“Everybody’s hungry for something and everyone has something to offer.”

This is the sign that welcomes visitors to The Lord’s Acre, a non-profit farm located outside Asheville, NC. Each Wednesday night during the growing season, I take a group of students in my Introduction to Interfaith Leadership class at Warren Wilson College to The Lord’s Acre to put theory and class discussions into practice.

This simple phrase on the sign offers much wisdom to all who enter, but especially to those of us interested in interfaith work. The opportunity to work together to plant, weed, and grow food for the local community satisfies physical hunger, but such work also responds to a larger call to community and dialogue across difference.

The hope of our time spent as a class at The Lord’s Acre is to give back to our local community and to engage in conversation with community members and those who volunteer in the garden. Sometimes conversation revolves around food and planting, other times volunteers discuss their hopes and dreams—but more often than not, the topic of faith comes up over a bed of string beans. As students have reminded me time and time again, if you want to get to know someone, “you’ve got to get your hands in the dirt!”

Now that I am in my third iteration of this class on interfaith leadership at the college and with spring well on its way, it seems appropriate to dive into the lessons hard-earned and the wisdom gained over this time in the garden. Hopefully, others will find this advice helpful beyond our context; truly, the wisdom of these students extends well beyond our class and context.  Below is a list jointly created with the insight of these students:

1) Get Your Hands in the Dirt

Building from our work at The Lord’s Acre, one of the quickest ways to break down barriers and nervousness about engaging with someone different is to work together for the common good. Such work builds a commitment and connection between people, a real accountability for growth together.

While this may be a familiar mantra for many leading interfaith organizations, my work with students engaged in consistent, long-term service and community engagement has proven that deep engagement takes trust and time. Difficult conversations about difference can not and should not take place the first or second time folks are gathering but after connections and relationships are built. There is no faster way to do this than to serve together.

2) Bring Your Whole Self

It is common practice among many interfaith gatherings for attendees to bracket a part of their identity to engage across lines of difference. Oftentimes, it is suggested that issues of race, class, LGBTQ inclusion, or gender identity be kept out of interfaith conversations so as to prioritize religious differences.

Yet, what my students have consistently reminded me is that identities cannot be minimized or checked at the door. Students are keenly aware that for authentic engagement across lines of difference, we must include space for the totality of identity. And, while such inclusion could prove contentious, it is the fastest way to move beyond surface dialogue and to grapple with real difference. To get to know, to learn from, and to live in community with people necessitates a deep openness and appreciation of difference, not an avoidance of what makes us unique.

3) Sin Boldly (Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes)

A quote attributed to Protestant reformer Martin Luther (and one often taken out of context) suggests that Christians should “sin boldly, but let your trust in Christ be stronger.” Perhaps the second part of that phrase doesn’t apply to interfaith work, but the first surely does. This is not to suggest that folks should intentionally make mistakes but to recognize that mistakes are integral to the process.

When entering into spaces where mistakes and learning are essential to growth and understanding, all parties must acknowledge an openness to learning from and meeting these mistakes with patience and respect. This does not mean that the burden of explaining and correcting mistakes must always fall on the wronged party, however.  All folks intentionally entering such interactions should acknowledge a willingness to meet mistakes with accountability to learning and growth.

4) Intrafaith & Interfaith Happen at the Same Time

Those who engage in interfaith work often have the perception that participants are mostly just liberal/progressive representatives of various faith traditions and that more conservative or exclusivist voices are unwelcome. Yet, a consistent theme that emerges from my work with students is that interfaith work must extend to intrafaith conversations and learning. Additionally, the intentional inclusion of non-religious voices is critical, especially given the changing demographics of college campuses.

Many of my students have been cautious about engaging in interfaith work because they wrestle with the real scars of religious trauma everyday. Learning to build spaces that allow students to confront different theologies and approaches to religion from their own tradition and from others is a critical way for many students to work through this trauma. Interfaith leadership has been an important medium through which students develop resiliency in their own lives and in their engagement with others.

5) Mix Theory & Practice

One innovative piece of the new Minor in Interfaith Leadership at Warren Wilson College has been the intentional incorporation of curricular and co-curricular elements. In addition to tradition-specific and context classes, students also have the opportunity to engage chosen topics through an internship or work experience with faith-based non-profits and leadership development courses. This holistic approach to creating interfaith leaders allows students to learn about theory and specific religious traditions while gaining the practical experience of applying the knowledge and skills gained in their particular field of study or employment areas of interest.

6) Have Fun!

If the work is not fun, it is not sustainable. This does not mean that every event or activity will be fun. At its root, though, deep exchange and learning across differences should enhance our knowledge of self and love of others.