TT - THE GOSPEL – OUR RULE - Eight Centuries of Conversion - TT

Regional Interfaith/ Ecumenical Committee

 

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Help IFC Develop New Programming

Please take a moment to fill out this (very) short survey and let us know what conversations you might be interested in having IFC facilitate.

Click here…

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You Are Invited

You’re invited to an IFC Religious and Cultural Literacy workshop hosted by Washington Metro Oasis. Join us on March 18th at 10:30 AM for Exploring Eastern Faiths: Understanding Beliefs, Worship, and Values. This workshop will introduce participants to the rich traditions of the Eastern religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Attendees will journey through the historical roots, divine concepts, worship practices, and core values that shape these ancient faiths. Join us for a thought-provoking exploration of diverse perspectives on the divine and the human experience.

Register now…

To bring a religious and cultural literacy workshop to your workplace, school, or congregation, please email IFC’s Assistant Director Symi Rom-Rymer: symirr@ifcmw.org.

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Join an IFC Partner Event

Join the Capital Jewish Museum and its partners this Passover season at the second annual untraditional seder to remember. Read from the museum’s community Haggadah, clink glasses over stories old and new, connect over charoset and horseradish, and find inspiration all around the table. 

Register now…

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Upcoming Interfaith Events in the DMV

Montgomery County’s Annual Ramadan Iftar

March 10 @ 5:30 pm
101 Monroe Street Rockville MD 

You’re invited to Montgomery County’s Annual Ramadan Iftar. This traditional feast is being hosted by County Executive Marc Elrich in partnership with the Montgomery County Muslim Foundation and the Montgomery County Muslim Council. The event will feature remarks from elected officials, a presentation, the call to prayer, and the Iftar dinner.  If you would like to attend, be sure to register soon, as space is limited. 

Find out more »

Interfaith Iftar

March 17 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Founders Hall, 100 Welsh Park Dr
Rockville, MD + Google Map

UUCR and the Rumi Forum are honored to co-host an Interfaith Iftar on Monday, March 17th at 6:30 PM in Founders Hall. We invite you to gather for an evening of connection and celebration. Dinner will be provided by Rumi Forum, and guests are welcome to bring a dessert to share. Children, families, and friends are warmly invited. Space will be reserved for Muslim attendees for evening prayer during the Iftar. We look forward to sharing this special evening with you!

Find out more »

Rooted in Community: How TOPSS Fights Food Insecurity from the Ground Up

March 19 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Zoom

A conversation about how food insecurity affects our community and what we can do about it. This workshop will explore the root causes of hunger, how TOPSS has grown beyond a traditional food pantry to address the complex factors that lead to food insecurity and the critical role that community connections play in this work. Discover how individuals, faith communities, and local partners can support efforts to keep our neighbors housed, clothed, and fed—because lasting change starts from the ground… 

Find out more »

View All Regional Interfaith Events

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Resources for the Wider Community

Know Your Rights Information (Catholic Legal Immigration Network) 

Immigration Rights Toolkit (Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund)

Print pocket cards to hand to ICE if they approach you (Immigrant Legal Resource Center) 

Immigration – Know Your Rights Resources (Muslims for Just Futures) – available in Bangla, Dari, English, Hindi, Nepali, Pashto, Punjabi, Spanish, and Urdu. 

A Toolkit for Faith Leaders Facing Crisis and Division

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Upcoming Religious Holidays 

3/1-3/29 Ramadan (Muslim)
3/14 Purim (Jewish)
3/14-15 Holi (Hindu)
 

View Interfaith Holiday Calendar 

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March Newsletter

February was an exciting month for Abrahamic House. We hosted another successful collaborative event, celebrated Black History Month through curated recipes, and honored the interfaith legacy of bell hooks. We have some unique interfaith offerings for our community this March or, for our Muslim community, the holy month of Ramadan!

