Festival of Faiths Activities August 22-29, 2021
“Compassion through Action: We are in it Together”
Programming Descriptions & Details
Beloved Community Youth Panel
The BCY Interfaith board is welcoming you to a time of learning and empowering. On Monday, August 23rd at 7:30 p.m. we will share about the BCY and answer the following questions: What is it? Where has it been? What is it up to now? And Where is it going? We will also give you, the participant, concrete ways you can assist us in our mission. Please join us!
Closing Interfaith Devotional Observance
Compassionate Conversations
“Every great story happened when someone decided not to give up.” – Spryte Loriano
What does it mean to have GRIT? What does resolve have to do with the work of peace and justice? What are the resources in our faith tradition that allow us to keep showing up for one another?
We’re hosting Compassionate Conversations twice during the week of the Festival of Faiths to explore these questions, across religious lines, through personal stories and encounter. We’ll meet from 4:30-5:30pm, start as a large group, listen to a story, and do a quick centering reflection exercise. Then we’ll break into groups of 3-4 to share personal stories about GRIT.
Grab a cup of water or lemonade, gather with us online, invite a friend who might need this, and drop in and see what happens. You might even discover a little GRIT in the process!
How to be a Sacred Activist for Racial Justice
Please join us for a session to learn more about EquaSion’s new program, A Mighty Stream: An Interfaith Community of Sacred Activists for Racial Justice, to address the racial injustices in our region. We will learn how to become sacred activists in our community and discuss the tools we can adopt in our daily lives to further the cause of racial equity and eliminating bias. Building on the teachings of our personal faith and AMS’ interfaith base, we will adopt the foundations of community organizing and the successful strategies for creating the community power needed to bring about social change.
Multifaith Calendar Orientation: A New Tool for Teaching Cultural Diversity
This 90 minute, interactive workshop is especially designed for K-12 teachers and school leaders who are interested in learning how to use the Cincy Multifaith Calendar (https://www.multi-
This is a free event, led by experienced educators. Any interested participants will be provided a certificate of completion at the end of the workshop. Questions can be directed to Katie at interfaithcincy@gmail.com.
Opening Interfaith Devotional Observance
Each year the Festival of Faiths officially opens with an Interfaith Devotional Ceremony. This is a unique spiritual gathering that brings together leaders from the diverse religious communities of the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region. The Interfaith Devotional Ceremony represents a beautiful mosaic of reverence composed of sacred readings and prayers from our many religious traditions including Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, Native American traditions and Zoroastrianism. This opening event is a transcendent experience you will not want to miss. Again this year it will be streamed.
“People Got to Be Free” – An Interfaith Celebration in Music, Song and Dance
Experience the joy of the 2021 Festival of Faiths by uniting in uplifting music. Join us for PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE! An Interfaith Celebration in Music, Song and Dance. The presentation includes music from Bootsy and Patti Collins, an interfaith choir singing two songs, choirs from various houses of worship, tabla music, a hand bell choir, the teenage Gadji Jawani Bangra Dancers performing traditional dances of the Indian subcontinent, and praise music from the Cameroons.
Sacred Connections: Celebrations and Ceremonies
Session 1 (8/22)
Session 2 (8/25)
In this program, which we will have on two separate days, we are featuring ten different faith groups, who will share their ‘celebration of marriage’ according to their faith, and discuss which part is cultural or religious, or both, and then take your questions. Please join us for a enlightening presentation on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 pm, and on Wednesday evening at 7 pm and learn more about the faiths in our region.
Shared Ideas and Worlds: Mystical Philosophy in the Middle ages as a Case Study for Coexistence
For centuries Jewish and Muslim communities coexisted throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Spain.
This program aims to shed light on the cultural, religious and social commonalities that emerged as a result of this coexistence, and reveal the influences both societies had on each other.
Focusing on mystical philosophy as a relevant case study, we will bring together scholars from three academic institutions here in town for an hour and a half of an invigorating conversation.
Social Action
Cincinnati’s Festival of Faiths, in collaboration with EquaSion’s A Mighty Stream Racial Justice Initiative, invites you to join us for an evening of learning and interactive discussion on the topic of Faith and Food: Moving from Insecurity to Sustainability. During this virtual program participants will hear from clergy, food policy professionals and other experts about the local dynamics of food insecurity, ask the panel questions, and learn how to activate faith values in support of helping people achieve secure and sustainable access to food.
Click here to access additional resources for Faith and Food.
Spiritual Meditation Sessions
Meditation and prayers are means of achieving inner peace, reducing fear and anxiety, and enhancing our spirituality. Our 4 virtual sessions invite you to view meditative devotions as practiced by 12 different faith communities: American Methodist Episcopal (AME), Baha’i, Buddhism, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), Hinduism, Islam, Jain, Judaism, Presbyterian/Reformed Protestant Christian, Quaker, Roman Catholic, and Sikh. There will be three 10-minute meditations during each session concluding with a Q&A.
Session 1
Session 1 will be moderated by Zeinab Schwen and members from the Bahai Faith (Adam Benton, Renaldo Raeheim, Evan Hrasting-Mieras, Steve Vance, and others), Roman Catholicism (S. Donna Steffen), the Lutheran Christian Denomination (Martha Newfield, Doris Jancha, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection) and Jainism will each lead a 10-minute meditation during each session, which will conclude with a Q&A. Come join us! Note that Session 1 will require a writing utensil and an additional visual, which is available to download here.
Session 2
Session 2 will be moderated by Aruni Marapane and members from the Presbyterian Christian Denomination (Rev. Stacey Midge), Quaker Tradition (Jim Newby) and the Unitarian Universalist Tradition (Rev. Connie Simon) will each lead a 10-minute meditation during each session, which will conclude with a Q&A. Come join us!
Session 3
Session 3 will be moderated by Becca Diamond and members from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Brett Greenhalgh), Islam (Imam Hossam Musa) and Judaism (Becca Diamond) will each lead a 10-minute meditation during each session, which will conclude with a Q&A. Come join us!
Session 4
Session 4 will be moderated by Jaipal Singh and members from Buddhism (Aruni Marapane), Hinduism (Sri Mirle) and Sikhism (Jaipal Singh and others) will each lead a 10-minute meditation during each session, which will conclude with a Q&A. Come join us!
Come join us!