Planning your own community building events
Guidelines we have come to formulate through experience:
We encourage all sponsors to:
-Plan site, greeters, environment, and publicity- carried out by different volunteers.
-Divide up the number of hours of your event by the number of faith groups represented. (ie two hour event shared by 8 faith groups would determine 15 minutes per group.)
-Have one contact person to communicate and formulate order, based on the needs and schedules of all the representatives of other faith groups.
-Host to prepare a 1-2 minute introduction/overview of each faith represented, honoring the historical significance, contributions and perspectives that faith brings as the cue/introduction for that faiths representative to come forward and share from their own tradition.
-Communicate it is up to the individual faith representatives to plan and fill their allotted time segment.
-Have copies for all participants to read the Decalogue of Assisi for Peace (see below)
(We have made it a tradition for the various representatives to read the Decalogue as the opener.)
We encourage all faith representatives of inter religious gatherings to:
- Be in their faith. Share from the heart of their own tradition. (Not explain their faith)
- Share actual readings/chants/prayers/songs. (Not personal testimonials.)
- Bring in intergenerational representation if possible.
- Commit and adhere to the time frame given to allow for parity of all represented.
Share in the wonder of multiple peoples coming together in the name of peace each honoring their own tradition while simultaneously being one voice on behalf of humanity.