This paper will explore the non-violent, interreligious nature of the resistance during the 26-day occupation of the H.E.W. Building in 1977. Since the occupation took place over Easter and Passover, many of the activists celebrated their religious holidays in the building. Many of the organizers, such as Daniel Billups, drew on their own religious practices to lead and sustain the occupation. I will argue that the constraints of the occupation necessitated that these religious practices were interreligious and led to inter-riting among the occupants.
Using archival material from The Healing Community, an interfaith disability rights organization, newspaper articles covering the occupation, and memoirs from key disability activists, I will show that interreligious practice and inter-riting sustained the occupation through non-violent methods. This occupation can expand our notions about where interreligious ritual participation takes place and question the “host and guest” framework of interreligious practices.