Interfaith Education Programs

Past Programs and Ongoing Programs

Religion and Peacemaking in the Holy Land:
A presentation by Rabbi David Rosen
Monday, April 28, 2008

The presentation was followed by responses to questions from the audience. The event was free and open to the public, and was webcast live.

Advisor on Interreligious Affairs to the Chief Rabbinate and a member of the Chief Rabbinate’s Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, Rabbi David Rosen has been an advocate for respectful coexistence between religious communities throughout the world and particularly in Israel and the Middle East for many years. He has said, “Interreligious dialogue is an essential component in facilitating peaceful reconciliation in international relations, for the wellbeing of our world as a whole.” Rabbi Rosen is the Chairman of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, a broad-based coalition of Jewish organizations representing world Jewry to other religions, and International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee.

• Video clip of Canon John L. Peterson speaking about this event.
• Watch Rosen’s 2002 lecture or read the transcript of his remarks.

Rabbi Rosen’s presentation was part of an extended series of religious leaders speaking at the Cathedral on interfaith relations and the necessity for dialogue between cultures in the global peace process, part of the Cathedral’s commitment to serious and ongoing dialogue with the Jewish and Muslim communities in the Washington, D.C. area on issues of common concern.

Women’s Interfaith Book Group formed in fall 2007: Daughters of Abraham Book Group

This group of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim women wants to deepen their knowledge of their own and other Abrahamic faith traditions. By reading and discussing books that teach us about each other’s faith traditions, and then sharing how we practice our respective faiths, we hope to increase our respect for all Abrahamic religions and build a trusting and intellectually stimulating interfaith community of women.

Two groups are currently meeting at the Cathedral College—an afternoon and an evening group. On the second Tuesday of each month, the groups read and discuss a book about Judaism, Christianity, or Islam—fiction or non-fiction, or a book that talks about all three faiths, such as Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths, by Bruce Feiler. Books are chosen by the leadership team and from the booklist on www.daughtersofabraham.info. The group at the Cathedral College is connected to eight groups that have formed in the Boston area since 9/11/2001.

Learn more about this program!

Abrahamic Roundtable
Reconvened November 2007

Washington National Cathedral’s Abrahamic Roundtable was initiated by Bishop John Bryson Chane, who hosts and invites several scholars and congregational leaders to meet with him to explore what the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each tell us about a particular topic that is challenging the practices of all traditions at this time. Membership is limited to five representatives of each of the three Abrahamic religions—a total of fifteen voices. The hope is that the group forms an interfaith community that is a reconciling voice among themselves that will offer the moral guidance and hope that is urgently needed in each of our faith communities.

The topic for this year’s discussion that began in November 2007 is The Abrahamic Family and Creation—how each faith tradition understands God’s role and our responsibility in creating and caring for our environment, the land, and all of God’s creatures.

Learn more about this program!