Bettering the San Diego Region Through Multireligious Cooperation

Past Gatherings

Gatherings are SDRIC’s neutrally convened events that give opportunity for religious leaders, including lay, and leaders of relating organizations to meet each other, share a time of fellowship, and consider ways to strengthen the network of relationships and the collaborative actions that can emerge. Twice a year SDRIC hosts events to bring together faith leaders from the region to discuss topical issues important to our San Diego community. These events serve to inform and inspire action, encourage collaboration and connections, and provide opportunities to take action.

Recordings of this and our other events are available on our YouTube channel (link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NSqn-ISp0pBfq_9gftKKw). Please subscribe!

Celebrating Together: An Interfaith Dinner, April 20, 2022

SDRIC invited members of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths to join us for an interfaith dinner to celebrate the three major holy days of the Abrahamic faiths in April.

Buffet Dinner

Speakers:  Imam Taha, Msgr. Mikulanis, Rabbi Levora

Wednesday, April 20, 6:30 p.m.

Sufi Restaurant
5915 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

 

Government Innovations to End Homelessness and How Faith Communities Can Help

When: March 29, 2022 from 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Where: In-Person and Facebook LiveStream

Speakers:
Hafsa Kaka, MSW (she/her)
Director, Homelessness Strategies and Solutions
Office of Mayor Todd Gloria
City of San Diego

Omar Passons, Esq., MPH (he/him/his)
Director, Office of Homeless Solutions
Department of Homeless Solutions & Equitable Communities
County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency

Q&A

Optional Breakout Discussions

 

 

Responding to Traumatic Events: A Toolbox for Faith Leaders

When: September 14, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon

Where: Zoom Meeting and In-Person

This presentation will provide information and practical suggestions for faith leaders to increase their understanding of root causes and impacts of trauma, ways to strengthen resilience across the lifespan and how we can continue to build trauma-informed/responsive environments in our faith communities. Many causes of trauma often begin in childhood, and the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACEs) will be discussed to help inform best practice for recognizing trauma symptoms and increasing awareness of common causes of trauma, including short- and long-term effects. Historical trauma and the intergenerational transmission of trauma, post-traumatic growth and resilience will be highlighted as will the importance of cultural humility in understanding and responding to different types of traumatic events. After the training, participants will meet in one of two breakout sessions to discuss in small groups how to respond to trauma in children/adolescents and adults/elders.

The Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma (IVAT)
The Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT) is a 501(c) (3) organization that condemns violence and oppression in all its forms. We stand with all who work for equality and peace. IVAT is a leading international resource and training center, founded in 1984 as the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute (FVSAI) and is headquartered in San Diego, CA with satellite offices in Hawai`i and Maryland. IVAT is a one- stop shop to address and end violence. We host 2 international summits annually, house 3 academic journals, maintain several research databases, provide program evaluation, consultation, a wide array of training, continuing education and offer vital professional and clinical services to San Diego county and beyond. We believe collaboration across systems is key to putting an end to violence and abuse and helping people heal from traumatic events. (www.ivatcenters.org)

Speaker Bio – Sandi Capuano Morrison
Sandi Capuano Morrison, MA, has worked with victims and offenders for 27 years in CO, MA and CA and has been with IVAT since 2008. Sandi received her BA from the University of Colorado-Boulder in Psychology with a focus in Women’s Studies. Sandi was a victim advocate at Boulder County Safehouse and then a Children’s Counselor at Alternatives to Violence DV shelter before moving to Boston in 1998 and graduating from Boston College with her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. It was at BC that Sandi became certified as a Batterer Intervention Program (BIP) Facilitator and assisted with research on the process and efficacy of DV offender programs. She became the Program Director of the IMPACT Batterer Intervention Program and ran offender groups for 5 years in Boston suburbs. After moving to San Diego in 2005, Sandi managed the county-wide DV and sexual assault 24-hour hotline and volunteer program and then the city of San Diego’s Rape Crisis Center. She was a member of both the San Diego Sexual Assault Response Team and the Sex Offender Management Council and became certified by CA’s Office of Emergency Services as a DV and Sexual Assault counselor. She was also a Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) volunteer. Sandi serves on the Executive Committee of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan (NPEIV) and was a board member of Stop the Silence, Stop Child Sexual Abuse Inc. (STS) until January 2021 when STS became a department of IVAT. She has presented nationally and internationally on violence and trauma across the lifespan and is committed to empowerment-based, survivor-informed programs and processes as well as offender accountability. Sandi has interests in restorative justice, holistic healing, cultural humility, human rights, race and gender equity and social justice.

 

Recordings of this and our other events are available on our YouTube channel (link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NSqn-ISp0pBfq_9gftKKw). Please subscribe!

A PDF of Sandi Morrison’s presentation is available here.

