In my indeed orange juice commercial you would find a family that is excited to hear that little Tommy has just gotten back from Interfatih camp where he had so much fun that good old Dad even wants to volunteer and Mom has decided to be the chair of the program committee.
Yet in the real world which we are faced with some very real obstacles. Lets get to the very core of this, everything must be built from the GROUND up. Which means brainstorming, a lot of talk, note taking, building relationships and so on… my point is if we as a nation could truly wake up and take off the filters that make some races look like enemies and others look like heroes, take off the blinders that let us keep buying our expensive coach bags, and 300 horsepower money pitts we might be able to see that, we actually can make a difference as a individual. How does not “investing” your cold hard earned cash into something other than dust collecting crap save the world?
This is how…
We being those who have noticed the war, global warming, racism, and just general fear of our fellow neighbor read on…
If you are a person that doesn’t mind sharing your air with someone of a different race, religion, background or color hair then I applaud you. Unfortunately we have allowed ourselves, and our children to be programmed into believing- If you are like me then you must be good, if you are not like me then you must be bad. Simple enough? Don’t believe it? Think about it every core belief we hold has become sensitive personal, and harsh emotions and sometimes reactions are often too easily provoked. For me it has been something as simple as someone telling me I haven’t trained my dog right.
Yet, here it is a ground shaking new idea. Gathering children of different faiths and put them together so that they can better grow in their own spiritual path along with educating others about their faith and learning about their new friends faith. Sound simple enough… yet for a parent to send their child to this kind of camp there has been this truly looming fear of what ifs…
Here is a tid bit of news when the first ever Puget Sound Interfaith camp was held. This August will be the third camp, I encourage you all to check out their website at Puget Sound Interfaith Youth Camp!
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February 22, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Your dreams have come true!
There is, indeed, an interfaith camp, sponsored by the Interfaith Alliance. LEADD is a week-long summer camp that empowers high school students to become informed and engaged citizens in our religiously diverse nation.
Each year LEADD Camp brings together thirty diverse high school students from across the country. The participants of Leadership Education Advancing Democracy and Diversity —”LEADDers,” learn about religious liberty and pluralism from educators and public policy experts. After leaving camp, LEADD alumni carry out their action plans to advance democracy and diversity in their communities.
LEADD 2008 camp to be held in Nation’s Capitol area (Chevy Chase MD) July 27th – August 3rd 2008.
Jay Keller is our Field Director and can tell you all about this amazing experience. He can be reached at 202-238-3281. Or at jkeller@interfaithalliance.org