All in Good Faith

Author(s): Jean Potter, Marcus Braybrooke
Publisher: World Congress of Faiths

Page 74

Local Initiatives
made clear that, although the host faith will be expected to be honest about its beliefs, such occasions should never be allowed to become vehicles for proselytism. It should be clear that their purpose is for education and shared experiences.
If such an experience is followed by social interaction over a cup of tea or fruit juice, or sometimes something more substantial, it can give the opportunity for informal questions, answers and explanations which can further promote understanding and respect between peoples of different faiths. Some groups found that such an experience led naturally into other inter-faith meetings and activities.
The Coventry Inter-Faith Group explained how they made such visits during a Peace Walk, and West Bromwich Inter-Faith Forum have made similar visits during One World Week.
Coming Together to Pray
A lesser number of groups had come together to pray' or taken part in consecutive or serial worship where members from participating faiths either contribute to the occasion using their own prayers and/or holy writings, or do in turn what is characteristic of their own worship. Others attending are enabled to share to the extent to which they feel they can conscientiously do so.
Some groups felt that this was a stage further along the road towards spiritual maturity, for it demands greater sensitivity in presenting one's own tradition so as not to give offence to others. As one group put it, 'one must be able to listen to oneself with other's ears'. It was also felt that such an occasion cannot be embarked upon until groups know each other well and feel that they have developed a sense of unity, for there should be no friction, and nothing which might give offence.
Events of this kind encourage co-operation between the different faiths represented to work out a theme and a format which is acceptable to all, with the wording of prayers and the choice of readings carefully considered. The desirability of having a theme was stressed so as to give a unity to the different contributions. Various themes which had been used by the groups were : Peace; Light; Creation/The World/Ecology; Conflict Resolution/Reconciliation; Mediation; Universal Love for All Mankind; Harmony; One Family; Economics; Justice; Pilgrimage; and Sacred Writings. Many of these have been used in compiling the second part of this book which includes readings and prayers chosen by members of different faiths.
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