Faith, Culture, & Community
The Importance of Community
Los Angeles County is a vibrant tapestry of cultures and faiths, where people from all corners of the world come together, making it one of the most diverse regions in the United States. Join us as we celebrate and honor that diversity in a variety of library programs.
Featured Events
Heart & Hand Book Talk with Steve Leder
Rabbi Steve Leder and LA County Librarian Skye Patrick sat down to discuss navigating life’s biggest challenges with wisdom, compassion, and hope.
Steve Leder, Rabbi Emeritus with the Wilshire Boulevard Temple and author of several books, including The Beauty of What Remains and For You When I’m Gone, has spent decades guiding his community through joy, hardship, and all the changes we face in life. He joined us to talk about finding beauty and hope in the face of those changes and challenges – be they inside our families, out in our communities, or a part of the wider world.
Faith and Plant-Based Diets
This interfaith discussion on the connections between faith and plant-based diets is moderated by Richard Foss and features faith leaders Rabbi Jonathan Bernhard, Kate Carpenter, and Ven. Hui Ze Shih, who will share how vegan and vegetarian practices align with their spiritual beliefs and influence their traditions.
Community Care Conversations
LA County Library hosted a series of interfaith conversations to encourage a broader understanding of the faith-based organizations that provide care and service to our communities.
The Purpose of Service
October 11, 2023
In the first event in our four-part series of interfaith conversations exploring the ways faith traditions and service organizations encourage soulful wellbeing in our communities, panelists explored the purpose of service.
Watch the discussion about the Purpose of Service.
Who We Are
October 19, 2023
The second event in a four-part series of interfaith conversations exploring the ways faith traditions and service organizations encourage soulful wellbeing in our communities. This talk is titled “Who We Are,” and is about the people who do community service, through religious work or library work. Our organizations are made up of a diverse group of individuals, and while not everyone has the same backstory there are common qualities that call a person to community service. Joining the conversation this week are Rabbi Heather Miller, Najeeba Syeed, and Roy Twobears Delarosa.
Watch the discussion “Who We Are”
Putting It Into Practice
October 26, 2023
The third event in a four-part series of interfaith conversations exploring the ways faith traditions and service organizations encourage soulful wellbeing in our communities. This conversation, “Putting It Into Practice,” focuses on the techniques and resources used in our organizations to deliver support or inspiration to members of our communities. How do service providers and religious leaders determine what communities and individuals need to thrive, and what methods are used in providing care? Joining the conversation this week are Rabbi Heather Miller and Nirinjan Singh Khalsa.
Learn how to “Put it into Practice”.
Community in Shared Space
November 2, 2023
The final event in our series of interfaith conversations exploring the ways faith traditions and service organizations encourage soulful wellbeing in our communities. This week, panelists explore the role of shared gathering space. For adults.
Listen to discussion about Community in Shared Space.
