Celebrating a Milestone!
25 Years Ago Today...
On Nov. 17, 1996, a sea of white canopies spanned the floor of Louisville Gardens, which had been transformed to resemble a 19th-century tent revival. This first-ever Festival of Faiths sought to tell the unique story of Louisville’s spiritual heritage — a rich history that began as settlers crossed over the Appalachian Mountains and landed here, bringing with them diverse traditions. Dozens of local congregations and religiously affiliated institutions participated in this unprecedented event.

“I don’t know of any place else where they’re doing this,” the Rev. Kenneth Smith of the Chicago Theological Seminary said upon attending the first Festival of Faiths, which he hailed as a model for bringing people together. That was 25 years ago this week — and we continue to foster unity through interfaith dialogue, education and celebration!
In honor of the 25th anniversary month of the Festival of Faiths, we are revisiting key moments in Festival history.
Click here to follow along on our journey.
And as we observe this milestone, we invite you to consider donating “$25 for 25” to support our mission. 
Diwali, also known as Deepavali or the Festival of Lights, is one of the most important holidays for Hindus. Often compared to Christmas in the west, this holiday is celebrated with different forms of light that symbolize the victory of good over evil. The five-day festival straddles the new moon, with different celebrations on each day. This year, the main day of celebrations took place on Saturday, Nov. 14.
 
As per the Hindu epic “Ramayana,” Diwali is the day when Lord Rama, Goddess Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman returned to the city of Ayodhya after spending 14 years in forests.
Wisdom Wednesday
Exemplifying "Radical Presence"
Our latest #WisdomWednesday features Carolyn Finney at the 2019 Festival of Faiths, "Sacred Cosmos: Faith and Science." During this session, the storyteller, author and cultural geographer discusses purpose and faith, and she shares stories of people who exemplify “Radical Presence.”

Click the photo to watch the clip, or check out the full session on YouTube.
Festival Flashback
Music that "stirs the soul"
Please enjoy this encore gospel performance by Sharron Sales during an After-Hours program at the 2018 Festival of Faiths: "Sacred Insight, Feminine Wisdom." This particular program explored the evocative and mysterious ability of music to “stir the soul” through a collection of musical performances representing sacred practices, including contemplation, praise and faith-filled activism.
Thomas Merton
On creating our own identity and destiny
Every Monday, we share a bit of Thomas Merton's wisdom to get the week started. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to be among the first to see #MertonMonday.

You can find past #MertonMonday installments on the CIR blog.
Common Action
Support Louisville Story Program
For this #CommonAction, we encourage you to check out the Louisville Story Program’s latest offering, “The Fights We Fought Have Brought Us Here.” The book features stories by 10 young writers from Central High School, which is Muhammad Ali's alma mater.

Please join them for a virtual book launch on Facebook on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. Click here to order the book.
Inspiration
(In 280 Characters or Less)
Sometimes wise words appear in the most unexpected places — like Twitter. Check out this week's enlightening tweet...
Special Thanks To Our Institutional Partners
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