 

Family Violence: A Pandemic Within the Pandemic

When: Tuesday, February 23, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon

Where: Zoom Meeting

We are pleased to welcome as our speakers theologian Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker and San Diego Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso. There is also time for small group discussion with five local organizations: North County Lifeline (North County Coastal), Center for Community Solutions (Inland North County), South Bay Community Services (South Bay), El Nido, Interfaith Shelter Network (Central San Diego), Crisis House (East County).

 

Recordings of this event are available on our YouTube channel (link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NSqn-ISp0pBfq_9gftKKw). Please subscribe!

An article about this event was in the San Diego Union Tribune, “Online interfaith event addresses domestic violence during the pandemic” by Lisa Deaderick (link: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/story/2021-02-21/online-interfaith-event-addresses-domestic-violence-during-the-pandemic

PDF resources on domestic violence can be found on this page of our Resources section:
https://sandiegointerfaith.org/domestic-violence/

Equity in Climate Justice: A Religious Response

When: Tuesday, September 29, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon

Where: Zoom Meeting

Featured Speakers: Dr. V. “Ram” Ramanathan, Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Sonja Robinson, Environmental and Justice Committee, NAACP San Diego

Recordings of this event are available on our YouTube channel (link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NSqn-ISp0pBfq_9gftKKw). Please subscribe!

 

 

Building Inclusive Communities in an Era of Hate, Isolation and Radicalization

 

When: Tuesday, February 18, 2020 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Optional additional workshop (registration required) will begin at 1:15 p.m.

Where: Good Samaritan Episcopal Church
4321 Eastgate Mall San Diego, CA 92121

Keynote Speaker: Cindy Cipriani, Director of Community Outreach for the U.S. Attorney’s Office

The February 18, 2020 event sought to deepen the understanding of faith leaders about isolation, its causes and effects. Faith leaders also learned how to identify individuals at risk for radicalization in their faith community.

This event included a keynote address from Cindy Cipriani, Director of Community Outreach for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who spoke about violent extremist recruitment tactics and ways to collectively prevent and address such public safety threats. Additionally, she discussed opportunities for bystanders to identify warning signs and recognize points of intervention.

An optional workshop (registration required) followed the main event. It was led by Pastor Greg Bostrom (Christ Presbyterian Church), who spoke about his experience as one of the organizers and leaders of the “Sister Faiths Group” which has been bringing together Christians, Jews, and Muslims in San Diego for more than five years to foster fellowship, mutual understanding, and collective service.

Event Agenda

Time Event
10:15 Registration
10:30 Welcome
10:40

Panel Discussion – building inclusive communities in an era of hate, isolation, and radicalization with representatives from diverse faith traditions including:

  • Dr. Deadrian Coneley, Eternal Life Apostolic Church
  • Yusef Miller, Islamic Society of North County
  • Rabbi Sammy Seid, Ner Tamid Synagogue
  • and more to be announced
11:40 Pick-Up Lunch
11:50 Small Group Discussions
12:20

Keynote

Cindy Cipriani, Director of Community Outreach for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will be speaking about violent extremist recruitment tactics and ways to collectively prevent and address such public safety threats. Additionally, she will discuss opportunities for bystanders to identify warning signs and recognize points of intervention.

12:50 Closing Remarks
1:15

Optional Workshop (registration required)

This optional workshop (registration required) will be led by Pastor Greg Bostrom (Christ Presbyterian Church), who will be speaking about his experience as one of the organizers and leaders of the “Sister Faiths Group” which has been bringing together Christians, Jews, and Muslims in San Diego for more than five years to foster fellowship, mutual understanding, and collective service.

Religious Communities in the Borderlands: What is Our Responsibility?
September 17, 2019

When: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 from 10:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Where: First United Methodist Church of San Diego’s Linder Hall
2111 Camino del Rio South, San Diego, CA 92108

Keynote Speaker: San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer

September’s event focused on immigration, broadly defined to include refugees and asylum seekers, and the responsibility of San Diego’s faith community in responding to and engaging with the immigration system and the people it affects. The event, which included a keynote from San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, took place on Tuesday, September 17 from 10:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church of San Diego’s Linder Hall (2111 Camino del Rio South, San Diego, CA 92108). There were also small breakout groups with discussions involving faith leaders and local organizations working on issues tied to immigration.

The three key themes of this event were:

  • Human Rights: Focused on legislative and policy activities (i.e. advocacy) that impact immigrants with a particular focus on human rights like movement, due process, etc.
  • Human Needs: Meeting the immediate needs of refugees and immigrants who arrive in San Diego
  • Community Resilience: Helping newly arrived individuals integrate into their communities and set them up for long-term success.

