Gordon Bronitsky, the NM Interfaith Dialogue, and "This Is What I Want People to Know About My Faith" Speakers Series

By Rev. Patty Allread

In a world overburdened by misunderstanding, injustice, and violence caused by human rights abuse and religious intolerance, how do people in any society sort out rumors and false impressions from the truth that leads to understanding and cooperation?

The New Mexico Interfaith Dialogue (NMID) demonstrates that it all begins with communication and that is why NMID is dedicated to facilitating respectful understanding of faith traditions through monthly Dialogue events and an annual Colloquium. 

NMID is one of the longest-running interfaith groups in New Mexico, beginning in the 80s with interpersonal dialogue between Albuquerque area priest Father Ernest Falardeau and Rabbi Paul Citrin of Congregation Albert. The conversation soon expanded to include educators within both faith traditions. Organized as the Jewish-Catholic Dialogue, their purpose was to promote understanding and goodwill among people of the Jewish and Catholic religions. 

By 2012, the Dialogues and Colloquia included Christian non-Catholic participants, and the group changed to a more inclusive name, the Jewish-Christian Dialogue. Events eventually included all three Abrahamic perspectives and increased Muslim engagement, leading to the establishment of the New Mexico Interfaith Dialogue in 2015. Today New Mexico Interfaith Dialogue participants include a much broader range of faith traditions including faith leaders and participants from non-Abrahamic religions. 

One of NMID's biggest champions for interfaith communication is Dr. Gordon Bronitsky, who joined the NMID board in 2025. Gordon's professional background and his love of interfaith and intercultural opportunities make him a valuable addition to the organization's board.

Growing up in Albuquerque, Gordon and his family have been members of Congregation Albert since 1955. He says, "I have fond memories of organizing interfaith seders in high school and speaking about Judaism at St. Mary's High School."

From there, his interfaith path evolved.  He earned a BA in anthropology at UNM (1971) and a PhD in anthropology from the University of Arizona in 1977. While teaching at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, he spent four years studying West Texas Baptists. Later, he even gave a talk about Judaism at Wheaton College (Billy Graham's alma mater) and had his picture taken there in front of the Billy Graham Museum of Evangelism.

In 1994, Gordon left academics and became the the founder and president of Bronitsky and Associates and its production arm, IndigeNOW. 

Gordon says, "The purpose of IndigeNOW's mission is simple – to work with Indigenous artists and performers, traditional and contemporary, to bring their voices and messages to the world. We have done that on every continent except Antarctica."  There is more information about IndigeNOW on its website, indigenow.com.

Over the years, Gordon's experiences talking with many different people about his own faith often left him wondering afterwards, "I wish they knew more about my faith, and I wish I knew more about others." 

Serving as Program Chair of the Congregation Albert Brotherhood, he created many diverse programs, including a Navajo/Jewish dialogue and bringing together as speakers two Presidents of the Navajo Nation and a former Governor of Acoma Pueblo, as well as many other speakers from a broad range of religious and non-religious institutions.

One event Gordon organized for the Brotherhood that he still cherishes was an annual panel discussion, "Being Non-Christian in Albuquerque," with speakers from the Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist communities. Several of the speakers talked about their wish that other people knew more about their faiths. Gordon got to thinking about organizing a series in which members of different faiths could speak about their own lived, personal experiences as members of their faith communities. Reaching out to people he knew from the Brotherhood panel discussion, Gordon discovered there were many who also wanted others to know about their faith.

Having joined the New Mexico Interfaith Dialogue board of directors, Gordon discovered he was part of a highly like-minded group. He personally contacted many of the New Mexican faith leaders he knew, and initiated a Speaker Series with NMID called, "This Is What I Want People to Know About My Faith." The series features talks by faith leaders about their beliefs and an opportunity for dialogue about what was presented. These are usually hosted in the speaker's place of worship, sometimes with traditional refreshments offered. The monthly events are open to all free of charge. 

"In a world of change and complexity and confusion, one way to learn about each other is to create spaces in which we can all listen to each other and that has been my goal for the Speaker Series," says Gordon.

The series began last October with a talk on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by Stake President, ABQ North Stake, Stephen Christiansen and a presentation on religious freedom and how to influence elected leaders, by former New Mexico Representative Jason Harper, also a member of the LDS Church.

Since then, Tyler Dean Werne, a teacher at the Greek Orthodox Church, Gordon Bronitsky himself from Congregation Albert, and Prabhat Singh, a member of the Hindu Temple Society of New Mexico have given presentations.

With each new presentation, interest and attendance has grown and has inspired positive feedback from both attendees and speakers. But more than that, the opportunity to ask questions and discuss what was presented has brought interfaith understanding to life.  

A newly-wed attendee at Gordon Bronitsky's talk on Judaism commented, "I'm really glad I came to this. My wife is Jewish and I want to do everything I can to learn about her faith."

Recent Hindu speaker, Prabhat Singh wrote, "Thank you so much for the incredible opportunity. I tried my best to explain what I believe in as a Hindu. The audience was very calm, quiet, peaceful and accepting. These are virtues of SOULS. I really admire them. Please let everyone know my feelings."

The February Speaker Series dialogue, on February 19th, will be a presentation by Pastor Ricardo Castro, a Seventh Day Adventist faith leader. That event will be at the Heights Seventh Day Adventist Church, 4920 Wyoming NE in Albuquerque at 7 pm. 

Upcoming speakers will be Sam Salas, Jr., from the Native American Church on March 19th, and Sheikh Dr. Mahmoud Eldenawi, Imam of the Islamic Center of New Mexico on May 21st. 

NMID's annual Spring Colloquium will be held on April 12th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m at the Raindrop Foundation. The theme this year is "Faith and Hope: Finding Common Ground in Challenging Times." Attendees will need to register on the NMID website, nminterfaithdialogue.org. A modest fee is charged and there will be a student discount. Information about all dialogue events is also found here.

Rev. Patty Allread has been a Scientologist since 1991 and is the Director of Public Affairs at the Church of Scientology of New Mexico. Patty has a passion for interfaith activities and has been involved with them in Albuquerque and Denver for twenty-six years. She is board president of New Mexico Interfaith Dialogue.  Patty is also a freelance writer and editor.

Community Supporters of the NM Jewish Journal include:
Jewish Community Foundation of New Mexico
Congregation Albert
Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque
The Institute for Tolerance Studies
Jewish Federation of El Paso and Las Cruces
Temple Beth Shalom
Congregation B'nai Israel
Shabbat with Friends: Recapturing Together the Joy of Shabbat
New Mexico Jewish Historical Society
Where the North Ends, A Novel by Hugo Moreno 

Policy Statement Acceptance of advertisements does not constitute an endorsement of the advertisers’ products, services or opinions. Likewise, while an advertiser or community supporter's ad may indicate their support for the publication's mission, that does not constitute their endorsement of the publication's content.

Copyright © 2025 New Mexico Jewish Journal LLC. All rights reserved.