World Sabbath
The Annual World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation Returns to In-Person for 2023!
Join us Sunday, March 19th, 2023 at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield.
This event is open to the public of all ages, faiths, and religions.
The mission of the World Sabbath is to teach our diverse population in Metro Detroit that the work of building a community of justice, equality, respect, and peace is a calling that we all share – all of us, no matter what our faith tradition might be. But most important is the fact we are impacting our children, our teens, and our young adults. Plan to join us for an interfaith experience of music, dance, and prayer. If your child would like to participate in the Peace Procession and song, please arrive at 3:15 pm.
Raman Singh, Executive Director of The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, is being honored with the 2023 World Sabbath Peacemaker Award.
Registration is not required, but is suggested for planning purposes. If you would like to register, please do so by Registering Here.
If you are unable to attend in-person, the event will be livestreamed. Please watch by visiting Temple Israel Live Stream

Last year’s Annual World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation was held on Sunday, March 27, 2022.
Thank you to all who joined us!
Special thanks to the Baha’i community for hosting this virtual program. If you missed the event, watch the recording below.
Please consider donating to the peace efforts of the World Sabbath. Donate here.
What is the World Sabbath?
The mission of the World Sabbath is to teach our diverse population in Metro Detroit that the work of building a community of justice, equality, respect and peace is a calling that we all share – all of us, no matter what our faith tradition might be. But most important is the fact that we are impacting our children, our teens, and our young adults.
Our World Sabbath processional includes children of many faith traditions, proudly waving the peace banners that they decorated themselves. These children come together to sing the song “We Are Children of Peace.” Every year we honor someone with the World Sabbath Peace Award – someone who is making a difference in the interfaith world, bringing people together to build community!!
Clergy of many faiths have been invited to participate in the World Sabbath service, and all the clergy present get called up to read the Congregation Pledge together about building a world of tolerance, justice, faithfulness, and peace. What a wonderful lesson for our youth!!
World Sabbath logoThe World Sabbath begins with a Jewish youth blowing the shofar, a Muslim youth chanting the Muslim Call to Prayer, followed by middle school, high school and college youth giving additional prayers for world peace from many other religions- Jain, Buddhist, Baha’i, Zoroastrian, Christian, Hindu, Native American, Sikh, Quaker, and Unitarian faith traditions for example.
Interfaith service features musical offerings that reflect the individual language, culture and tradition of the many religions that are represented at the World Sabbath.
- Choirs
- Bands
- Dance groups
- Chantings
The World Sabbath has been enchanted by Hindu dancers, Yiddish Klezmer music, Jain songs, Sikh Shabads, Christian Dance ensembles, and Arabic elementary school drummers.
The highlight of every World Sabbath is the inclusion of third through seventh graders who decorate white cotton banners with their ideas about World Peace. These banners are stapled to pieces of basswood to make flags that the children proudly display as they march in the processional into the sanctuary. These banners are then sewn into Children of Peace Quilts which are proudly displayed at the World Sabbath services. The Children of Peace, the youth, and the young adults who participate in our Peace Prayers and our musical offerings bring their friends and family to the World Sabbath, and this interfaith happening has grown immensely – so big that the sanctuary at Christ Church Cranbrook, where the first ten World Sabbath services were held, is no longer large enough for us.