Arthur Padilla will be the new Multifaith Works Executive Director as of October 1st.

Multifaith Works Wine Tasting
Friday, September 23rd, 7:00 pm
Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)
2700 24th Avenue East

Please join us at MOHAI for the Multifaith Works Second Annual Wine Tasting. Once again, we will feature regional fine wines including Washington’s own Pleasant Hill, Apex Cellars and Willis Hall wineries. Please bring your friends to enjoy fine wine, heavy appetizers, a silent auction and live music, all the while touring the museum at your leisure.

Proceeds benefit Multifaith Works, which provides critical services for people living with AIDS, MS or other life threatening illnesses.

Tickets are $60 each. Advance purchase is recommended. For tickets and information, please contact Multifaith Works at 206.324.1520 x303 or info@multifaith.org.

World AIDS Day Benefit Luncheon
Featuring Dr. Charles Garfield, Founder, Shanti National Training Institute
Thursday, December 1st, 12:00 pm
Washington State Convention and Trade Center
Ballroom A, 800 Convention Place

This benefit Luncheon for Multifaith Works will showcase the mission and service of Multifaith Works to people living with AIDS, MS or other life threatening illnesses over the last 17 years. Guest speaker will be Dr. Charles Garfield, Founder of the Shanti National Training Institute, San Francisco.

For information and registration, please contact Gary Southerton at 206.324.1520 x229 or gary@multifaith.org.

Excerpted from an article by Dr. Charles Garfield, Founder, Shanti National Training Institute

He was my age, hovering around 30, and he might be dying. I didn’t know where to begin. In all my training as a psychologist, I had never had a patient with such a serious, life-threatening illness, nor sat in a room where every blip on a screen communicated urgency, a reminder that there may not be much time left.

I had to say something so I gestured to his machines. “I guess it must be hard to deal with all this.” “And lonely,” I said on a hunch. He lifted his head and looked straight at me. “That’s the worst part.”

In 1973, I discovered a lost civilization on the cancer wards of San Francisco’s hospitals, hordes of anxious people facing a limited life span. I wanted to find a way to meet the psychological and social needs of these patients. It was obvious that I couldn’t meet this challenge alone. On a hunch, I turned to volunteers, who I trained in interpersonal and listening skills. I soon realized I had a phenomenon on my hands: a cadre of volunteers who could respond to the human elements of illness and death – the isolation and loneliness that mainstream medicine does not and can not treat.

Shanti volunteers understand that what they do is not psychotherapy but peer support based on compassion, honesty, consistency – skills and qualities most people possess.

Usually, volunteers’ presence is their most valuable service. They are often the only people to whom clients can truly express the chaos of their present, their anxiety about the future. The acceptance allows Shanti clients to find moments of peace, and for the volunteers, moments of grace; often for both, moments of love and transcendence.

The most helpful Shanti caregivers possess a kind of maturity that’s expressed through imagining the suffering of others – then acting compassionately on what they imagine. Volunteers open themselves to the inward turmoil and difficult questions that typically accompany a head-on collision with mortality, a self-examination most people try to avoid until the later stages of life.

Shanti is a Sanskrit word for inner peace. I chose this name for the project serendipitously, but aptly, for inner peace is what Shanti’s volunteers find and provide as they reach out to others. Shanti’s caregivers continue to show us how the extraordinary deeds of ordinary people can offer a prototype for compassionate human interactions.

Charles Garfield, Ph.D., is the founder of Shanti Project San Francisco and the Shanti National Training Institute. He is a clinical professor of psychology at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and he was a mathematician on the Apollo Eleven first lunar landing. Dr. Garfield’s next book will be on everyday heroism and loving the unloved of society.

