World Faith Harmony Week, established from a UN resolution in 2010, is observed the first week of February. Its purpose is to promote understanding and cooperation among people of good will, no matter what their faith may be.

When I was a young girl, my grandmother and my great-grandfather both liked to make latch hook rugs. A latch hook rug is made with a grid-like stiff mesh fabric, evenly cut pieces of different colored yarn, and a latch hook to loop said yarn through the mesh. Yarn is cut in about 3-inch pieces and, when looped correctly, produces an effect like a shag carpet. I used to love to do a few loops and pull them tight whenever we would visit their homes.

As I have thought about our interfaith relationships, I have thought of how they are like those rugs and the beautiful patterns that would come out of those small pieces of yarn. For the past three years, I have been a member of the Portneuf Valley Interfaith Fellowship. Last June, I was appointed as president of the group. I was humbled and nervous and felt uneducated about the faith communities in the group. I felt intimidated by the ministers and other members of the fellowship; they were so knowledgeable, they knew the authoritative texts of religion and understood so many things that I had never paid much attention to. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I spent most of my life within my faith community’s “bubble.” Because of this, I was unfamiliar with terms like “liturgy” and “Pentecost” and the days of Advent because it is not part of our tradition. All these things were new to me, and as people talked about them, I felt out of the loop as to my understanding and knowledge of their faith communities.

Instead of isolating myself from these unfamiliar traditions, one of my first goals was to visit the faith communities represented by PVIF. To be honest, I was a little nervous; I didn’t know what to expect and, like so many of you, was afraid that participating with another faith would compromise or question the traditions of my faith. I began to wonder if this is why we don’t move out of our religious communities’ bubbles.

The experiences I have had by sharing the faith of others have been enlightening and treasured. I have been welcomed with open arms and hearts in each faith community.

I have shared a meal at the end of Ramadan with our wonderful Muslim friends at the Pocatello Mosque.

I have participated in the end of Hanukkah, lit the Menorah, and eaten my first latkes with our Jewish friends at Temple Emanuel.

I have shared in a Holy Sabbath at the Pocatello Seventh-day Adventist Church and had the cherished opportunity to share a prayer and have a sweet sister wash my feet and then to wash hers.

I have watched as members of the Trinity Episcopal Church showed reverence given to the cross by bowing when it was carried in procession at the beginning and ending of their services.

While attending the First United Methodist Church, I had been dealing with an allergy and had lost my voice. I sat by a dear sister whom I had never met before, apologized for my voice and let her know I wasn’t contagious. She grabbed my hands and said “Can we pray together?” Right then and there she said a prayer for me to get better. This impressed me so much! Do I do that? This dear woman didn’t know who I was, yet she was willing to pray with and for me! The sermon that day was about being tethered to Christ, something that is spoken of a lot in my faith tradition (although the term anchored in Christ is used but the meaning was shared between us).

I had the opportunity to sing praises to Jesus Christ at the Praise Temple of God Church, a spiritual, fun and engaging experience.

I will never forget attending the Central Christian Church and the names that were given for prayer. At that time, “Costco John” was fighting for his life in Salt Lake City. I was so impressed by the love and concern shown for someone in our community — someone who was not of their faith, I might add. The love as a people of faith to pray for each other was a testimony to me of the love that we all can share.

I have participated in services and fellowship hours with the Unitarians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, Buddhists, Congregationalists and non-denominational faith members, and felt their welcoming hearts. Each faith community has been kind and willing to help me participate in their services.

I had the opportunity to have friends of the Luther Church of the Good Shepherd and First Congregational United Church of Christ help me assemble hygiene kits for the Homeless Stand Down. We gathered at my home and for three hours in an intimate, informal setting, asked questions about each other’s faiths, our practices of baptism, as we tried to understand and put aside our differences to learn about each other.

I have shared hot chocolate and pie with a reverend friend from the Pocatello Unitarian Universalist Fellowship where we took the time to learn about each other and our faiths. Such experiences have developed into true interfaith relationships!

My experiences have been very meaningful. I have been welcomed as someone trying to learn about others’ faiths and share in our commonalities. In honor of World Interfaith Harmony Week, I encourage everyone to step outside of their bubbles and experience faith communities different than your own. I entreat each of you to enrich your life with understanding and friendship!

As we all join together as small, colorful pieces of yarn in the latch hook rug of life by working together, learning about each other and serving and praying for and with each other, we can create not only a beautiful, colorful heirloom, but lasting opportunities to serve, understand, love and gain treasured friendships within our community.

Sherri Matson is Regional Public Affairs Assistant Director for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and President of the Portneuf Valley Interfaith Fellowship.