InterfaithCincy, in partnership with A Blessing to One Another, is offering Interfaith Community Engagement Grants. Any Faith community or any faith-based youth group that partners with a faith community or youth group from another faith tradition to work on a community engagement project can apply. To view the grant application, please click here. For Information and application form contact Dr. James Buchanan at A Blessing to One Another at interfaithcincy@gmail.com.
“We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.”
U.S. President John F. Kennedy
A quarter-century removed from the September 11 attacks, a new generation knows only the dread and despair that dominate the narrative of now. Authoritarian governance, climate collapse, and techno-dystopia recalibrate a reality once set on the promise of tomorrow. Human rights and democracy face unprecedented existential threats. Legal foundations fray under bombardment while illiberal forces celebrate cruelty. Nation-states retreat from cooperation with others, looking inward and backward for scapegoats and excuses.
What’s worse, the mechanics we have to build new futures have themselves been endangered and hacked. Local law enforcement chills free expression and violates the rights of assembly with military-grade gear, immigration enforcement is weaponized to punish political opposition, and terrorism statutes outlaw protest across continents. From heightened digital authoritarianism in East Asia to the suppression of civil society in parts of Africa, the criminalization of social movements across the Americas, and the tightening grip on media in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, threats to the basic freedoms of democracy are everywhere. Documentation could be deep-faked while malignant algorithms surveil and shape online communities. Reliable philanthropic resources are evaporating at the very moment when investment in movement infrastructure is so essential.
These are difficult times, but a shift is underway.
Amidst this contracting civic space, a powerful counter-narrative is emerging. From mural movements and punk protests to indigenous artistic revivals, from digital memorials and silent theater to TikTok activism and algorithmic subversion, social movements are redefining the very act of resistance and actively defending fundamental human rights in powerfully creative ways. These movements are at the forefront of protecting the rights to assembly, association, belief, opinion, free expression, and dissent – all indispensable pillars of a healthy democracy. In this hostile environment, artistic expression and digital technologies have not merely become modes of activism and advocacy; they are now urgent tools for preserving democratic space, directly challenging structural violence, and amplifying marginalized voices. This convening of social movement scholars and practitioners of human rights links directly to the defense of democracy as a core objective.
In this spirit, the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton will convene the 2026 Social Practice of Human Rights (SPHR) conference to center this critical conjuncture. As the weight of disinformation, militarization, and belligerent politics bears down, communities are demonstrating remarkable adaptability. They are innovating, finding new ways to speak truth to power, to organize effective movements, and to reclaim public discourse. From the poignant street art that bears witness to state violence to the encrypted messaging apps that enable safe mobilization, the convergence of art and technology is fundamentally reshaping the architecture of protest and the defense of democratic ideals.
SPHR26 will take place on April 9-11 at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. #SPHR26 is planned as a hybrid event experience at this time. Virtual, as well as some in-person participation, is envisioned.
Advocacy Story-Sharing and Pot-luck Party
Join Faith Communities Go Green at Washington UCC, 2950 Sidney Avenue, Camp Washington. This congregation is a hub of love and courage for its community, and is starting to shape its environmental ministry. Bring your advocacy stories and hopes for environmental action, and a dish to share. Share this link with friends so they can register too!
Furnace Mountain Virtual Day Long Retreat
These retreat are open to anyone interested.
No previous Zen- or meditation practice experience is required.
These retreats are a cooperation of all affiliated centers and teachers.
The day-long retreats consist of four 2-hour practice blocks throughout the day, with different teachers offering a dharma talk during each of the practice blocks.
More information can be found at: https://www.furnacemountainzen.org/day-long-retreats.html
Baha'i Center Hosts Sacred Friendships Event
By Deb Vance
Cincinnati, OH -- Two members of the Baha'i community in Cincinnati have worked on the steering committee for the Cincinnati Festival of Faiths since it began in 2018. After the success of our first Festival, the committee wanted to continue fostering our interfaith friendships by creating ongoing activities throughout the year giving us all opportunities to learn about each other’s faiths by visiting each other’s congregations, experiencing their worship services and having the opportunity to engage in question and answer sessions about their religions. Participating Faith members have included Hindus, Zoroastrians, Pagans, Jews, Indigenous Americans, Buddhists, Christians, Moslems, Sikhs, and Baha'is. Although we’re all still welcome to attend each other’s services and programs, we wanted to find ways to bring our community even closer together.
This year we’ve begun a dialogue model which should enable us to share our beliefs more fully. The first session of what we’re calling Sacred Friendships was held at the Baha’i Center in Cincinnati. After a potluck dinner, we broke into conversational groups of three or four people of different faiths who explore specific topics that are common among religions. As at other such gatherings, between 30 and 50 people attended each session.
The topic we chose was the Covenant which happens to be a central feature of the Baha’i Faith. We asked everyone to share their understanding of the covenant which their Prophet had made with God: what does it mean to you? For Baha'is all covenants have two parts. The Greater Covenant is about the unchanging spiritual principles common among all faiths, exemplified by such words as, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Lesser Covenants are about each Prophet's changes in calendars, diets, marriage and divorce, and other social details of the times in which They had lived. I learned from speaking with several Christians that the covenant isn’t as prominent in their teachings.
We all left the event having made new friendships and carrying with us some learnings about what we all have in common and areas where our religions differ.
Several Baha’is in southwest Ohio host interfaith discussion group. One which is convenient to the college is the Baha’is in Lebanon who host a monthly interfaith devotional/discussion group which meets on the third Sunday evening of the month. It begins with a potluck supper followed by readings and discussion on a given topic. If interested please contact for more information sylviahadley2@gmail.com or 937-623-2416.
Business Canvassing Training
Learn how to canvass businesses in your neighborhood to share information about immigrant’s rights.
Business Canvassing TrainingTuesday, December 2
5:30 - 6:30 PM
Zoom - Register here
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Interfaith Cincinnati
The topic we chose was the Covenant which happens to be a central feature of the Baha’i Faith. We asked everyone to share their understanding of the covenant which their Prophet had made with God: what does it mean to you? For Baha'is all covenants have two parts. The Greater Covenant is about the unchanging spiritual principles common among all faiths, exemplified by such words as, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Lesser Covenants are about each Prophet's changes in calendars, diets, marriage and divorce, and other social details of the times in which They had lived. I learned from speaking with several Christians that the covenant isn’t as prominent in their teachings.
We all left the event having made new friendships and carrying with us some learnings about what we all have in common and areas where our religions differ.
Several Baha’is in southwest Ohio host interfaith discussion group. One which is convenient to the college is the Baha’is in Lebanon who host a monthly interfaith devotional/discussion group which meets on the third Sunday evening of the month. It begins with a potluck supper followed by readings and discussion on a given topic. If interested please contact for more information sylviahadley2@gmail.com or 937-623-2416. 
