Upcoming Project Interfaith Programs and Events 2007-2008

Check out the exciting line-up of dynamic speakers and innovative programs that Project Interfaith is offering for the 2007-2008 year. While our programs are held in locations around Omaha, they are open to all who are interested- so for those of you in other communities, perhaps it's time for a road trip...

Religious Diversity Issues in Professional Care Giving:
A Training for Professional Care Givers, Medical Personnel, and Social Service Providers in Facilities and In-Home Care
August 30, 7:45 am- 3:00 pm
Location: Jewish Community Center

Educator Training on Managing Issues of Religious Diversity in a Public School Setting
October 10, 7:45 am- 3:00 pm
Location: Jewish Community Center

Getting Better Coverage in the Media:
A Workshop for Religious Groups and Organizations and Those Working on Issues of Religion and Society
November 7, 8:30-11:30 am
Location: Jewish Community Center

“No god but G-d: A Look at Islam Today and Its Relations with Judaism and Christianity”
A Community Conversation with Reza Aslan
November 8, 7:00 pm
Location: Countryside Community Church

Jewish-Christian-Muslim Study Circle
Topic: Binding of Isaac/Ishmael
December 2, 2:00-5:00 pm
Location: Countryside Community Church

Workshops on Jewish-Christian Relations with Dr. Amy-Jill Levine
For the Jewish Community: "Beyond Christmas Trees and Missionaries: What the Jewish Community Needs to Know About Jesus, the New Testament, and Christianity" January 7, 2008, 7:30- 9:00 pm Location: Jewish Community Center

For Jewish and Christian Clergy, Lay leaders and Academics: "From the Academy to the Pews: What Clergy, Lay Leaders and Scholars Need to Know About the Origins, Evolution, and Future of Jewish-Christian Relations" January 8, 2007, 11:30 am- 1:30 pm, Location: Jewish Community Center

For Christian Volunteer and Professional Educators: "Jesus the Jew: What Christian Educators Need to Know About Jewish-Christian Relations" January 8, 2007, 7:00-8:30 pm, Location: Countryside Community Church

Religious Diversity Issues in Professional Care Giving:
A Training for Professional Care Givers, Medical Personnel, and Social Service Providers in Facilities and In-Home Care
January 17, 7:45 am- 4:00 pm
Location: Heritage Pointe Assisted Living

Educator Training on Managing Issues of Religious Diversity in a Public School Setting
January 30, 7:45 am- 3:00 pm
Location: Jewish Community Center

3rd Annual Interfaith Architecture Tour Theme: The Role of Images and Icons in Architecture and Faith Community Life March 9, 2008, 1:00-5:00 pm
Sites: Hindu Temple and St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church

Educator Training on Managing Issues of Religious Diversity in a Public School Setting
April 2, 7:45 am- 3:00 pm
Location: Jewish Community Center

Speaking of Faith: A Community Conversation with Radio Host Krista Tippett April 3, 7:00 pm Location: Countryside Community Church

Project Interfaith Talkbacks following BlueBarn Theatre's production of Man from Nebraska April 17, following 7:30 pm play and May 4, following 6:00 pm play BlueBarn Theatre

"Images of Faith: Public and Private Rituals" Sacred Art and Interfaith Photography Exhibit October-November 2008 Location: Cathedral Cultural Central

Interfaith Holistic Health Fair November 2008 Location TBA

For more information on Project interfaith and its programs, contact Beth Katz, Director of Project Interfaith, at (402) 334-6573 or email beth@projectinterfaithusa.org.

After My First Trip to Israel: A Jew in a Sea of Catholic School Educators

By Beth Katz, Director of Project Interfaith

My first and recent trip to Israel this July differed from that of most American Jews. I did not go as part of Birthright, or to study for a semester, or with a mission organized by the Jewish Federation. I accompanied a group of 26 Catholic school educators from across the United States. This group was traveling to Israel, most for the first time, with a rabbi and a Catholic priest on a program called Bearing Witness Advanced Summer Institute for Catholic School Educators.

The program, organized by the national Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in partnership with the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, selects Catholic school educators who have taken part in the three-day Bearing Witness Conferences administered by regional ADL offices on a ten-day trip to Baltimore, Maryland (for three days of study) and then onto Israel (for six days of touring). This program is designed to build on participants’ knowledge of historical and contemporary anti-Semitism, the history of the Holocaust, the history and evolution of Jewish-Christian relations, and the meaning of Israel to the Jewish People. Donna Walter and Carol Sheridan, two Catholic school educators from Omaha who both were a part of this region’s Bearing Witness Conference in 2005, were chosen and participated in this year’s program. I was allowed to join this group because of my relationship with the ADL Plains States office, my familiarity with the Bearing Witness program, and my desire to explore the possibility of putting together an interfaith trip to Israel for Omaha residents.

Traveling through Israel with a group of Catholic school educators epitomized for me the joys and trials of working on interfaith relations. I delighted in touring many sites that are holy to Christians such as the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth; the Mt. of Beatitudes and Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee; and walking the Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem. Visiting these sites gave me a deeper understanding of the sacred connection that Christians have to places in Israel. Though this connection is in many ways very different from the connections that Jews have to Israel, it is nonetheless sacred and must be respected. Likewise, I believe that many of the educators gained a more profound appreciation for the connections Jews have to this land after visiting the Western Wall, Yad Vashem, Massade, and Safed.

Israel proved to be for many of the educators the first time that they had experienced being a religious “minority.” Hopefully, the experience of being in the minority (though a positive one) will help sensitize them to the challenges that we Jews and other minority groups face here in the United States. At the same time that the educators were grappling with being in the minority, I was fascinated by the fact that, for the first time in my life, I was in a country where Jews were in the majority and I tried to understand the privileges, opportunities, and challenges that such a situation brings.

I am extremely grateful for the rare opportunity of being able to experience Israel with a group of Christians committed to improving relations between our communities. It was a privilege to witness the deeply spiritual connections that they have to Israel and to be a participant in the on-going effort for our communities to understand and respect each other.