Rev. Dirk Ficca, the Executive Director of the Council of the Parliament of the World's Religions, speaks passionately about why he feels we have to move the "middle" to really evolve culture.
“The religions that have succeeded over time are the ones that can recontextualize themselves when new things happen, in terms of knowledge or perspectives on what it means to be human or on the Universe we live in. That recontextualization is not just on paper. It must take place between real human beings.”
Biography
Rev. Dirk Ficca serves as Executive Director of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions. Dirk worked closely with the religious and spiritual communities of the Chicago metropolitan area to plan and organize the centenary celebration of the Parliament in 1993 in Chicago. Given the enthusiasm generated by the event, Dirk continued to lead the Council's efforts to build a vibrant interreligious movement in Chicago and around the world. As head of the 4th Parliament in Barcelona, Dirk worked to get religious leaders more involved with the most serious problems of the underdeveloped and developing world, calling on religious leaders to work together on issues including the plight of refugees, the pressures of globalization, the lack of clean water, debilitating foreign debt, and religious violence. Dirk is an ordained Presbyterian minister. Prior to joining the Council, he served for eleven years as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Benton Harbor, Michigan. He currently also teaches at DePaul University, the Lutheran School of Theology, and Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.
Rev. Dirk Ficca serves as Executive Director of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions. Dirk worked closely with the religious and spiritual communities of the Chicago metropolitan area to plan and organize the centenary celebration of the Parliament in 1993 in Chicago. Given the enthusiasm generated by the event, Dirk continued to lead the Council's efforts to build a vibrant interreligious movement in Chicago and around the world. As head of the 4th Parliament in Barcelona, Dirk worked to get religious leaders more involved with the most serious problems of the underdeveloped and developing world, calling on religious leaders to work together on issues including the plight of refugees, the pressures of globalization, the lack of clean water, debilitating foreign debt, and religious violence. Dirk is an ordained Presbyterian minister. Prior to joining the Council, he served for eleven years as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Benton Harbor, Michigan. He currently also teaches at DePaul University, the Lutheran School of Theology, and Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.