In preparation for the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development celebrated 21 May 2019, Liberty Financial recently offered a three-week series of classes to interested staff highlighting the beliefs and practices of various religions.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was represented by four young adult members and missionaries who presented a 45-minute overview of the Church and a 15-minute Q & A to thirty employees.
Elder Lucas Fleege, discussion leader and missionary for the Church said, “It was an awesome opportunity to present the doctrines and principles of Christ, to dispel misunderstandings and to explain how our faith positively impacts our everyday lives.”
According to Stephanie Ryan, Social Community Administrator at Liberty Financial, the ‘World Expo: Religions’ initiative was created to “help educate staff and to encourage inclusion and acceptance of people who have different beliefs and practices.”
One of Liberty Financial’s key practices is to encourage staff to be curious and open to learning new things, thus becoming a better service provider and contributing community member.
Where appropriate, Stephanie has also organised staff to tell their story of their religious beliefs – as this also helps with understanding and acceptance.
Cumulated literature from all religious presentations was made available to employees who might want to learn more on their own.
Stephanie says that the initiative has gone so well and opened such understanding of various faith communities among staff that the company plans to offer the series again next year.