Here are this year’s Day of Unity events! This page will be updated as new events are confirmed. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. If you have any questions, please email us at: [email protected].
April 18-May 7th
Colors of Gratitude is Kol Ami’s project to hand color and distribute personalized gratitude cards to front line workers and others doing good deeds during the pandemic. Awarding winning inspirational speaker and the illustrator of “Colors of Gratitude” Joanne Fink will lead an interactive discussion about gratitude, why it’s important and what our faith teaches about it. Use Joanne’s toolkit anytime between now and the May 2nd Day of Unity to download Joanne’s Colors of Gratitude Blank Cards . There’s a Gratitude Tracker to write your thoughts on gratitude and a coloring patterns worksheet to encourage your creative instincts. Scan and copy your handcrafted cards to distribute when you’re running errands, at the grocery store, post office, pharmacy, health clinic or other outlet. Send a copy of your handcrafted gratitude card to [email protected] by Friday, May 7th and we’ll include your cards in the hundreds we’ll be delivering with a report back to you about our distribution.
Program: Equity in Schools and the Communities Panel
April 18th, 3-4:15pm
These youth activists met the moment when it came to fighting injustice in their schools and beyond. Hear from students who are taking on issues like systemic racism and gun control. Register here.
April 22 6-8:15pm
Conversation: 6-7:30pm
Iftar: 7:30-8:15pm
This event is a Muslim-Jewish interfaith dialogue for college students and young professionals in the DMV area. The conversation, which will feature guest speakers, will center around combating antisemitism and Islamophobia from the outside while also addressing prejudice and misunderstanding within our own communities. We hope to bring Muslim and Jewish young adults together to learn about one another’s faiths and experiences and to use this knowledge and empathy to become better allies united against hatred. Amidst rising antisemitism and Islamophobia throughout the United States, we need to have these conversations and advance Muslim-Jewish solidarity. Our speakers before the interactive dialogue session are Sabeeha Rahman and Walter Ruby, two leading figures in Jewish – Muslim dialogue and co-authors of the newly released book “We Refuse to Be Enemies” Register here.
Welcome To My Table: Shoulder to Shoulder
April 12-May 12
Welcome to My Table connects households in one-on-one or in small groupings to virtually share an Iftar meal. We have developed a system for pairing households to one another, but you can use our resource guide with your own friends and family, neighbors and colleagues. Click here for more information.
Autism and Religion, Interfaith Coalition of Bowie
April 29th at 6:30 p.m.
ICB is closing out Autism Awareness Month with a virtual panel discussion on autism and religion. Local faith leaders will be discussing the progress that’s been made in creating more inclusive communities and the work that still needs to be done. Register here.
Beloved Community Interfaith Network (BCIN) Poetry/Passage Reading Roundtable
Sunday, May 2, 2021, 1- 4pm
We invite participants to bring a poem or passage to read aloud, and time permitting, we will read them all and offer reflections on it. In the spirit of the Day of Unity, please pick a writing that reflects on any of the themes of faith, interfaith, human rights, or social justice. We held this event at the Day of Unity last year, and enjoyed readings from poets such as Maya Angelou, Joy Harjo, Langston Hughes, and Jalaluddin Rumi. To register, please use this email: [email protected].
“Combatting Religious Intolerance through Dialogue”
Sunday, May 2,3pm-4pm EST, virtual
With dramatic shifts in the American religious landscape over the last couple of decades,religious minority communities have experienced continued discrimination and violence. Even though religious freedom is a constitutional right, many religious minorities do not experience that freedom in their day-to-day lives. This webinar will explore ways that educators can use dialogue as a tool to create spaces where students can deepen their understanding of this basic freedom and brainstorm ways as school communities can advocate for this inalienable human right. Register here.
Diverse Faith Perspectives on Nonviolence (IFC Program)
Wednesday, May 5, 2021, 7-8pm EST via Zoom
Violence is all around us, whether it be mass shootings, police brutality or war. Yet many faith traditions speak to the importance of nonviolence as a value or action to be pursued. This program will explore diverse religious understandings of nonviolence and how nonviolence is being practiced by faith communities in contemporary times. Register here.
Guru Gobind Singh Foundation ~ Sikh Spiritual Center
Friday, May 7th, 6:30pm to 9:00pm
We will start with our service project, which will include packing non perishable food items for our drive thru distrubution for those families in need. Followed by a tour of our Gurudwara (Sikh Place of Worship) as well as a chance to listen to Kirtan (singing of hymns) and take home a freshly prepared vegetarian meal to share with your family. Guru Gobind Singh Foundation ~ Sikh Spiritual Center 13814 Travilah Rd, Rockville, MD 20850. Please know you will be asked to asked to remove your shoes and cover your head (please bring a scarf or bandana) and maintain a safe distance as per CD Covid guidelines, all whilst keeping your mask on ;-). Sign up here.
Interfaith Conversation for Children Grades 2-5
Sunday, May 9 (Mother’s Day), 12:30 – 2:30 pm
Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, 13714 Travilah Road, Rockville
As part of the Interfaith Council of Greater Washington’s upcoming Day of Unity, a Sikh Gurdwara in Rockville has invited children from area synagogues to visit and meet with Sikh children of the same age, learn about the Sikh faith and commitment to social action, and assist in the Gurdwara’s efforts to prepare food packages for needy members of our community.
Children grades 2-5. The event will be limited to the first 15 children to register. May be accompanied by an adult.
Covid protocols: The event will take place indoors. Every person must be masked and social distancing protocols will be strictly observed. To RSVP: Email Simma Kupchan at [email protected].
Interntional Interfaith Benefit Iftar (United States and Kolkata, India)
Sunday, May 9th, 8am EST/5:30pm IST
The International Interfaith Service Initiative (IISI) and Jews, Muslims and Allies Acting Together ( JAMAAT ) invite you to join the IISI Youth Leaders’ virtual “International Interfaith Benefit Iftar” ~ to help raise needed funds for the pandemic victims suffering in India. During the Iftar, we will explore with the panelists from Kolkata, India, the similarities of fasting among different religions around the world spreading love, peace and harmony. Join the meeting here.
Hate and White Supremacy: How local governments are fighting back
Thursday, June 3rd, 6pm
Zoom
Join us for a conversation on combatting white supremacy at the governmental level with Erin Wilson, Nadeen Saqer, and Dawn Luedtke of the Attorneys General offices of Washington, DC and Maryland. Register here.
Act Up: Using Dialogue To Make A Change! (Closed to the public)
June 4th and 8th
Through dramatic writing students will explore the lived experiences of others, build empathy and understanding while examining diversity and race in social, religious, cultural, political and historical contexts. During the second half of the workshop, students will perform a skit, monologue, or public service announcement that brings awareness to a specific issue.