“Turning to Faith” is a series of short webinars featuring local faith leaders’ spiritual sharing, prayer and interactive conversation. Debuting this past Sunday, they will continue on subsequent Sundays: April 26, May 3 and May 10. The Cincinnati Festival of Faiths, the signature program of the interfaith group EquaSion, hopes to further the momentum of our community’s interfaith collaboration through this new virtual series.
During this historic time of worldwide crisis, when people are not able to be together physically, each half-hour “Zoomette” will provide an opportunity to connect and use faith to help alleviate feelings of anxiety and fear. All programs will air from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. via Zoom and require registration ahead of time.
“An amazing celebration of interfaith understanding and collaboration, our Festival of Faiths steering committee looks forward to the opportunity to gather and celebrate as soon as we are able,” said Sandy Kaltman, festival co-chair. “In the meantime, our numerous faith traditions stand ready to help fill the spiritual and material needs of the community as we face unprecedented uncertainty and crisis.”
Weekly program topics:
- Sunday, April 26 – Finding Peace in a Time of Anxiety
- Sunday, May 3 – Finding Courage in a Time of Overwhelming Fear
- Sunday, May 10 – Finding Community in a Time of Social Isolation
The series includes the participation of faith leaders representing Judaism, Islam, Baha’i, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Sikhism, Unitarian Universalism, Paganism and Indigenous, and these Christian communities: Roman Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal/Anglican, Lutheran, CME, AME, National Baptist Convention, United Church of Christ, Quaker, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Non-Denominational.
Program sponsors are EquaSion and the Cincinnati Festival of Faiths, in partnership with Xavier University’s Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue and The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
This year’s Festival of Faiths is scheduled for August 26-30. The “Compassion Through Action” event will be held on Sunday, August 30, and is expected to welcome more than 3,000 attendees representing 30 faith communities and 13 world religions to Xavier University’s Cintas Center. The annual Festival of Faiths serves as a prime opportunity to bring together people of all faiths and communities to learn from each other and celebrate differences.