[Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut] The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut announces a new interfaith partnership with the Farmington Valley American Muslim Center, Inc. (FVAMC). The initiative will include interfaith educational programs and the leasing of a building in Avon, a former church on Harris Road.

It is part of a broader diocesan effort of recommitting itself to interfaith initiatives in new ways. The partnership with FVAMC began when leaders of the Episcopal diocese asked about the needs and resources of the church and community in the greater Farmington River valley. Episcopal parishes in the local area, including Trinity Episcopal Church in Collinsville and St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bristol, immediately joined in the conversations and planning with the FVAMC.

“The initiation of this partnership with the Farmington Valley American Muslim Center is an incredible gift to us a Christians, because when we come into conversation with the religious ‘other’ it helps us to speak even more clearly about our own faith in the Triune God,” said the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

The initiative builds on and expands the interfaith work that is taking place in other areas of the diocese that include special educational programs, guest speakers, refugee resettlement, and shared space, as well as participation in interfaith coalitions.

FVAMC members — who include doctors, college professors, businessmen, and other professionals — live in Farmington, Avon, Canton, and surrounding towns. They have been worshiping in Berlin and have been looking for a place closer to their neighborhoods where they could establish a center “dedicated to worshipping God, interfaith understanding and dialogue, service to community and country, and creating a secure, nurturing environment where our community can congregate.”

“Our partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut is an exciting new venture for our center,” said Khamis Abu-Hasaballah, FVAMC president. “We look forward to further strengthening our community’s interfaith coalition and joining together on new initiatives.”