Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County

Baha’i Faith 101 with Rainn Wilson
2021-04-25 20:00 - 21:30 (America/Detroit)
The Interfaith Round Table invites you to learn more about the Baha’i Faith with… drumroll… Rainn Wilson! Rainn Wilson is an actor known for a number of roles, most notably Dwight Schrute on NBC’s The Office. He is a committed member of the Baha’i Faith and the creator of the digital media platform, Soul Pancake.On Sunday, April 25, IRT is invited to join a national Zoom event, entitled “Baha’i.chat with Rainn Wilson,” co-hosted by Liz Dwyer. This will include a light, one-hour conversation about the Baha’i Faith, including Q&A. This session will explore race and racism in the context of the Baha’i writings.Afterward, all IRT participants will be invited to a second half-hour Zoom session to meet with members of the Baha’i Faith in Washtenaw County for an additional time of Q&A.To participate, please RSVP at roederer@umich.edu. IRT Director, Renee Roederer, will send you the registration links for both portions of the evening.

An Evening of Readings with Rabbi Rob Dobrusin
2021-04-21 19:00 - 20:30
The Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County invites you to an evening of readings shared from the writings of Rabbi Rob Dobrusin. Rabbi Dobrusin is a long-time friend and former Board member of IRT and the Rabbi Emeritus of Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor. He is the author of The Long Way Around: Stories of Sermons from a Life Journey and the host of the podcast Wrestling and Dreaming: Engaging Discussions on Judaism.During our time together, Rabbi Dobrusin will read from his book, his sermons, and additional writings to share his reflections upon Judaism and his life experiences. We welcome hearing from him.

Born and raised in Boston (and a passionate Boston Red Sox fan), Rabbi Dobrusin was ordained as a rabbi in 1982 and came to Ann Arbor in 1988. In addition to serving two congregations, Rabbi Dobrusin has been active in many causes including serving as a board member and national co-chair of T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call to Human Rights. Since retiring from the pulpit in 2018, he has continued teaching and supporting community institutions including serving as a member of the board of directors of the International House of Ann Arbor and volunteering at the Humane Society of Huron Valley. He is also a Volunteer Zoo Educator at the Toledo Zoo. Rabbi Dobrusin and his wife Ellen are the parents of two adult children and their family includes Sami, a sweet mixed breed rescue dog and two gentle cats, Spot and Ozzie. To RSVP, please register here. After you do so, Zoom information will be sent to your email. You can join with us via video or phone.

IRT Day Forum: From "Holy Rage to Holy Hope"
2021-04-20 11:45 - 13:00
On the third Tuesday of each month, the Interfaith Round Table invites the wider Washtenaw County community to join us for interfaith dialogue and friendship over the lunch hour. This month, we would like to explore this question: Have you had moments when you personally witnessed or experienced injustice, and how did that anger move you to action?
Our language for this discussion — “from holy rage to holy hope” — comes from Rev. Sharon Risher. Rev. Sharon Risher is the daughter of Ethel Lee Lance, one of the nine people who died in the Charleston shooting at the Mother Emanuel AME Church. She spoke very powerfully at a recent event with the IRT
We’re encouraged to watch the video of her talk before our gathering, though you don’t need to have watched to come and participate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3avRZBOmXQ&t=3255s
To RSVP, please register here. After you do so, Zoom information will be sent to your email. You can join with us via video or phone.

Sharing Poetry Together
2021-04-14 17:30 - 18:30
The Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County invites you to an evening of poetry readings on Wednesday, April 14 from 5:30-6:30pm. Each person is invited to bring a poem or two to read aloud and share with the group. These may include writings of treasured poets you admire or poems of your own creation. Then we’ll move to a time of storytelling — how do these poems connect with a moment or experience in your life? We invite you to come and meet neighbors through this form of sharing.To RSVP, please register here. After you do so, Zoom information will be sent to your email. You can join with us via video or phone.

Tea Time with IRT Director Renee Roederer
2021-03-24 15:00 - 16:30
For the last program year, Rev. Renee Roederer has served as the Director of IRT during a unique virtual season. On Wednesday, March 24 from 3-4:30pm, we’ll have some time to connect with her over Zoom with tea, coffee, snacks or anything else you’d like to choose! Bryan, Weinert, Board Chair of IRT, will interview her about her interests and her reflections on this season of our shared life. Then we’ll have a Q&A time with her.
In addition to her time with IRT, Renee also serves as a Community Chaplain and the organizer of the Michigan Nones and Dones community in Southeast Michigan. And she’s a part-time staff member at the Epilepsy Foundation of MIchigan. She’s lived in Ann Arbor for 7 years, after previously living in Southern Indiana; Austin, Texas; and Pasadena, California. She enjoys choral singing, hiking, and traveling, and she’s an avid writer. One of her greatest joys in life is the large, chosen family she has built over time, with whom she enjoys keeping in touch, laughing hard, and reflecting on life.

