The Faith250 program offers a structured path for faith communities to engage with America’s founding ideals through the study of “American Scriptures“—foundational texts that have shaped the national narrative. Below is a suggested multi-month timeline that allows for deep reflection, relationship building, and collaborative planning. The Thanksgiving national holiday offers an ideal communal point: initial invitations can be sent this summer, promotion can happen in Jewish communities around the High Holy Days, the election will raise awareness about the importance of civics, and many communities already have multi-faith Thanksgiving gatherings which for this year can be focused on the 250th.
faith250 Resources
Everything you need to get started is freely available on this site, the program's central hub for clergy guides, congregational materials, and planning resources. The faith250 Substack offers ongoing stories, cluster updates, and reflections to keep you connected to the wider community as your work unfolds. Below you will find direct links to the four American Scripture texts and the guides designed to support each stage of the program—from your first clergy conversation to your Thanksgiving public civic ritual.
June-July: Formation and Visioning
The journey begins with the formation of a "Local Cluster." Faith250 is designed to be a multifaith experience; therefore, we suggest taking time in June and July to reach out to neighboring clergy and houses of worship. Identify two to five diverse partner congregations to form a core planning team. During initial meetings, register your cluster and apply for micro-grants if available. The goal for the summer is to establish a shared vision for what the semi-quincentennial means to your specific local community. Before you can lead your congregations into meaningful conversation across difference, you need to know and trust the people standing at the front of the room with you — and that's exactly what the clergy meetings are for.
Late July - August: Clergy Encounter the Texts and Pick a Timeline
You can use the end of the summer for the clergy meetings. With the Fourth of July as a backdrop, perhaps you can begin with the Declaration of Independence, reflecting on the tension between the document's universal ideals and the historical realities of its era. This sets the stage for thinking about "self-reinvention"—both for individuals and the nation. Proceed through the other three texts – The New Colossus, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, and America the Beautiful– and continue to expand your clergy team as needed.
Now is the time to decide on either (a) overlapping your study with promotion and hosting your first Multifaith Event in late August, with monthly events through November, or (b) completing your clergy meetings, and compacting the multifaith events into biweekly events between October-November. It is also a good time to decide if you want to host a Thanksgiving timed public civic ritual as a culmination of the clergy meetings and multifaith events. See the options below.
Option A: Overlapping Phases
This timeline allows for monthly clergy meetings and monthly multifaith events, which will overlap in order to meet the Thanksgiving horizon. More spaciousness allows for inclusion of a larger group of participants as momentum builds, but means you will likely need to do separate registrations for each multifaith event and relationship formation between congregations could be more challenging.
In Phase 1, as the clergy meeting studies each of the four texts, we recommend extending your meetings by 15 minutes to plan for the promotion, planning, and evaluation for your monthly multifaith events to begin in late August. The clergy team will stay one month ahead of the larger multifaith events which will be an easy way to think about the text, stay on top of the registration deadlines, and assign parts for the run-of-show. Also, the immediacy of your clergy conversations will keep important themes top of mind when the congregations get together.
Option B: Sequencing Your Phases
This timeline uses the summer for biweekly clergy meetings to go through all four texts and do initial thinking about the multifaith events, and then compacts the larger events into a biweekly timeline during the fall. We suggest having participants sign up for the whole series of multifaith events which could limit the overall group size but may simplify registration and deepen relationships for those who attend. Note: the Jewish High Holy Days begin September 11th, and while most rabbis and cantors will be preoccupied from around September 4-25, this can be an ideal time to promote upcoming events to synagogue members.
Ritual Planning and Promotion
No matter which option you choose, by October you will need to be planning your public civic ritual, and the election season will be an ideal time to promote the date of your event. Establish your planning team and prepare basic promotional information by September, then have the first meetings to surface major spiritual themes by October. Our Americana Library will help spark ideas for creation of your eventual liturgy.
Also, if choirs will be a part of your ritual, then begin talking to music ministry leaders and choir directors early so that they can schedule rehearsals in a timely fashion.
November: The Community Thanksgiving Ritual
The program culminates in the weeks leading up to or during the Thanksgiving holiday. A public civic ritual, which is often promoted as a Community Thanksgiving Ritual, weaves together ideas from the four texts studied over the previous months, and spiritual themes surfaced by the planning team. If your community already has a tradition of a Thanksgiving Ritual, talk to existing organizers EARLY and get their buy-in to dedicate this year’s event to America’s 250th.
The ritual should follow a cohesive arc:
Gathering: Acknowledge your local place in the larger American quilt: the land and the diverse traditions present.
The Texts in Conversation: Use dramatic readings or choral arrangements of the four American Scriptures and other texts from our Americana Library.
Civic Gratitude: A time for "public testimony" where community members share how they are working to "mend the flaws" of the nation.
The Shared Vow: Conclude with a collective commitment to civic participation and the ongoing work of perfecting the union.
By moving through this timeline, the community does not just celebrate a date in history, but actively participates in the "solidification" of social bonds, transforming historical documents into living instruments of communal strength and shared hope and deepening local connections for future civic collaboration.