Meditations on the Tree of Life and co-author, with David Blatner, of Judaism For Dummies.

Imam Jamal Rahman is co-founder and Muslim Sufi Minister at Interfaith Community Sanctuary in Seattle and adjunct faculty at Seattle University. Originally from Bangladesh, he is a graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of California, Berkeley. He has a passion for interfaith work and travels often, teaching classes, workshops and retreats locally, nationally and internationally. He is the author of several books, including: Sacred Laughter of the Sufis: Awakening the Soul with the Mulla’s Comic Teaching Stories and Other Islamic Wisdom; Spiritual Gems of Islam: Insights & Practices from the Qur'an, Hadith, Rumi & Muslim Teaching Stories to Enlighten the Heart & Mind;  The Fragrance of Faith: The Enlightened Heart of Islam; and Out of Darkness into Light: Spiritual Guidance in the Quran with Reflections from Jewish and Christian Sources.