Vern Barnet
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| Vern Barnet | |
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| Born | May 25, 1942 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
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| Residence | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Occupation | Interfaith minister, writer, teacher, CRES |
| Title | Reverend |
| Children | Benjamin |
| Website cres.org |
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Vern Barnet (b. 1942 in Omaha) has been the major force for interfaith understanding in Kansas City, MO, since 1989 when he founded the Kansas City (area) Interfaith Council.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Trained as a Unitarian Universalist pastor, Barnet left parish ministry in 1985 after serving churches in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Kansas, in order to promote interfaith work in the Kansas City region through an organization he founded in 1982, the World Faiths Center for Religious Experience and Study, Inc. ("CRES"). After developing relationships with members of many faiths in the area informally and through public events, in 1989 he founded the Kansas City (area) Interfaith Council with members of American Indian, Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian Protestant, Christian Roman Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Sufi, Unitarian Universalist, and Zoroastrian members. CRES continued to host the Council until 2005 when it became independent.
In 1994 The Kansas City Star [1] asked him to write a regular column on interfaith issues, and since 1995 it has appeared each Wednesday. He has also taught comparative religions and related courses in Baptist, Methodist, and Unity seminaries and universities as an adjunct professor. He has been honored by Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and other groups in Kansas City and elsewhere and has been involved in numerous civic organizations and activities and is also known through numerous radio and TV appearances.
In 2001, he presided over the area's first major interfaith conference, "The Gifts of Pluralism," and led a Jackson County task force which surveyed the five-county metro area in response to religious prejudice following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and issued a 77-page report with recommendations.
In 2007 he was the local coordinator for, and a member of the faculty of, the nation's first "Interfaith Academies" for religious professionals and emerging religious leaders, with partnerships with Harvard University's Pluralism Project and Religions for Peace - USA at the United Nations Plaza, held in Kansas City.
At those Academies, Ellie Pierce, principal researcher for The Pluralism Project, said, "At the Pluralism Project, we consider Kansas City to be truly at the forefront of interfaith relations This is -- in no small part -- due to the tireless efforts of Vern Barnet, whose work and writings have been an inspiration to all of us at the Pluralism Project. In a recent column, he wrote, 'Community is created not so much by intellectual debate but by people getting to know one another.'"
[edit] Bibliography
In addition to nearly 700 Kansas City Star columns, his articles, poems, and reviews have appeared in publications such as The National Catholic Reporter, The Journal of the Liberal Ministry, and The Chicago Literary Review. He edited Worship Reader: An Anthology of Liberal Religious Worship Theory from Von Ogden Vogt (1921) to the Commission on Common Worship (1980) (Congregation of Abraxas, 1980). He serves on the editorial board of Unity Magazine. His book of sonnets, Love Without Desire (Moose Magic Press), appeared in 1992. Since 2005, he has written a monthly column for Camp, a Kansas City gay newspaper, http://www.campkc.com/.
- He is noted or quoted in other publications including the following:
- Tapp, Robert B. Religion Among the Unitarian Universalists. Seminar Press, 1973.
- Mehdi, Mohammad T. Islam and Tolerance. New World Press, 1990.
- Skinner, Donald E. "Kansas City UU minister builds interfaith bridges," UU World March/April 2003, on line at http://www.uuworld.org/2003/02/living.html.
- Smale, David. "Common Ground in Lieu of Consensus: The Exploration of Stem Cell Research," Ingram's, May 2005, pp 26-30.
- Vahle, Neal. The Unity Movement. Templeton Foundation Press, 2002.
- James, Sandy. Connect with Kansas City: Ways to Engage in the Community, Sandy Coldsnow, 2001.
[edit] References
- ^ http://cres.org/team/vern.htm "Biographical sketch: Vern Barnet"
