Hearing the Call across Traditions

An inspiring collection of readings that will raise deep questions about service and its roots in faith. "There is a deep yearning among the vast majority of people of all religious and philosophical traditions to make real their most enduring shared principles—to care for creation, to serve others with compassion, and to protect and enhance the gift of life…. We believe that reflecting on these principles strengthens our capacity to embody them." —from the Introduction Explore the connections between faith, service, and social justice through the prose, verse, and sacred texts of the world's great faith traditions—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and more. Drawing from diverse literary genres, religious and philosophical perspectives and historical periods, these short and provocative readings cut to the heart of the many obstacles and joys that accompany lives devoted to faith and service: Why do I serve? • Whom do I serve? • How do I serve? This rich collection will create a platform for discussing and understanding the faith-based service of others as well as inspire you to reflect on the meaning behind your own commitment to improving the world. Contributors: Umar Faruq Abd-Allah • Jane Addams • Sholom Aleichem • Bidpai • Cesar Chavez • Chuang-Tzu • Dorothy Day • Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni • Mahatma Gandhi • Linda Gregg • Hafiz • Hamzayusuf • Thich Nhat Hanh • Mark Helprin • Abraham Joshua Heschel • Gerard Manley Hopkins • Kabir • Martin Luther King Jr. • The Dalai Lama • Anne Lamott • Lao-Tzu • Abraham Lincoln • Maimonides • Valerie Martin • Gabriela Mistral • Mikhail Naimy • Friedrich Nietzsche • Tim O'Brien • Flannery O’Connor • Mary Oliver • George Orwell • John Oskison • Eboo Patel • Peggy Payne • I. L. Peretz • Rumi • Ryokan • Tayeb Salih • Harold M. Schulweis • Leslie Marmon Silko • Anna Swir • Rabindranath Tagore • William Trevor • Shih Te • Swami Vivekananda • Walt Whitman

Adam Davis, senior research and teaching associate at the Project on Civic Reflection, is coeditor of The Civically Engaged Reader: A Diverse Collection of Short and Provocative Readings on Civic Activity and Talking Service: Readings for Civic Reflection. Dr. Eboo Patel is the founder and director of the Interfaith Youth Core and is one of the world's most sought-after speakers on the subject of the interfaith movement and the interfaith youth movement in particular. He serves as a board member for several major interfaith associations and holds membership in such exclusive organizations as the Council on Foreign Relations and the EastWest Institute. Dr. Patel is currently working on a book on the role of religious youth in the modern era. He is author of Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation.