Join us at the 30th annual Festival of Faiths as we celebrate Sacred Courage and explore the many ways we can lead with radical love, stand for justice and embody bravery rooted in purpose. Through dialogue, workshops, art and music, the festival will foster a courageous compassion that honors our interdependence, calls us toward the common good and emboldens us to act.
Thursday, November 12, 2026
8:15 AM – 9:00 AM
Spiritual Practice: Interfaith Prayer
Believing that a model of collaborative worship is needed more than ever in our broad religious landscape, faith leaders from Judaism, Islam and Christianity will offer a story of courage from their faith tradition before leading attendees in a devotional practice. You are welcome to attend as worshipers, or simply to learn about the worship practices that are central to these faiths.
Led by Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, Imam Ayman Soliman, Rev. Kilen Gray
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Inspired Roots: Courage Grounded in Faith
In the Quran, Asiya confronted the Pharoah. The Buddha Siddhartha Gautama left the palace to live in asceticism. Esther stood up against Haman to save Persia’s Jews in the Hebrew Bible. Within each of our faiths, we look toward stories of unlikely heroes to find strength in the midst of adversity and despair. In this panel, spiritual teachers, historians, and storytellers will share the roots of their courage and how faith can anchor us amidst the challenges of our time.
Speakers: Dr. Paul Knitter, Dr. Shannen Dee Williams, Gene Tagaban
Moderator: Lewis Brogdon, JustFaith Ministries
Musical Interlude: Meena Atif
*Book signing to immediately follow with Paul Knitter and Shannen Dee Williams
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
FAITH-IN - Bridges to Belonging: In Jerusalem and Beyond
At a time of growing polarization, how can interfaith leadership help bring people together? Join Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum and journalist James Harding for a live on-stage interview exploring Rabbi Tamar’s efforts to build a faith community of care for all in the heart of Jerusalem — and what communities everywhere can learn from her vision of shared society, dialogue and belonging.
Speakers: Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, James Harding
Musical Interlude: Yahala Lachmish
Workshop Overview
Attendees with a full festival pass or day pass are given priority to select workshops at no additional cost. The workshops will then be free and open to all others on a first come, first serve basis. These are non-ticketed sessions.
Step into a new workshop experience designed to be intimate, engaging, and deeply practical. These smaller sessions invite guests to connect with inspiring teachers, try meaningful practices, and leave with tools they can carry into daily life.
In each workshop, guests will:
-Enjoy an interactive 45-minute session in a welcoming group of approximately 30–50 participants
-Take part in small-group conversations, hands-on learning, and embodied practices
-Learn directly from Festival of Faiths speakers and experienced Louisville community teachers
Each session offers a focused, skill-building experience to help participants discover courage within themselves and put it into practice with greater confidence, compassion, and purpose.
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
How-To Workshop #1:
Faith & Technology: Courageously Navigating AI with Theo Edmonds
If you feel overwhelmed, fragmented, or anxious about keeping up with rapid technological changes like AI, you are experiencing what is called Innovation Grief™, the struggle to metabolize uncertainty and move forward in times of massive change. AI did not create this spiritual and emotional stress, but it has accelerated it. As technology continues to shift, how do we maintain our spiritual grounding, honor human primacy, and move forward with courage rather than fear?
Led by Culture Futurist Theo Edmonds from Colorado’s WREN Institute, this session will help you recognize the toll that rapid change takes on your mind and your team. You will learn how to turn wonder from a fleeting feeling into a practical, daily skill that restores your ability to imagine a faithful future. Participants will walk away with a concrete practice to transform technological anxiety into a powerful, creative advantage for your life and work.
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
How-To Workshop #2:
Water By Women: How To Start a Movement
There are numerous ways compassionate courage is needed in our world. Join a wisdom circle with founders and champions of Water by Women to learn how an interfaith collaboration can go from dialogue to doing. Participants will come away from this workshop with an understanding of an effective model to start a justice-oriented effort and the opportunity to deeply listen to what their own “watershed moment” might be.
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM
How-To Workshop #3:
The Courage to Tell Your Story: An Interactive Storytelling Journey with Gene Tagaban
Every person carries stories that have shaped who they are. Stories of loss, joy, belonging, and becoming. In this workshop, participants will explore the art of storytelling as a pathway to connection, healing, and courage. Drawing on traditional earth teachings and indigenous wisdom, participants will discover ways to connect their experiences and identity to a larger story. This workshop will include guided exercises and practical tools to empower the participants to speak authentically and recognize their own courageous story through their unique voice!
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM
How-To Workshop #4:
The Bones That Carry Us: A Somatic Movement Practice with Maria Whitley
Courage takes its name from the heart. Sacred takes its name from a bone: the sacrum, or os sacrum, the sacred base of the spine. Above it, the sternum protects the heart. Between these two bones, we find a powerful way to explore how we meet the world.
Through somatic movement, participants will use the sacrum and sternum as touchstones for an embodied reflection and practice. Breath, gentle guided movement, and conscious sensation will support an accessible exploration of courage, grounding, and embodied presence.
Good to know:
-No dance or movement experience is needed.
