Sisterhood: The Women’s Interfaith Tea

By Heidi Neuroth

Women gather to enjoy the Women’s Interfaith Tea

Sisterhood is more than a word. It’s a feeling that settles into a room when women gather with kindness at the center. It is the soft glow of understanding exchanged across a table, the deep exhale that comes when you realize you’re among people who genuinely care. It is created when women show up for each other with open hearts, honest conversations, shared stories, and an eagerness to build something hopeful together. Sisterhood may begin between lifelong friends, but it also grows beautifully between strangers and women whose paths may never have crossed without a shared invitation.

This spirit was unmistakable at this year’s Women’s Interfaith Tea (Nov. 16). The week’s weather had been uncooperative with a stretch of Pasadena rain…the kind that quiets the city and makes warm gatherings feel even more necessary. We had imagined hosting the tea outdoors in the cloister, sunlight flickering between the arches while friends talked beside the fountain. Instead, the rain nudged us inside, and Fellowship Hall transformed into a haven of warmth to welcome women across four faith communities: First Congregational Church of Pasadena (FCC), Islamic Center of Southern California,  Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center (PJTC) and First United Methodist Church of Pasadena (FUMC).

Volunteers at work preparing the lunch.

This was our third Interfaith Tea with the Islamic Center of Southern California, though the previous ones, held potluck-style, took place before the pandemic paused traditions and scattered routines. And in a year like 2025, marked by the Eaton Fire and the political and economic upheaval mixed with everyday life that followed, planning a tea almost felt trivial on the surface. Yet the idea of gathering, of simply sitting together with intention, felt more necessary than ever. It became an opportunity to extend our circle and the conversation.

What surprised me most was the response. As soon as registration opened on our website, sign-ups poured in. My concern quickly shifted from Will anyone come? to Where will we put everyone? and moving into the hall was necessary. By the final count, 90 women arrived filling the room with conversation.

The guests shook off their umbrellas and were welcomed by the sound of Mark Goldstein playing the piano. Perhaps the most notable piece of the day was the interfaith blessing, each prayer offered in the language, cadence, and tradition of its faith leader. Diane Garner and her volunteer team curated a menu of savory and sweet delights. Some obvious favorites were PJTC’s Rugelach cookies, Shirley Lohr’s Lemon Squares and scones served with Christy and Claire Bolton’s homemade Lemon Curd and Devonshire Cream. Under the gentle vision of Suzi Lohr, the room shimmered with candlelight, roses and teapots brought by women from each congregation to hold a Ruby Slipper or November Rain Black Tea (teas created by women owned businesses from around the world).  

We also heard from speakers from The Women’s Room Program at Friend’s In Deed, which provides a welcoming day-center and refuge for women who are alone and experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. This time offered a reminder of the resilience women carry and the shared responsibility we hold to one another. Grace Rahn’s heartfelt solo lifted the room, during which time, women wrote down on cards their hopes for their community. Our dessert flight, served on plate trees, felt like the perfect exclamation mark. By the time the last teacup was rinsed and the final goodbye exchanged, our bellies were pleasantly full, but more importantly, our hearts were warmed by the beginnings, or continuations, of true sisterhood.

Pastor Amy Aitken (First United Methodist Church, Pasadena) welcomes the guests.

Rev. Dr. Kirstin Oh (First United Methodist Church, Pasadena), Cantor Ruth Berman Harris (Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center), Farah Bhatti (Islamic Center of Southern California), and Roberta White (First Congregational Church of Pasadena) shared blessings for the meal.

Jane Armbruster (The Women’s Room Case Manager, Friends in Deed) and Suzanne Lee (Guest of The Women’s Room Program) spoke about Friends in Deed’s Women’s Room and its impact on the community.

Later that evening, I sat at home reading through the “hope cards” women had written during the music. Their messages stopped me. So many women expressed the desire not only to continue this event but to continue the connection. That is sisterhood at its best: many stories, one table.