2018 Festival of Faiths
“Sacred Insight, Feminine Wisdom”
2018 FESTIVAL OF FAITHS
The 23rd annual Festival explores practices, teachings, and insight rooted in feminine wisdom. The Festival seeks to offer deeper insight into the Sacred Feminine in all of us.
VIDEOS
SPEAKERS
Najah Bazzy
Najah Bazzy, R.N., is a Transcultural Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Diversity Specialist. She is executive director and founder of Zaman International. She is CEO of Diversity Specialists and Transcultural Health Care Solutions. Najah has an extensive background in critical care nursing with special expertise in cross cultural health care.
Najah Bazzy on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Mary Berry
Mary Berry is the executive director of the Berry Center in New Castle, Ky. She has spent most of her life farming in her native Kentucky, beginning on Lanes Landing Farm, owned by her parents, Wendell and Tanya Berry. Her own extensive experience farming has expanded with the creation of the Berry Center, where she shares the messages of her father, the renowned poet, essayist, environmentalist, and novelist. Mary speaks all over the country as a proponent of sustainable agriculture, small farmers, and rural communities.
Mary Berry on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Pravrajika Brahmaprana
Pravrajika Brahmaprana joined the Saranda Convent at the Vedanta Society of Southern California in 1973 and has been an ordained sannyasini since 1984. She is the resident minister of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. She is the author of books, and articles, on the philosophy, and practice, of Vedanta for journals, and anthologies, in America, and abroad.
Pravrajika Brahmaprana on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Schuyler Brown
Schuyler Brown is a futurist, facilitator, and communications strategist. Her company, Sightful, provides insight, strategy, and training to create conscious organizations and support visionary leaders in the corporate world and in social justice movements. She was named one of Origin Magazine’s 100 Top Creatives; and has taught social innovation at The School of Visual Arts. Her work infuses contemporary business practices with mystical and feminine wisdom principles.
Schuyler Brown on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Nina Beth Cardin
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin is a rabbi, author, and environmental activist. In 1978 she founded the Jewish Women’s Resource Center. In 1988 she was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary. In 1994 she became the founding associate director of the National Center for Jewish Healing, and in 2006 she founded the Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network. From 2007 until 2009 she was general consultant to the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life. In 2011, she founded the Baltimore Orchard Project, which grows and distributes fruit to the poor in Baltimore.
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Monica A. Coleman
Monica A. Coleman is professor of Constructive Theology and African-American Religions at Claremont School of Theology in Southern California. Answering her call to the ministry at 19 years of age, she is an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She brings her experiences in evangelical Christianity, black church traditions, global ecumenical work, and indigenous spirituality to her discussions of theology, and religion. Her book “Making a Way Out of No Way” is required reading at leading theological schools around the country.
Monica A. Coleman on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Hannah Drake
Hannah Drake is a poet, and novelist, whose focus is on inspiring hope, and deliverance, believing that her words will ultimately be used for true transformation. In 2014, she joined Roots and Wings, a dynamic group of artists based in Louisville who seek to bring social change within their community. Her powerful, honest delivery has given her the nickname “Brimstone.” She has published two novels, and is currently working on a new collection of poetry, and life lessons entitled “Love, Revolution and Lemonade.”
Hannah Drake on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Caroline Goulding
Violinist Caroline Goulding has blossomed into one of America’s great virtuosi since her debut as a soloist at age 13 with the Cleveland Orchestra. Recently she re-emerged from a seven-month pause to focus her attention on meditative practices and the merger of meditation and music.
Brianna Harlan
Brianna Harlan is a mixed media artist who creates Radically Vulnerable art to invite transformational dialogue. Themes of her work include identity, social/cultural dynamics, intimacy, oppression, and self-suppression. She was selected for the inaugural class of the Creative Capital and Community Foundation of Louisville’s fellowship program, Hadley Creatives. She teaches Meyzeek Middle School students, and is community liaison at the Center for Neighborhoods.
Brianna Harlan on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Kenza Isnasni
Kenza Isnasni is the co-founder of Marrakesh Organics in Morocco. She is a humanitarian activist who is very sensitive to questions related to human rights, education, climate change, and environmental protection, interfaith and intercultural dialogue. She is a master’s student in International Relations and Diplomacy with a concentration in Peace and Conflicts Studies at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. She is currently doing research on the link between climate change and migration in the Senegal River Valley.
