AN IFC “Ask Me Anything: A Faith-based Human Library”
ROCKVILLE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH
SUNDAY JUNE 2nd, 2024
On Sunday June 2nd, 2024 Rev. Rebekah Savage welcomed three IFC faith representatives for a Human Library. Each faith practitioner was asked in turn to introduce themselves and share a few things they’d like the assembly to know about their faith tradition, their practices, and their spiritual journey. This was followed by 10 minutes of questions and interaction with each of the three representatives and the UU congregants. We finished with a large group process/discussion: an opportunity to discuss and reflect on what we had discovered through our interactions. Finally we began to explore how we might better relate to cultural and religious diversity in the communities in which we find ourselves. We collectively came to a coherent place of recognizing our mutual need for “transcendence” in what Rev. Jay described as a “post-denominational age.” We deeply thank Rev. Rebekah and the UU Community.
PANELISTS LEFT TO RIGHT:
HILLARY CHAPMAN is a writer, teacher, country-blues guitarist, and songwriter. He co-authored many history books on the history of the Bahá’í Faith and has served on its administrative bodies. He is a fourth-generation American Baha’i.
REV. JAY MOSES is a minister within the Presbyterian Church USA, locally at Saint Mark Presbyterian Church in N. Bethesda. He has a graduate degree in interfaith theology, and has been involved in dialogue with Mormon, Ojibwe, Muslim, Sikh and Jewish communities. Currently he teaches New Testament at UMD and is on the board of the IFC.
MATTHEW REGAN (Rev. Bup Hee) is the secretary of the International Buddhist Committee of Washington DC, a group of Buddhist organizations that works to promote mutual cooperation and understanding amongst the DC-area Buddhist community. Matthew has received training in all three major schools of living Buddhism and is an ordained Dharma Teacher (Buddhist minister) in the Taego Order of Korean Buddhism.
Zamin (Kenneth) Danty [Moderator] is a longtime student of Interfaith Spirituality and has shared in community with people of numerous faith traditions. He studied with a Sufi Order for 20 years, and has also intimately participated in Christian, Quaker, Sikh and Native American communities. He is a second generation member of a Jewish Holocaust surviving family, and has worked as a counselor/therapist with people recovering from addictions and mental illness.