Written by Don Byrd

If you haven’t already participated in the Know Your Neighbor campaign, this is a great week to learn more about it and get involved. The short version is: Know Your Neighbor is a multi-faith effort to encourage dialogue and understanding across religious, ethnic, and cultural divides.

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty is a participant in this campaign because “hate rhetoric and violence targeting religious minorities is as much a threat to religious liberty as any law or public policy.” As citizens charged with maintaining our democracy, we can help increase empathy and break down stereotypes by simply opening lines of communication. That’s where you come in.

Make a personal video or share a story using social media. Even in 140 characters, you can share something about yourself and invite interfaith dialogue in a tweet. When you post, use the hashtag #KnowYourNeighbor. And tag the BJC (@BJContheHill)!

What do you want your neighbors to know about you? What personal experience changed the way you think about your neighbors or the way they think about you? Why is interfaith work and dialogue important to you? Let people know in a short video or social media post.

For more inspiration, check out the videos posted at ING’s campaign page.

And more: listen to the fantastic July 16, 2017 sermon by BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler at First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. entitled “Loving and Knowing Our Neighbors.”

For more on what you can do, see the Baptist Joint Committee’s Know Your Neighbors campaign page.