Kenza Isnasni on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Lyla June Johnston
Lyla June Johnston is an artist, human ecologist, public speaker and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre performance style has invigorated and inspired audiences across the globe towards healing. Her messages focus on Indigenous rights, supporting youth, inter-cultural healing, historical trauma and traditional land stewardship practices.
Lyla June Johnston on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Pat McCabe
Pat McCabe, whose indigenous name is Weyakpa Najin Win (Woman Stands Shining, is a Dine’) (Navajo) mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, ceremonial leader and international speaker. She is a voice for global peace, and her paintings are created as tools for individual, earth, and global healing. She draws upon the deep Indigenous sciences of thriving life to reframe questions about sustainability and balance, and she is devoted to supporting the next generations, the “Women’s Nation” and the “Men’s Nation,” in being functional members of the “Hoop of Life” and upholding the honor of being human.
Pat McCabe on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel
Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel has studied, and practiced, the Buddhadharma for 30 years under the guidance of Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. After meeting Rinpoche in Nepal, she became his first Western student. After many years of solitary retreat, Rinpoche appointed Elizabeth as Retreat Master at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, Mangala Shri Bhuti’s retreat center in southern Colorado. Elizabeth is known for her willingness to question the spiritual path in order to reach a place of genuine practice, and awakening.
Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Naomi O’Connell
Naomi O’Connell is an Irish-German opera singer, and actress who divides her time between the recital platform, the theatre, and opera stages. She was first prize winner of the 2011 Concert Artists Guild Competition and was acclaimed as a “natural in the recital format” for her Carnegie Hall debut.
Naomi O’Connell on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Dr. Christopher Pramuk
Dr. Christopher Pramuk is author of “Hope Sings, So Beautiful: Graced Encounters Across the Color Line” (2013), a sustained meditation on race relations in society and church, and two award-winning studies of Thomas Merton, and his relationship to the Feminine Divine. Pramuk is chair of Ignatian Thought at Regis University in Denver, and he has received the International Thomas Merton Society’s “Louie,” the top honor of the organization.
Dr. Christopher Pramuk on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Julia W. Purcell
Julia W. Purcell is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist and is one of three members of the Louisville band, Maiden Radio. Julia studied voice at Michigan State University and graduated with a music therapy degree. In addition to providing music therapy services through her business Louisville Expressive Therapies she teaches a Music Improvisation course at the University of Louisville. In 2010 Julia became a certified Music Together teacher and teaches early childhood parent/child music classes at Shine studio.
Julia W. Purcell on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Safiyyah Rasool
Safiyyah Rasool is co-owner and creative director of the Safiyyah Dance Company in Louisville. She has trained with talented hip-hop choreographers such as Willdabeast Adams, Kevin Maher, Laurianne Gibson, Luam Keflezgy, and Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo. She has choreographed many programs in the Midwest area including Actors Theatre, and Stage One.
Safiyyah Rasool on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Sayed Ali Abass Razawi
Sayed Ali Abass Razawi is an international speaker and teacher. He uses his background in Ethics, Theology, and Spirituality as a tool in breaking social barriers, creating awareness, and healing communities. Sayed spends much of his time with interfaith organizations, and he has written on the need for dialogue, and the concept of religion in Christianity, and Islam. He lectures, and does research at many universities.
Kendall Regan
Kendall Regan is an artist, and designer, based in Louisville. Through her work with Against the Grain Brewery, she has built a reputation as the go-to chalk artist in the city. Kendall’s art is full of pop culture references, clever puns, and striking typographic imagery. Her work is featured on craft beer cans, cycling jerseys, and in Louisville Magazine, where she has been a contributing artist since 2014. She has also produced works for Red Bull, Festival of Faiths, 502 Winery, Somewhere Restaurant & Bar, Rocky’s Sub Pub, Over the 9, and Nashville’s Stout Burgers and Beer.
Kendall Regan on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Diane Rehm
For nearly 40 years, Diane Rehm engaged millions of radio listeners through her daily broadcast focused on news, social issues, and the arts. Among many honors she has received is the National Humanities Medal, given to her in 2014 by President Barack Obama. After leaving the air at the end of 2016, Diane’s memoir, “On My Own,” was a national bestseller. She hosts a weekly podcast, through her personal website www.drshow.org, or iTunes.
