Reflection on Chicago Interfaith Leaders Prayer Breakfast

Veronica Coriano is a senior at Elmhurst, she is an RA involved with intercultural studies and affairs on campus. She writes here her reflections on the 47th Annual Chicago Leadership Prayer Breakfast attended by a group of eight staff and students went to this event and were able to meet and engage with interfaith leaders of Chicagoland, as well has be present for a fabulous keynote address by Rev. Dr. Welton Gaddy among other presenters.

The interfaith focus of this year’s prayer breakfast was impressive. It is rare that I attend an eventthat not only acknowledges diversity, but embraces it as well.

The keynote address by Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of the Interfaith Alliance, was both sincere and uplifting. Noting the most recent backlash against Muslim’s in the United States, and comparing it to the resistance against other groups in our past, sheds light on the ways in which we are still struggling to overcome our prejudices. However, the spirit in the room was one of hope, encouragement, and purpose. As Dr. Gaddy stated, “it is not despite our differences, but because of them” that we gather not only to pray, but to fostercooperation, understanding, and appreciation of the beauty and knowledge that comes from difference.

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Spiritual Life Council trip to the Baha’i House of Worship

This guest post is written by Rachel Harley, Elmhurst College Sophomore and secretary of the Spiritual Life Council. She shares her comments about a November trip that Elmhurstians took to the North American Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette IL.

Elmhurst Students (and the Chaplain) at the Baha'i House of Worship

Recently the Elmhurst College Spiritual Life Council had the opportunity to visit America’s one and only Baha’i temple, conveniently located in Wilmette. Approaching the temple it was obvious that our group was in for something different. Located in a residential neighborhood, the giant white structure was hard to ignore. The temple itself looked like something that belonged in a fairy tale; the gardens and fountains that surrounded the nine-sided building and created an incredibly peaceful atmosphere for a Chicago suburb.