Our Purpose

Interfaith Action (SW Michigan Peace & Justice Collaborative) is a coalition of various faith communities who understand that we are stronger when we act together. In a public policy climate where the most vocal voices are narrow and sectarian, Interfaith Action seeks to bring justice-oriented and interfaith voices back into the conversation. The overarching purpose of Interfaith Action, woven from differing faith traditions, is the expression of Love in Action for the healing of our world. Interfaith Action’s work is done through our working groups and alongside community partners. We aim to practice and promote:

expressing the dignity of all human beings
engaging in peacemaking and countering violence
advancing justice, especially for those on the margins of community life
upholding the holiness of all creation

Our Organization

Interfaith Action is not a membership organization; rather it is a collaborative of engaged faith communities. Each faith community articulates its engagement in differing ways— some support the entirety of Interfaith Action’s initiatives, others focus on one area of concern. Some faith communities have extensive and continuous involvement, others engage episodically, and others engage on a single issue of concern.

Interfaith Action currently operates through three groups (Common Life, Common Home, and Common Good), whose format has been developed over time, inspired by a 2018 planning process. Each working group is co-chaired by two faith community leaders. Working groups define action and advocacy agendas for each year. Agendas are also reviewed at a general meeting of Interfaith Action and subsequently formally approved by the Interfaith Action Board of Directors.

Working groups coordinate the implementation of the agenda with the support of two Interfaith staff people and rely on assigned program lead(s) to implement plans and update the group on progress of each specific initiative/project.

To learn more, visit our working group pages or our Upcoming Events page.

Interfaith Action’s organizational structure - PDF document

We are guided by the following:

(1) We acknowledge that each of us comes from a differing faith tradition and/or religious/cultural context. In light of these differences, we agree to respectful dialogue, compassionate listening, mutual sharing of vision and resources towards the common goals of justice and peace for all.

(2) While speaking from our own contexts of faith and culture, we may use language that is unique to our own traditions. However, in the interest of unity and respect for diversity, when referring to the Divine, we will refrain, as best we are able, from any particular gendered or faith-specific terms in our common prayers.

(3) We enter into our shared work believing that all are made in the Image of God, and that our diversity is a gift of the Holy - thus our inclusion of differing perspectives and approaches in a manner of honoring that gift, and respecting the Divine Image in each person.

Our current priorities include:

Preserving life in our Common Home ensuring the survival of the planet and the well being of those forced to migrate and advancing our Common Good to ensure that no one is left behind or left out and that all have the resources and rights to thrive.

Our common effort for our common home and our common good is based on the following:

Protection of our Environment: our environment is the holiness of God’s creation and we as people of faith are charged to be stewards of this Holy Gift.

To that end, we:

Advance resources and actions that preserve and protect Lake Michigan and our inland waters;

Work to ensure access to clean water;

Seek to reduce environmental pollution in our skies, on our land and in our water;

Advocate global environmental protections in recognition of the threat to our planet and the disproportionate impact that climate change has on populations and communities of poverty;

Seek to model environmental justice in our own faith communities, properties and grounds.

Working Group: Common Home

Dignity of All People: As people of faith, we see the face of God in each human being.

To that end, we:

Advance equal protections and inclusion for social minorities;

Advocate for strong safety nets for persons in crisis or destitution;

Promote pathways out of poverty and homelessness;

Seek remedies to the health crises of addictions, bullying and suicide;

Believe in access to comprehensive health and mental health care.

Working Group: Common Good

Migration: our faith traditions uniquely and distinctively call us to welcome the stranger and to provide compassion and advance justice for refugees, immigrants and migrants.

To that end, we:

Advance generous humanitarian protections, particularly for refugees, trafficking and torture survivors, and victims of crime;

Believe that families should not be separated;

Promote pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and for those resident immigrants who lack permanent authorization to remain in the country;

Believe due process and human rights be afforded to migrants, particularly those fleeing circumstances that threaten their lives;

Advocate for investments in regional solutions that prevent forced migration or migration based on economic or social survival.

Working Group: Common Home

Peacemaking: Our faith traditions call us to be peacemakers.

To that end, we:

Seek to reduce gun violence in our communities through common sense regulations;

Have a particular commitment to reducing violence in schools and places of worship and we seek approaches that make these safe, gun free places;

Advocate for our country to take leadership in global conflicts to ensure that religious minorities and religious and social groups are protected and not placed in harm’s way.

Working Group: Common Good