Elliot Steeves-
The Office of the Gustavus Chaplain will be hosting a series of interfaith talks in Christ Chapel at 10:00 a.m. on April 4th, 11th, and 23rd.
The speakers at each event correspond to a different faith. Dr Samuel Kessler will speak about Judaism on April 4th. Professor John Cha and Reference Librarian Julie Gilbert will speak about Buddhism on April 11th. Finally, Dr Haggar Attia will speak about Islam on April 23rd.
For those interested, Gilbert also leads secular meditation sessions in the Bonnier Multifaith Center on Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.
“We want to embrace a variety of faith traditions… This encompasses Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism, and gives opportunities for students to learn more about these major world religions,” Gustavus Chaplain Betsy Hoium said.
Hoium stressed that Lutheranism in particular, the faith with which Gustavus is associated, is all about embracing and connecting with others, whether they are of the Christian faith or not. This helped with deciding whether to do this series.
Cha discussed how his Buddhist faith carries a similar attitude toward other religions.
“The common attitude in Buddhism is that we tend to see other faiths, and people who are in them, as friends,” Cha said. “It’s never about discussing how Buddhism is superior.”
Gilbert, another practicing Buddhist, concurred.
“Buddhism is not a tradition that seeks to convert; we are open to how people understand the world,” Gilbert said. “We want to understand the nature of reality, and we want to think about how people of other faith traditions do this as well.”
Most of Cha’s friends are either Christian or atheists. One of the most important things, he emphasized, is to find common ground and begin constructive dialogue.
“If I am discussing my faith with a Christian theologian, we try to find some sort of perspective that goes beyond the secular,” Cha said. “We look for ideas that go beyond simply believing that the only source of meaning lies in society.”
Of course, the faith also seeks connection within itself. For Gilbert, technology has done a lot when it comes to communicating with other Buddhists.
“I have a group of Buddhist friends, and we meet once a week on Zoom,” Gilbert said. “There are a lot of us in North America, Indonesia, and Europe. It’s remarkable that we can be teaching and learning from all these areas at the same time.”
Interfaith Intern and Senior Zoe Jesh has been in charge of coordination for all three talks. She designed the series alongside Chaplain Grady St. Dennis. As an interfaith intern under the office of the Chaplains, Jesh will shadow or have Google Meet calls with other interfaith representatives, such as Lutheran social services or parish representatives.
“[Hoium] thought that it would be a good idea for students and faculty to gather in one place and hear about the different faiths we have on campus,” Jesh said. “We have a fair number of different faiths on Gustavus, and it’s good to see these faith backgrounds represented.”
Jesh commented that the process of arranging the events was fairly easy, as all of the speakers were ready and willing to participate via email.
Jesh has also been in charge of arranging the questioning format for the series.
“I will ask generalized questions about how faith is important, how the speakers were brought up in the faith, and about a particular insight they find valuable or useful,” Jesh said. “After these are answered, the floor is open to students, faculty, and staff who are in attendance.”
At the heart of the Christian faith, Hoium emphasized, is loving God and one another.
“We are called to love and serve our neighbors,” Hoium said. “Doing so is about getting to know, understand, and respect our neighbors-both what comes from them, and what they are about. We need to find commonalities, ways to partner and work together, and we need to find out what others believe.”
All involved hope that students can learn about the value of interfaith conversations and outreach.
“This is a way to participate in interfaith dialogue, and learn a bit more about Buddhism,” Cha said. “It’s important for the faith community to talk amongst one another constructively.”
“I hope that students participate and learn from these events,” Hoium said. “To be in dialogue is to show up, participate, and learn from one another, about both faith itself and the tradition that it manifests. It is very easy to stick with others who have things in common, and branching out to get to know other faiths is equally important.”
“This is a great opportunity to come and experience other faiths and people,” Gilbert said. “We like to make meaning. Following different traditions is how we do that, and this is an opportunity to hear a lot of diverse voices talk about what that looks like in their lives.”
“This is a really great opportunity to learn about a religion that you might not particularly identify with,” Jesh said. “It’s good to learn about diversity on campus, and where different faith backgrounds come from. We want to create a safe place for everyone on Gustavus in this regard.”