Twenty Taylor University students will attend an outreach conference with the aim of engaging Muslim neighbors and gaining insight in the practice of faithfulness to Jesus in a religiously diverse society.
Neighborly Faith is a conference hosted at Wheaton College in Chicago, Illinois, and will take place this weekend on November 1 and 2. Conference organizers say the event will feature engaging discussions with leading scholars, student activities and networking opportunities. Taylor students in particular are attending at no cost through Taylor's Global Engagement outreach, which aims to equip students to launch multi-faith initiatives on and off campus.
The Neighborly Faith organization seeks to bring Evangelicals and Muslims together by overcoming fear, speaking truth, and building relationships through the love of Jesus.
Anna Craig, Co-President of Global Engagement, said she believes the event is relevant for all Taylor students.
“The Neighborly Faith Conference provides a really great opportunity for us to consider that we live in very close proximity to the Muslim community in Muncie,” Craig said. “The Neighborly Faith Conference is a great way to listen to, and learn from, narratives that are different from our own so that we may press further into what it means to love our neighbors genuinely.”
“The power of recognizing the multi-dimensional nature of another individual’s humanity is an essential part of learning what it means to love others more fully, and we are hopeful that this conference will be a great opportunity for each one of us to engage with, and participate in multi-faith dialogue as well as help us to grow in our ability to care for those who are different than us,” Craig said. “We feel that this conference will also be a great way to begin Global Engagement Cabinet’s World Religions Week which is focused primarily on Islam.”