The spirit of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute is represented in the cooperative programs held in the community to enlighten, inform, and promote inclusivity.

These events bring together diverse voices and faith traditions to find a common ground while still honoring individual experiences.

Whether it is working with others in the community to host a civilized discussion about polarizing issues or organizing a celebration that welcomes all and encourages learning through differences, the institute has found great success carrying out its mission through these community collaborations.

"Through interfaith dialogue and service, we promote a vibrant and diverse community for all generations. Beyond tolerance, we value hospitality, understanding, respect, and acceptance." 

Kaufman's Weekly Interfaith Insight

"Protecting the sacred: Native American activists speak out" by Kevin McIntosh

Bless the mouth, lips and speech of this land, for the land is a speaker, a singer, a keeper of all that happens here, on this land…

Bless the arms and hands of this land, for they remake and restore beauty in this land

These stanzas from Joy Harjo’s “Bless this Land” remind us of the beauty of the earth and for those who hold our stories.  Harjo is our current national Poet Laureate and is the first ever Native American to have that position.  Harjo’s appointment and work reminds us of the long history and culture of Native Americans that started in this land a long time before “Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue.”  Her work invites us to reeducate many Americans on what being Indigenous means.

That is the also the work of our 2021 Interfaith Leadership Lecture speaker Allie Young.  Young is a member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation in New Mexico. She is a storyteller and writer on a mission to increase authentic representation of Native Americans in TV, film, and mainstream media by sharing the stories and traditions of her people – stories that helped and continue to help them persevere in a world where they are largely invisible, underrepresented, and misrepresented. 

Read the entire article here