Note from Mtr. Emily about Ramadan

I was so delighted to hear that Our Redeemer will be renting the Great Hall to the Muslim American Community Center of Lexington, MA (MACCLM)! They will be using our Great Hall as they observe Ramadan.

Ramadan is the name of the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the foundational pillars of practicing Islam; millions of Muslims around the world observe this devotion.

Many of us Christians are familiar with fasting. Christians fast from a variety of things in different timeframes. For example, the traditional Orthodox Christian Lenten fast is from meat and fish, dairy, eggs, and olive oil for all of Lent. Many Roman Catholics and Anglicans around the world abstain from meat on Fridays throughout the year, to mark the day of Christ’s Passion and death. Anglo-Catholics often fast from any food before the Eucharist, forgoing a meal on Sunday mornings before the service. Many Christians fast from a specific food or activity during Lent, giving up something temporarily to draw their attention to God (e.g. sweets, alcohol, sex), or giving up something permanently that is a temptation (e.g. careless speech, pettiness). There are many ways that Christians teach and practice fasting. Those of us Christians who practice this devotion share with our Muslim brothers and sisters a desire to grow closer to God by practicing this.

The fast of Ramadan begins at dawn and ends at sunset for every day in Ramadan. In its ideal form for the typical person, it includes not just a type of food, but all food and drink, even water. However, this fasting is not meant to be a harm to the body. One thing I love about Islam is that from the beginning there has been an understanding that the same fasting should not be required of everyone: children, menstruating people, pregnant or breastfeeding women, the sick, and the elderly are not required to fast, as it would be an unfair burden. A day in Ramadan includes two meals; suhoor is the name of the meal before dawn, and iftar is the name for the meal after sunset. 

But like times of Christian fasting, the fasting does not stand alone–it is combined with extra times of prayer (focusing on God’s mercy and forgiveness), perhaps extra or more purposeful devotional reading and study, time in fellowship with others, and more intense charity and generosity. My first experience of Ramadan was when I worked in a restaurant, and my beloved manager Nadir was fasting. We worked the night shift, 4pm to midnight, and this was in a period when Ramadan was in the summer, with late sunsets. In addition to abstaining from his usual many cups of espresso, Nadir gave up his cigarette breaks and even water, all while working in the very hot kitchen. Then, as the time approached to break his fast, he prepared a special meal for all the staff—delicious meals that I still think of today. I was so struck by how his love of God called him not just to abstain, but in the midst of abstaining (and the headaches that sudden caffeine and tobacco withdrawal will give!) he was also giving even more in time and care for those around him. He set a new standard for me of what I hope fasting will be in my own life as a Christian. 

The Muslim Chaplain at Brandeis writes, “Some may be comfortable speaking about whether or not they are fasting, but since the reasons for not fasting can be very personal and private, it is generally better not to ask if one is fasting.” He adds, “Culture also plays an important role in determining how Ramadan is observed beyond fasting and fast-breaking. Some may see their primary observances to be fasting, but others may consider it a time for socializing, visiting family and friends, and increasing in acts of worship including prayer or reciting the Qur’an in its entirety over the course of the month.”

Please keep our neighbors at MACCLM in your prayers as they observe this holy time!

Mtr. Emily
3 February 2026

P.S. To learn more about Episcopalians and Muslims sharing space, watch this 14-minute video on how our own Cathedral downtown has been sharing space with Muslim neighbors for 25 years (!!). You can also read this 2019 article about it.