Interfaith Week

12:00 -1:30 pm

Chat with the Dean

   Hosted by Division for Student Affairs

   Great Hall

Overview

Join GW Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Colette Coleman, for connection and crafting!

1:00-2:00 pm

Shared Values, Shared Humanity: An Interfaith Dialogue Across Faiths and Cultures

   Hosted by Professors Lisa Schwartz & Ahdeah Pajoohesh-Ganji, SMHS

  USC 311

Overview

Join two GW faculty members—an Iranian-born Muslim and an American-born Jew—for an engaging and heartfelt interfaith workshop exploring how faith, culture, and identity shape our relationships and shared commitments. Drawing on years of dialogue and partnership at GW and beyond, the facilitators will open with personal stories of learning, solidarity, and friendship across differences. Participants will then engage in small-group and whole-group conversations reflecting on values such as justice, compassion, and resilience, culminating in a collaborative activity to identify practical ways to strengthen interfaith and intercultural understanding on campus. This interactive session invites all to listen deeply, share authentically, and build a community rooted in empathy and mutual respect.

2:30-3:30 pm

Dialogue Program

   Hosted by Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Society (JIDS) of Washington

   USC 311

Overview

The program will begin with a brief introduction to JIDS and a panel discussion about barriers to dialogue, the value of engaging multiple narratives, and ways to respond to disagreement that lower rather than escalate tension.

6:00-8:00 pm

Relaxation Event

   Hosted by USC Program Board

   Columbian Square, USC 1st floor

Overview

Check back for more soon!

9:30-10:30 am

Chat with Dean Betsy and Chaplain Kristen

   Hosted by Mount Vernon Campus & The Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life

   Buff and Brew - Mount Vernon Campus

Overview

Join Assistant Dean Betsy Shimberg and University Chaplain Kristen Glass Perez! This is a terrific opportunity for you to engage in conversation during Interfaith Week about how your semester is going.

11:00-11:30 am

Finding Stillness Together: A Guided Interfaith Meditation

   Hosted by Professor Valerie Hadeed, SPH

  USC 311

Overview

Drawing on contemplative practices shared across traditions (breath awareness from Buddhist practice and centering prayer from Christian mysticism), the session invites participants to experience how different communities seek peace and presence. To engage the campus community, the session will be held in an accessible central space, require no prior experience, and close with a brief, optional reflection circle where participants can share what resonated.

1:00-2:00 pm

Belonging Within: Meditation, Reflection, and Connection Across Beliefs

   Hosted by Professor Janiece Morton, GWSB

  USC 311

Overview

What allows us to feel a sense of belonging while remaining grounded in our own beliefs and identities? This experiential workshop invites participants to explore the relationship between inner awareness and our ability to connect across differences in belief, identity, and worldview.

Drawing from contemplative practices in meditation and breath awareness, participants will engage in a guided meditation followed by individual reflection, an interactive activity, and facilitated dialogue. The session will create space to consider how cultivating stillness, presence, and self-awareness can support curiosity, empathy, and meaningful connection with others.

No particular religious or spiritual belief is required. Participants are invited to engage with the practices in whatever way feels authentic to them.

2:30-3:30 pm

Addressing Stressors through Creating Worry Figures

   Hosted by Professors Heidi Bardot & Jennifer Baldwin, CCAS

   USC 311

Overview

Modern day society is filled with many stressors, worries, and anxieties. Spirituality can bring a sense of calm, peace, and belonging. This interactive workshop will bring together these themes through meditation and artwork.

Two art therapy professors will lead the group through meditation to discover and name current stressors and worries that may be negatively affecting your spiritual life. Each person will then individually create a worry doll/figure that represents an aspect of themselves that can hold their worries and stressors. As a group we will come together to introduce our figures and create community, understanding, and belonging. Examples of worry figures will be shared from other cultures.

No artistic skill required. Each person will be provided a wire figure to build on.

