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     DMF has had two very successful programs this season.
     Our October, 2009, opening session, featuring the Hindu Faith, was a huge success. We had between 65-70 attendees – the largest opening session in DMF history. U of R's new Chaplain, Reverend Craig Kocher, gave the opening remarks for this session. He greeted us warmly and set the tone for a successful year. We are looking forward to getting to know him and are grateful for his support.
     This was followed by a very engaging and successful gathering in November, 2009, on the Unity Faith. Keller Hall was once again filled with people engaged in dialogue, learning from each other, and sharing and growing in their understanding of Unity. The attendance grew to 80 plus. Both evenings were magical – with the participants so engaged they did not want the evening to end. A special thanks to Sandy Poulsen and Ali Farouk for being such outstanding moderators. Well done! Well done!
     In December, 2009, DMF had its first disappointment. The featured faith, Buddhism, no longer had an active ICGR representative and our non-ICGR connection to locate a panelist fell through. Instead of trying to put together a program in haste, the DMF committee determined we had to cancel the program. This was a very hard decision for the committee to make. We were all looking forward to hearing from the Buddhist community, so we delayed cancellation in the hope of being able to find a connection – but alas this did not happen. So, with sadness, we contacted the Office of the Chaplaincy to let them know we would not need Keller Hall on December 4, 2009. It is our hope to present the Buddhist Faith during the 2010-2011 season. The remaining featured faiths in 2010 are on track and should be excellent: February 4, 2010 – Disciples of Christ (with Jonathan Zur, of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, as Moderator); March 4, 2010, Zoroastrianism (with Mark Wood, Associate Professor of Religious Studies in VCU's School of World Studies, as Moderator).
     Our relationship with the University of Richmond Office of the Chaplaincy is transforming, as Reverend Kocher gets settled in and we work with the new team.
     Camisha Jones and Joshua Dickerson are our new contacts with the Office of the Chaplaincy. We are grateful to Matthew White who believed in DMF and recommend the co-sponsorship. Thanks go out to Matthew – we wish him all the best in his new endeavors. The transition to the new team has been flawless. Camisha Jones, Josh Dickerson and Reverend Kocher are all supportive and committed to making each DMF session a success. We greatly appreciate their support and look forward to our future collaboration.
     We are in the beginning stages of preparing for the 2010-2011 DMF season, which is shaping up to be another fascinating year for the Richmond Interfaith Community to learn together, share and grow their mutual understanding.

Midge Falconer, DMF Chair