School of Sacred Ministries

Why Interfaith Collaboration Matters in Healthcare

Podcast: Why Interfaith Collaboration Matters in Healthcare (March 25, 2026) -- Suzanne Watts Henderson discusses how interfaith engagement elevates human flourishing, including in the healthcare and caregiving spaces.
https://www.interfaithamerica.org/article/why-interfaith-collaboration-matters-in-healthcare/

"CROSSROADS...exploring research on religion, spirituality and health" for June 2026. From Duke University's Center for Spirituality, Theology & Health. Covers research, news, special events, resources, and training opportunities. Free download [PDF].
https://spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/files/2026/05/CSTH-Newsletter_June_2026.pdf

Past issues: https://spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/index.php/publications/crossroads/

A song for observing : "Let Them In" as performed by John Gorka. Perhaps, one day, we can truly tell all fallen soldiers that "It's gonna be alright with us down here."

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0jKD48TrW8

Lyrics:
Let them in, Peter
They are very tired
Give them couches where the angels sleep
And light those fires
Let them wake whole again
To brand new dawns
Fired by the sun not wartime's
Bloody guns
May their peace be deep
Remember where the broken bodies lie
God knows how young they were
To have to die
God knows how young they were
To have to die
So give them things they like
Let them make some noise
Give dance hall bands not golden harps
To these our boys
And let them love, Peter
For they've had no time
They should have trees and bird songs
And hills to climb
The taste of summer in a ripened pear
And girls sweet as meadow wind
With flowing hair
And tell them how they are missed
But say not to fear
It's gonna be alright
With us down here
Let them in, Peter
Let them in, Peter
Let them in, Peter

The Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia joins Penn Live Arts to host an INTERFAITH VIGIL FOR PEACE on June 5, 2026...

On June 5, 2026, the Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia in partnership with Penn Live Arts present: an INTERFAITH VIGIL FOR PEACE.

Learn More: https://pennlivearts.org/events/tollthebell.php

__June 5, 2026__

Interfaith Vigil Service –
12:15 PM | Annenberg Center

Reflective Walk –
12:55 PM | From the Annenberg Center to Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral

Sound Installation –
1 PM | City-wide

Reception –
1:15–2:30 PM | Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral

The International Day of Living Together in Peace is observed annually on May 16 per UN resolution A/RES/72/130 (adopted by the General Assembly on December 8, 2017). The 2026 theme of this day is "Building Trust through Dialogue, Inclusion and Reconciliation." Peace, understanding, and dialogue are also interfaith/inter-religious goals.

Read more at the UN website: https://www.un.org/en/observances/living-in-peace-day

Image description: The mural at the United Nations Headquarters by Spanish artist Jose Vela Zanetti illustrates mankind’s enduring quest for lasting peace. Spanning more than 18 meters in length and nearly 4 meters in height, it vividly captures this universal struggle. Photo: ©UN /John Isaac

Hope you all had a blessed May Day! Here are some resources and readings about the holy day.

May Day’s Weird and Wonderful Pagan Roots
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news/may-day-s-weird-and-wonderful-pagan-roots-001608

The Pagan Roots of May Day
https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-pagan-roots-of-may-day

Merry May Day!
https://wildhunt.org/2023/05/merry-may-day-2.html

Sacred Fire: Beltane’s Indo-European Roots and Multicultural Connections
https://wildhunt.org/2023/04/sacred-fire-beltanes-indo-european-roots-and-multicultural-connections.html

Beltane
https://druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-festivals/beltane

Beltane Is About More Than Fire and Fertility
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/beltane-origins

Image: ‘May Day Central Park’ (1901) by Maurice Prendergast (via ancient-origins.net)

Via JewBelong: Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) for Hebrew Year 5786 begins at sundown on Monday, 13 April 2026 and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, 14 April 2026. Like many things these days, it’s hard to know what to do. Fortunately, small acts make a difference. You can choose to light a virtual candle.

Go to www.illuminatethepast.org and click the yellow button that says “Light a memorial candle.” Illuminate the Past will immediately give you the name and any known facts about someone who was murdered in the Holocaust. Most victims have no one left to remember them, so it becomes our honor and responsibility to do so.

You can also add some words of your own as well as your name.

Illuminate the Past makes it easy for all of us to do this mitzvah of remembering. A little light goes a long way.

For our colleagues, friends, and followers who observe Easter, here is beautiful meditation by the late Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B. It is titled, "The Empty Tomb."

For Easter morning, here is a meditation on the empty tomb by Macrina Weiderkehr, OSB.

Take heed of the message: "I call you to let go of even good things -- of even good images of me-- in order to BE ME more completely."

What could be more mythic than living like that?

-------------------------
// They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him. (John 20:2 -- Jerusalem Bible) //

I stood beside the tomb weeping. The tomb was my heart. Peering inside I saw an angel. Ah, at least a bit of the divine -- an angel in my heart! The One I love is making certain that even when he's gone there's a guest in my heart. The angel looked at me. "Why are you weeping?" she asked.

Why am I weeping! They have taken away the One I love and I haven't the slightest clue about where they put him.
Then turning, I saw a stranger. "Are you responsible for his absence?" I asked. The stranger spoke my name. I knew the voice, but before I could touch him, he said to me: "Do not cling to me. Do not cling to your past images of me. Do not cling to a mere part of me. Do not cling to the moment when I was closest to you, or when I was most absent. Do not cling to multiplied loaves, calmed seas, water changing into wine, withered fig trees, or blind people seeing again. To cling to any one image of me will never be enough for you. Do not cling to what you once knew of me.

"I call you to let go of even good things -- of even good images of me-- in order to BE ME more completely. And I promise in those moments of despair when you look for me and can't find me -- and there will be many -- to leave an angel in your heart to help convince you that I'm alive.

"Now go! Go and live me. But do not cling to me. If you cling to me you will never BE ME in the world. I ask for nothing less than total transformation. It will not be easy. It will not be soon. But CHEER UP; there's an angel in your heart."

-------------------------------------
Macrina Weiderkehr, OSB, (July 28, 1939-April 24, 2020)
A TREE FULL OF ANGELS - Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary
(Harper Collins, 1990) Paperback; 176 pages; ISBN: 0062548689

In this book, the Benedictine tradition and practice of divine reading made accessible for everyone. Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B., was a member of St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, AR. She directed retreats and workshops throughout the United States. She authored and co-authored several books including "A Tree Full of Angels" and "Seasons of Your Heart".

Image: Light entering inside cave at daytime | https://www.pikrepo.com/flpjk/light-entering-inside-cave-at-daytime | License to use Creative Commons Zero - CC0

*Advancing Hope, Dismantling Hate* – Free series of online Zoom sessions from ICJS (Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies) on building a multireligious democracy.
https://icjs.org/advancing-hope-dismantling-hate-all-events/

*From the event page*:
Join Heather Miller Rubens, ICJS Executive Director and Roman Catholic Scholar, in conversation with ICJS program and scholar team members to unpack why ICJS works to make religious difference a powerful force for good. Each of the three sessions will have a different focus area:
- Congregations, Clergy, & Chaplains
- Teachers & Schools
- Nonprofits, Museums & Libraries

Whether you’re interfaith-curious or an interfaith skeptic, choose one or attend all three!

To our colleagues, friends, and followers who observe Good Friday, we hope today was a deeply moving beginning to your Easter weekend.