OUR MISSION
Paths to Understanding is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Washington State. We work with local, regional, and national partners.
Our vision: Communities where everyone can thrive.
That means everyone belongs and all groups work together towards the common good.
We work towards this vision by Gathering Neighbors and Growing Trust.
• Nurturing Relationships. Prejudice and bigotry are rarely resolved through information alone. Relationships are the most powerful antidote to apathy, fear, and hate. We build trust through face-to-face encounters where neighbors share food, tell their stories, and discover common ground.
• Public Leadership. PTU equips local leaders to create relationships between their groups – be it wisdom communities, nonprofits, service organizations, or cultural clubs. By publicly modeling collaboration across lines of difference, they invite local communities into ever wider circles of relationship building.
• Telling Inspiring Stories. Our TV show Challenge 2.0 and the PTU podcast model respectful debates about current issues. At our public events, local leaders of all faiths, cultures, and identities honor each other and advocate for the common good.
• Countering Christian supremacy: PTU has deep roots in interfaith work, and our executive director leverages his role as Lutheran pastor to help Christian congregations discover their tradition’s teachings on respect for and partnership with all of the human family. Mobilizing the Christian majority to engage in cross-cultural partnerships can have a significant ripple effect in rural and suburban communities.Our mission is to bridge bias and build unity through multi-faith peacemaking. We accomplish this by:
- Telling inspiring stories. This includes sharing our stories as well as teaching and encouraging our community to share their stories. We learn best and remember more when we are taught through stories.
- Leveraging media. We have our own private online community and learning platform for people like you to engage with others on this journey. We also have our own television show, Challenge 2.0 and our own podcast, Wisdom from our Neighborhoods.
- Public events. We host virtual and in-person events to support our communities and partners.
- Nurture relationships. We provide support to our members, communities, and partners to foster new relationships and ensure they are continuing to grow together for the common good.
- Being proactive to counter dehumanization based on religion and work with our community and partners to ensure they have the tools they need
OUR ROLE IN THE CIVIC ECOSYSTEM
Paths to Understanding’s mission is one element in the network of civic engagement initiatives we need to heal our communities and our democracy.
Our work is part of a larger whole. Different programs meet people at different stages of their civic journey. Paths to Understanding is committed to focusing on what we do best, while celebrating other’s contributions and creating pathways for collaboration locally, regionally, and nationally.
PTU brings two areas of expertise to the civic ecosystem:
- “First Step” into social connection. Our programs are a low-threshold invitation for neighbors to get to know each other. As people share food, talk about their lives, and do service projects together, respect and trust grow. That’s the foundation on which people can progress toward other forms of civic engagement and collaboration.
- Collaboration across difference. PUT’s decades of interfaith experience taught us one thing: Groups can partner on issues they agree on while simultaneously respecting their differences. We model this pragmatic approach to our network of partners, helping strengthen relationships within and across civic and activist groups.
OUR INTERFAITH FOUNDATION
Paths to Understanding’s roots run deep in pioneering interfaith movements of the Pacific Northwest. Our founders’ courage, compassion and hope is the foundation that Paths to Understanding is built upon.
Three faith leaders - Rabbi Levine, Father Treacy and Pastor Rollander - created the groundbreaking TV show Challenge which, for 17 years, aired interfaith conversations at prime time on KOMO TV. Rabbi Levine and Father Treacy also founded Camp Brotherhood, a retreat center that brought over 250,000 people from different wisdom traditions together into interfaith experience.
In 2019, the Treacy Levine Center merged with Neighbors in Faith, a program started by our current Executive Director, Reverend Terry Kyllo. In response to rising incidences of anti-Muslim hate speech and violence, Neighbors in Faith events and leadership trainings counter misinformation and create dialogue between American Muslims and their neighbors. The program has reached more than 9000 people since 2015.
PATHS TO UNDERSTANDING TODAY
As we face the deep divisions in our society today, PTU calls on the strengths and insights of these decades of multi-faith work. We have expanded our mission to connect local groups across all lines of difference, including socio-economic, cultural, religious, and other identity groups. Today, Paths to Understanding partners with many local, regional and national civic and interfaith groups. Inspired by our shared values and shared humanity, we work toward the vision of a society where everyone belongs and everyone can thrive.
We are just getting started!