Event Agenda

Time Event
10:15 Registration
10:30 Welcome – SDRIC Board Member
10:35 SDRIC Overview – Daren Erisman, SDRIC Board Member
10:40 Welcome Address, “Setting the Context” – Dinora Reyna, Executive Director of the San Diego Organizing Project (SDOP)
11:00 Transition to breakout groups
11:10

Breakout Group Discussions

  • Human Rights – Legislative and policy activities, for example advocacy, that impact immigrants with a focus on human rights like movement and due process.
    • Pedro Rios, American Friends Service Committee
    • Enrique Morones, Border Angels
    • Carmen Chavez, Casa Cornelia Law Center
    • Pete Hasapopolos, SDOP
  • Human Needs – Meeting the immediate needs of refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants who arrive in San Diego.
    • Lauren Cusitello, American Bar Association Immigration Justice Project (IJP)
    • Chris Williams, Catholic Charities
    • Kate Clark and Lea Bush, Jewish Family Services (JFS)
    • Bill Jenkins, Safe Harbors
  • Community Resilience – Helping newly arrived individuals integrate into their communities and setting them up for long-term success.
    • Dulce Garcia, Border Dreamers Coalition
    • TBD, North County Immigration Task Force
    • Erin or Lili Serrano, San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium
11:55 Pick up lunch and transition to central space
12:10 Organizational Presentations – How can you get involved?
12:30 Keynote Address – San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer
1:00 Visit resource tables and continue discussions and networking
1:30 Conclude

Challenges and Opportunities for Law Enforcement in Building Community Relations
February 26, 2019

This event sought to deepen the understanding of faith leaders about the perspectives of law enforcement regarding the state of police-community relations and to share information about initiatives that are being implemented to successfully strengthen those relationships.

Keynote: Walt Vasquez, Chief of Police, City of La Mesa

Resource: Daniel Orth, Building Trust Partnership, University of San Diego

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 10:45 am to 1 pm
Good Sam Episcopal Church, San Diego
4321 Eastgate Mall, San Diego CA 92121

Explore Troubling Experiences of People of Color with Law Enforcement: An Interfaith Conversation
October 30, 2018

Tuesday, October 30, 2018. 10:45 AM to 1:00 PM.

Good Samaritan Episcopal Church
4321 Eastgate Mall, San Diego, CA 92121

PRESENTERS

  • Ms. Tasha Williamson, Justice for Earl McNeil
  • Dr. Darwin Fishman, Racial Justice Coalition (RJC)
  • Pastor Cornelius Tshobe Bowser, Community Assistance Support Team (CAST)

and

Resource: Daniel Orth, Building Trust Partnership, Kroc School at the University of San Diego

Breakout Sessions following the Presentations

What You Don’t Know About Homelessness and What You Can Do To Help
February 27, 2018

Tuesday, February 27, 2018. 10:45 am to 1 pm.  Location was First United Methodist Church, Mission Valley, 2111 Camino del Rio South, San Diego CA, 92116.

Bridges to Action on Human Trafficking
September 26, 2017

Tuesday, September 26, 2017. 10:45 am to 1 pm.  Location was First United Methodist Church, Mission Valley, 2111 Camino del Rio South, San Diego CA, 92116.

Bridges to Action
February 28, 2017

Topics included the refugee situation in San Diego, a special Habitat for Humanity interfaith project, and the San Diego Interfaith Disaster Council.

Building Bridges to Hope and Healing
September 27, 2016

Building Bridges to Hope and Healing was the third gathering of religious leaders sponsored by the San Diego Regional Interfaith Collaborative.  It was held on Tuesday, September 27, 2016, at the Islamic Center of San Diego of San Diego, and featured a talk by Imam Taha Hassane and follow-up table conversation.

Videos of Imam Taha’s talk can be found on Youtube:

Crossing Bridges
February 23, 2016

Crossing Bridges was the second gathering, held on February 23, 2016.  It featured a panel on civility in discourse and breakout sessions in the areas of fellowship, issues, and community need.  The pdf below has the contents of the flash drive that was given out at the Feb. 23 gathering of religious leaders.  Contact us at sdricinterfaith@gmail.com if you would like specific items from the pdf.

Flash Drive contents 1

Building Bridges
October 27, 2015

Goals of the first gathering on October 27, 2015 were to:

  • hear newly installed Catholic Bishop Robert McElroy’s thoughts on “Building Bridges” among us in San Diego
  • become acquainted with each other so that we as leaders of the San Diego region may offer common understanding, support and collaboration in the midst of crisis and disaster
  • identify key issues and areas of concern in the greater San Diego region that require more than any one group can accomplish by themselves

Edited Excerpts of the Keynote at Building Bridges

Videos of the keynote, Q&A, and Peggy’s song are on the SDRIC Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=san+diego+regional+interfaith+collaborative

Welcome to SDRIC!
We are a community of communities who believe that sharing, learning and serving together benefits everyone. We therefore invite you to not only explore the opportunities to learn about other traditions, but to join in the conversation, make a few friends and work together to make the greater San Diego region a better place.

Email us at sdricinterfaith@gmail.com  to know about upcoming opportunities to join the conversation.

Who belongs?
Anyone who desires to benefit San Diego. There is no formal membership. This is a neutral, non-political, non-discriminatory collaborative of communities, agencies and individuals. People of every religious tradition as well as those who do not identify with any tradition are welcome to participate.

Groups, organizations and individuals can help defray the costs of this nonprofit site. Please vist the Donate tab.

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