Interfaith-ish

Guests Pastor Mario Broussard II, a psychotherapist and ordained elder in the Adventist Church, and Imam Hammad Ahmad of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community's American Fazl Mosque, discuss holistic health, religious freedom, and the similarities between these religious movements, which were both founded in the mid-1800s.

When you bring together a Modern Orthodox rabbi and a Russian Orthodox priest, of course we're going to start by talking about beards!

Besides grooming, guests Father Victor Potapov (rector of the Russian Orthdox Cathedral of St John the Baptist) and Rabbi Uri Topolosky (leader of Kehilat Pardes, the Rock Creek Synagogue) discussed their definitions of Orthodoxy, what attracts new members to their communities, and how they both met their wives playing guitar in Jerusalem.

Kehilate Pardes: https://www.kehilatpardes.org

Russian Orthdox Cathedral of St John the Baptist: https://stjohndc.org

Talk about wearing many hats.. or rather headscarves! For our first show of 2019, Jack brought together two tireless interfaith advocates: Jordan Denari-Duffner, associate at The Bridge Initiative and author of Finding Jesus Among Muslims; and Nadia Hassan, an educator and Executive Director of Young Leaders Institute. Both guests shared the experiences that sparked their passion for interfaith engagement, and we discussed ways we can recognize our own blindspots when it comes to Islamophobia.

Young Leaders Institute: http://ylinstitute.com

The Bridge Initiative: http://bridge.georgetown.edu/

Jordan's book, Finding Jesus Among Muslims: http://findingjesusamongmuslims.com

DC Interfaith Leadership Summit: http://ifcmw.org/summit/

Jack welcomes Toussaint Tingling-Clemmons to speak about the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa; and Alex Zach, a leader with Turning Circle (www.turningcircle.org), who shared about her Pagan practice.

Thomas Merton, Steven Seagal, and meditative flute music. These are just some of the topics our guests dive into this week as we discuss Christianity and Buddhism with Rev. Dr. Charlie Parker, a retired Methodist minister, and Bill Aiken, former Director of Public Affairs for Soka Gakkai International-USA.

For more on Soka Gakkai International-USA, visit https://www.sgi-usa.org

For more on National United Methodist Church, visit https://nationalchurch.org

For more on Aikido Shobukan Dojo, visit http://www.aikido-shobukan.org

How are young Jews and Muslims in DC building their own religious spaces? What's been the response from more established congregations?

Jack discusses these questions and more with guest Lauren Spokane of New Synagogue Project and Meraj Allahrakha, chaplain of the George Washington University Muslim Student Association.

This week, we celebrate visionary leader Rev. Dr. Clark Lobenstine, founding executive director of the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, who passed away on October 15th, 2018.

Jack is joined in the studio by two of Clark's longtime collaborators: Dr. Siva Subramanian of the United Hindu Jain Temple Association and Tom Wolfe of the Annapolis Quaker Meeting. Together they share stories about Clark's life and legacy, and compare how death is viewed in the Hindu and Quaker traditions.

For more information about Rev. Clark Lobenstine, visit https://ifcmw.org

If you just found our show, this is a great place to start! We discuss our team's secret origins and hear the range of diverse guests and perspectives we feature. Listen here!

On Halloween, Sue and Jack brought the FUN to Takoma Radio's fall fund drive. We took calls from a slew of supporters, shared clips from some of our favorite past episodes, and played some great music!

And its not too late to contribute to Takoma Radio either!  Make a donation today! https://takomaradio.org/donate/

Jack welcomes Alison Dunn Almaguer, a Baptist minister currently working as an organizer with Washington Interfaith Network, and Jackie Fuller, a member of Unity of Fairfax and current Vice President of the Religion Communicators Council. They discuss their traditions, community organizing in Northern Virginia vs DC, and the difficulties getting media coverage of interfaith cooperation.

Sue steps in while Jack is away to interview Sikh spiritual leader Bhai Gurdarshan Singh and Nii Odoi Glover of the DC Baha'i community. Their conversation touches on some of the similarities between these two religions, including their inclusive philosophy regarding other religions, the importance placed on the moral education of youth, and the persecutions faced by both groups around the world.