2016 Year in Review - Religion Communicators Council Spreading the Good Word

The Religion Communicators Council is an interfaith communications organization working to promote peace and fellowship while spreading the good news.

The longest running interfaith communications organization in the United States, the Religion Communicators Council (RCC), has chapters across the country that meet regularly and promote “excellence in the communication of religious faith and values in the public arena and encourage understanding among religious and faith groups,” according to the RCC website.

In Nashville, the RCC Chapter meets every other month to promote its ideals through conversations about what is in the news and how to spread more religious messages – the good news—a tradition that began in 2015.

“People of faith have influence,” says president of the Nashville Chapter, Rev. Brian Fesler, who also pastors the Church of Scientology, “We all need to step out and speak up because the good news, of which there is an abundance, tends to be overshadowed.”

The chapter began the year with a visit to the Nashville Church of Scientology. The hot news of the day had the group looking at an issue where a denomination that earlier supported the right to choice is now seeking an end to legal abortion. Members had to answer the question: how can it be that a denomination can turn 180 degrees on such a basic issue?

The next meeting took place at the Baha'i Faith Community Center where RCC members took a look at the role of women in religion. Each person discussed how their faith tradition has honored women or spoke of the women of great influence on their faith, then went further into discussing women of influence in other faith traditions that were not represented, such as women founders of more modern religions.

In July, the chapter met at the Islamic Center of Tennessee. The recent news of violence in the United States began the conversation for this meeting, but as each person put their deep-seated beliefs on the table, hope became the keyword.

In September, the group met for breakfast at Weigh Down Ministries, the church offices for the Remnant Fellowship Church in Franklin, TN.  According to its website, remnantfellowship.org, it is “an international community of people who are finding renewed hope, profound love and deep purpose by putting the undiluted teachings of Jesus Christ into practice…” During the meeting President Fesler had attendees discuss this year’s presidential candidates, however, required them to find something good to say about each. They next discussed how to spread these good messages further out into the community by setting a good example.

To finish out the year, the chapter met at United Methodist Communications where they discussed the election and where the religious community will go from there into 2017.

RCC is open to members from all denominations, and the Nashville group includes Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, Hindus and more.  For more information about the RCC or their next meeting, visit www.religioncommunicators.org.