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Festival of Faiths Activities August 22-29, 2021
August 22, 2021 - August 29, 2021
Event Navigation
Below is a daily schedule for the Fourth Annual Festival of Faiths. Descriptions of each of the activities are provided below the itinerary. For questions, contact cincifestivaloffaiths@gmail.com .
Most of our programs are scheduled to be 50 minutes long.
Sunday, August 22
- 3:00pm: Opening Interfaith Devotional Observance – REGISTER
- 4:30pm: Sacred Connections – Wedding Celebrations and Ceremonies, Session 1 – REGISTER
Monday, August 23
Tuesday, August 24
- 4:30pm: Compassionate Conversations, Session 1 – REGISTER
- 7:00pm: Spiritual Meditations, Session 1 – note: meditation visual available for download here. – REGISTER
Wednesday, August 25
- 12:00pm: Spiritual Meditations, Session 2 – REGISTER
- 4:30pm: How to Be A Sacred Activist Training – REGISTER
- 7:00pm: Sacred Connections – Wedding Celebrations and Ceremonies, Session 2 – REGISTER
Thursday, August 26
- 3:00pm: Shared ideas and Worlds: Mystical Philosophy in the Middle ages as a Case Study for Coexistence – REGISTER
- 4:30pm: Compassionate Conversations, Session 2 – REGISTER
- 7:00pm: Spiritual Meditations, Session 3: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Islam, Judaism – REGISTER
Friday, August 27 – No Programming
Saturday, August 28
- 1:00pm: MultiFaith Calendar Teacher Orientation – REGISTER
- 3:00pm: Spiritual Meditations, Session 4: Buddhism, Hinduism & Sikhism – REGISTER
- 4:30pm: ‘People Got to be Free’ Concert AND 5:45pm: Closing Interfaith Devotional Service by 4th Annual Festival of Faiths Co-Chairs – REGISTER
Programming Descriptions & Details
Programs are listed in alphabetical order. Please refer to the Calendar of Events above for dates, times, and registration links.
Beloved Community Youth Panel
8/23 at 7:30pm – REGISTER
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!
Compassionate Conversations
8/24 at 4:30pm – REGISTER
“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
8/25 at 4:30pm – REGISTER
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
8/28 at 1pm – REGISTER
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- faithcalendar.org/) created by the Festival of Faiths and InterfaithCincy to explore cultural diversity and to help create more inclusive classrooms and schools in our pluralistic world. Teachers in all subject areas are welcome. All participants will (1) be introduced to the concept of culturally sustaining pedagogy; (2) Explore the Cincy Multifaith Calendar as an interesting and exciting new tool that can be used effectively in the classroom to understand diversity and promote inclusion. (3) Brainstorm as a group about how the Multifaith Calendar might be integrated effectively into curriculum and lesson plans. Participants will also be introduced to regional faith communities and nonprofit organizations that can provide speakers and other resources to local teachers.
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 [email protected].
Opening Interfaith Devotional Observance
8/22 at 3pm – REGISTER
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
8/28 at 5:45pm – REGISTER
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: Wedding Celebrations and Ceremonies
Session 1 (8/22) – REGISTER
Session 2 (8/25) – REGISTER
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 an 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
8/26 at 3pm – REGISTER
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
8/23 at 6:00pm – REGISTER
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.
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 – 8/24 at 7:00pm – REGISTER –
Meditation and prayers are means of achieving inner peace, reducing fear and anxiety, and enhancing our spirituality. 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 – 8/25 at 12:00pm – REGISTER
Meditation and prayers are means of achieving inner peace, reducing fear and anxiety, and enhancing our spirituality.
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 – 8/26 at 7:00pm – REGISTER
For centuries Jewish and Muslim communities coexisted throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Spain.
This program aims to shed light on the religious and mystical commonalities and shared practices that emerged as a result of this coexistence. Acknowledging that mystical practices are embedded in a world view about society, nature, and the world, we will discuss ways in which they inform today’s Muslim and Jewish spirituality.
This program will bring together scholars from three academic institutions here in town for an hour and a half of an invigorating conversation.
Session 4 – 8/28 at 3:00pm – REGISTER
Meditation and prayers are means of achieving inner peace, reducing fear and anxiety, and enhancing our spirituality.
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!
If you would like one of your events or programs considered for inclusion, please contact us here. Items sent at least 2 weeks in advance have a greater likelihood of inclusion. The listing of events is entirely up to the discretion of the IFC. We do not take responsibility for the quality or content of events listed that are not sponsored by us. Furthermore, IFC does not necessarily endorse events listed on the calendar.