Ruah Interfaith Spirituality & the Arts

CMM’s Ruah Interfaith Spirituality & the Arts offers opportunities for grounding and spirituality, education, connecting to other cultures, listening to one another’s faith and value-based perspectives, as we come together to heal ourselves and the earth through dialogue and the arts. We believe that these are essential for sustainable social justice work.

Specific programs include: Conversational Circles, community potluck conversations, lectures, conferences, courses, concerts, film screenings, playback theater nights, publications (see below), rallies, press conferences, and partnerships, surrounding current social issues with emphasis on respecting different traditions as we respond to religious and racial intolerance as change agents.

International Choral and Arts Festival (November 2022) Details TBA

This November, CMM partners with multiple universities, arts organizations, and community members, in putting on a festival in connection with the UN International Day of Peace, around the theme: “End racism. Build peace.” STAY TUNED!

In Celebration of Rumi (October 22, 2022) Details TBA

For the past 20 years, CMM has appreciated its ongoing relationship with the originators of Ruah programming in the bringing of dervishes to the Greater Boston area in a celebration of Rumi through music (Orkestra Marhaba), poetry and dance. Click here to view this past November’s recording, along with the 20th anniversary recording from last November, as well as that December’s “Afternoon Celebrating the Poetry of Jelaludin Rumi.”

(Pictured above, a sema at the Friends Meeting at Cambridge from 2018)

UN International Day of Peace (September 2022) Details TBA

Every September, CMM partners with Friends Meeting in Cambridge, Bethel Lowell Church AME and the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness, among many others, in commemorating Boston’s observance of the UN International Day of Peace. This year’s theme: “End racism. Build peace.” Click here to view a recording from this past September we did in the safety of a virtual format, where the theme was “Recovering Better for a Sustainable and Equitable World.” Click here for more info

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Day of Service (January 2022)

Every MLK Day, CMM partners with the Brandeis University’s Center for Spiritual Life, Department of Community Service, Intercultural Center, Waltham Group, Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program, Brandeis University Library, and the Massachusetts Service Alliance, to package over 14k meals with volunteers from around the area, and deliver them to food banks and congregations that help food insecure communities. Last year was done on Zoom and this year will be on Zoom as well. Click below to check out some of the great resources from last year:

At My Neighbor’s Table Community Potluck Conversation Series

A partnership between CMM, Needham Interfaith Clergy Association, Needham Diversity Initiative, Needham Human Rights Committee and other community partners to host community conversations on timely topics such as structural racism, education equity, and restorative justice. We are fortunate to be supported by a generous grant from the Needham Cultural Council. The latest conversations had to be on Zoom due to the pandemic. Here are links for the latest five:

“Leaning Into Challenging Conversations: How to Listen, What & How to Say it“on January 23, 2022, with Liora Norwich, MA, PhD, Executive Director, Network for Social Justice where we will discuss and practice basic tips and troubleshooting skills for managing discussion dynamics based on addressing inter-personal conflict.

“Fault Lines: Grappling with Segregation in our Schools” on March 21, 2021, with Liam Kerr, MA State Dir., Democrats For Education Reform, and State Rep. Chynah Tyler, (D), 7th Suffolk, Chair, Black & Latino Legislative Caucus. Below are also some resources for further learning:

“What Would Our Communities Look Like If We Valued Essential Workers?” on December 13, 2020, facilitated by Dr. Smirti Rao, Professor of Economics & Global Studies at Assumption University, and Executive Director Diego Low of MetroWest Worker Center. Here is a link to Dr. Rao’s slide set. Below are also some resources for further learning:

“What Kind of Communities Do We Want To Live In? Examining housing policies through the lens of equality” on October 18, 2020, facilitated by Jennifer Raitt, Director of Planning and Community Development for Arlington. Here is a link to her slide set. Below are also some resources for further learning:

“Unpacking Structural Racism: Exploring and Deconstructing White Privilege and Power“ on June 24, 2020, facilitated by Lisa Bibuld and Amy Behrens of Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ). Coverage by the Needham Channel can be found here.

Facing Our Racism: Becoming Conscious Partners – Workshops

CMM launched this pilot program with two experienced facilitators in the fields of social work and psychology on white privilege and supremacy, as well as unconscious bias, and moving towards actions, such as reparations, in the planning for a better future. Workshops took place in October, November, May and July with more being planned for the and fall.

Sharing Our Stories: Towards an Inclusive American Narrative (Spring 2021)

CMM promoted a community-building exercise exploring issues of identity, spirituality, neighborliness, and the importance of hospitality. Conversations centered around the multiple narratives present in the country and trying to find an inclusive one for going forward. It gets to the core of who we are and as it becomes expressed in social settings with civic implications.

Click here for more info

Fratelli Tutti – Everyone is Connected: Brothers and Sisters, All (January 2021)

CMM started the new year with an interfaith conversation on Pope Francis’ encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, promoting connection. The afternoon was facilitated by Fr. Tom Ryan of the Paulist Center, with reflective remarks by Dr. Basyouny Nehela of the Boston Islamic Seminary and Rabbi Or Rose of the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College.

Click here to watch the recording

Revelation in a Time of Survival Series – Spirituality & Sustainability (Fall 2020)

This 6-Week Zoom series of reflections from spiritual leaders of the greater Boston area was on climate change and the pandemic taking place (6 Tuesdays) September 1 – October 6, in line with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (celebrated in the Orthodox Christian community) all the way to St. Francis Day (acknowledged in the Catholic Church).

Revelation in a Time of Plague Series (Late Spring 2020)

Co-hosted with MAS Boston, a 4-Week Zoom series of reflections from spiritual leaders of the Abrahamic family of faith taking place (4 Wednesdays) April 22 – May 13, 2020.

Click here for more info

Selma & Beyond MLK Bus Trip (Spring 2020)

Along with The New Democracy Coalition, Northeastern University Center for Spirituality, Dialogue & Service, and UMass Boston, we boarded a bus February 28th and headed down to the Alabama for a few days for the 55th Anniversary of the Pettus Bridge Crossing.

Click here for more info

Reading King in Boston Series (Fall 2019)

“Reading King in Boston” is a program that raises up specific works by Martin Luther King, Jr. The selections chosen are to be read and discussed in anticipation of themes raised up in four recognized national or international commemorations in fall, 2019. Funded in part by Mass Humanities.

Click here for more info

Interfaith Prayer Booklet publications

CMM called together interfaith thought leaders in the greater Boston area on the concept of “Just Peacemaking” and tasked them to write a reflection on the current times, based on the theme that year, followed by a corresponding prayer. PDFs are available below and physical copies can be ordered by demand by emailing info@coopmet.org.