To join us, please register here.

And So We Grow: Welcoming Spring
2021-03-21 19:00 - 20:00
We invite you and your friends to join the Interfaith Round Table on Sunday night, March 21 from 7:00-8:00pm for a time of pre-selected readings, poetry, and music read by interfaith readers, along with a time of shared reﬂection as we begin to welcome spring. Throughout this season, when we see new growth around us, how might we acknowledge the growth within us — how we’ve grown during the pandemic, and how we seek to grow moving forward? This gathering will be facilitated by Director Renee Roederer, and will take place over Zoom. As we near the end of winter, we honor hardship in our collective life, and we gather to provide spiritual support, encouragement, and friendship to one another.

To join us, please register here.

IRT Day Forum: New Normal? Envisioning a Post-Pandemic Future
2021-03-16 11:45 - 13:00
We are still in the painful throes of the coronavirus pandemic, but as we begin to imagine what comes next, some have said that we cannot just ‘go back to normal.’ That era no longer exists. Instead, we will have to cultivate new ways of living together with knowledge, wisdom, and hopes for a better future. What could that look like? How do our spiritual traditions shape our imaginations in these directions?
On the third Tuesday of each month, the Interfaith Round Table invites the wider Washtenaw County community to join us for interfaith dialogue and friendship over the lunch hour. This month, we would like to explore important questions like these. What could a post-pandemic future look like in Washtenaw County?
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

For Such a Time As This: An Evening with Rev. Sharon Risher
2021-02-24 19:00 - 20:30
The Interfaith Round Table invites you to a powerful discussion with the Rev. Sharon Risher. She is the daughter of Mrs. Ethel Lee Lance in Charleston, South Carolina who was killed at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, along with 8 other people, including Rev. Risher’s two cousins and a childhood friend. Through story and conviction, we will hear about the power of legacy, faith, and hope and how these have fueled Rev. Risher as an advocate for anti-racism and an end to gun violence.
Rev. Risher is the author of For Such a Time as This: Hope and Forgiveness After The Charleston Massacre. It is a powerful expression of heart and boldness in the face of trauma and personal loss. We will ask Rev. Risher about her story and the causes she holds dear. And we’ll invite her to call us to action as well: How might we be called for such a time as this?
To attend, please register here.

Age-ing to Sage-ing: Re-envisioning Elderhood with Lucinda Kurtz, M.A. and Oran Hesterman, Ph.D
2021-02-18 17:00 - 18:30
Join us for this offering that invites us to re-envision the new terrain of longevity where we learn to harvest wisdom not only for ourselves but for a world missing the voice of the elder. This is an introduction to a longer course on Age-ing to Sage-ing that provides practical and contemplative tools to provide a new vision of spiritual aging.
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Islam 101
2021-02-17 18:00 - 19:00, 2021-02-10 18:00 - 19:00, 2021-02-03 18:00 - 19:00
During the month of February, we are inviting IRT friends to join the Muslim Community Association for their weekly class, “Islam 101.” The Islam 101 class is held on Zoom every Wednesday at 6:00 pm. The class includes three/four sessions on basic topics about Islam (Article of Faiths of Islam, the five pillars of Islam, and Prophet Mohammed). The classes repeat, so you may start attending on any Wednesday and continue as you wish.
To register, please fill out this form: http://mca-a2.org/islam-101/

Day Forum: Belonging
2021-02-16 11:45 - 13:00
Mother Teresa used to say, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
On the third Tuesday of each month, the Interfaith Round Table invites the wider Washtenaw County community to join us for interfaith dialogue and friendship over the lunch hour. This month, we would like to explore important questions like these: How does your spiritual tradition practice belonging? How do people come to know that they belong and are valued? How does your faith experience expand what belonging means and who gets to belong? How does belonging contribute to shared peace?
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Tea Time with Dwight L. Wilson: The New American Dream
2020-12-30 15:00 - 16:30
As a former Co-Director and current Board Member of IRT, Dwight L. Wilson has been a strong advocate for interfaith dialogue. We invite you to join us on Wednesday, December 30 from 3-4:30pm, where he will share a sermon, entitled, “The New American Dream.” We will then have a discussion with him about our own hopes and dreams for building a better world.

