Festival of Faiths Celebrates Sacred Soil

The 15th annual Festival of Faiths celebrates Sacred Soil as the Foundation of Life.

The Festival line-up includes panels and workshops with notable individuals including Wendell Berry; Matthew Sleeth; Will Allen of Growing Power, Wes Jackson, President of the Land Institute; and Josh Viertel; President of Slow Food USA, to name a few.

The Festival will also host screenings of award winning films, including “Dirt! The Movie,” “Grown in Detroit,” “The Real Dirt on Farmer John,” and “Manufactured Landscapes.”

The Henry Clay Building, 604 S. Third St., is the headquarters for the Festival, and there will be over 60 communities of faith, individuals, non-profits, academic institutions and artists stationed there. Visit the booths to learn about other faiths, network, exchange ideas and share your commitment with others.

The Festival explores and celebrates one of the main questions asked by the Center for Interfaith Relations; “What if we took the time to meet a Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or Buddhist? What if we saw we had more in common than we thought, but emerged stronger in our own faith?”

 

Every year for the last 15 years, the Festival has chosen one theme that unites us all, to serve as a common thread to explore, explain, and discuss our faiths: both respective and in the places that they intersect. This year, that thread that unites us all is soil. It is a commodity so common, so every day, it is easy to forget how essential a role plain old dirt plays – just how much each of us depend on it as a civilization.

The annual Children of Abraham, Sara and Hagar Service and Luncheon, which will be held Thursday, November 4, at James Lees Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1741 Frankfort Ave. For more than 15 years, people of the three Abrahamic faiths – Jews, Muslims and Christians – have come together in Louisville to worship and share a meal. The luncheon begins at noon and the worship service will follow. Service is free and open to the public. Luncheon tickets are $15.

On Monday, November 8, at 3 p.m., Rabbi Dr. Ron Kronish will speak about “Inter-Religious Dialogue in Israel and the Region in the Service of Peace. Rabbi Kronish serves as the director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, based in Jerusalem. He lectures to a wide variety of groups in Israel, including visiting Jewish, Christian and interreligious groups. In addition, he has been a scholar-in-residence at universities and communities around the world. Rabbi Kronish received his doctorate in Education from Harvard and his ordination from Hebrew Union College. He has lived in Jerusalem for 27 years.

Many events are free and open to the public. For up-to-the-minute information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.festivaloffaiths.org.

To make a reservation or obtain tickets for specific events contact The Kentucky Center Box Office: 584-7777 or (800) 775-7777 or at www.kentuckycenter.org

The Festival of Faiths is organized by the Center for Interfaith Relations.

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