2025 was a year of big changes for Tri-Faith Initiative. New staff, new programming, new executive director . . . in a way, it was a fresh start for both Tri-Faith Initiative and its faith partners.

We started off with a bang with a brand new evening session: Fed-U-Cation! Named for getting fed (thanks to Chef Djamil Bah-Traore of House of Bah Foundation!) and educated at once, it carried through the year with eight different sessions.  Our sessions started with presentations from Dr. Lucas Schulte, covering topics such as the 5 B’s of religion and anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim tropes, and continued with guests such Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer and the clergy of our faith partners. Each presented an interfaith discussion focused on interfaith collaboration and relations, with participants being able to walk away with new knowledge and steps to take to make their own communities more welcoming to other faiths and traditions.

Our Fed-U-Cation series even featured a Tri-Faith first: an interfaith iftar! With 36 registered attendees (and a few others that arrived once the event was in full-swing!), it was one of our most-attended Fed-U-Cation events of 2025.

The iftar featured several personal stories from our guests of honor, including Sidra Fahad, Abdullah Amiri, and Dr. Hamza Haqqi. The presentations were full of personal anecdotes of what Ramadan looked like across international cultures. About three-quarters of attendees took up AMI’s offer to join the Maghrib prayer at the masjid before returning to the Tri-Faith Center for the iftar, further continuing the interfaith experience for our non-Muslim attendees.

Summer brought us the Race, Religion, and Social Justice Conference. On June 9, 2022, more than 170 people from across the country met on the Tri-Faith Commons for Omaha’s fourth annual Race, Religion & Social Justice (RRSJ) Conference. Our theme for this year’s conference was “Fueling The Work,” featuring Chef Djamil Djibril Bah-Traore and Chef Anthony Warrior as our keynote speakers.

Hosted across the Tri-Faith campus, RRSJ 2025 brought together speakers and attendees from on and beyond the Tri-Faith Commons. Together, we highlighted the impact of food on communities both in and outside of Omaha, with the key takeaway being how attendees could recognize food as the tool it was for building connections despite religious differences.

Throughout the year, we also featured two courses: “The Foundations of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam” and “A Tri-Faith Introduction to World Religions.” Both aimed to educate on the fundamentals of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with the latter course also introducing Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism.

Our first class took place in February 2025, with fourteen people attending. Their end goal was to be able to identify and describe basic elements of all three religious traditions, and analyze and summarize the similarities and differences between and within Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Our second class took place over 13 weeks in fall and winter 2025, with eighteen people attending. Topics included information about the population size and geographical concentrations of these various religions, an introduction to some of the core tenets of each religion, an overview of some of the major sacred writings and scriptures within the religion, and other facets to the religious practices.

Fall saw the culmination of two years’ work with both the Bridges of Understanding: An Interfaith Dialogue Experience and our Emerging Clergy program. Bridges of Understanding featured Rabbi Dr. Reuven Firestone, a scholar on Jewish/Muslim texts also known for his founding of the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement. Over 250 people attended over the course of the five events that made up the interfaith experience, not including the Shabbat and Sunday services led. 

The Emerging Clergy Seminar, made up of clergy from all walks of life, spent the year meeting virtually to connect and build interfaith relationships that they could then take back to their communities. During our Bridges of Understanding Interfaith Experience, three cohort members and one co-director came to the Tri-Faith Commons to experience Tri-Faith’s multi-faith campus for themselves. They attended several sessions with Rabbi Dr. Reuven Firestone, held their own online seminars, and attended services at the American Muslim Institute, Temple Israel, and virtually for Countryside Community Church. Amidst this, they got to explore the campus and learn more about how the commons operates and works together to uphold their dedication to religious diversity and equity.

But our events and programs are not the only thing worth celebrating. In 2025, Tri-Faith Initiative was awarded the Inclusion Leadership award from the Midlands African Chamber! The awards were aimed towards individuals, businesses, and organizations that uplift the Midlands African Chamber, Inc. through leadership, mentorship, and community support. The award was granted to Tri-Faith’s new Executive Director, Renee Franklin.

2025 brought huge changes, but it also took the steps to bring us closer together. Here’s to 2026 continuing that mission!