To kick off February and to celebrate Valentine’s Day, our fellows hosted an event celebrating the Christian Buddhist scholar bell hooks that incorporated reading, crafting, and community. Our fellows and their guests demonstrated bell hooks’ “love ethic” through the purposeful crafting of unique messages to their friends, partners, or family. Watching our community come together on this secular holiday and find an intentional interfaith way to spiritually celebrate was deeply inspiring. Similarly, it was amazing to see how the fellows used coffee, tea, and pastries as a jumping off point to discuss religious and cultural intersectionality at their Brewed Traditions Coffee House. We had an incredible turnout for this event with over 70 guests stopping by throughout the day. Thank you so much to local chef Lincoln Le for providing food and drinks for our many guests. This was a special collaboration and we encourage you to check out Lincoln’s work on Instagram and give him a follow: @thelincexperience. Prompts provided by the fellows encouraged the guests to explore the cultural significance of different drinks, and Esma provided traditional fortune telling services over Turkish Coffee. Finally, the fellows celebrated Black History Month with a cookbook dinner featuring African and African diaspora recipes. Guests selected recipes from a prepared list and brought their cooked dishes to a wonderful celebration of Black cuisine and stories. Guests were also encouraged to bring a passage from or about a Black faith leader to share with the group. As with many of our events, both body and mind were nourished! 
 
In March, as our Muslim community embarks on the month of fasting for Ramadan, we have some great opportunities to gather (not other) with us: A Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday) party, a hamantaschen baking get-together to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim, and a community Iftar to break the Ramadan fast together! Please register quickly to reserve your spot as we often have a limited capacity. Also make sure to follow us on Instagram, where we always post details about new events! @abrahamichouse
 
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Abrahamic House Mardi Gras

Tuesday, March 4th, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST

Join us for a Mardi Gras celebration!
 
Mardi Gras (also known as Shrove Tuesday) is a Christian holiday that celebrates the end of Carnival and beginning of Lent. Lent is the 40 day period prior to Easter and is a time in the Christian calendar marked by reflection and abstention. The day before Lent begins is known as Shrove Tuesday and is a time for us to gather, eat sweet treats, and celebrate before our period of reflection begins. We invite you to celebrate Mardi Gras with us by stopping by Abrahamic House where we will have a selection of desserts and other confections to share.
 
Parking and space is limited, so please plan accordingly. Location and email confirmation will be provided closer to the event date.
 

REGISTER

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Breaking Fast, Building Bridges:

Experiencing Ramadan Together

Tuesday, March 18th, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM EDT

Our fellows warmly invite you to a special evening at Abrahamic House, where you’ll experience the spirit of Ramadan firsthand. As the sun sets, you’ll hear personal stories about what Ramadan means to them and how it is observed by Muslims from diverse backgrounds. You’ll also listen to a short Quran recitation, break fast together, and join in prayer—fostering a moment of community and connection. The evening will conclude with a soulful Sufi music performance by a local group, Sufi Melody.
 
For Esma, one of our Muslim fellows at Abrahamic House, Ramadan is more than just the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It transforms her daily life into a practice of intention. To her, Ramadan is a verb—a way of living that celebrates food, community, service, and deep spiritual connection. She cannot wait to share her Ramadan traditions with you.
 
For Seedy, the other Muslim fellow at Abrahamic House, Ramadan is a time of deep reflection and renewal. It is a month that calls him to pause, reconnect with his faith, and embrace the spirit of generosity and togetherness. Having grown up in The Gambia, he cherishes the communal essence of Ramadan: sharing meals with neighbors, hearing the melodic call to prayer, and experiencing the warmth of collective worship. Now, in a new community, he finds joy in extending that same hospitality–breaking bread with others and creating space for meaningful interfaith dialogue.
 
While fasting is by no means required to participate in this event, we encourage our guests to embrace the spirit of Ramadan in whatever way feels right—whether through fasting, giving to charity, or engaging in self-reflection.
 
We look forward to “Ramadaning” with you!
 
Please note that this event will be capped at 25 so register as soon as possible! Location and confirmation will be emailed closer to the event.

REGISTER

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Hamantaschen Bake at Abrahamic House

Saturday, March 22nd, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT

Please join us to belatedly celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim at Abrahamic House! Purim is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the events recorded in the Book of Esther, where Queen Esther helps save the Jewish people from a plot by the wicked Haman (boooooo). On Purim, Jewish people around the world celebrate by retelling the Purim story, giving gifts, feasting, dressing up in costume, and eating hamantaschen, a triangular cookie filled with sweet fillings like jam, chocolate, or poppy seeds.
 
We are excited to celebrate with you with a hamantaschen bake of our own! We will provide the dough and fillings as well as wine to sip on.
 
To ensure space for baking and creating, this event will be capped at 25. Please sign up ASAP!
 
Location and confirmation will be provided via email closer to the event date.
 

REGISTER

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We are so thrilled to offer these programs during such an important month for so many faith traditions! As winter turns to spring, let’s remember to open our hearts to one another and continue to embody the spirit of #GatheringNotOthering in all aspects of life!

