Washington, DC – On Wednesday, February 28, 2024, The United States Department of Health and Human Services Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships in cooperation with the Appeal of Conscience Foundation sponsored a thought-provoking seminar titled, “The Interfaith Community’s Role in Healing Together: A Forum on Mutual Acceptance, Mental Health and Youth”. The purpose of the forum was to engage interfaith leaders in strategic conversations concerning behavioral health resources, while countering bias and discrimination and elevating connections between public health, civility and peaceful coexistence, especially among the youth.

The forum was presided over by the Rev. Dr. Que English, Director of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and Mrs. Karen Dresbach, Executive Vice-President of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation. Among the select distinguished participants were The Honorable Rashad Hussain, US Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom; Ms. Melissa Rogers, Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based Neighborhood Partnerships; Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland-Tune, Chief Operating Officer of the National Council of Churches of Christ; Mr. Bawa Jain, President of the Center for Responsible Leadership, and Secretary General of the World Council of Religious Leaders; and others.

The Orthodox representatives consisted of His Beatitude Tikhon, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America; His Eminence Archbishop Dr. Vicken Aykazian, Legate and Ecumenical Officer of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America; His Grace Bishop Irinej of the Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church; Rev. Protopresbyter Dr. Nicolas Kazarian, Ecumenical Officer and Director of the Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; and Very Rev. Protopresbyter Dr. Vasilije Vranic, Dean of the Washington Deanery of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America.