Alongside his work in interfaith dialogue and friendship, he is father to four sons and grandfather to two grandsons and two granddaughters. He spent 41 years as a school professional including serving as Headmaster and Dean as well as Assistant Chaplain at Oberlin College and Associate Dean at Marshall University. He is also a recorded Friends Minister who is the only person of color to serve as General Secretary of Friends General Conference. Among his many volunteer services is as Ann Arbor Human Rights Director. In that capacity he spent 3.5 years Chairing the Police Oversight Subcommittee.

On December 30, we’ll have some time with Dwight over Zoom with tea, coffee, snacks or anything else you’d like to choose! We can learn more of his thoughts and share our own as we dream together for a vital and flourishing future.

Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

The Darkest Night: Poetry, Quotes, Music, and Reflection
2020-12-21 19:00 - 20:00
We invite you and your friends to join the Interfaith Round Table on Monday night, December 21 from 7:00-8:00pm for a time of inspiring words, calming music, and shared reﬂection on the night of the Winter Solstice. This gathering will be facilitated by Co-Director Renee Roederer, and will take place over Zoom. As we near the end of 2020, we honor hardship in our collective life, and we gather to provide spiritual support, encouragement, and friendship to one another.

Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested, and we will send you the Zoom information.

Day Forum: The Spiritual Practice of Ritual
2020-12-15 11:45 - 13:00
On the third Tuesday of each month, we invite the wider Washtenaw County community to join us for interfaith dialogue and friendship over the lunch hour. This month, we would like to explore an important question: “How is ritual a spiritual practice?” In our shared conversation, we will share stories of practicing rituals with our spiritual communities and in our daily lives. How do rituals connect us to larger meaning and to one another? How do they provide direction and purpose?

Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested, and we will send you the Zoom information.

Faith Leaders Support Group
2020-12-14 19:00 - 20:30
We invite clergy and faith leaders from local congregations, communities, and spiritual assemblies to come together and support one another, both professionally and personally. We build friendships, share best practices for ministry and community formation, and we provide a space in confidence to share personal joys and concerns. We invite you to join us on Monday, December 14 from 7-8:30pm over Zoom.

Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Day Forum: The Spiritual Practice of Gratitude
2020-11-17 11:45 - 13:00
On the third Tuesday of each month, we invite the wider Washtenaw County community to join us for interfaith dialogue and friendship over the lunch hour. This month, we would like to explore an important question: “How is gratitude a spiritual practice?” In our shared conversation, we will voice what helps us feel thankful these days. What joys, large and small, sustain us in a time of collective stress? How do they provide meaning and purpose?
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Faith Leaders Support Group
2020-11-11 19:00 - 20:30
We invite clergy and faith leaders from local congregations, communities, and spiritual assemblies to come together and support one another, both professionally and personally. We build friendships, share best practices for ministry and community formation, and we provide a space in conﬁdence to share personal joys and concerns. We invite you to join us on Wednesday, November 18 from 7-8:30pm over Zoom.
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Liberating Futures: The Spiritual Practice of Imagination
2020-11-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2020-10-08 19:00 - 20:30
How can imagination inspire us and fuel us toward collective action? We invite you to join us for a meaningful panel discussion with neighbors who are engaging in social action within Washtenaw County. How does imagination inform their work in anti-racism, abolition, disability justice, environmental care, LGBTQIA+ advocacy, economic justice, and more?
And how might the spiritual practice of imagination spur your own calling into action?
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

As Election Day Approaches: An Evening of Purpose and Reﬂection
2020-11-01 19:00 - 20:00
As we make the ﬁnal turn toward the election this Tuesday, we may feel anxiety, unease, or a lack of rest. In the midst of this, we want to gather together virtually for an evening of reﬂection and connection with one another as neighbors. We will light candles in our homes and hear quotes, poems, music, and reﬂection pieces, all with an invitation to feel rooted to our deepest values and connected to one another.
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Tea Time with George Lambrides
2020-10-28 15:00 - 16:30
The Interfaith Round Table has a 25 year history of connection, impact, and action within Washtenaw County. George Lambrides founded our community, and along with Susan King, he served as a Co-Director of IRT until 2019.
George Lambrides has been a strong advocate for interfaith dialogue and a wonderful friend for many. We’d like to offer some time to catch up with him during conversation at home over Zoom with tea, coffee, snacks or anything else you’d like to choose! We can ask him more about the history of IRT and hear what he’s doing and thinking about in these days.
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Faithful Risk Taking with Ben Johnston-Krase
2020-10-22 19:00 - 20:30
How might we shift the cultures of our faith communities toward vitality, connection, and care with neighbors by initiating small, life-giving micro-risks? We invite you to a time of connection with Ben Johnston-Krase, consultant for faith communities and co-planter of Farm Church, a church that meets on a farm and leverages all the resources of that farm to address food insecurity in Durham, North Carolina.
Sometimes, our faith communities find themselves stuck in a mindset of, “but we’ve always done it that way.” What’s possible when we take micro-risks to expand possibilities? Ben Johnston-Krase defines a micro-risk as, “an easy to try, fun to play with, ok-if-you-fail small risk that, when combined with other micro-risks over time, nurtures a culture of faithful, strategic risk-taking – the kind of culture we need in our spiritual communities.”

Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Day Forum: The Spiritual Practice of Imagination
2020-10-20 11:45 - 13:00
On the third Tuesday of each month, we invite the wider Washtenaw County community to join us for interfaith dialogue and friendship over the lunch hour. This month, we would like to explore an important question: “How is imagination a spiritual practice?” In our shared conversation, we will be invited to share stories about moments when imagination captivated us and fueled us to action— interpersonally and in community. How did this inspire us? How did this connect us? How did this change us?
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Faith Leaders Support Group
2020-10-14 19:00
We invite clergy and faith leaders from local congregations, communities, and spiritual assemblies to come together and support one another, both professionally and personally. We build friendships, share best practices for ministry and community formation, and we provide a space in confidence to share personal joys and concerns. We invite you to join us on Monday, October 14 from 7-8:30pm over Zoom.
Please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu if you are interested to join us, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Zoom 101: Intro to Zoom for Newbies and Leaders Alike
2020-07-30 19:00 - 20:00
We are grateful to invite Casey Batterbee to oﬀer an introduction to Zoom and consider the ways you can connect in community virtually through this technology. Whether you are a total newbie or a leader using Zoom for your community, you are invited to learn more about this virtual platform. We will explore basics, tools for hosts, and learn how to make Zoom gatherings accessible for people with disabilities and various processing needs.

Casey Batterbee (they/them/theirs) is a practitioner of the D.O.V.E. (Divine Original Vibration Embodiment) method of personal and spiritual development who lives and works in Ypsilanti. They have been ﬁguring out computers since they were 6 years old when their family got its ﬁrst computer. Through serving as personal tech support to their Mom since that time, they have learned not only how to understand computers and computer-related issues, but how to unpack them and make them easily understandable for others. In this Zoom webinar, they will explore the basics (joining/participating/hosting), more complicated topics (hosting a recurring meeting/sharing content/breakout rooms), and other nuances of using zoom (zoom etiquette/ muting/troubleshooting/accessibility) so that everyone can develop a sense of ownership and conﬁdence in their zoom abilities.

If you are interested, please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Day Forum: The Spiritual Practice of Truth-Telling
2020-07-21 11:45 - 13:00
On the third Tuesday of each month, we invite the wider Washtenaw County community to join us for interfaith dialogue and friendship over the lunch hour. This month, we would like to explore an important question, “How is truth-telling a spiritual practice?” In a conversation facilitated by Renee Roederer and Dwight Wilson, we will be invited to share stories of hearing truth and speaking truth in critical moments in our lives. And how are we called to speak truth to power now in this collective moment we’re living? How is that a spiritual practice and commitment?

If you are interested, please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Faith Leader Support Group
2020-07-13 19:00
We invite clergy and faith leaders from local congregations, communities, and spiritual assemblies to come together and support one another, both professionally and personally. We build friendships, share best practices for ministry and community formation, and most importantly, in conﬁdence, we provide space to share personal joys and burdens. We invite you to join us on Monday, July 13 from 7-8:30pm over Zoom.

If you are interested, please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.

Building Community Across Distance
2020-07-09 19:00 - 20:30
“How can we build community when we can’t meet in person?” We invite you to a conversation on this question facilitated by Renee Roederer, Director of the Interfaith Round Table. This conversation will focus less on technological ‘how to’ and more on creating virtual spaces of welcome and support. Together, we will explore our roles as leaders and participants in community, and we will consider how we might utilize our own skills and spiritual gifts to strengthen community even across distance.

Renee Roederer previously served as a campus minister at the University of Texas and here at the University of Michigan. She keeps in touch with alumni who now live across the country. More than a decade later, these communities are still connected and active. In addition to her role with IRT, Renee also works for the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan. In this role, she is a community-builder who works to connect individuals and families with epilepsy across the state.

If you are interested, please RSVP to roederer@umich.edu, and we will send you the Zoom information. You can connect with us over video or over the phone.
