The College of St. Scholastica’s Interreligious Forum and Duluth public television station WDSE-TV Channel 8 will present “Prayer and Armed Conflict: A Community Panel Discussion” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, in Somers Lounge on campus. The event is free and open to the public; refreshments will be provided.

Panelists include Sister Timothy Kirby, St. Scholastica Monastery, and a member of the Catholic peace movement Pax Christi; Dr. Sabah Alwan, Department of Management at St. Scholastica, and member of the Duluth Muslim community; Pastor Tim Martenson, Chaplain, 148th Fighter Wing, National Guard; and Chuck Smith, Veterans' Committee Chair, Fond du Lac Anishinaabe community.

The panel will address questions including:

*Can there be a "just war"?
*Can the phrases "God is on our side" and "holy war" be defended from your faith perspective?
*What do you pray for in times of war, and what teachings of your faith tradition counsel against it? *How did "civil religion" come into being in the course of our nation's history, and what should its role be?

 The panel is part of a series of community discussions this winter in Duluth and are based on the Public Broadcast Service (PBS) program “Prayer In America,” which will air locally in March. Part I of the program will be broadcast on WDSE-TV Channel 8 at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 23; Part II will be broadcast at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 30.

“Religious belief and spiritual practice have become central issues in politics, social action, warfare, science, education, the family -- virtually every part of American life,” said Elyse Carter Vosen, director of the Interreligious Forum and assistant professor of Languages and International Studies at St. Scholastica. “As the 2008 elections approach and rhetoric intensifies, these matters become increasingly pressing.”

The first community discussion, “Prayer and Social Justice,” was held on Jan. 22 at Temple Israel. The final community panel discussion will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 27. It will include the public screening of a 30-minute excerpt from the PBS program. The screening and panel discussion will be held at the Islamic Center of the Twin Ports, 145 West Winona Street. All are welcome; refreshments will be served.

For more information about the “Prayer in America” series see www.prayerinamerica.org. For information about the Duluth community discussion series contact Elyse Carter Vosen at (218) 723-6446 or evosen@css.edu, or Dan Corbett of WDSE-TV Channel 8 at (218) 724-8567 or dcorbett@wdse.org.