Group Discussion Questions
Faith And The City Forum: Interfaith Dialogue on Public Issues

Topic/Title: Caring for Our Community in a Time of War
Recorded: April 14, 2003
First Aired: April 15 at 7:30 AM

Faith And The City Forum is one of several initiatives by Faith And The City, a nonprofit organization that works to encourage a sense of community throughout the 20-county metro Atlanta region by amplifying the voices of the many religious traditions represented in the region.

Panelists:

Chaplain Imam Adam Adamu
Crawford-Long Hospital
Emory Healthcare

Janet Lutz
Supervising Chaplain
Emory Healthcare

Rabbi Scott B. Saulson, Ph.D.
Community Chaplain
Jewish Family & Career Services

Chaplain Deryck Durston
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center

The following questions are offered to encourage discussion of the above topic.

1. How has the war affected you? Why? Do you have family or friends directly involved as military personnel, journalists, humanitarian aid workers, or in other capacities?

2. Are you a military veteran -- or do you know veterans -- for whom this war brings back difficult memories or previous conflicts?

3. How are the children and teens in your life -- your children, friends, or students -- coping with war-related stress?

4. Has this war had a direct impact on your faith community? How is your faith community responding? Do you agree or disagree with this response? Why?

5. As one panelist suggested, today's high-tech communications capabilities bring the war very close to people far from the frontlines, sometimes with very graphic and disturbing visual images. Is this increased awareness of the realities of war good or bad? Why?

6. What about the professional caregivers? How, as one panelist asked, do we care for the caregivers -- counselors, teachers, clergy, healthcare professionals, and others? Are you a professional caregiver or do you know people who are? How can we help you or them?

7. Should our communities -- our governments, faith-based organizations, and others -- commit more funding and/or other resources to support the work of professional caregivers in times of war? How? Why?

8. As one panelist noted, many people reevaluate their own suffering in light of the extreme suffering of others as a result of war. How do you view your own challenges when you learn about some of the grim human tragedies of this war? Is reevaluating our own suffering in such situations a good thing for our spiritual well being? Consider this question from the particular perspective of your faith tradition.

There is a quick and easy way to express your view on any public issue to our elected and appointed leaders: You can find email addresses for hundreds of leaders from the local to the national level by visiting the "contacts" section of our website at http://www.faithandthecity.org. Why not email your views to your representatives in city, county, state, or federal government? You can do it now by clicking here.