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Passover & Easter – A Reflection by Rabbi Harold White
On Sunday, March 7th, IFFP will be continuing its 25th-anniversary celebration by honoring our first Rabbi, Harold White. In this month’s blog post, we share a reflection written by Rabbi White on his own experiences with the Lenten and Passover holiday season.
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Tu B’shvat and the Tree of life
It is strange to talk about the New Year for Trees, Tu B’shvat the traditional celebration of early Spring, during a snowstorm. The holiday’s original purpose was to demarcate one year’s crop from the next for tithing purposes. Effectively, a tax year. In Israel, where the holiday originated, this also works a bit like Groundhog…
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Why We Gather
By IFFP Graduate and COA Teacher Jared McGrath Happy New Year and Welcome Back to Gathering. Welcome to our guests, friends and family. In reflection of our 25th anniversary, the Epiphany and the New Year, I’d like to share a perspective on “Why We Gather.” When I was 10, my parents enrolled me and my…
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A Message from the IFFP Board & Staff
Dear IFFP Community, We would like to add to the many statements made today by organizations about yesterday’s horrific attack on the US Capitol. We hope that all of your loved ones are safe and were not in harm’s way during yesterday’s events. Processing this experience will take time. How do we discuss it with…
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Hanukkah Traditions
So, against that backdrop, Chanukah for me was, next to Easter, the season when I felt most different from my friends, almost none of whom were Jewish. As soon as leftovers from Thanksgiving were gone, they were putting up trees and lights and there was caroling and I just did none of those things. And…
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Interfaith Weddings: Shir and Trevor Smith
Despite the pandemic, we were married on May 30, 2020 on our original wedding date. Reverend Julia and Cantor Manovich stood masked beside us as we stood under our wedding chuppah. Although we postponed our wedding celebrations, we were ready to be married after 6 years of long-distance dating! Our parents and siblings joined us…
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St. Francis and the Wolf
Long-time IFFP member Dr. Dan Griffin’s take on the story of St. Francis and the wolf.
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The Refuge of Faith in Difficult Times
By IFFP Member David Bigge This month’s blog post asks a direct question: how do we cultivate joy in dark or difficult times? Our religious traditions, of course, primarily link joy with faith. As Paul writes in Philippians chapter 4, verse 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!” Or as Psalm 5 tells…
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The Rollercoaster Month of Av
This article from the Interfaith Families Project of Washington D.C. explores the unique nature of the month of Av and how we can find meaning in its contrasting emotions.
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Reflections on Interfaith Identity from a Coming of Age Student
Being interfaith is confusing. How does a person believe equally in two different systems of beliefs, much less two different systems of belief that inherently contradict each other? Christianity believes in the Holy Trinity– that God is three parts, among which is Jesus, who was the Messiah, and also the central figure in the whole…
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IFFP Statement Message of Solidarity in Support of Racial Justice
The Interfaith Families Project of Greater Washington, DC condemns the deaths of Black victims at the hands of police and others. We mourn the lives of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and all the other people—the names we know and the many names we don’t—whose lives have been taken by violence. Black Lives…
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Going “Online” with Interfaith Families
We’ve all been in some form of lockdown for several weeks now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mildest way to describe our current situation is that it’s a very weird time. It feels like the answer to an impossible hypothetical. “What would you do if there was a viral outbreak that forced you, your…
Topics:
advent Being Both catholic Chanukah christian Christmas clergy community couples Easter environment epiphany esther faith families family god Hanukah Hanukkah hebrew holidays holocaust hope IFFP inclusion interfaith interfaith families interfaith family jesus jewish justice lent love Moses Passover prayer rabbi Rabbi Debbie Rabbi Debbie Reichmann racial justice Rev. Samantha Gonzalez-Block reverend Reverend Sam seder sunday school Susan Katz Miller tikkun olam torah virtual wedding