From 2013 to 2019, ICJS, in partnership with the Washington Theological Consortium, hosted an intensive annual Emerging Religious Leaders Course to advance Jewish-Christian understanding amongst rising Jewish and Christian clergy.
Beginning in 2022, the course will alternate between hosting Jewish and Christian students (odd years) and Muslim and Christian students (even years).
“I am forever grateful for the experience,” Minister Amie Carter says about her week as a student at the ICJS Emerging Religious Leaders course in 2013, as part of her seminary training.
This retreat has been one of the most formative pieces of my first year of seminary. There is a piece of my personal vision and purpose that is easy for me to lose sight of when in my own religious bubble and language. Broadening my experience to interact with emerging leaders in different faith traditions brought me back to some of the highest sense of my calling.
We’re getting to know people on a deeper level. We study each other’s texts, and we can ask each other questions. And, we have time to listen and reflect about these questions.
As a future rabbi, I believe it’s my responsibility to know the role that faith plays in my congregants’ communities. And for almost all congregants, their communities include Christians and Christian influences. Emerging Religious Leaders was also a great fit because the best interfaith learning comes from relationships and conversations.