Newtown Interfaith Council members started planning for future events and endeavors during the February 11 NIC meeting at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Newtown Congregational Church Lead Pastor Matt Crebbin and Love Has A Home Here Founder Bill Donaldson led the group in discussing potential community-building gatherings they could host in the spring.

More specifically, Crebbin said he wanted to know whether the group would be interested in a Seder, a Jewish service and ceremonial feast that marks the beginning of Passover. He specified that the hypothetical Seder would be sponsored by NIC, but run by Jewish leadership.

“It would be a learning opportunity for members of the community to learn more about Jewish traditions,” Crebbin said last Tuesday afternoon.

This would be far from the first time a Seder has been held in Newtown. According to Crebbin, NIC and other groups have hosted interfaith seders in the past. Speaking for NIC, however, Crebbin said after holding the event for a few consecutive couple years, organizers decided they wanted a change of pace.

“We felt the ceremonies were great, but realized we probably didn’t want to do it every year. Doing it every year felt like it might be a little much, since you have enough people being exposed to it when you do it so many years in a row,” Crebbin explained.

By the time they considered holding another Seder, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and knocked those plans down, he added.

Hosting another Seder now, Donaldson said, would let people experience the tradition of Seder for themselves.

With previous Seders, Crebbin said, that most of the advertising for it was done within and organized by the local faith communities. Preparing for these events is no small undertaking, and traditionally it has been a collaborative effort between interfaith representatives and volunteers, he said.

Crebbin said that church recently held a concert and that some of the money received through donations was earmarked for the interfaith council. He said NIC could use that to buy some of the supplies for the Seder.The group could come up with more money later on, he noted.

“From there, the issues would be if we want to do it, when we want to hold it, who might lead it, and how we will organize a group to get the food prepped,” Crebbin explained.

Planning dates for when they could hold the Seder was easier said than done. Passover, which celebrates the deliverance of Jewish people from slavery in Egypt over 3,000 years ago, starts this year on the evening of Saturday, April 12. However, the group also noted that the next day, Sunday, April 13, happens to be Palm Sunday.

Donaldson said holding the event on Palm Sunday would be a “combo celebration.” Since Seders are held on the first two nights of Passover in North America, this raised some concerns within the group about potential scheduling concerns.

NIC members also agreed that they would consider Sunday, April 6, as another potential date for the event, but April 13 would still be a possibility. Some members also promised to reach out to some of those who had helped run local Seders in the past to see if they would be interested in working on another one.

Another idea Crebbin shared was a community potluck, where people would be encouraged to provide dishes to share representiung their own ethnic backgrounds.

Donaldson said picking the right location for the event would be important because if it’s a public event involving food at a location like Newtown Community Center, the council would have to make sure they comply with the Health Department regulations.

Donaldson also said an event like that, which would bring people together, is extremely important given all the divisiveness in the world.

“This is the time for us to really be proactive and bring people together,” Donaldson said.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.