6:45-7:45 pm

Tuesday Night Dinner

   Hosted by GW Catholics

   GW Newman Center, 2210 F St NW | Washington, DC  20037

Overview

Come join us after 6:10 p.m. mass at the GW Catholics Newman Center for a free dinner and an opportunity to meet new people! 

7:00 pm

Interfaith Week Basketball Game: GW Men's Basketball vs. Elon

   Hosted by GW Athletics

   Smith Center

Overview

Celebrate with the Division of Student Affairs as we honor Interfaith Week and Veteran's Day at the GW Men's Basketball game against Elon!

10:00 - 11:00 am

Identity and Self-Care: Living with Health, Balance, and Purpose

   Hosted by Professor Sabrina Figueiredo, SMHS

  USC 311

Overview

Many of us spend our days caring for others while quietly neglecting ourselves. Drawing on the presenter's research on health workforce well-being and on her Christian faith, this lecture examines why caregivers burn out and how a secure sense of identity makes self-care sustainable. It explores the early signs of exhaustion, the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” as one that includes care for oneself, rest as an invitation rather than a reward, and the conviction that our worth comes before our performance.

The lecture serves two Interfaith Week focus areas: Wellness, Mindfulness, and Spiritual Practices, and Interfaith Dialogue and Understanding. Speaking from her own tradition, the presenter invites listeners of every belief, and of none, to consider how their traditions speak to rest and self-worth. A moderated question-and-answer period opens space for that conversation across beliefs.

Students, faculty, and staff will leave able to recognize the signs of burnout, reflect honestly on where they neglect their own care, and choose one small, realistic change to begin that week.

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Veteran’s Day Lunch

   Hosted by GW Military and Veteran's Services

  Grand Ballroom

Overview

The Veteran’s Day Luncheon is an annual event celebrating veterans for the entire GW community at all levels: faculty, staff & students. 

Imam Dr. Talib Shareef, President of The Nation's Mosque and member of the GW Council of Chaplains, will offer the invocation. Imam Shareef, is a retired U.S. Air Force member with 30+ years of service.

2:00-3:30 pm

CISL Open House

   Hosted by the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life

   USC 240

Overview

Visit the CISL lounge for community and connection!

5:00 - 6:00 pm

Q’uran Pulse

   Hosted by Imam Abdullahi

   USC 240

Overview

The Quran Pulse explores the beauty and diversity of Qur’anic recitation, introducing participants to different qirāʾāt and recitation styles. Discover how variations in pronunciation, rhythm, and melody bring new dimensions to the experience of engaging with the Qur’an.

10:00 - 11:15 am

Remembering How We Know: Belonging Across Beliefs

   Hosted by Dr. Ina Gjikondi, GW One Humanity Lab, CPS

  USC 311

Overview

Every tradition, religious or secular, rests on a way of knowing: reason, revelation, intuition, embodied sensing, story, communal wisdom, empirical inquiry.

Through guided reflection, paired dialogue, and small-group weaving, students, faculty, and staff of any belief or none will practice curiosity about how others arrive at their truth, not only what they believe. No prior knowledge is needed. The session supports this year's theme, belonging across beliefs, and the week's invitation to open dialogue and thoughtful reflection. Participants will leave able to name their own way of knowing and listen across difference, carrying one thread of connection with someone whose path differs from theirs.

12:00 - 1:00 pm

Resonant Spheres: Duende, Improvisation, and Communities of Creative Practice

   Hosted by Professor John Warren, CPS

  Grand Ballroom

Overview

Led by GW Professor and guitarist John W. Warren (performing as Casanoches), the presentation bridges the internal discipline of art with its outward power to build community. Central to this process is the practice of quieting daily distractions to cultivate total presence. In this focused state, improvisation can tap into a cosmic source, the “Music of the Spheres;” raw, unscripted moments can evolve into formal compositions. Drawing on Federico Garcí a Lorca’s seminal theory of duende, a mysterious, haunting power that “it is not a matter of skill, but of true, vibrant style,” Warren illustrates how in-the-moment creative expression taps into flow, and into a mystical level of human connection.

