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| KRISTA MOBLEY @ THE BETTER TOGETHER KICKOFF |
I never thought about the power of an interfaith dialogue in overcoming social issues. In fact, this past spring was the first time this idea had ever been presented to me. This idea inspires me, as a global studies major and a global citizen, because many of the conflicts and wars I read about in class and raise awareness for are often tied to religious difference in some way.
The Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a national organization dedicated to building religious
pluralism through interfaith cooperation and leadership, created the Better Together Campaign. The Campaign works to engage individuals with and without faith traditions in the creation of an interfaith dialogue through social work. The Campaign is in its fourth year here in the Athens community, sponsored by United Campus Ministry. This year’s Better Together Team is focused on fundraising for the Community Food InitiativeS (CFI) to raise awareness about food insecurity in the region. This focus will serve as the social work component and basis for the continued construction of our community’s interfaith consciousness.
Our work to build interfaith engagement has manifested itself in movie screenings, penny wars, and the cleaning of a polluted ravine to not only raise money for CFI but to also bring greater social, environmental and interfaith harmony to this lovely region of Southeast Ohio. And that’s not all, because the Better Together Team is just getting started.
We have a strong foundation of interfaith leaders hosted in that big, red brick house at 18 North College. We are working tirelessly to build bridges between all faiths in order to harness the power we possess to make this world a more peaceful place. Look for us in the community orchestrating peace walks, rallies and events to fuel this flourishing interfaith movement!
