Peace in

Shalom, salaam and peace may sound different to some, but to kids of three faith-based schools, they all sound the same.

Last week, nearly 120 middle schoolers from Geneva Christian School, a Christian Classical school, and

Leader’s Preparatory School, an Islamic school, joined Jewish Academy of Orlando middle schoolers at their Maitland campus to learn about each other’s faiths.

The Multifaith Education Program teaches kids how to tackle some very grown-up obstacles — religion and ethnicity.

“Our goal this year, as always, is to break down any kind of barriers, fears or apprehension that one faith group has toward another faith group,” Jewish Academy of Orlando teacher Jennifer Boggs said.

“By the end of the event, they see that all kids are the same — it doesn’t matter what religion they come from.”

Meaning of peace

The first part of the program was hosted on Dec. 6. The children will visit each other two more times, by traveling to each of the three schools involved, to learn about each one’s individual religion. School officials hope it will teach the children, at a young age, what peace means.

“Hopefully this will be the future,” Jewish Academy of Orlando’s Head of School Lynne Shefsky said.

The kids from each school were mixed together and divided into groups, where they traveled to different stations to learn, draw, color and laugh together.

They learned about the different branches of Judaism, and the Torah was explained while questions were asked and answered openly. The children also made “Pinwheels for Peace”, as a symbol of all of the faiths united.

“The nice thing about this is the multifaith approach,” Head Master of Geneva Christian School Bob Ingram said, “meaning the goal is not to say that all faiths are the same — each faith has distinctive beliefs and we value, honor and respect that.

Lasting friendships

It is the second year 13-year-old Sydney Beim has taken part in the program, and she said she really enjoys getting to know the kids from the other schools and finding out what they have in common.

“I hope that people won’t believe in stereotypes that aren’t true,” she said.

Peace activist Lucy Roberts is hoping the lasting friendships formed through the program will inspire the children to go out into the community and share their experiences.

“It’s one thing to learn in a textbook and another to learn through interacting with one another,” Roberts said.

The day concluded with a group celebration of singing and lighting of the Chanukah candles. As the children ran to grab paper to write down phone numbers and e-mails, it was clear the program had made a difference.

“We are becoming aware of the things that plague one another and that strengthen one another,” said Louise Sheehy, peace activist and founder of the Multifaith Education Program. “And I think we can move forward with confidence today that we are indeed making peace happen.”

Learn more

The Multifaith Education Program was founded by Louise Sheehy in 2003, as a way to bring children together and build bridges between religion and ethnicity.

For more information on the Jewish Academy of Orlando, visit www.jewishacademyorlando.org