2023 March – April, A Holy Month of Holy Days

Our panel of 3 faith leaders spoke about Ramadan, Passover, and Easter, at Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, in Lexington.

The panelists are The Very Reverend Carol Wade, the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral; Dr. Shaheed Coovadia, the Imam of Masjid Bilal; and Dr. Raphael Finkel, teacher and prayer leader at Ohavay Zion Synagogue. The moderator is Addison Hosea, Chair of the Steering Committee for CMD.

The video is available at https://youtu.be/Un9XZQfVy_E

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2023 January – A Call to Peace-Building

Our 2 speakers told us about PeaceCatalyst.org, and shared information about the organization’s efforts toward creating community and improving interfaith communication. They spoke enthusiastically about “peace feasts.”

Mr. Martin Brooks is president of PeaceCatalyst. Martin has been with Peace Catalyst since 2011 when he and his wife Susan returned from Turkish Cyprus. Drawing on the teachings and examples of Jesus, Martin has worked with local churches and mosques to create safe spaces to ask questions and build greater trust between Christians and Muslims. He has organized dialogue events, iftar meals and “Peace Feasts” with Palestinians, Syrians, Turks, Pakistanis, Somalis, Kurds, and Iranians.

The Rev. Dr. Lisa Culpepper. Originally from South Carolina, Lisa lives with her husband in Lexington, Kentucky, and serves as the minister at Mt. Horeb Presbyterian Church on Iron Works Pike. She has been involved cross-culturally for many years through her travels to Eastern Europe, Syria, and Lebanon. Lisa felt called to peacemaking among Muslims and Christians through personal relationships, education, and community involvement.

YouTube video is found here, https://youtu.be/zmz3-P0V-Rg

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October 2022 – Changes to Kentucky Voting Laws

The Christian Muslim Dialogue of Lexington (http://cmdlex.org) hosted a program about changes to the Kentucky Voting laws for the upcoming voting cycle on November 8 2022.

Don Blevins, Fayette County Clerk in Lexington Kentucky, spoke about changes in the Kentucky voting laws. He encouraged voters to preview the ballot at https://FayetteCountyClerk.com. He also spoke about how to vote early, and answered questions, including those about electioneering, gerrymandering, and how precinct boundaries are determined.

Dr. Jennifer Jackson, co-president of the Kentucky League of Women Voters (https://lwvlexington.com and https://www.vote411.org/kentucky), spoke about the League’s history and mission and that its name is a “nod to the past”, and is now oriented toward providing accurate information to all voters. LexTran public transportation is providing free transportation on Nov 8

Jennifer walked through the download and use of the app OutreachCircle, designed to provide accurate voting information, and to encourage friends to vote. She answered questions, including those about election deniers, Voter ID laws, and about the League.
Click here for Google Play
Click here for the Apple Store

https://youtu.be/5GslOeAJ-9k

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April 2022: B.U.I.L.D. – Build a United Interfaith Lexington through Direct Action

Matt Huffman, the Organizer and Executive Director for the Lexington chapter of B.U.I.L.D., spoke about how residents can influence social justice issues in the Lexington area. You’ll find B.U.I.L.D. on the web at https://www.facebook.com/BUILDlex. B.U.I.L.D is a community group that selects important issues in the community and works to keep attention on these issues.

https://youtu.be/VZ5Ew48Umck

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March 2022: Afghan Resettlement in Kentucky – How Four Kentucky Organizations Are Helping New Arrivals

Representatives of four local Kentucky organizations spoke about their efforts to assist Afghan refugees as they move to Kentucky.

Nadia Rasheed, M.D., is a human rights activist and community leader. She has served on the executive committee of Masjid Bilal, the Mayors International Affairs Advisory commission, and on the Advisory board of KRM Kentucky refugee ministries. She is a member of the Steering Committee of Christian Muslim Dialogue.

Mary Cobb is Director of Kentucky Refugee Ministries, a role she began in 2016. KRM is central KY’s only refugee resettlement agency, but also offers a variety of services to a range of other vulnerable immigrants.

Dominique Olbert is the President of the Community Response Coalition of Kentucky (CRCKY), a nonprofit program that helps immigrants negatively impacted by immigration issues.

Marilyn S. Daniel, an attorney in the Lexington area for 45 years, has served on the Mayor’s Immigration Commission (LFUCG-2007) and the Mayor’s International Affairs Advisory Commission (2015-present).

