On the second night of Passover, Rabbi Harold White will lead a traditional seder dinner with matzoh and bitter herbs and all the trimmings.
Five days later, he’ll deliver the sermon on Easter Sunday.
That’s what life looks like inside the Interfaith Family Project (IFFP) in suburban Washington, where Jewish-Christian couples have decided their kids shouldn’t have to choose one faith over the other. Instead, they can do a little of both.
With as many as half of Jews marrying non-Jews, this year’s overlap of Passover and Easter is prompting more than a few families to find new ways to navigate the dueling holidays, much like the annual “December dilemma” pitting Christmas against Hanukkah.
Increasingly, such families are turning toward one another for guidance, creating both formal and informal programs. For families at IFFP, it means hosting regular Sunday morning “gatherings” and bringing White and the Rev. Julia Jarvis on as staff clergy to help guide the
project.
Not surprisingly, an interfaith Easter will look and feel a little different. There will be no talk of the Eucharist, White and Jarvis said. Instead, services will focus on renewal.