Diane Rehm on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Tsoknyi Rinpoche is one of the most acclaimed teachers of Tibetan Buddhism trained outside of Tibet. Deeply versed in both the practical, and philosophical, disciplines of Tibetan Buddhism, he is known for his accessible style, his generous, and self-deprecating, humor, and his deeply personal, compassionate insight into human nature. He oversees two nunneries in Nepal, one of the largest nunneries in Tibet, and more than 50 practice centers, and hermitages, in the eastern region of Tibet.
Tsoknyi Rinpoche on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Gary Ruschman
A 2017-18 recipient of a Faith Partners residency from American Composers Forum and Bremer Trust, Kentucky native Gary Ruschman is a performer, composer, and conductor who lights up texts with tuneful, organic, and accessible music. His scores have been called “stirring” (Opera News), “soulful” (St. Paul Pioneer Press), and “rousing” (American Record Guide).Gary’s works have been performed by the South Dakota Chorale, Cantus, Dream Songs Project, Lumina, Artemis, Wartburg College, St. Michael’s Choir School Toronto, and the Oregon State Meistersingers.
Gary Ruschman on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Omid Safi
Omid Safi is a leading public Muslim intellectual in the United States, and he writes a column for “On Being.” He is director of the Duke University Islamic Studies Center, where he specializes in the study of Islamic mysticism and contemporary Islam, and frequently writes on liberationist traditions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. He is committed to traditions that link together love and justice. He is among the most popular speakers on Islam in mainstream media.
Omid Safi on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Sharron Sales
Sharron Sales is a renowned singer, actress, and published author who is best known for her portrayal of the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson. She is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who acknowledges singing being the “universal language that God has so blessed” her to share. She is a member of the Burnett Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville. In her career, she has traveled extensively in the United States, as well as Switzerland and other countries.
Sharron Sales on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg is a central figure in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher, and a New York Times bestselling author. She has played a crucial role in bringing meditation, and mindfulness practices into the West, and into mainstream culture since 1974. She is co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Mass., and the author of ten books, including “Real Love.” Ms. Salzberg offers a secular, modern approach to Buddhist teachings, making them readily accessible.
Sharon Salzberg on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Cemalnur Sargut
Cemalnur Sargut has been president of the Turkish Women’s Cultural Association since 2000. She is one of Turkey’s deepest, and most inspiring, spiritual teachers, who is leading a resurgence in the study, and practice, of Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam. The Association she heads reaches millions of people “who would like to apply solutions to today’s problems in the Sufi view that knowledge is a state to be practiced, and worship is a journey toward love.”
Cemalnur Sargut on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Nina Simons
Nina Simons is an award-winning social entrepreneur, and visionary thinker. In 1990, she co-founded Bioneers with her husband and partner, Kenny Ausubel. Nina’s work currently focuses on writing and teaching about women, leadership, diversity, systems thinking, and restoring the feminine in us all. Nina edited the anthology, “Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart,” which contains 30 essays by 40 contributors, who collectively help redefine the leadership landscape.
Nina Simons on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Becca Stevens
Becca Stevens is an author, speaker, priest, social entrepreneur, and founder of Thistle Farms. A victim of child abuse, Ms. Stevens opened in 1997 a haven for survivors in a loving community, initially for five women who had experienced trafficking, violence, and addiction. Twenty years later, Thistle Farms continues to welcome women with free residences that provide housing, medical care, therapy, and education for two-year terms. The global market of Thistle Farms helps employ more than 1,800 women worldwide, and the national network has more than 40 sister communities.
Becca Stevens on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
Lynne Twist
A global visionary, Lynne Twist is committed to alleviating poverty, ending world hunger, and supporting social justice, and environmental sustainability. Through a variety of experiences ranging from working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta to advising some of the world’s wealthiest families on philanthropy, Lynne has gained a deep understanding of people’s relationships with money. She is the author of “The Soul of Money,” co-founder of the Pachamama Alliance, and founder of the Soul of Money Institute.
Lynne Twist on stage at the 2018 Festival of Faiths »
PROGRAM
There is in all visible things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness, a hidden wholeness. This mysterious unity and integrity is wisdom . . . There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a foundation of action and joy. It rises up in gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being.