Muslims, Jews and Christians: Coming Together in Extraordinary Times, Hosted by Rabbi Elliot Dorf

Muslims, Jews and Christians: Coming Together in Extraordinary Times, Hosted by Rabbi Elliot Dorf

12pm PDT

The current Covid19 pandemic is forcing everyone around the globe into unprecedented social isolation. While this is a new experience for the human family as a whole, religious communities have frequently, over the course of history, found themselves in hard-pressed circumstances. The Babylonian Exile of the people of Israel, the state-sponsored persecutions of the early Christians, or the hostilities directed against the nascent Muslim community in Mecca are but a few examples. During these ‘extraordinary times’ of hardship, all three of the Abrahamic faith communities have reflected deeply on the meaning and purpose of such dark times, as well as developed individual and communal coping strategies.

In this webinar, representatives from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities will share the wisdom each of their respective faith traditions has garnered during such extraordinary times.

They will explore how the lessons gathered from living through extraordinary seasons for literally thousands of years, have frequently given birth to new ways of being community and can be a source of encouragement for the extraordinary times we all experience now.

Dr. Reinhard Krauss is the Executive Director of the Academy for Judaic, Christian, and Islamic Studies. Since 2008, he has taught Inter-religious Studies at the Center for the Study of Religion at UCLA. In addition, he is serves on the faculty of the New Theological Seminary of the West, and of Bayan Claremont, a Muslim graduate school. A native of Germany, Dr. Krauss received his Ph.D. in Theology from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He is an accomplished academic translator, including being one of the main contributors to the new English edition of the works of the German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a key leader of the resistance against Hitler’s Nazi regime. Dr. Krauss is the Vice-President of the University Religious Conference at UCLA. He also has served as President of the South Coast Interfaith Council as well as Harbor Interfaith Services. Dr. Krauss is a recipient of the Interfaith Courage Award by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the United States Congress, as well as the Interfaith Unity Award by the South Coast Interfaith Council.

Rabbi Dr. Elliot Dorff is a past President of the Academy for Judaic, Christian, and Islamic Studies (2015 – 2017) and a prominent interfaith leader in the Jewish community. Dr. Dorff is the Rector and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at American Jewish University where he has been directing the rabbinical and Masters programs since 1971. He was ordained to the Rabbinate by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University. He serves as the Chair of the Conservative Movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has also chaired several scholarly organizations. In addition, Dr. Dorff has served on many boards and commissions related to medical ethics, including the Ethics committee at UCLA Medical Center, the Ethics Advisory Committee for the State of California on stem cell research, and the broader Social Impacts Committee for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural Science. Dr. Dorff has published over 200 articles on Jewish thought, law, and ethics, as well as 14 books that he wrote and another 14 that he edited or co-edited.

Sister Deborah Lorentz is a member of the Sisters of Social Service, a Roman Catholic religious community. Currently, she is the Program Director at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, California. Sister Deborah received her Master’s degree in Education with a specialty in Religious Studies. She has developed and offered interfaith retreats, including an inter-religious symposium on the Holy Spirit. She has spearheaded programming on evolutionary spirituality and Conscious Aging. She earned a second Master of Science degree in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This has led her to offer retreats exploring the relationships and interconnections between Eastern and Western understandings of mind, body and spirit. In addition, she has offered her services as a professional facilitator and mediator working with a variety of religious groups over many years.

Dr. Sana Khan is a past President of the Academy for Judaic, Christian and Islamic Studies (2017 – 2019). He currently serves as Vice President of the Islamic Institute of Orange County. Dr. Khan attended medical school at UCLA and graduated as a Dean’s Scholar with an M.D. degree and Ph.D. degrees in Clinical Anatomy and Neurophysiology. He is a nationally renowned scientist conducting on-going research with the Departments of Orthopedic Surgery at UCLA, USC, City of Hope Cancer Hospital, UC San Diego and the US Department of Defense. Having published and contributed to over a hundred research papers, Dr. Khan is a prolific lecturer at conferences nationally and internationally. He has received numerous awards for his medical accomplishments such as a U.S. Congressional Medal of Distinction in 2008 for Advancement of Medical Science (Radiology) and in 2013 was inducted into the prestigious President’s Circle of the Radiological Society of North America for contribution to research in Radiology. In addition to his academic and research accomplishments, Dr. Khan is also a successful entrepreneur having built diagnostic MRI centers across the country.