Dr. Garfield will be the featured speaker at the Multifaith Works World AIDS Day Luncheon on Thursday, December 1st.

by Mary Medved SNJM, St. Therese Catholic/Interfaith AIDS CareTeam

How does one describe Anthony Darryl Johnson, our CarePartner, who died on April 25, 2005? A person who would drive you nuts one minute, and then move you to tears the next with some insight into life and faith? Anthony always told us that he was our “little Anthony.” He referred to us as his “harem of women,” that is, until Tom joined our CareTeam last year. Anthony may have been short of stature, but he had a big, generous heart that touched us all.

There are lots of things we cherished about Anthony: his wide open smile, how stylish he looked in his black leather jacket and sunglasses, his love of animals, especially his dogs Amigo and Akoya. We came to know and love Anthony through simple activities such as taking him out for hot chocolate or a drive, welcoming him into our homes for a holiday dinner, or shopping together at a thrift store. Whenever one of the CareTeam Members did something special for Anthony, he would say that we had just earned another jewel in our Heavenly Crown!

Anthony loved to talk about God to anyone – his Catholic and Muslim CareTeam members, a clerk in a grocery store, a bus driver or a waitress. Anthony’s faith was simple, yet deeply profound.

Our CareTeam journeyed with Anthony for over five years. Some of us were present with Anthony when he died at Bailey-Boushay House. All of us were changed forever by our “Little Anthony.”

This interactive seminar is designed to help participants face and address their fears about death, and then integrate their concept of death with contemporary spiritualities. Community members, health care professionals, spiritual leaders and volunteers are all invited to attend.

The day’s keynote speaker will be Sheldon Solomon, Ph.D., professor of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Skidmore College. An experimental social psychologist, Sheldon’s work on death awareness has been supported by the National Science Foundation and Ernest Becker Foundation. Sheldon was also featured in the award winning documentary film, “Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality.” He is co-author of In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror, and co-founder of The World Leaders Project.

Marcus Borg, Ph.D. is also a featured presenter. Marcus is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University. He is a leading historical Jesus scholar and author of Jesus, A New Vision and Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time.

Also a presenter, John Wynn, M.D. is Medical Director of the Swedish Cancer Institute Department of PsychoOncology and has a private practice in psychiatry and organizational consultation. John has special interest in psychology and spirituality, especially in the area of death and dying.

Seminar moderator Jamal Rahman, M.A. is co-minister at Interfaith Community Church in Seattle, and Director of Sacred Psychology School and adjunct faculty at Seattle University. Jamal is the author of The Fragrance of Faith—the Enlightened Heart of Islam. Jamal’s passion lies in interfaith community building.

Registration is required: please click here for a seminar brochure and registration form. Fee before October 7th is $65, and after October 7th, $75. 50% refund for withdrawals before October 7th. For further information, please contact Joan Wahlmeier at 206.386.3030 x44524 or joan.wahlmeier@swedish.org. Co-sponsored by Swedish Medical Center Department of Spiritual Care, 206.386.2082, and Multifaith Works 206.324.1520.

AIDS Walk 2005
Thank you for your wonderful support of AIDS Walk 2005. Team Multifaith Works raised over $5,000!
Saturday, September 10th, meet at 9:30 am

The AIDS Walk is the largest community AIDS event in the Pacific Northwest, coordinated by the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Every September, thousands of supporters fill the streets of Seattle to raise money to help people living with HIV/AIDS, and raise awareness about the epidemic. Sixty-five percent of funds raised by Multifaith Works team members will benefit Multifaith Works. You are invited to participate!

• To sign up for Team Multifaith Works, or to make a pledge, please click here. For further information, please contact Beth at 206.324.1520 x221 or email info@multifaith.org.

• If you would like to walk with us, or volunteer for the Walk, please contact Beth at 206.324.1520 x221. This year’s Walk route will begin and end at Seattle’s Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. We will meet on Saturday, September 10th at 9:00 am at Volunteer Park - just look for the Multifaith Works banner!

Michael T.  •  Jesus M.  •  Jorge R.

