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Leadership Lens: Interfaith Work in a Divisive World
March 17, 2025
Have you ever wondered why you’re here? Not just here reading this post but here on earth? If you believe that you are here to love people, that you were fundamentally created to manifest love to others who are different from you, then interfaith experiences likely make sense.
The creation of the beloved community is a responsibility we all share. It involves the inclusion of all people. I am mandated as a Christian to love the other, the stranger, and the most marginalized. If I am serious about manifesting my faith in action, then the least I can do is support the Interfaith Day of Unity.
Created in 2000, the IDU brings people of all faiths and no faiths together once a year at a different house of worship throughout Metro Detroit. We gather for a celebration of prayer, music, and participation. The IDU reminds us that we are a gift, that we are loved, and that we matter – not just in the eyes of our own congregants, family, or friends, but to and for our whole human family.
In 2025, it is as important as ever to make new friends, as the act of making a friend is an inherently peaceful act. This requires us to step out of our silos, to leave our homes, and to engage with people who look, sound, worship, and think differently from us. When we do this, we not only develop new understanding and build community, but we realize that we have so much more in common than that which divides us. We are siblings in spirit. For me, this was a profound epiphany of which I am constantly reminded every time I conclude a conversation with someone from a different faith tradition. “Wow!” I think. “She could be my sister.”
If you enjoy learning new things and realize that our human family is only fully represented when we make a conscious effort to engage people of every religious and cultural identity on earth, then the IDU is for you.
If you believe, as I do, that peace and love are verbs that require action in order to be manifest, then the IDU is for you.
If you embrace the establishment of a human family of all people without exception and your role in it, then join us March 1, 2026 for the next Interfaith Day of Unity at the Bloomfield Hills stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bring a friend.
Fulfill your purpose in life. Live your love. Let’s build our beloved community together. Start now by promising to be with us at next year’s Interfaith Day of Unity.
Rick Joseph, Ed.D.
InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit Board of Directors
Interfaith Day of Unity Chairperson
