| Many community development
organizations struggle when trying to find ways to include
people from all demographics of their community, including
faith communities. There are sometimes significant barriers
that need to be overcome for contact and communication to
take place, including language, culture and religious practices.
The challenge for community organizers is to respectfully
engage people and find ways to make everyone feel welcome
and included.
Contacting and connecting faith communities
is a process of networking. It is important to be a “learner”
and “discoverer” in order to find the faith leaders
in the community and then invite them to participate in a
community event or coalition. One contact will lead to other
contacts, especially as religious leaders understand the project
and see its relevance for the faith communities.
Trust is essential to developing support
and participation in an organization. Without trust, individuals
and groups may find it difficult to work together. As the
religious group discovers the community organization or issue,
the facilitator can learn more about that faith’s traditions.
Click to learn more about establishing an
Interfaith Dialogue:
When building trust among people of different
faiths, it helps to keep in mind the following:
- It is important to learn from and listen to members
of the religious group as they explain and teach about
their faith.
- Help the religious leaders/group understand the concepts
of the organization or issue; it is important for the
project to be placed within the religion’s theological
understandings.
- Attending the faith group’s worship services and
fellowship times is essential to the learning process.
- Be careful not to presume Western religious structures,
theology or clergy functions.
- Realize that many immigrants may be busy learning about
and adapting to North American customs, folkways and ideas.
Their religious organization may be relatively new and,
thus, they may be concentrating on developing a congregation,
place of worship and organizational structures.
- Understand that members/participants may not have time
to participate in another organization or activity.
- Allow sufficient time for community.
These are issues and concerns for which a
facilitator must be prepared, although not all of these issues
may be present in every group. Since listening and communication
is crucial to building trust, these guidelines can help open
up the facilitator’s ears, helping him/her become attuned
to more than what is first apparent.
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Interfaith Grand River (IGR) began as a subsidiary
of the Kitchener-Waterloo Council of Churches but expanded
into an interfaith group for broader dialogue and action.
The Council of Churches continues as an ecumenical organization
of Christians, while IGR is a coalition in which Bahá’i,
Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Unitarians
and many other religions are represented.
Members of the IGR are active in their faith
community, are recognized as leaders in their faith traditions,
and can take concerns back to other members/participants.
Because the structure of many religions has different expectations
of the clergy, IGR representatives are not elected nor are
they necessarily officially sanctioned by the wider religious
organization.
Since September 2001, IGR has met with leaders
from other sectors, including media, health, police, education,
etc., to address concerns and talk about issues as the Waterloo
Region becomes more multi-faith. During its history, IGR has:
- Held a yearly peace walk with an interfaith prayer
service each autumn
- Consulted with the hospitals in designing a multi-faith
chapel
- Developed networks to provide spiritual care for persons
infected or affected by HIV/AIDS
- Worked with the public Board of Education on secular
ethics and values
- Participated in a variety of multi-faith/interfaith
events in the Waterloo Region
- Hosted a seminar for participants in the Canadian Governor
General’s study tour
- Sponsored two 13-week seminars with Encounter: World
Religions, so residents of the Waterloo Region could understand
and meet their multi-faith neighbours
Tamarack would like to thank Brice Balmer
for gathering the information and resources necessary for
our section on faith and faith communities.
As the founding chairperson of Interfaith
Grand River, Brice Balmer is also the Secretary and Mennonite
representative on Interfaith
Social Assistance Reform Coalition, an Ontario
advocacy coalition working with the provincial government
and with vulnerable populations in the province.
Brice is also an ordained Mennonite pastor
and a chaplaincy director for the House
of Friendship, a multi-service agency working with socially
and economically marginalized peoples in Waterloo Region (Ontario,
Canada).
His work includes teaching courses in practical
theology, and he supervises social work and seminary interns
in his role as a adjunct professor at Conrad
Grebel University College, Waterloo
Lutheran Seminary, Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Renison
College and Wilfrid
Laurier University.
During a four-month sabbatical, reflecting on how Christians
enter multi-faith neighbourhoods in Canada and the USA, Brice
assessed different styles of multi-faith organizations, as
well as reflected on how religions can work together for community
health, safety and justice for all residents. To learn more,
read Brice’s article, Not
Just a Social Gathering: Interfaith Dialogue.
Brice also solicited members of his interfaith
community to write descriptions of their faith traditions.
These have been included in this web section.
Do you have some tips on interfaith dialogue
and communication? Are you a member of an interfaith coalition?
Please share your thoughts and learning with us! E-mail
us with your comments, ideas and resources.
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