New TV Program Features Interfaith Panel Discussions on Public Issues

Faith And The City, February 27, 2003

Faith And The City Forum: Interfaith Dialogue on Public Issues will premiere March 4 at 7:30 a.m. and March 5 at 7:30 p.m. on Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters cable channels. The weekly, 30-minute program will feature a rotating panel of subject experts in a range of fields, as well as clergy and laypersons representing a cross-section of the metro area's diverse religious traditions. Veteran news reporter and anchor Steen Miles will serve as moderator for the forum.

"Our goal is to help to reintroduce faith perspectives into the discussion of public issues," said Doug Gatlin, executive director of Faith And The City and executive producer of the TV forum. According to Gatlin, who has held senior posts in Atlanta city government and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympics Games, the metro region's remarkable success can be attributed largely to the vital role that religious leadership and personal faith have played in formulating and implementing public policy over the years.

"Unfortunately, in recent years the voices of our faith communities have been largely absent from the public square and missing around the tables where public policy discussions occur," Gatlin said. "At Faith And The City, we believe that the moral voices of religious faith are as essential in public policy discussions today as they were in the past. The difference today is that we have a wider array of faith traditions to be represented."

An AIB crew places microphones on panelists. Seated, from left, are Imam Plemon T. El-Amin of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, Rabbi Alvin Sugarman of the Temple in Atlanta, and Rev. Andrew Young, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and guest moderator Liah Kraft-Kristaine.

Gatlin expressed appreciation for AIB's encouragement and collaboration. "Faith And The City is delighted work with Collie Burnett and the outstanding AIB team," Gatlin said. "This project certainly represents a clear juncture between the two organizations' shared commitment to nurture interfaith dialogue throughout the Atlanta region."

Faith And The City is a local, nonprofit organization that encourages a sense of community throughout the 20-county Atlanta metro region. The organization pursues these goals by amplifying the moral voices of the region's diverse communities of faith, especially in public issues discussions, and by nurturing interracial, interfaith, and multicultural understanding and collaboration in the democratic process.

Founded in 1999 and chaired by former U.S. Ambassadors James T. Laney and Andrew Young, Faith And The City works closely with three seminaries -- Candler School of Theology, Columbia Theological Seminary, and the Interdenominational Theological Center -- to enhance public religious leadership development. Faith And The City also publishes a print newsletter for thousands of area leaders, distributes an electronic newsletter, maintains a web site on public issues, and provides the public with email links to government officials at the city, county, state, and federal levels. For more information, visit http://www.faithandthecity.org.