Stanford University FAITH
Stanford University has a brand new and highly-motivated interfaith group. It’s called Faiths Acting In Togetherness and Hope, otherwise known by its acronym FAITH. On Saturday, November 7, the group organized its first Day of Interfaith Youth Service (DIYS). The Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core (led by Obama advisor and well-recognized American leader Eboo Patel) has been helping people of faith organize these service projects for a handful of years now. The organization (which happens to be my employer) trains leaders who then head out to put the projects together.
A Day of Interfaith Youth Service is exactly what it sounds like – young people from different religious traditions coming together to help their communities and then dialoguing about the experience from a place of faith. It’s a great way to help out and a great way to come to a deeper understanding of one’s faith.
Twelve of FAITH’s members met at Sacred Heart Community Services in San Jose to work a shift during one of the busiest days of the year, when Sacred Heart enrolls people from the community in its Thanksgiving and Christmas food program and Christmas toy program. I was on the outside line helping to ensure that visitors had all their documents in order. It was fast-paced and interesting work. I got to use my Spanish “skills” and chatted with loads of interesting people.
After our shift, we headed back to Stanford University’s Taube Hillel House (graciously hosted by Stanford’s Jewish community) to discuss what service to others meant to us in terms of our faith traditions. Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and others sat down to eat sugar cookies and learn from each other.
It was a great day, a big success of a kick-off event for FAITH, and a super example of the power of faith to inspire good work. My favorite quotation from the day:
“Helping out the community, helping others; it’s just what we do.”
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