A recording of the Zoom program can be found here: https://youtu.be/rXJzAxGdgaI

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February 2022: Braver Angels – A Path to Depolarization

Drs. Gary and Sharon Stewart spoke by way of Zoom about Braver Angels and its mission in the US and local efforts of the Kentucky chapters. “Braver Angels is a national grassroots organization that provides participants with these skills through structured workshops, podcasts, debates, skills training, one to one conversations, and film and book discussions. The focus is on divisive political, racial, family, and other contemporary issues (e.g., immigration, abortion, racism)”

A recording of this event can be found at Youtube: https://youtu.be/d_M4emA0m3A

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January 2022: A Spiritual Response to Religious Extremism: How Religion and Race Have Shaped U.S. Public Education

From desegregation to the school-to-prison pipeline to critical race theory, race has defined twentieth- and twenty-first-century public education. In this talk, Dr. Leslie Ribovich, Assistant Professor of Religion at Transylvania University, spoke about her research on mid-twentieth-century New York City and contemporary conversations to show how religion has, too.

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November 2021: Division, Hatred, and Danger: Modern-day Threats to Religions in America

Dr. Salah Shakir, Chairman of the Kentucky Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, together with his wife Shoshi, serve as Director of Chabad of the Bluegrass, and The Reverend Carol Ruthven, an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Lexington, spoke about increasing violence against houses of worship.

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August 2021 – Exploring Extremism in Kentucky and Beyond

Presenters were: Andrew Boone, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Kentucky where he also serves as the Anti-Terrorism Coordinator.
Michael Brown, Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Hydee R. Hawkins, Civil Rights Coordinator in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Kentucky.

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April 2021: A Pentecostal pastor looks at interfaith dialogue

Paul Prather is probably best-known in Central Kentucky as a contributing columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader, where he currently writes about faith and values, and previously served as a staff writer for nine years in the 1980s and 1990s. Mr. Prather is also the pastor of a rural, charismatic/Pentecostal congregation in Montgomery County. He’s been a part-time or full-time minister for more than 40 years.

Here is a link to his article about his experience talking to us, posted April 29, 2021. It is behind a pay wall. https://www.kentucky.com/article250999354.html

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February 2021: Ecological Grief and Divine Reason; and, Living out our Faith

Dr. Bella Mukonyora from WKU spoke on “Ecological Grief and Divine Reason.” Modern humanity has a disruptive relationship with our planet and the environment. Dr. Mukonyora spoke about ecological grief, a human response to the loss caused by environmental destruction or climate change.
The Rev Carol Devine spoke on “Living out our Faith.” and provided guidance and resources on how our houses and communities of worship can move toward carbon neutrality.

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February 2020: Why Be An Interfaith Activist

Dr. Jamil Farooqui spoke about grass roots level promotion of free speech, religious harmony and tolerance. He currently serves as the Medical Director of the SHARE Center Free Charity Clinic, Board of Trustees of Bilal Mosque, Board of the Islamic Society of Central Kentucky, Board of CAIR, KY Chapter and Board of Directors of Lexington Universal Academy [Islamic School]. He is also an active member of Bluegrass Interfaith and United Interfaith Encounter groups.

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October 2019: Embracing Christian-Muslim Dialogue

A panel of ordained and lay Christians from several different Christian denominations shared how they became involved in interfaith dialogue with their Muslim friends and neighbors, how they remain active in Christian-Muslim dialogue and events, and how it has enriched their own lives and broadened their understanding of what it means to be a faithful person.

The Reverend Carol Ruthven moderated a panel, consisting of Mark Sloss, Pastor at Faith Lutheran Church; Kory Wilcoxson, Senior Minister at Crestwood Christian Church; Alan Fryar, professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Nancy Jo Kemper, past Executive Director of the Kentucky Council of Churches ; and Jim Smith, DVM, retired from Hagyard Equine Medical Institute.

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March 2019: Andalusia

Dr. Oliver Leaman, professor of philosophy at UK, spoke about Andalusia – Christian, Jews and Muslims in the medieval Iberian peninsula. The long period when three different religious communities lived in what is today Spain and Portugal has been described very differently by historians.

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January 2017: Supporting the Rights of Immigrants and Refugees

Panelists: Isabel Taylor, Multicultural Affairs Coordinator for Lexington Fayette Govt; the Rev. Kenneth Golphin, Pastor, Quinn Chapel AME Church; and Dr. Nadia Rasheed, member of CMD Steering Committee and civic activist. They spoke on understanding their human and civil rights and be able to advocate on their behalf for the protection of those rights.

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