To top of page

Supporting Multifaith Works

Multifaith Merchandise

Multifaith Calendar 2006
The Contemplative Circle
These calendars make wonderful holiday gifts. We are now taking orders... please
click here for further information.

Ahura Peace Necklaces 
"Ahura" is derived from the Zoroastrianism meaning, "Good Spirit" or "Angel." 16" pewter chain with 4" extension, 11 pewter faith symbol charms. $25 each. Click on image for a larger photo.

Hozho Peace Necklaces 
Hozho is the Navajo work for "A way of life." Eleven pewter faith symbol charms dangle from a black waxed cotton cord that adjusts from 16" to 14." $25 each. Click on image for a larger photo.

Multifaith Works mugs, Tshirts, hats, Jewish & Christian AIDS Pins, and more... Please click for further information about other multifaith merchandise.

How to Order
To order any of these items, please mail a check made payable to Multifaith Works at 1801 - 12th Ave. Suite A, Seattle, WA  98122. Please write the item and quantity in the memo line. Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are also accepted. For more information, call 206.324.1520 x221 or email info@multifaith.org

Giving at Work
If your employer matches your donation, your impact can double or even increase by fourfold.

Did you know that you could get more bang for your buck in your charitable giving? Well you can; by making sure that you that you are aware of your employer’s matching gift program. In essence, if your employer matches, your impact in helping people living with AIDS or other life threatening illnesses doubles or even increases by fourfold, depending on your company’s program.

Secondly, you can also increase your support of Multifaith Works by designating all or part of your workplace donations to Multifaith Works directly. Some examples of workplace giving include United Way, the Combined Federal Campaign, Microsoft, and the Boeing Employees Community Fund.

Finally, you can always support people who are living with AIDS, MS or other life threatening illnesses by inviting a speaker from Multifaith to share the good works of Multifaith Works with your fellow employees during a United Way or other workplace giving program.

With your help, Multifaith Works can do even more to assist those in need! We are very grateful for your support.

For further information, please contact Gary Southerton at 206.324.1520 x229 or gary@multifaith.org.

Got a Car to Donate?

Multifaith Works is now able to accept donations of cars, whether running or not. Simply call James at 206.324.1520 x222 or email info@multifaith.org. Once we obtain the necessary information about your car or truck, an auction/towing company will arise for pickup, title transfer, and voila: you get a tax credit and Multifaith Works gets a cash donation.

As a housing provider, Multifaith Works is always seeking houses to develop into supportive homes for people living with AIDS and other illnesses. Receiving a house in donation, or rent-free for a number of years cuts our development costs significantly, which in turn means we are able to put a new home "on line" in much shorter time. So, if you have a house to spare, running or not, please consider donating it to Multifaith Works.

With Love and Compassion
The Multifaith Works board and staff are deeply grateful for Barbara’s term of service at the helm of our organization. Best wishes, Barbara! We will all miss your warmth and skilled leadership.

by Barbara Green, Interim Executive Director

As Interim Executive Director of Multifaith Works, one of my primary tasks has been to help the board and staff successfully transition to a new Executive Director. Although it is hard for me to believe, and it is with sadness that I write this, that time is almost here.

Therefore, it seems like an appropriate time for me to reflect on my experience with Multifaith Works. When I first started working here in March, I had a vague intellectual understanding of the services the organization provides. But, I didn’t fathom the deep love and compassion with which the staff and volunteers provide these services.

In my mind, this depth is what makes Multifaith Works unique. Because of this and the wonderful people I have met here, I have become very fond of the organization; so fond, in fact, that I am seriously considering becoming a CareTeam volunteer. In the ten years that I have the opportunity to serve as Interim Executive Director at more than a dozen wonderful organizations, this will be the first time that I have maintained a formal relationship with an organization after my tenure has been completed.

Let’s just say that actions speak louder than words.

In the Works is published online and in print four times per year.  To receive this newsletter via email, or for further information, please contact Multifaith Works at info@multifaith.org or 206.324.1520 x221.

To top of page