We also share and network with programs from the Multifaith Collaborative of the Open Spirit​ Center of Framingham, Peace Islands Institute and The Nejaf Islamic Center
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Interfaith Faith Candlelight Prayer for Peace in Israel, Palestine, and Here

On December 3, 2023, the Metrowest Interfaith Community and others gathered for a candlelight prayer and a shared meal together at Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Holliston. Our Jewish and Muslim neighbors, Christian, Baha'i, Sikh and others joined in as we brought together our sorrow and grief for so many uselessly killed, men, women, and children, of those still held captive, and so many others affected by this awful tragedy.

From the Qur'an, teachings of the Baha'i, Christian and Hebrew scriptures, from poetry, music and reflection, we raised up all our hopes for a peace that just not ceases the violence, but a provides a future full of hope for everyone.  
cminterfaith@gmail.com | Zoom link

Second Project of the Interfaith Refugee Committee 

Our Interfaith Refugee Committee enthusiastically took on a second project to help a Ukrainian mother and her adult son into an apartment in Framingham. We are grateful to all our donors for furniture and houseware needs. Contact us if you would like to volunteer or have items you wish to donate at admin@hollistoninterfaith.org.
Pictured in the middle are Svetlana and her son Sasha who we helped house in an apartment in Framingham. They are here on a special refugee program from the Ukraine. Also pictured on the left is Dianne Evans, Jess McGuire in the foreground, and Fr. Carl Chudy on the right, members of the Interfaith Refugee Committee.

The Humanity of Muhammad: Christian Views

The Interfaith Book Club of the Islamic Center of Boston, Wayland, Massachusetts, sponsored a book reflection on Dr. Craig Considine's book, The Humanity of Muhammad: A Christian View. Rev. Dr. Ian Mevorach of Common Street Spiritual Center, Natick, and Fr. Carl Chudy, D. Min. of the Metrowest Interfaith Community of Holliston offered their perspectives as we learn to build bridges in our communities. Shaheen Akhtar, coordinator of the book club, moderated the event. It was held on Saturday, November 11th, from 3 pm to 4:30 pm.

Tea with Swami Tyagananda

On Sunday, October 15 a group of us from the Metrowest Interfaith Community met with Swami Tyagananda, head of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, popularly known as the Hindu community. With tea and snacks generously provided by Swami, we entered into a fascinating conversation about Hinduism, faith and the search for spirituality. You can see more at their website here

Statement of the MetroWest Interfaith Community on Recent Antisemitic Incident

The Holliston Public Schools sent this statement recently: Linked is a press release from the town administrator regarding some small paper swastikas found on Damigella Field in Holliston recently. While this field is used after hours by the community for evening and weekend sports, it is concerning that this is happening adjacent to the schools.

In light of this, we have authored a collective statement of our Metrowest Interfaith Community that we would like to share with you. Please forward this to your communities and friends.
Download Statement Here

Interfaith Refugee Committee Gathers for a Little Fall Ice Cream

 Some of our Interfaith Refugee Committee came together at Bertie's Ice Cream with Yulia (third from the left in the back), a Ukranian refugee we helped to settle in the MetroWest area. We will continue in November and December helping another Ukrainian family in Framingham. Contact admin@hollistoninterfaith.org for more information.

What Spiritual Story Will You Write

We wanted to share the work of Katie Gordon, who is doing interesting things in the nontraditional dialogue of spirituality across and within the borders of religion, a real challenge for traditional faiths and one we do well to be part of. Check out her latest on Tiny Letters.
Susan Nolan, one of our dialogue partners from the Baha'i faith, is organizing a special interfaith prayer event together with her interfaith friends. All are welcome anytime. Contact Susan for more information here. The gathering can found here.

Season of Creation with Pope Francis

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​From the Catholic Church, The Season of Creation is an interfaith celebration of God's creation. It starts on September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology.

This year's theme is "Listen to the voice of creation." The Season of Creation is a special time for all peoples to pray and work together to care for our common home. Pope Francis' first document on this is Care for Our Common Home. A follow-up document to consider contemporary climate issues is addressed to "all people of good will on the climate crisis."

Download Care for our Common Home

Download Further Moral Reflections on the Climate Crisis

Ways We Can Help Ukraine

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We come together as peoples of different faiths and secular points of view to protest, pray, and act in justice over the blatant and unjustified invasion of Russian troops into the sovereign nation of Ukraine. As we gather in prayer, we also would suggest other ways we may help the people of Ukraine. Below are a few possibilities.

Charity organizations are offering a wide range of support for those affected by the war. Here are a few that have received high marks (three to four stars) from Charity Navigator, which assesses groups’ efficiency, transparency and other factors.
  • ​Donations through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Eastern Europe Crisis Response.
  • Donations the Catholic Relief Service.
  • Global Giving supports non-profits around the world through crowdfunding. Its Ukrainian crisis relief fund is working toward a goal of $7m to provide food, water, shelter and other assistance to refugees.
  • ​​Direct Relief is working to fulfill a list of medical needs provided to the organization by Ukraine’s health ministry.
  • For local media in Ukraine, you can support the English-language Kyiv Independent and the New Voice of Ukraine directly. There is also a GoFundMe page to support Ukrainian media more broadly as journalists risk their safety.
  • An array of Resources to help Ukrainian refugees, especially those who cross the Polish border.
  • ​Nova Poshta Global launches the Humanitarian Nova Poshta project — to help the Ukrainian defenders and people in need. We collect humanitarian aid from international organizations and volunteers all around the world.
  • Download the Peace in Ukraine Dove below, designed by Russian designer Natasha Alimova. She created this icon of peace using shapes from the national symbol of Ukraine. The logo is free to use for any purpose. It can be posted on windows, reproduced on t-shirts, and many more uses.
peacetoukraine.png
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Here are some pics from our Candlelight Vigil for Ukraine. More resources for helping Ukraine will be posted as more efforts are organized on the ground. Let's continue our prayer, action, and advocacy.
Download below a Ukrainian prayer used during our prayer vigil and an interfaith compilation of prayers for peace.
ukraineprayer.docx
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interfaith-prayers-of-peace.pdf
File Size: 342 kb
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Active Bystander's Training 

The Metrowest Interfaith Dialogue Project is collaborating with The Jewish Family Services and Open Spirit Interfaith Center to offer Active Bystander's Training to faith communities and other organizations and individuals. Using the Quabbin Mediation Model, the Training Active Bystanders (TAB) program helps participants recognize when they are bystanders, analyze situations, and evaluate the consequences for everyone involved. TAB heightens bystanders’ power. It teaches how bystanders can interrupt harm-doing and generate positive actions by others. Active bystandership does not mean aggression against the harm doer. It means taking responsible action to help people in need instead of remaining passive and becoming complicit. Bystanders gain the competencies they need if they decide to take action when they witness something they feel is unfair, or wrong, or troubling.

Metrowest Interfaith Dialogue Project in the Local News

Dialogue that Crosses Faiths

Twelve members of faith organizations in MetroWest, including Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Holliston, work on a regular basis to make their communities more inclusive. They called it the MetroWest Interfaith Dialogue Project (MIDP).
“Our hope is to the honor the religious and nonreligious diversity of our communities and neighborhoods by creating an interfaith community within communities of different faiths. We focus on three goals: Foster opportunities to come together in order to come to know one another and the faiths that inspire us; Gain insight on how much we share in common through our faiths and values; Discover how interfaith dialogue and action can make a difference in our communities and neighborhoods and helps us all flourish together,” he said.
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