Ideas

Here are some simple ideas for interfaith action. Whether you do these individually or in your congregation, we'd love to hear about your efforts. Email us your activity at interfaithhouston@gmail.com and we'll feature it on the blog!

  

• LISTEN to other people's opinions even if they differ hugely from your own.
• ASK honest questions about your friend or colleague's faith in an inoffensive manner.
• READ up on other religions, making sure you use a variety of unbiased sources. We have some good books on our resources page.
• SEND a card to someone from a different faith - show your appreciation, wish them well on their holiday, or just say hi.
• WRITE something nice about another faith on your Facebook page, your twitter page or on a blog. It lets your friends learn something new as well.
• SHARE a meal with someone of a different religion at school work or at home.
• INVITE a friend or colleague of a different religious tradition to your place of worship. Make sure to give them some basic etiquettes of your worship so that they don't feel out of place.
• CREATE art or sculpture (or other creative form) to represent your ideas about interfaith harmony.
• HOST an interfaith gathering at your place of worship. This could be a small gathering of women, a book discussion or just a youth get-together. You may use one of our suggested books from this blog's resources.
• FIND quotes from different scriptures about a similar topic such as peace, love, gratitude, humility, helping others, etc. and share with others through conversation or writings.
• JOIN with people of different faiths to help a nonprofit group such as a food pantry, homeless shelter or health clinic.
• START a book club using a book or magazine with an interfaith theme. Visit our resources page for ideas.
• WATCH and discuss a video on an interfaith topic. Visit our resources page for ideas.
• WRITE an op-ed or letter to the editor to your local newspaper, school paper or favorite online blog with ideas about religious tolerance.
• ORGANIZE interfaith youth events such as movie night or bowling, ensuring that any gender-separation traditions are respected.
• BAKE bread together or cook another type of meal, leaving plenty of time for conversations.
• OPEN UP your place of worship on special holidays such as Ramadan, Christmas, Easter or Hanukkah, giving others a chance to visit and learn more.
• SPONSOR an essay contest for youth or adults, with religious tolerance as the theme.
• CREATE a worship tour in your city, or join an existing tour, to visit places of worship and witness services.
• TAKE pictures of people and buildings of different faith traditions and compile an online photo collage.
• ORGANIZE a multi-faith blood drive for your local blood bank.
• SET UP an interfaith student group at your college campus.
• INVITE someone from a different religion to give a talk at your place of worship. Use the local contacts on our resources page as a starting point.
• ORGANIZE devotional readings at your place of worship with representation of a variety of scriptures.
• ASK people of different faiths to bring religious symbols for an exhibition event.
• APPROACH your local library to organize an interfaith book display. Most public libraries have rent-free space available for such purposes.
• PARTICIPATE in an open house day, when places of worship open their services to everyone in the community.
• HOLD an interfaith panel with a priest, an imam and a rabbi to allow community members to ask questions.
• PLAN an interfaith service around a national event or holiday, such as an interfaith thanksgiving service, or an interfaith 9/11 memorial. You may find examples on our blog if you select the tag "event" from the tag cloud on the home page.
• GET TOGETHER with friends for interfaith outdoor activities such as tree plantings, neighborhood clean up or a lemonade stand.
• OFFER your place of worship to be used as an religious meeting place by those who do not have sufficient space.
• ORGANIZE informal table discussions at coffee houses, community parks or elsewhere. Ensure that each group has a moderator or facilitator as well as talking points. You may find examples on our blog if you select the tag "event" from the tag cloud on the home page.
• PLAN a fun "interfaith jeopardy" for your congregation or friends.