A Call for Nominations for "State of Formation"

Greetings,

We hope this finds you well. We are excited to announce that we are now accepting nominations and self-nominations for Contributing Scholars for our new blog, State of Formation, and we'd like to give you the opportunity to weigh in.

The current American discourse on religion and ethics is primarily defined by established leaders – ministers, rabbis, academics and journalists.

There is an entire population of important stakeholders without a platform: the up-and-comers.

To remedy this, the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, in partnership with the Parliament of the World's Religions, is set to launch State of Formation, a forum for up-and-coming religious and philosophical thinkers to draw upon the learning that is occurring in their academic and community
work. Articles will frequently reflect
on the pressing questions of a religiously pluralistic society and
challenge existing religious and philosophical definitions.

State of Formation is a community conversation between young leaders in formation. Together, a cohort of seminarians, rabbinical students, graduate students and the like – the future religious and moral leaders of
tomorrow – will work to redefine the ethical discourse today,
particularly as it is used to refract current events and personal
experiences.

We hope that this will be a robust and constructive exchange among contributors that reflects the intelligence and innovation of today's young leaders. Contributing
Scholars for State of Formation will demonstrate candor and respect, and State of Formation’s
content will reflect the diversity of young religious and philosophical
leadership in America and the particular learning that only occurs in
religious and philosophical education. Above all, our Contributing
Scholars will address the pressing ethical issues of our pluralistic
society. Our eclectic group of young leaders will ask the difficult
questions and propose the innovative solutions our world is desperately
in need of.

Contributing Scholars to State of Formation will be able to take advantage of the numerous benefits to participating in the State of Formation Contributing Scholars Fellowship. In addition to being recognized as an emerging leader by JIRD and CPWR, they may be eligible for travel
grants and may have their work featured in articles on additional
platforms like CPWR's website, PeaceNext, The Huffington Post, Sojourners, and Tikkun.
Contributing Scholars will also have the opportunity to take part in an
exclusive mentorship program that will connect them with premier
leaders in the field.

Nominees should be currently enrolled in a seminary, rabbinical school, graduate program, or another institution for theological or philosophical formation. We
are looking for exceptional and visionary young leaders who are
currently learning about and reflecting on religious and moral issues.
Does this describe you or a young leader you know? Please take a moment to fill out our brief online nomination form here or e-mail us your one-page nomination to chris@irdialogue.org. Nominations are due October 15, 2010.

Thank you for your time and consideration. With your help, we can create a platform for future leaders to engage the most important issues of today.

Sincerely,

Chris Stedman, Managing Director of State of Formation

Alisa Roadcup, CPWR Communications Director

Joshua Stanton, JIRD Co-Editor-in-Chief