No One Route to Interfaith

INTERFAITH CHURCH

(three different approaches)

1) I work at an Interfaith church. The key here is not “tolerance,” but respect and the honoring of differing traditions. We strive to accomplish this by having several part-time ministers from differing faiths who work together, each leading a Sunday that, while inclusive, is oriented towards the individual minister’s own faith path. This can be difficult to start, but obviously is not impossible. It does require broad-minded ministers willing to work together to build an Interfaith congregation.

2) Beyond our own church there is a church community that is tantalizingly close to an Interfaith breakthrough, and that is the Unitarian Universalist faith community. But it will require effort and intention – a move from tolerance of others (where it largely is today) to mutual respect and the honoring of differing spiritual paths. If you are interested in an Interfaith church and can’t start one on your own, a good way to go may be visiting your local UU church and seeing if it is interested in, or has already begun an Interfaith breakthrough.

3) Not into organized “church”? Using the principles of Starting an Interfaith Dialogue, consider taking out an ad in a local paper. Meeting with people of differing faiths for potlucks and prayer can be deeply spiritual and very rewarding. We live in a “hurry up” society. A key will be to take the time necessary to share and to listen. I hope to have a book written in the next year that may help. But many of the “General” books listed in Books of Interest may serve as useful guides as well.

I love the idea of people of differing faiths praying together. But an Interfaith church is not the only route to Interfaith.

INTERFAITH DIALOGUE

Individuals and/or churches, synagogues, temples and mosques can be intentional about engaging each other in dialogue (see Starting an Interfaith Dialogue). This is a wonderful way to build bridges and gain understanding about each other. For many, this may be where they want to stop, at least for now – and that’s fine.

PULPIT EXCHANGES (minister and choir)

In the past, and sometimes even today, a minister of a denomination would (will) “exchange” pulpits with a fellow minister of the same denomination. This kept both the ministers and congregations “fresh.” This age-old tradition could be utilized in an exciting and very new way. A dialogue that involves differing congregations might become truly dynamic and rather exciting when, after a good period of time (six months, a year?), the religious communities expand their dialogue to include pulpit exchanges. For us, after there has been successful interfaith dialogue, the next step could be interfaith pulpit exchanges. The one governing rule must be no proselytizing, but rather a sharing. It might be helpful, just as example, for Jews to experience an Easter service and for Christians to experience a Yom Kippur service. It is important to include the choirs in this exchange (though it should be noted that outside the Sufi tradition, music is not generally a part of a Muslim service). The idea is to experience as much of the ethnicity, prayer, and emotion of each religious community along with the more “intellectual” aspects of a sermon.

Interfaith dialogue plus pulpit exchanges can make for a real Interfaith experience, real understanding, and just might brighten the prospect for peace in our world.