NJ interfaith teen program breaking down barriers entering its 4th year

Middle and high school students throughout Monmouth County are invited to participate in the upcoming fourth program year of a unique multi-faith program called Garden State MOSAIC. MOSAIC, which stands for Mobilizing Our Students for Action to Build Interfaith Community, is a partnership between the Monmouth Center for World Religions and Ethical Thought and the Monmouth County Human Relations Commission. Teens interested in meeting other teens from a variety of faiths, learning valuable leadership skills and earning community service hours, are encouraged to apply for Garden State MOSAIC by the September 18th deadline. Applications are available online at www.GardenStateMosaic.org.
In the first three years of the program, more than 100 teens from the Jewish, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Islamic, Sikh, Unitarian-Universalist, Humanist, Hindu, Jain and Quaker faiths have participated. The congregations confirmed for this year’s program include Pilgrim Baptist in Red Bank, Middletown Reformed, Temple Shaari Emeth in Manalapan, the Sri Guruvaayoorappan Hindu Temple in Manalapan, the Islamic Center in Freehold, St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Ocean, St. Robert’s Catholic Church in Freehold, and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Lincroft. Students from within these congregations, as well as all students from other congregations or with no specific affiliation, are welcome to apply for the program.
“Garden State MOSAIC enables students to learn about each other’s belief systems and practices through a series of sessions hosted by the teens at their places of worship,” said Sarbmeet Kanwal, one of the founders of Garden State MOSAIC, and a program coordinator. “Also, through a variety of exercises and activities, the students develop leadership and communication skills that are critical to becoming a change agent in their own communities.” In addition, the students will plan and conduct a community service project to allow them to practice some of the basic values that are common among all belief systems.
Garden State MOSAIC is a free program offered to Monmouth County students in grades 8 to 12. An application form must be submitted by September 18th. Spaces in the program are limited, so applying early is wise. Each session is conducted on a Sunday afternoon, roughly every other week, beginning with a kick-off meeting on Sunday, September 25, from 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. The sessions are facilitated and supervised by a small group of adult leaders, including members of the clergy and interfaith education experts, along with assistance from teens who have graduated from MOSAIC in the past three years of the program. Students who attend at least 60% of the faith sessions and participate in at least one of the joint community service projects can receive up to 30 hours, or more, of community service for their participation.
 
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