The
Interfaith Amigos
Imam Jamal Rahman, Pastor Don Mackenzie, and Rabbi Ted Falcon have taught together since 2001, speaking and leading workshops in the United States and Israel-Palestine. Jamal’s personal experience as a Muslim after 9/11 moved him to share more of the substance of Islam.Ted stepped more visibly into the larger community, teaching how a healing spirituality emerges within Judaism. Don concluded his position as minister of University Congregational UCC to devote more time focusing on the ways a true spirituality supports us in bringing healing to our world.
Together they explore an inclusive spirituality to promote healing that expresses as concrete environmental, social, and political action. They bring a message of deep hope and profound possibilities for healing on both a personal level and a planetary level. Their work comprises a dialogue of the mind, the heart, and the hands, encouraging greater understanding, compassion, and social action in the world.
Their book, Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: The Eye-opening, Hope-filled Friendship of a Pastor, a Rabbi, and a an Imam, was released in July 2009 by Skylight Paths. Additional books include, Religion Gone Astray: What We Found at the Heart of Interfaith and Finding Peace Through Spiritual Practice – The Interfaith Amigos Guide to Personal, Social, and Environmental Healing. All three books received Spirituality & Practice Book Award as one of the Best Spiritual Books in the year of publication 2009, 2011, 2016.
Interfaith Amigos at TEDx Rainier January 6, 2012
TEDxDU The Interfaith Amigos:
Breaking the Taboos of Interfaith Dialogue
May 13, 2011
TEDxDU’s theme of “Radical Collaboration” is personified in Jamal Rahman, Ted Falcon, and Don Mackenzie, collectively known as the Interfaith Amigos. In a time when religion appears to be at the heart of fragmentation, suspicion and conflict, their friendship is a beacon to a wiser, more compassionate, and hopeful path.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. See www.tedxdu.com for more details.
Celebrating Sacred Intentions with the Interfaith Amigos
January 1, 2011
Join the interfaith community for the second annual New Year’s Day celebration of sacred intentions with the Interfaith Amigos. Begin 2011 by honoring your own sacred intentions with Jamal Rahman, Pastor Don Mackenzie, and Rabbi Ted Falcon. This is an edited recording of the celebration that took place on Saturday, January 1, 2011, at Seattle’s Interfaith Community Church (length 57 min., WMA file). Have paper and pen ready as you listen. Feel free to stop the recording as you write. Happy new year!
A Look at the News with the Three Interfaith Amigos
Steve Scher, Weekday on KUOW, 9/15/2010
The Interfaith Amigos—Jamal Rahman, Pastor Don Mackenzie and Rabbi Ted Falcon—came together after 9/11 to foster open conversation between different faiths. Lately, news stories have focused on division, suspicion and anger between religious groups. What perspectives are missing from the conversation? Should religious freedom trump the will of the majority?
Recently some Muslims tempered their Eid celebrations because of the 9/11 anniversary. What considerations or tolerance should religious groups grant one another? If different faiths fundamentally disagree with one another theologically, where is there common ground? Have we made any progress since 9/11 in this country? Click here or on icon to listen.
Interfaith Amigos in The New York Times & Seattle Magazine
“Three Clergymen, Three Faiths, One Friendship,” The New York Times, November 24, 2009
“Local Authority: Three Wise Men” Seattle Magazine 12-09
CBS NEWS
Achieving ‘Peace on Earth’
As terrorism continues throughout the world, it’s clear that achieving ‘Peace on Earth’ remains elusive. But as John Blackstone reports, three Clerics of different faiths have teamed up to chase this goal.
See Jamal & Interfaith Community Church on PBS!
The PBS program “Religion & Ethics Newsweekly” recently filmed a segment on spiritual direction, and it is now available on the PBS
Web site. You may also watch the entire segment right here.
https://player.pbs.org/viralplayer/2243186396
Conversations at KCTS 9
The Interfaith Amigos
Air: Monday, April 5, 2010, on KCTS 9 HD Seattle/Yakima
A Rabbi, a sheikh and a pastor walk into a TV studio . . . Sounds like the start of a joke, but there’s no corny punch line to this story. Sheikh Jamal Rahman, Pastor Don Mackenzie Rabbi, and Ted Falcon are the “Interfaith Amigos,” preaching and teaching compassion and understanding among people of different faiths. In this episode of Conversations, Enrique Cerna talks with the Amigos about their work, their message and their faiths.
Amigos in the Blogosphere
Sheikh Jamal Rahman, Pastor Don Mackenzie, and Rabbi Ted Falcon, known collectively as the Interfaith Amigos, have been learning and teaching together since 2001. They had weekly blog for YES! Magazine. In their debut blog, the three Interfaith Amigos offer an “Invitation to Sacred Intention,” guidance for forming intentions that focus not on what we do or don’t have, but on who we are. You can read about them on YES! Magazine here.
| KBTC Public Television, PBS affiliate Northwest Now, air date 12/17/2009 |
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This episode of Northwest Now explores the common ground between religious faiths that are shaping our world, and uncovers what we can learn from one another in our diverse Northwest community. Click here to view. |
| Town Square Seattle: Faith-Based Alliance for Health-Care Reform |
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On October 28, 2009, the Interfaith Amigos (Jamal Rahman, Ted Falcon, and Don Mackenzie) joined a diverse group of speaker/panelists from the local faith-based community for a public forum on health-care reform. They addressed the question “What would Jesus, the Prophet Muhammad, Moses and Buddha say and do about health-care reform in the United States?” The participants represent the three Abrahamic faiths and Buddhism and were asked to inspire the audience with words of wisdom from their faiths’ scriptures, teachings, and traditions. Click here to see the video. |
| Interfaith Amigos on Audio |
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| NPR On Point, Dec. 24, 2009. NPR Here and Now, Dec. 25, 2009. |