Ginsberg Center E-Newsletter

October 2009

Interfaith Action Looks Back on its First Year

by Kemba Mazloomian

Students participate in a service project at Malcolm X Academy in Detroit during Interfaith Action's Alternative Spring Break trip in 2009.
—Interfaith Action Program

At a secular state university, the right place for dialogue on faith isn't always clear.

But in the last few years, students and faculty from U-M's diverse array of religious communities have begun their own interfaith initiatives: forming interfaith service groups, taking up faith topics through the Program on Intergroup Relations (IGR), and studying faith identity and social justice in the classroom.

So in 2008, several faith, social justice and student affairs offices on campus launched a program through the Ginsberg Center to bring campus faith communities together: Interfaith Action.

In its first year, Interfaith Action built a core group of students and faculty, and began cultivating interfaith dialogue and friendships through group discussions and service projects. As the Ginsberg Center's newest program moves into its second year, it has established a student advisory board to oversee its work and shifted its focus toward social outreach.

The Ginsberg Center, Association of Religious Counselors, Ecumenical Center and International Residence, IGR and the Michigan Community Scholars Program launched Interfaith Action, with support from the Vice President for Student Affairs, by creating an AmeriCorps service position to direct the program and coordinate faith activities and dialogue on campus.

Founding director Naomi Zaslow, said her first task was to work with faculty, staff and student groups to define what that "dialogue" would be.

Faculty and staff from the founding programs were often engaged in dialogue with other faith groups, and offered suggestions for ways involve student groups. But some student groups were unsure how interfaith dialogue would fit into their missions.

"Sometimes I let them know that the process of partnering with our group would help them define their own objectives," Zaslow said.

Interfaith Action organized discussions on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues and belief, as well as fundamentalism and faith identity, and set up a bi-monthly roundtable with faith, cultural and secular groups.

Giving students the opportunity to visit different faith communities was also an important component of the program's work. Zaslow organized monthly trips to faith groups in the Ann Arbor area. And on an Alternative Spring Break trip to Detroit last spring, eight students visited faith communities across the city to learn about their history and their views on social justice work, and participated in a service project.

U-M Bahá'í Club member and biomedical engineering graduate student Amir Sabet recalled a "heartwarming" Interfaith Action visit to the Bahá'í Center of Washtenaw County that included prayers from different religions and an introduction to the Bahá'í faith and its vision of global unity. The event inspired the Bahá'í Club to become more involved in the program, he said.

"It was encouraging to see the interaction between different cultures, religions, and backgrounds in a very friendly environment," Sabet said.

Interfaith Action's work will be more student-driven this year, current Program Director Rachel Freedman-Doan says. Student leaders have already chosen to shift the program from scripture-based to outreach activities and increase its focus on art, music, literature and culture.

"The student leaders have come with good ideas, so I see myself in the role of an enabler," Freedman-Doan said.

Read More about Interfaith Action.

Ginsberg Center E-Newsletter

Interfaith Action Looks Back on its First Year

October 2009 Table of Contents