Includes bibliographical references.

A fire that consumed : the 1992 Los Angeles riots -- The bush was blazing, but not consumed : in search of God in the fire -- Fire as divine judgment and purification -- Obsession over the unholy fire -- The golden calf syndrome -- Up and down the Tower of Babel : another vision of a multicultural community -- Coming down from our Tower of Babel : examining our ethnocentrism -- Tending the burning bush on level ground : maintaining ethnorelativism -- Today I set before you life and death--choose life! -- Lighting, sanctifying, and maintaining the holy fire through dialogue -- Differences in communication styles and the dialogue process -- Dialogue as liturgy -- Liturgy as dialogue -- Appendix A : an intercultural dialogue/worship service -- Appendix B : a five-session intercultural dialogue program -- Appendix C : a dialogue process : focusing on differences in communication styles -- Appendix D : techniques for managing a bilingual gathering -- Appendix E : teaching a congregation to sing a new song.