To celebrate its first year, our sister publication Heart-Centered Living News published a special edition gathering every monthly “From D.C. with Love” segment in one issue. The list may be from last year, but the people and organizations highlighted here continue to work intentionally to uplift the nation’s capital. There are many “bests” in the District of Columbia–this list features just a handful.
Enjoy!
The Interfaith Life
- The Rumi Forum fosters interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding. Check out videos of past events on Youtube and this booklet of interfaith dialogue quotes.
- Love your neighbor by learning about different holidays from the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington.
- Explore the offerings at Svivah, a DC-based Jewish non-profit that welcomes any woman of any faith or no faith who wants to be there.
The Afterlife
- Acclaimed broadcast journalist Diane Rehm is a native Washingtonian and has spearheaded the right-to-die movement in her film When My Time Comes.
- And speaking of death, a group of scientists at the University of Virginia studies consciousness in order to “accommodate genuine spiritual experience without lose of scientific integrity.” Allie Ward’s Ologies podcast featuring Dr. Bruce Greyson on near-death experiences should pique your curiosity!
Peace and Politics
- Sitting in Congress right now, H.R. Bill 1111 aims to establish a Department of Peacebuilding. The Peace Alliance, a grassroots non-profit dedicated to peace building, shares a reader-friendly summary of the bill here.
- In most faith traditions, the idea of hate, obscenity, misinformation and harassment would fall under behaviors to avoid in a spiritual life. But they’re also criteria to navigate the grey area between freedom of speech and civil, ethical behavior. The Freedom Forum breaks it all down in a handy guide.
Faith and Justice
- Sojourners Magazine has offices in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and is ecumenical Christian media at the intersection of social and racial justice. You can read many articles for free online, including this thought-provoking one “What Does it Mean to Say Jesus is Palestinian?”
- The Washington National Cathedral’s Now and Forever project replaced Confederate-themed windows with racial justice ones designed by African-American artist Kerry James Marshall.
Art and Culture
- “Creative Encounters: Living Religions in the U.S.” was part of last year’s 55th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Enjoy parts of that program on video, including the Healing Power of Storytelling, Indigenous Oceanic Ways of Knowing, an evening of Caribbean spirituality and a rousing gospel performance.
- Anne Lindberg’s exhibit at The Textile Museum asked what color is divine light while Prayer and Transcendence featured the iconography of prayer rugs.
- The Reed Society for the Sacred Arts, headquartered in Bethesda, brings beautiful, mysticism-inspired events to the DC region. Beauty in Solitude (2021) explored a centuries-old DC connection to sacred calligraphy.
- Suspicious Cheese Lords may have a humorous name but their sacred choral music is nothing short of sublime. Headphones recommended for the rich polyphony in Illumina Oculus Meos.
- Listening While Muslim DJ’d a set at a coffee shop in DC for Ramadan. What do free jazz and hip hop have to do with Islam? Listen on.
Featured Image
Luther Wright’s #PaintTheStorefronts hearts appeared all over DC during the early days of the pandemic. The colorful images inspired me to think about the concept of HeartCenteredDC. More about the city-wide, multi-artist campaign in this Good Morning America segment.
Have a “best of DC” that you love? Tell me about it!
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