Permanent link for Interfaith Across the State of Michigan on September 5, 2023

This past week, the Kaufman Interfaith Institute called together 15 leaders representing 19 different interfaith initiatives and organizations from across the state of Michigan for a convening at Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo. This small gathering of Interfaith leaders was a fruitful time of listening and story sharing about the structures, dynamics, and foci of multi-faith groups to identify best practices and offer support to one another.

We delighted in the opportunity to build new connections and relationships with each other and between our respective organizations. While each of our organizations are unique to the communities in which we operate and the missions we seek to advance, we were able to share and learn about the work that each of us is engaged in to bridge divides, address disparities, and work towards individual or community transformation. Whether these initiatives focused on multi-faith dialogue, community organizing, political activism, or inclusive spirituality, it was inspiring to see the diversity of imperatives and approaches to doing interfaith engagement.  

Over the course of our time together, we deepened our knowledge of each other’s work, delved into national research and local survey data to examine the current Interfaith landscape in Michigan, and held space for listening sessions to better understand what resources exist or need to be developed to support interfaith cooperation. As you can imagine, there were some common themes! To that end, beyond sharing about our individual work, we also explored the possibilities of cooperation in the future, looking to the possibility of state-wide information and resource sharing as we look to offer each other mutual support.

We are so grateful to all of the organizations who responded to our invitation, to Rev. Holly Makimaa for facilitating our time together, to Allison Ralph for collecting and presenting us with powerful data on current trends in interfaith work, and to Fetzer Institute for being a fantastic host. For those who don’ know, the Fetzer Institute helps to build the spiritual foundation for a loving world. The Fetzer Institute is a growing community of people who see we’re part of something more. They aim to inspire and serve a global movement that transforms the world into a more loving home for all. 

Participating Orgs:

• Downtown Outreach Churches Collaboration
• Fetzer Institute
• Interfaith Action of Southwest Michigan
• Interfaith Clergy Association of Greater Lansing
• Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice
• Interfaith Photovoice
• Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County
• Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy & Action in the Community
• International Campus Ministry at Western Michigan University
• Kaufman Interfaith Institute
• Michigan Interfaith Power & Light
• Michigan Religious Leaders for Justice
• Momentum Center
• Mother’s Trust, Mother’s Place
• My Oasis Center
• Northern Michigan Interfaith Common Grounds
• Reformed Church in America – Interreligious Relations
• Synergy Health Center
• Together West Michigan

We are excited to see where this new relationship might lead and to share out the research and learning from this gathering in more detail soon. Stay tuned!

Posted by Kyle Kooyers on Permanent link for Interfaith Across the State of Michigan on September 5, 2023.