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The Arts of Interfaith Peacebuilding Sharenda Roam George Fox University, [email protected]

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The Arts of Interfaith Peacebuilding Sharenda Roam George Fox University, Sroam12@Georgefox.Edu Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations 3-1-2015 Take it to the Bridge: The Arts of Interfaith Peacebuilding Sharenda Roam George Fox University, [email protected] This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Roam, Sharenda, "Take it to the Bridge: The Arts of Interfaith Peacebuilding" (2015). Doctor of Ministry. Paper 97. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/97 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY TAKE IT TO THE BRIDGE: THE ARTS OF INTERFAITH PEACEBUILDING A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GEORGE FOX EVANGELICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY SHARENDA ROAM PORTLAND, OREGON MARCH 2015 George Fox Evangelical Seminary George Fox University Portland, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of Sharenda Roam has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on February 20, 2015 for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Global Perspectives. Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Faith Ngunjiri, EdD Secondary Advisor: Randy Woodley, PhD Lead Mentor: Jason Clark, DMin Expert Advisor: Brent Weaver, DMA Copyright ©2015 by Sharenda Roam All rights reserved All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. ii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ v ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi SECTION I CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................... 1 A Story of Conflict .......................................................................................................... 4 Definitions and Discussions ............................................................................................ 6 Interfaith ...................................................................................................................... 7 Peacebuilding ............................................................................................................... 7 Identity ......................................................................................................................... 7 Pluralism and Relativism ............................................................................................. 8 Identity and Unity ...................................................................................................... 13 SECTION II RESEARCHERS AND ARTISTS ......................................................... 16 Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 17 Introducing the Peacebuilding Artists ........................................................................... 22 Jordi Savall ................................................................................................................ 22 Zach Saucedo ............................................................................................................. 23 Yuval Ron .................................................................................................................. 27 Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 29 SECTION III PORTRAITURE AS A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD FOR FIELD RESEARCH IN ISRAEL ..................................................................................... 33 What is Portraiture? ....................................................................................................... 34 Jerusalem International YMCA and the YMCA Youth Chorus ................................... 38 Neve Shalom/Wahat el Salaam/Oasis of Peace ............................................................ 40 Azazme Tribe in the Negev Desert ............................................................................... 43 Hand in Hand School .................................................................................................... 46 Buthaina Milhim ........................................................................................................... 48 Yuval Ron Ensemble ..................................................................................................... 49 Personal Reflections ...................................................................................................... 51 SECTION IV A DISCUSSION OF THE THEOLOGY OF NICHOLAS OF CUSA: GOD, INTERFAITH PEACEBUILDING, AND MUSIC ............................................... 55 Defining God ................................................................................................................. 55 Experiential Learning .................................................................................................... 60 iii Community .................................................................................................................... 63 Interfaith Peace .............................................................................................................. 65 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 67 SECTION V DESCRIPTION OF MUSICAL ARTIFACT – “MYRRH” .................. 68 SECTION VI PRODUCTION OF ARTIFACT .......................................................... 78 SECTION VII POSTSCRIPT ....................................................................................... 79 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 84 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you from the depths of my spirit to God, pristine Love, the Source of my inspiration, and to Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. My deepest gratitude to my Father, Jim Roam, who lived a dedicated Christ- focused life, to my mother, Sharon Roam, for her positive words, encouragement, and affirmation, to my brother, Brent Roam, for sharing his brilliance and enthusiasm, to my sister, Christie Wright, for her amazing creativity and thoughtfulness, and to my wonderful husband, Jeff Beal, who became my betrothed in the midst of writing this dissertation, and who fills my heart with joy! Sincere appreciation to my dissertation advisor, Faith Wambura Ngunjiri, for her invaluable knowledge and suggestions on my research and writing, to Jason Clark for sharing his life wisdom and insights, and Loren Kerns, Clifford Berger, and MaryKate Morse for your endless encouragement and guidance on this incredible academic journey. I am extremely grateful for our cohort of students – some of the most wonderful people I have met in my life. Thank you for your encouragement and friendship. It has been an incredible journey with you. Thank you to Heather Rainey for your reminders and organization, and to my editor Rochelle Deans for your formatting expertise. Finally, I offer deep admiration to all of the musicians and artists using their gifts and talents to make a peaceful and beautiful world now and for future generations. v ABSTRACT This writing argues that the arts go beyond dialogue to affect and enhance interfaith peacebuilding, understanding, and cooperation. My research focuses on the three Abrahamic Faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with an in-depth analysis of music and peacebuilding amidst Jews and Arabs in Israel. Specifically, I discuss the use of music as a bridge of understanding between cultures and share examples of other types of art as well. This research also adds to the limited amount of theory, analysis, and writing in the subject area of peacebuilding and the arts. Section One introduces the terms and ideas surrounding the topics of interfaith, peacebuilding, identity, diversity, pluralism, and unity. Section Two includes a literature review conducted in this area of study. I also share art and interviews from artists who create peacebuilding art and music. In Section Three, I describe the qualitative research method “Portraiture” and how I used it as a framework for my fieldwork during summer 2013 in Israel. Images and information from Jewish and Arab artists, musicians, and activists serve as visual references in this section. Section Four includes a historical theological perspective of interfaith peacebuilding. I analyze the theology of Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1463), whose writings explore a medieval understanding of interfaith peacebuilding and cooperation. Specifically, I focus on his ideas surrounding concepts of God, interreligious relationships, and music. In Section Five, I describe my musical artifact and how my fieldwork and research are expressed in this artifact. Section Six includes details of the songwriting, production, and overall process involved in the creation of my artifact. Finally, Section Seven, includes information on further areas for research and offers my concluding thoughts and reflections. vi SECTION I CONCEPTUAL
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