Extending beyond individual practice, the session examines how creative enterprises naturally coalesce into intentional communities. Drawing on his research into “Communities of Practice” Warren demonstrates how intimate artistic gatherings offer a sanctuary for genuine human connection, shared aspirations, and mutual resonance. Artistic creation often begins in solitude, yet shared artistic encounters have potential for building enduring bonds across diverse backgrounds. Through live classical and electric guitar performances, improvisations, and reflective dialogue, participants will experience how tapping into creative flow generates both individual mindfulness and a profound sense of communal belonging.

2:30-4:00 pm

Meditate with a Monk

   Hosted by Rev. Amitha Khema, Buddha Meditation Center & Member of GW Council of Chaplains

   Continental Ballroom

Overview

This 90-minute session is open for students, faculty, and staff, welcoming people of all faiths and backgrounds.

A guided meditation will be combined with a short interactive activity and discussion. 

6:00 pm

Food for Thought: Interfaith Dinner

   Hosted by the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life

   Grand Ballroom

Overview

Join GW students, faculty, and staff for a meal, thoughtful discussion, and celebration of shared community and connection. The gathering features a fireside chat with Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Executive Director of the Graduate School of Political Management and former U.S.Representative from Florida. Through guided dialogue, participants will explore stories, experiences, and perspectives across different identities, beliefs, and worldviews.

This welcoming gathering is an opportunity to build understanding, foster meaningful relationships, and strengthen a sense of belonging among members of the GW community. 

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

One Festival - 4 faiths for 4 different reasons

   Hosted by Professor Sanjay Jain, GWSB

  USC 311

Overview

Diwali, a.k.a. Deepavali, is the festival of lights celebrated widely in fall every year in India. Did you know that followers of four different faiths - Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism -- celebrate Diwali but each faith has a different event that they are commemorating with this festival? Come learn about this multi-faith festival.

12:00 - 1:00 pm

"Ask a Religion Professor"

   Hosted by Professor Kelly Pemberton, CCAS

  USC 240, CISL Lounge

Overview

Check back for more soon!

1:30 - 2:30 pm

Jummah Prayer

   Hosted by the Muslim Students' Association (MSA)

  Grand Ballroom

Overview

Members of the GW community are invited to join the Muslim Students' Association for weekly Jummah Prayer!

2:30-3:30 pm

Finding the Shared Nature of God: A Basis for Interfaith Action and Solidarity

   Hosted by Professor Tiffany Wicks, GSEHD

   USC 311

Overview

This lecture explores how understandings of the nature and character of God shape the ways religious communities understand justice, human dignity, community, and social responsibility. Drawing from diverse theological traditions, participants will examine how beliefs about God (doxa) become embodied through ethical commitments and collective action (praxis). The lecture introduces interfaith doxa cum praxis as a framework for bringing theological belief into dialogue with lived action, particularly in movements for liberation and social justice. Participants will consider how concepts such as divine justice, compassion, liberation, love, human dignity, and solidarity can provide theological foundations for interfaith collaboration and collective resistance to oppression.

6:00 pm

Interfaith Shabbat

   Hosted by GW Hillel

   GW Hillel, 2300 H St NW, Washington, DC 20037

Overview

Join GW Hillel for an Interfaith Shabbat! 

Services will begin at 6:00 pm, followed by a meal at 7:00 pm.

Fall Concert

   Hosted by The Voice Gospel Choir

  Grand Ballroom

Overview

Join The Voice Gospel Choir for their Fall Concert!

12:00 pm

Langar

   Hosted by Sikh Student Association (SSA)

  Coming soon!

Overview

The Sikh Student Association will be hosting a Langar on Sunday, November 15th at 12 PM! 

Langar is a free community meal that brings people together through food, service, and community. Everyone is welcome to stop by, enjoy a meal, and learn a little more about Sikhism and the meaning behind Langar. We’d love to see you there!