As in past years, the ICJS sponsored the Congregational Project, a unique program that brings together Jews and Chris-tians, blacks and whites, men and women to participate in a conversation that celebrates the diverse gifts within the larger Baltimore community.

For four Thursday nights in February, approximately one hun-dred fifty participants, representing some thirty Jewish, Protestant, and Roman Catholic congregations, gathered at the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation to explore four biblical personalities that lay hold of the religious imagination: Moses, Ruth, Jesus, and Jonah. Conducted as town meetings, each session began and ended with input and questions by ICJS staff scholars, Dr. Rosann Catalano, Dr. Christopher Leighton, and Rabbi David Sandmel.

The major portion of each two-hour session, however, was given over to small group discussion that provided ample oppor-tunity for text study and dialogue. The Institute has asked Dr. Barry Lever to reflect on his experience as a sea-soned participant in the Congregational Project.