Federation joins with Houses of Worship to
Create Interfaith Series
The Greensboro Jewish Federation will once again partner with St. Francis Episcopal Church in sponsoring an Interfaith Learning and Dialogue Program. The six session series, hosted in association with the Piedmont Interfaith Council, Greensboro Buddhist Center, Beth David Synagogue, Islamic Center of the Triad, Hindu Society of North Carolina – Greensboro, and First Friends Meeting will take place at each faith's house of worship. The goal of the series is to create environments of trust in which learning about different members of our community yields not only the fruit of understanding and respect, but also a unity grounded in honesty and compassion.
The Interfaith Series is a direct product of "The Faith Club" events hosted by the Greensboro Jewish Federation and St. Francis Episcopal Church this past February. Nearly 900 people attended the highly successful "Faith Club" programs which featured the authors of the NY Times best seller of the same name. Feedback from participants at the original event stated that they wanted more opportunities for interfaith learning, dialogue, and understanding. "In this age and time, we need to come together with our neighbors to learn to respect one another," states Joan Samet, Faith Club committee member. "The February event opened a door for all of us to work together to create a unified community."
The Interfaith Learning & Dialogue Series will take place over the winter and spring months, with a session every 6 weeks. Each session will include a presentation by the hosting faith at their house of worship followed by a facilitated discussion with personal reflection.
The dates are:
- November 5th
- December 14th
- January 28th
- March 15th
- April 5th
- May 13th
All weekday sessions meet from 7:00-8:30 pm, and Sunday sessions will take place from 5:00-6:30 pm. The cost is $35 for the entire series. Registrants are asked to commit to attending all six sessions. Space is limited to the first 50 applicants and will be honored on a first come, first serve basis.
For information call the Greensboro Jewish Federation at 852-5433 or email rwolf@shalomgreensboro.org.
Registration Flyer:
Interfaith Learning and Dialogue Series
St. Francis
Sponsors Interfaith Event
St. Francis is taking major steps to becoming a leader in promoting interfaith respect and understanding in our community. On February 13, 2008, we hosted the authors of the New York Times bestseller, “The Faith Club—A Muslim. A Christian. A Jew. Three Women Search for Understanding.”
Working together the Temple Beth David, the Jewish Federation and representative from Greensboro’s Muslim community, several events will be held featuring the authors.
The Faith Club, Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver and Priscilla Warner, three mothers from three faiths—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—originally got together to write a picture book for their children highlighting the connections between their religions. Instead, their dialogue led to provocative, honest and candid discussions with arguments, difficult moments and ultimately, respect and appreciation for the things that each holds dearest. They discovered a special friendship—and themselves.
The Authors - Suzanne, Ranya, and Priscilla with Michael.
Both the luncheon event at Beth David Synagogue and the evening event at St. Francis were at capacity as hundreds of people from various faiths gathered to hear Suzanne Oliver, Ranya Idliby and Priscilla Warner share the story of their Faith Club journey. Bishop Marble attended the luncheon, and Bishop Curry attended the evening session. The response to the event was tremendously positive--despite the delay in the arrival of the authors to the luncheon. And God graced us with a blanket of snow at the end of the evening....
