Interfaith bridges
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About Interfaith Bridges™
Building Bridges Together™ offers a program called Interfaith Bridges™ for engagement between Jewish, Christian, and/or Muslim faith communities. Interfaith Bridges is an all-inclusive, easily implementable solution for interfaith dialogue programming, including a detailed, step-by-step program plan and curriculum, instructions and templates for program marketing and program management, and consulting. See the Key Features of our Interfaith Bridges program described below.
Our Interfaith Bridges program is designed for faith communities or interfaith organizations who wish to sponsor a successful interfaith dialogue program. We offer two versions of Interfaith Bridges. Our bi-faith program is designed for dialogue between Christians and Muslims, Christians and Jews, or Jews and Muslims. Our tri-faith program is designed for dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
Participants. Each Interfaith Bridges program gathers an interfaith group comprised of an approximately equal number of representatives of two or three faith traditions (Christians, Jews, and/or Muslims). The group is limited to 24 participants, plus facilitators. Participants are not expected to be experts in, or ambassadors for, their faith traditions. The program helps participants learn more about their own faith as well as about people of a different faith.
Sessions. An Interfaith Bridges program consists of five two-hour sessions. Each session includes dinner, videos on the evening topic, and facilitated discussion groups. Sessions are usually held weekly or bi-weekly to ensure continuity. Our five sessions cover:
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Who Are We? Introduction To Our Faiths
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Holidays, Food And Fasting
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Symbols And Images
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Confronting Stereotypes
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Our Faiths In The World; Where Do We Go From Here?
Each session provides informative short video presentations from the respective faith communities on the topic for the evening and opportunities for meaningful conversation on the same topic. The program is designed to encourage participants to share and learn about people of another faith, as well as more about their own faith. An important program objective is to build trust relationships among the participants.
Facilitators. The Interfaith Bridges program is designed to be entirely lay-led, with typically four to six facilitators, two from each faith tradition. Facilitators plan and implement the program, facilitate the discussions, and coordinate program logistics with their respective faith communities.
Clergy. Clergy support recruitment of facilitators and participants, and may help to secure on-site facilities.
Key Features
What do we provide?
Our Interfaith Bridges Program Resources are delivered to sponsoring faith organizations via a shared Program Resources Folder. We deliver the following Program Resources:
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Interfaith Bridges Program Overview—a resource for sponsors, co-sponsors and facilitators, describing how to launch an interfaith dialogue program, including advice on finding other faith organization cosponsors, facilitators, and participants
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Interfaith Bridges Program Plan providing an overview of the five-session interfaith dialogue program (either bi-faith or tri-faith)
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Presentation Videos from each represented faith, covering each session's topic
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Principles of Interfaith Dialogue to provide "rules of the road" for participants interested in effective and respectful interfaith dialogue and relationship building
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Interfaith Bridges Facilitator Guide providing step-by-step instructions for how to prepare for and conduct each session of the program
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Editable Templates to make program marketing and program management efficient and effective (including publicity and recruiting communications, program session schedules, facilitator meeting agendas, program communications to participants, checklists and more)
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Live support (telephone or Zoom)—up to 10 hours included; additional consultation available to assist your interfaith group work for an additional reasonable fee
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Group Building Tools, with suggested approaches and templates for assigning participants to groups balanced by faith and gender
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Program Evaluation Surveys —anonymous pre- and post-program surveys of participants; the post-program results are shared with BBT and facilitators