Even when conflict does not galvanize a community, people of goodwill can come together to celebrate their differences with help from those in the communication profession and educators. Public relations students at the University of Miami, for example, have helped the campus ministry to organize and promote religious diversity activities. As a class project, students have assisted with the logistics and publicity for student interfaith panel discussions, musical expressions of faith, and candlelight vigils for peace. The initiative was honouredwith a Florida Leadermagazine’s “Best of Florida Schools”award in recognition of the impact the efforts had on campus relations (Tilson & Venkateswaran, 2004). More significantly, as students learned to apply their skills to real-life projects, they also learned something more important—to use their talents for the common good. In nearby suburban Pinecrest, confirmation class students of Christ the King Lutheran Church visited their neighbors at Temple Beth Or during the Shabbat service in October 2010 “to worship and reflect on the faith tradition at the synagogue”and to deepen their understanding of Jewish scripture as part of their studies (Hines, 2010: 14SE). The two congregations began an ongoing relationship four years ago when Beth Or held its High Holy Day services at the church. Leaders of both faith groups “see this example of mutual respect and cooperation between faith-based communities as an antidote to the increasing trend of tension between such communities”(Ibid). Christ the King’s pastor sent a news release to the media to report on the fellowship and to inspire other interfaith partnerships; the release prompted The Miami Herald’s Neighbors in Religion columnist, among other media, to comment on the initiative.
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