Partner Spotlight:
faith250 and Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation
A Jewish Community Brings Sacred Study to America's 250th
What should the Jewish community be doing for America's 250th anniversary in 2026? Faith250 – a project of Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation’s American Scripture Project – is a multi-faith initiative that answers this question by bringing communities together around America's most inspiring texts. From Emma Lazarus' "The New Colossus" to Frederick Douglass' "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?", the project applies Jewish study traditions to help multi-faith clusters of clergy across the country facilitate deep conversations about our nation's values and future.
Rabbi Michael Holzman of Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation felt his ears perk up when Civic Spirit’s Rabbi Charles Savenor asked this question during an American Jewish Civic Seminar conversation.
Action Plan: Gather clergy from across the country to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary through learning and dialogue.
Partners since: 2023
Rather than settling for "superficial pomp," Rabbi Holzman envisioned something deeper:
"We can face this moment with integrity and create rituals that have integrity and that speak to the complex reality we're living in."
What began as "a post on a Facebook group" has rapidly grown into a program including over 100 clergy members from multiple faiths. The initiative draws on the invisible but vital "civic backbone" that religious leaders provide in communities nationwide—the same networks that respond during floods, fires, and health crises.
"I thought, particularly as the leader of a local synagogue, what could I possibly do? What could local clergy in small places – and some big places – all over the country do to turn this milestone for our country into an opportunity for reflection and meaningful celebration?"
"All over America, there are informal networks of clergy that know each other and reach out to each other in times of stress and emergencies," explained Rabbi Holzman. "All of this really starts when a rabbi picks up the phone or sends an email to the pastor down the street and says, ‘Hey, I really would like to talk with you about these texts and create something beautiful for our communities over a spaghetti dinner.’"
America's 250th birthday presents both opportunity and challenge. Without intentional preparation, Rabbi Holzman worries that many communities will default to celebrations filled with kids running around in tri-horn hats and people reenacting the revolution—festivities that, while lovely, won't deepen any conversation about where American democracy is going.
“Most likely, we will have loud jingoism, well-promoted sales, and mass protests -- none of which create the nuanced space to have the critical conversations we need to have in this moment, said Rabbi Holzman. “In contrast, we can use this moment to learn about and celebrate founding American values, confront historical and contemporary failings, and provide space to reflect on improving our nation over the next 250 years.”
Religious leaders face the particular challenge of creating "deep conversations about spiritually meaningful topics" around national milestones, and faith250 provides the tools and framework to do exactly that.
The project launched on July 4, 2025 and the response has already been overwhelming. "Everybody who hears about it wants to jump on," noted Rabbi Holzman, with the biggest challenge being how to scale rapidly enough to meet demand. As one Methodist bishop shared, faith250 is "solving a problem pastors don't even realize they have."
When he brought the concept to his local interfaith clergy group for a session studying Emma Lazarus' poem, their minds were blown by the depth of the conversation and the way they were able to talk to each other across very deep political differences.
"The Jewish traditions of parshanut and chevruta study are technologies," explained Rabbi Holzman. "And when we apply those technologies to the hard questions of America's narrative, they work. On a deep level, people can talk about what this place means for us."
The project demonstrates how Jewish wisdom can serve the broader American community. As one AJCS participant observed, "It's a sanctification of what Judaism brings to America." faith250 offers an open-source model that any clergy group can adapt, turning the 250th anniversary into a year of potlucks and study circles, deep conversations and community-building that reaches across faiths and differences to help shape America's future."
A More Perfect Union is a proud partner of faith250.
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