As we consider ways to develop relations with interfaith neighbors in our community, the season of Thanksgiving provides a wonderful opportunity to come together and deepen our common bonds, offering our collective gratitude for the abundance of God’s blessings. In recent years, many Presbyterian churches have been developing partnerships with leaders of other faith traditions in their communities, planning and facilitating interfaith celebrations of thanksgiving and praise. Presbyterians participate in interfaith celebrations with integrity because of our awareness that God is present and active in all creation. We can be authentically open to the intimations of the Spirit’s presence in the midst of an interfaith gathering and, at the same time, be deeply committed to our faith in God through Jesus Christ.
These opportunities to gather have often provided a springboard for building deeper understanding and dialogue that then lead to working together to address common peace and justice concerns facing the community.
If your congregation would like to enrich its ministry by exploring and possibly initiating an interfaith Thanksgiving celebration but are not sure how to begin, consider the following ways a worship or prayer service might be approached:
- Persons from different religions plan and participate in partnership, using only language and symbols that are acceptable to all
- Each religious community in turn leads a part of an event, fully using its distinctive forms while others observe
- Persons who are already in relationship with one another worship together using mutually authentic language, rites, and symbols to express commonly shared commitments1
Once an agreement has been determined regarding the scope and content of the gathering, there are additional guidelines that will be helpful as planning begins:
- Be clear about the purpose of your celebration and gain common agreement from the leaders of other faith communities.
- Always plan your event in equal partnership with leaders from the other faith communities. Each group should decide who will represent it in planning and participating in the celebration.
- Respect the right of each person to determine her/his own level of participation. Acknowledge to one another what is and is not acceptable.
- Be mindful of the importance of silence.
- Never use jointly planned interfaith celebrations as an opportunity to proselytize.
- Affirm as a Christian that commitments made in gathered interfaith communities will not violate your ultimate confession to God, the Source of our being.2
Building relationships with our neighbors from other faiths is a primary task for our peacemaking ministry in this increasingly divided world. As we engage in this ministry, we do so with the confidence that “ . . . God invites us to walk with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and followers of other religions to befriend the rejected, invite in the alienated, offer love without qualification, and set people free from fears and animosities that set us apart.”3
The season of Thanksgiving presents a perfect occasion to recognize or strengthen our common bonds. As we gather, united as a diverse community to give thanks, we also gift our communities with a larger vision of peace. |
