The Interfaith Relations Commission exercises special responsibility within the life of the Council for programs, resources and communication integral to the building and maintenance of interfaith relationships, and to theological reflection of these relationships.  The Commission works with and on behalf of the churches to strengthen relationships between Christians and people of other faiths through study, dialogue, the development of cooperative programs and the sharing of resources and information.  It provides an ecumenical forum for sharing, common counsel and theological reflection regarding interfaith relations, and coordinates its work with other entities of the Council as appropriate.

In order to further this work, this year, the Commission appointed three task groups:

1. Theology of Interfaith Relations: To reflect theologically on interfaith relations and on Christian witness in the pluralistic North American context, through dialogue, writing, consultations and workshops.

2. Relationships with Interfaith Partners: To build relationships with people and organizations of other faith traditions, and to network among churches, councils of churches and ecumenical partners encouraging their work on interfaith relations. This includes national Jewish-Christian and Muslim-Christian dialogues.

3. Equipping Congregations for Interfaith Engagement: To develop and disseminate educational resources in interfaith dialogue and collaboration for use in local congregations.