 

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New IFC Programming

Help IFC develop a new monthly program! Share with us what conversations you would like to have at IFC by filling out this (very) short survey!

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Reflection by IFC Executive Director Dr. Sousan Abadian

f you need a moment of inspiration, let me tell you about a group of people who quietly, without fanfare, get themselves out of their warm beds on a cold Sunday morning and to the Sikh’s Guru Gobind Singh Foundation by 4:30 AM to prepare food packages to be distributed later that morning. I was privileged to be invited to join the amazing Aman Shergill, an esteemed member of my board at the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington, Allyson Chard of the LDS community, and the wonderful crew of generous souls (some of them teens) in their biweekly distribution of foods. I saw elders stocking up on food with carts and a long line of cars, many having waited for an hour or two to receive food packages. No one was refused. Aman spearheaded this food distribution network beginning 5 years ago when COVID struck. While it is extremely painful to witness hunger in our midst, I was also deeply moved to bear witness to some of the many attending to the hungry. There is such goodness in this world. Photo is of Aman, Allyson, and me, wearing my grandmother’s scarf babushka-style!

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IFC Blog

Read a recent blog post from an IFC Fellow:

 a letter from Jeremy Cannon, who moved to an Episcopal Benedictine monastery in the Hudson Valley of New York. 

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Religious and Cultural Literacy Workshops

If you would like to bring a religious and cultural literacy workshop to your workplace, school, or congregation, please email IFC’s Assistant Director Symi Rom-Rymer: symirr@ifcmw.org.

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Upcoming Interfaith Events in the DMV

 

Soulful Stories & Flavors: An Interfaith Feast for Black History Month

February 28 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
abrahamic house

We are thrilled to invite you to our Black History Month Interfaith Cookbook Club from 7-9PM on Friday, February 28th. February is Black History Month, a time to honor the achievements and contributions of Black individuals to our world. This event will focus on exploring the rich culinary traditions of Black culture through an interfaith lens. Together, we’ll enjoy delicious food, meaningful conversations, and stories that connect faith, history, and community. In addition to sharing food, we invite participants to… 
Find out more »

 

Showing Up: Music with a Message Benefit Concert with Mosaic Harmony, GenOUT Youth Chorus, Voices of Hope Youth, and Unity of Fairfax

March 1 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Unity of Fairfax, 2854 Hunter Mill Road
Oakton, VA + Google Map

Mosaic Harmony is building and expanding partnerships with area choral organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community. On March 1st, a workshop and benefit concert will offer a day of intergenerational community building and music for a cause. Singers from Mosaic Harmony,  GenOUT Youth Chorus, Voices of Hope, and Unity of Fairfax will spend the day community building and learning from one another, culminating in a late afternoon benefit concert for Safe Space Nova. “Safe Space NOVA is dedicated to providing a safe,…
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6th Interfaith Leadership Forum: “Covenantal Partnership with God and Other Faiths: The Legacy of Nostra Aetate”

March 4 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Virginia Theological Seminary, 3630 Bishop Walker Circle
Alexandria, Virginia 22304 + Google Map

Rumi Forum, Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington, and Washington Theological Consortium present the 6th Interfaith Leadership Forum: “Covenantal Partnership with God and Other Faiths: The Legacy of Nostra Aetate” on March 4, 2025, at 4pm at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA. The program features keynote speaker Dr.John Borelli and an interfaith panel.The program will be followed by an Iftar dinner. About the Interfaith Leadership Forum Interfaith Leadership Forum (ILF) is a DMV area learning platform that aims to make the existing expertise, capacity, and scholarship on interfaith engagement available to clergy, educators,…
Find out more »

 

View All Regional Interfaith Events

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Resources for the Wider Community

Know Your Rights Information (Catholic Legal Immigration Network) 

Immigration Rights Toolkit (Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund)

Print pocket cards to hand to ICE if they approach you (Immigrant Legal Resource Center) 

Immigration – Know Your Rights Resources (Muslims for Just Futures) – available in Bangla, Dari, English, Hindi, Nepali, Pashto, Punjabi, Spanish, and Urdu. 

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Upcoming Religious Holidays 

3/1-3/29 First Day of Ramadan* (Muslim)

3/5 Ash Wednesday (Christian)

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Reflection on Ecumenism

By Anne Mulqueen, OFS

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Ecumenical / Interfaith Committee Network Summer 2018 Newsletter
(Click on Icon to go to the Ecumenical / Interfaith Newsletter)

 

Contact Us:

Regional Minister Bob Longo, OFS
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