Rabbi Michael G. Holzman
Rev. Becca Messman
Ibrahim Anli
Jeremy Bannett
Cathy Ross
Ellen Goldman
Emily Hummel
Rayna Lifland

Graphic Design by Dirty Napkin and Noah Simon.

Imagine rooms full of people from multiple faiths enjoying respectful dialogue, food and fellowship leading up to this coming July 4; gatherings to consider the meaning and blessing of our country’s founding. We can create this together: a once-in-a-generation opportunity for neighbors to meet neighbors, a chance to regain unity through conversation about some of America’s most inspiring words.

In a time of rising political violence and threats to the institutions of American democracy, this moment is urgent. The moral thread holding our democracy together is wearing thin. We are losing sight of our shared values. What if, through our multi-faith networks of local congregations, we spark a movement to counter the division, contempt, and toxicity that threaten to tear the country apart, and instead make this year something unifying . . . a massive community celebration, a conversation about the values that sustain this country?

We can shore up the bonds between citizens because we houses of worship are one of the few places where neighbors, friends, citizens, and newcomers can regularly meet face to face; where we study text and seek truth together; and where our varied faith traditions each remind us to see the Divine in every human being.

The Program

faith250 invites faith leaders and communities across the country to form clusters of congregations to act as sacred spaces for listening to one another, clarifying our shared civic values, and celebrating our hopes for America. The approach is to work in three components: (1) clergy relationship-building through small group study of some of America’s sacred texts: “The Declaration of Independence,” Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus,” “America the Beautiful,” and Frederick Douglass’s address, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”'; (2) multi-congregation fellowship by breaking bread and discussing these same texts in larger clergy-led gatherings; and (3) public civic rituals designed by each local community, flooding the zone with hope around July 4^th next summer.

Local clusters can find start-up materials on this site:

• A Program Description and Suggested Timeline

• Robust facilitation guidance for clergy conversations and congregational gatherings

• A sample “Covenant for Conversation” that can be used or adapted to create a positive environment for dialogue

• Easily modifiable study handouts for the four texts, including ideas for larger group gatherings

• Guidance for creating your public civic ritual

• A Resource Library that will include ritual planning materials for next summer

Every community is different. We encourage local clusters to approach the 250^th in their own way and tell us what you come up with. We are using substack so we can build a community, pool ideas, and share future resources, so please subscribe. To learn more or ask any questions, please write cathyross@faith250.org or click the button below.

How to Get Involved