Interfaith Creation Festival Offers Celebration, Reflection and Action!

May 31 - June 3, 2007

Town Hall, Seattle First Baptist Church, Temple De Hirsch Sinai, Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral

Interfaith Approaches to the Urgent Issues of our Time

The four-day Interfaith Creation Festival program provides a wide variety of experiences and opportunities to learn and dialogue on the crucial issues of our time.

Keynote Speakers

Schedule of Events

• Thursday/Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

Keynote Speakers
Four outstanding speakers bring diverse perspectives from their cultural, racial and gender perspectives as well as their grounding in the Abrahamic traditions-- Jewish, Islamic and Christian.  

Workshops

Workshops will be offered both Friday afternoon and Saturday to complement the inspirational presence of the keynote speakers. Workshop topics are organized around themes of experiencing the sacred in creation; examining the theological and spiritual foundations for our understandings of our place in creation; reconciliation and transformation – dealing with the devastation and injustices of the world we create and participate in; empowering action -- recognizing and responding to the URGENCY of our time and our calling to action.

Click here to view the Worshop Summaries

Youth Program

We are excited by the great leadership and programming being offered by youth for the Festival.
Please join us Friday afternoon for a variety of intergenerational workshops, and a special catered Youth Dinner to launch the Youth program and get acquainted.
On Saturday look for more workshop offerings and events...

Interfaith Voices of Youth -Effective Communication on Challenging Subjects - The Web of Life-Developing a service project within ecological web of life of our bioregion - Street Procession with Banners -Two evenings of cultural expressions - Drumming and African Dance, Liturgical Dance, Poetry, Music and Storytelling-Workshops and experiences for all ages: Blankets of Peace -Ceremonial Robes of the Chinook People - Sacred Fragrances - Reading of the Quran and Hebrew and Christian Texts - Poetry Slam - More to be determined and discerned with your help!

Get involved - Contact Mary Rose and Sandra Jones, Program Committee Co-Chairs. 425-828-8977

Children's Programs

Special programs for children will be available throughout most of the program times of the Festival. Ages for which care will be provided include: Nursery, 3-5 year olds, and 6-12 year olds.

Workshop Programs for the 6-12 year olds that will be provided during these periods include:

• Our Spectacular Sound!
• The Circle of Beings (with a focus on the Pacific Northwest)
• Our Ecological Footprint -- Power Shift!

Arts & Celebrations

At the heart of any Festival is celebration and this Festival will celebrate creation itself with poetry, storytelling, music and a variety of cultural expressions. We look forward to a Friday night performance of African American poet James Weldon Johnson’s “Creation Story,” by professional liturgical dancer Betsey Beckman. There will be choirs Friday night, and uplifting African drumming and cultural dance from Rhythms and Rituals. Saturday night will bring another evening of gathering into sacred space for sharing stories, music, poetry, and new and old expressions of our spiritual traditions. Interspersed throughout the Festival will be times of cultural sharing and workshops with hands on experiences for adults and children. A festive procession from Seattle First Baptist Church to Temple De Hirsch Sinai will take place on Saturday afternoon. Sunday's Christian worship service at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral includes the Missa Luba, a version of the Latin Mass originally arranged for and performed by a choir of Congolese children.

Plus Special Events and Activities

Book signing of newly released, award winning book by author Doug Thorpe. (More details to follow)

Conversation café, Arts space, Meditation and Prayer space, Slide shows and Inspirational Video, Exhibits

Good food and community!

Worship in three traditions

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday (June 1-3) there will be opportunities to experience worship and prayer in the three traditions:

• Friday will offer Jumuah Prayer, the mid-day prayers of Islamic practice (in the Fellowship Hall of Seattle First Baptist Church). Jumuah Prayer will be led by Imam Joban
• Saturday, the service that marks the end of Sabbath – Havdalah – will be celebrated at Temple De Hirsch Sinai with Rabbi Wiener and guest Rabbi Lawrence Troster
• Sunday, worship service at Saint Marks Episcopal Cathedral will feature Bishop Charleston preaching and the superb Cathedral choir singing the joyful Missa Luba composed by Father Guido Haazan.   Both Bishop Charleston and the service embody the cross-cultural intent of this Festival.  Charleston, as a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is an indigenous person with Irish ancestry who strives to build bridges of reconciliation between historic communities and contemporary issues.  He is widely recognized as a leading proponent for justice issues – including environmental issues.  (more)

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Launching a Year of Action and Dialogue

It’s NOT over when it’s over! The concluding event of the Festival will be a luncheon and visioning session for the Year of Action and Dialogue that will grow from the Festival. The workshops, dialogues, and keynotes – this journey of planning the Festival and coming together across the divides of our beliefs, cultures and traditions -- are the seeds for more events to follow throughout the year as we continue this walk together. Be part of the visioning – join us at the Festival and at lunch on Sunday, June 3, as we capture the energy, the new relationships and activities, and the empowered voices that want to spring forth into the coming year.

Learn More:

Islamic Resources
Jewish Resources
Christian Resources
Interfaith Resources