Interfaith Junction: Connecting Quaker Testimonies and Interfaith Collaboration

Interfaith Junction: Connecting Quaker Testimonies and Interfaith Collaboration

Facilitated by Beth Kelly and Chase Salazar

Kickoff event January 31, 12:30-4:30 pm at Brooklyn Meetinghouse, with follow up Zoom events and a closing retreat March 28–29 outside NYC. Register for part or all of the series here.

Join with other young adult Friends, experienced Friends, and friends from other faith communities as we explore our values and how they can help us collaborate! Interfaith work is often a key part of movements that seek to address injustice and heal the world. All ages are welcome, though we need to know especially if you are bringing your kids!

Lately, many young adult Friends have been curious about making these sorts of connections, but don’t know where to start. If you’re curious like that, this program is for you!

Our program takes place in three parts (you can sign up for some or all of them):

• On January 31, we will meet in the afternoon at Brooklyn Meetinghouse to explore our own religious lineages and spiritual values. This is because interfaith work needs us to be able to articulate our spiritual values in words other people understand. We’ll also eat and play :)
• Between February 1 and March 28, there will be a series of Zoom discussions in which we learn about a specific religious tradition and hear both someone from that tradition and an experienced Quaker respond to the values expressed in a Quaker testimony. Participants will get to ask questions and consider how their own beliefs and concerns intersect with what they hear from others. Each topic will have two times to choose from: a Wednesday evening time and a Saturday late morning time.
• The weekend of March 28-29 we will meet for a closing retreat at Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie. This will be open to anyone who attended any earlier part of the program. We will have the time to “eat together, pray together, and play together,” along with exploring how we can be in collaboration and solidarity with various religious groups. This is an event that starts on Saturday afternoon and ends Sunday afternoon; you can stay overnight in a dorm. 

We will use the testimonies/values of Stewardship, Truth (Integrity), Equality, Peace (Harmony), Unity (Community), and Plain Living (Simplicity) as starting points for articulating our individual and collective beliefs, and excerpts from How to Be a Perfect Stranger as background reading for work with friends from other faiths.

A full description of our program as well as answers to frequently asked questions can be found here.

ALSO: We are seeking hospitality for one of our participants. Please email bethk@nyym.org if you can offer a bed this weekend!