The challenge that gave rise to the Institute for Christian-Jewish Studies has pushed our community to the frontiers of the interfaith encounter. Most Christians and Jews rarely spend sleepless nights thinking about the "other." We may work and live together, but we remain oblivious to the ways in which our troubled history continues to influence what we think, what we say, and, most importantly, what we do. We often pretend that we are more or less the same. We imagine that the differences don't make much difference. We take a silent pact to keep religious controversy behind closed doors.

During the last five years I have been privileged to work with a group of Jews and Christians, men and women, clergy and laity who have crossed the boundaries of the familiar, risked uncer-tainty, and found themselves in uncharted territory. Beginning in 1987, the ten largest Christian denominations in the mid-Atlantic states identified clergy and lay leaders who could navigate a course through a three-year venture entitled the Maryland Interfaith Project. Three Jewish study groups, two lay and one clergy, have joined the expedition under the guidance of Rabbi Shira Lander. Study group participants have examined the historical matrix out of which our traditions emerged. They have traced developments that led Christians and Jews down different paths. This inquiry has inspired participants to articulate what they believe and why. In the process, they have begun to confront the ways in which their traditions have skewed their perceptions of the outsider.

To supplement this enterprise, the ICJS has brought world renowned scholars to Baltimore, including Drs. Walter Harrel-son, Daniel Harrington, Monika Hellwig, Martin Marty, John Pawlikowski, Jaroslav Pelikan, Krister Stendahl, Paul van Buren, Rabbis Eugene Borowitz, Michael Cook, Irving Greenberg, David Hartman, Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, Marc Tanenbaum, and Elie Wiesel. These luminaries have encouraged the ICJS to trans-late academic insight into the practical affairs of our religious communities. Thanks to a generous grant from the JNB Fund, participants from the Maryland Interfaith Project have initiated more than thirty projects. Representatives from study groups have undertaken research, developed educational and liturgical resources, and written interfaith guidelines. They are correct-ing ancient distortions so that we can recognize the depth and dignity of each other's traditions. This work promises to touch schools, universities, and seminaries, as well as congregations.

In addition to several exciting programs scheduled for next year, the ICJS has launched some new initiatives. Taylor Branch has demonstrated the creativity that won him the Pulitzer Prize by coordinating some investigatory dialogues with leaders from the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities. Dr. David Trickett, Director of the Washington Theological Consor-tium, is forging a link with the ICJS in which preeminent Jewish and Christian scholars will conduct seminars with students and faculty. Under ICJS auspices, Drs. Mary Boys and Sara Lee were awarded a major grant from the Lilly Endowment to implement a five-part seminar for Jewish and Roman Catholic educators.

Many of us like to imagine that the threat of religious bigotry has subsided. The religious tensions that divide Jews and Christians often register as a minor irritant on the world's agenda. Yet those who are quick to scratch at other issues frequently fail to recognize the power of religion in American life. The challenge is to articulate our deepest commitments, free them from the grip of prejudice, and direct them toward a common good. The magnitude of the issues that confront our society requires a community that can speak across ethnic, cultural, and religious divisions. Without people who can tap the wisdom of their traditions, our society will drift rudderless on the surface of the latest fad. Without people who learn to examine problems from conflicting angles of vision, our democ-racy will turn one of its most precious resources, its diversity, into a liability. The coalitions that bind us together will then dissolve into fragmented special interest groups.

We believe that the ICJS is developing a model that has enormous relevance for a democratic society. The health and vitality of the nation depends upon people who understand and respect their differences and can nonetheless join hands in repairing the world. We invite you to join our efforts by be-coming members of the ICJS and participating in our programs.