Rumi Forum had its monthly circle on May 18, 2022, to study Abrahamic scriptures on the topic of “Food” with our study leader, Kelly Moltzen, from the Interfaith Public Health Network.

Scriptural Reasoning (SR) allows Christians, Jews, and Muslims to study each other’s sacred texts. SR participants meet monthly to read short passages from their respective scriptures on a certain topic. Facilitated by a study leader, each session is an opportunity to listen and share various perspectives. SR sessions help participants reflect on a curious list of topics within the Abrahamic tradition. The result is often a deeper understanding of others and one’s own scriptures, as well as the development of strong bonds across faith communities.

              Scriptural Reasoning – Introduction                             Islamic Scripture: Quran

              Christian Scripture: New Testament                       Jewish Scripture: Hebrew Bible

This Month’s Study Leader

Kelly Moltzen is a co-founder and convener of the Interfaith Public Health Network, which inspires people of faith to be agents of change in transforming communities into ones that promote health and well-being for all. As a steering committee member of the Center for Earth Ethics’ Faith and Food Coalition, she helps bring faith voices to the United Nations Food Systems Summit process. For over 12 years, she has worked on programs that increase access to and consumption of healthy food to address health disparities in the Bronx, New York.

Kelly is a Registered Dietitian and received a Master’s in Public Health from New York University. She was a 2015 Re:Generate Fellow with the Food, Health, and Ecological Well-Being Program of Wake Forest University School of Divinity and was named to Hunter College’s NYC Food Policy Center 40 Under 40 Class of 2020. Kelly is a USA Secular Franciscan Order Ecumenical & Interfaith Committee member, a 2021-2022 Fellow at Abrahamic House in Washington, D.C., and a Rockefeller-Acumen Food Systems Fellow.