-All bodies, ages, and traditions are welcome.
-Comfortable clothing is recommended.
-Movement may be practiced standing or seated, and every invitation can be adapted to your body on the day.
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
The Future We Choose: A Live Podcast Recording
How do we meet this moment with courage and conviction? Join historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez and the Rev. Paul Raushenbush for a live recording of the Interfaith Alliance podcast The State of Belief, a weekly conversation where religion and democracy meet. Join Paul and Kristin as they discuss her new book, Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made. Together, they will explore the challenges of our time and the possibilities for change, examining how collaboration, community-building and collective action can help shape a more just and hopeful future.
Speakers: Rev. Paul Raushenbush, Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Music: Dick Sisto Trio
*Book signing to immediately follow with Kristin Du Mez
Friday, November 13, 2026
8:15 AM – 9:00 AM
Spiritual Practice: Integrated Mindfulness
Start your day with therapist, coach and educator Shelly Sowell as she draws on various traditions to provide an integrated practice of everyday mindfulness, including reflective journaling, intentional stillness, and shamanic inspiration.
Led by Shelly Sowell, M.Ed
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Embodying Courage
"Courage is what love looks like when tested by the simple everyday necessities of being alive," writes poet and philosopher David Whyte. So how do we move from inspiration to action? In a time when voices of change are more needed than ever, how can we embody courage with a steadfast participation in life? In this panel, join writers, artists, and community builders in discovering how each individual lives out their unyielding bravery.
Speakers: Safia Elhillo, Rima Vesely-Flad, Kaitlin Curtice
Moderator: Sadiqa Reynolds
Musical Interlude: Sara Callaway
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Fierce Love: Courage to Heal our Souls and the World
Inspired by Dr. Jacqui Lewis’s book Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness that Can Heal the World, this session explores how courageous compassion can become a transformative force for personal and collective healing. In a time marked by division and exhaustion, Lewis vibrantly invites us to embrace a love that is liberating, brave, and rooted in justice.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jacqui Lewis
Workshop Overview
Attendees with a full festival pass or day pass are given priority to select workshops at no additional cost. The workshops will then be free and open to all others on a first come, first serve basis. These are non-ticketed sessions.
Step into a new workshop experience designed to be intimate, engaging, and deeply practical. These smaller sessions invite guests to connect with inspiring teachers, try meaningful practices, and leave with tools they can carry into daily life.
In each workshop, guests will:
-Enjoy an interactive 45-minute session in a welcoming group of approximately 30–50 participants
-Take part in small-group conversations, hands-on learning, and embodied practices
-Learn directly from Festival of Faiths speakers and experienced Louisville community teachers
Each session offers a focused, skill-building experience to help participants discover courage within themselves and put it into practice with greater confidence, compassion, and purpose.
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
How-To Workshop #5:
Want to Talk? Tools for Hard Conversations with JustFaith Ministries
Conflict is part of life, but it does not need to leave us feeling defeated or disconnected. Whether you find yourself in a heated disagreement with a spouse, navigating political angst in your faith community, facilitating interfaith dialogue, or working for systemic change, this workshop will introduce you to practical tools for deepening your relationships while staying true to your values. Facilitator, JustFaith Ministries, exists to inspire and equip faith communities to seek justice in their local communities and beyond.
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
How-To Workshop #6:
Picking Up the Pieces: Processing Through Collage with KMAC Contemporary Art Museum
After a day of engaging courageous expressions of faith, it is natural to need a space to metabolize the new ideas. This experiential workshop invites participants to move from listening to creating. By cutting, tearing, and layering different images, texts, and sacred symbols, one can bypass words and speak directly from the soul. Envision what courage could look like in life and community. Creatively decompress. Consider the holistic calling to greater compassion and conviction.
Join KMAC Museum educators to create a reflective piece of art and walk away with a visual reminder that fuels a continuous path of courage.
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM
How-To Workshop #7:
From Poison to Power: How to Transform Our Energy with Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad
Learn compassion practices that start by offering loving-kindness to oneself and culminate in offering loving-kindness to people with whom we are in conflict. Participants will begin with cultivating a sense of inner safety and security and will gradually extend this sense of well-being to people whom we find difficult. In so doing, the group will aspire to transform the energy of aversion (hurt, anger, even hatred) to an energy of stability and compassion.
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM
How-To Workshop #8:
Self-Love with Laughter with Melanie Rudolph
Laughter Yoga combines playful laughter exercises with deep breathing to boost mood, reduce stress and energize the body —- no jokes or yoga mats required. In a lighthearted group setting, you’ll laugh intentionally, breathe deeply and quickly feel more relaxed, uplifted and connected. Laughter increases oxygen flow, releases endorphins, strengthens immunity, and quiets the mind. Participants will depart lighter, brighter, and full of joy. Come and discover how good it feels to simply laugh.
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Concert & Closing Celebration
Join us for a joyous celebration to close out the 30th Festival of Faiths and commemorate three decades of interfaith dialogue, authentic connection and common action. From inspiring performances to honoring local luminaries, this energizing program will inspire attendees to go forth with renewed courage!
