Women’s Panel Discussion on Faith

Yesterday evening, three Elmhurst alumnae who work in ministry—Sr. Lisa Polega ’91, Syeda Kamran ’01 and Rev. Kelly Stone ’03— spoke as a part of a panel exploring dimensions of interfaith cooperation in their work. This panel was a part of Women’s History Month goings on and the “Still Speaking: Conversations on Faith” series of the College, the conversation was moderated by Associate Chaplain Michelle Hughes.

Two attendees were kind enough to briefly reflect on the event

“As a passionate “lobbyist” for social and environmental issues, there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty as I am catapulted into the world. While I came here as a follower of Christ in true faith, I now live ambiguously in terms of spirituality. Hearing these three passionate women of different [faiths] talk about uncertain, but fulfilling paths is very encouraging. Passion leads where passion fits for each crazy individual, even if a specific faith in God doesn’t exist to cling to.” -Sara Schroeder (a leader of the campus Amnesty International chapter who has blogged previously for EC interfaith)

“It’s great to see that three powerful women from three different faith backgrounds can come together an talk about how their faith, as well as others, are important in their lives. Also, hearing that Elmhurst College was an inspiration for their desire to promote interfaith [cooperation], as it has been for me is awesome” -Emily Mohney (a photographer for the college newspaper The Leader, and the College)

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A message from Chaplain H Scott Matheney

This is an open letter from our chaplain that is appearing in several forms to our campus community in the coming days. You can email Rev. Matheney at hscottm[at]elmhurst[dot]edu.

Today at Spiritual Life Council, we discussed similar issues as Scott references in this post (with regard to Islamophobia and religiously-based hate). Next week we will be writing letters to the politicians involved in the protest, as well as in support of several select Muslim communities. This is the first of several actions around these issues, as part of a national movement spurred by the urgency brought forward by the Orange County protests (as mentioned in my last post)

To our Elmhurst College community,

Today, March 10^th, our House of Representatives in Wash. D.C. will open hearing on home land security,  home-grown terrorist activity and Islam.

The implications for this review are far-reaching and have attracted international media coverage. As a college community rooted deeply in core values that inform our life as an academic institution, I raise this moment as one that needs your attention intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. We are not naive to the climate of fear and hate that permeates our society coupled with so much misinformation. This college has committed itself to a different course of actions then stigmatizing a particular people or religion, and so, as these hearing shall commence this day, we are each responsible to listen and speak with a degree of civility born of wisdom, not ignorance. I am especially concerned for my Muslim brothers and sisters who shall bear this scrutiny. There will be many big questions asked of all of us in these hearings and it is imperative that this college of learners and scholars find moments to reflect with the critical rigor that demands our best now. Indeed, the times that these hearings begin serve as a spring board for our critical reflections and sustained actions.

Help! My campus isn’t multi-faith!

Elmhurst College Chapel

Things I didn’t think about when applying to colleges: the party atmosphere, proximity to grocery stores, the importance of a fabulous library, whether the sidewalks are heated (Elmhurst’s are!), and a plethora of other things…including the religious make up of the campus. I didn’t know, coming to college, I would expand so far beyond my 17 year-old Lutheran-youth-group-church-nerd-self in acting on my beliefs and convictions regarding social change and faith-based organizing; I didn’t consider that I might want to attend a college with more religious diversity (or heck, diversity in general). I don’t know that I even thought about religious diversity in much earnest until, in my first week of college, someone invited me to Spiritual Life Council and I went because they did service work.

Elmhurst is 42% Roman Catholic and 21% Protestant, with 29% of our student body “Other, not affiliated, not reporting”, we have all of five active student organizations centered around a religious identity (out of more than 100 clubs and organizations), and yes, sometimes that makes interfaith cooperation an up-hill battle-

Reflections on the journey of a (F)a(i)theist: CRU and SSA

Mr. Stedman speaking with students following the lecture

Elmhurst College is in the middle of a year focused on building interfaith cooperation, hosting speakers and events around the theme of “Still Speaking: Conversations on Faith“. Last week the Spiritual Life Council, a student interfaith group, and the Better Together Campaign brought Mr. Chris Stedman, Interfaith and Community Service Fellow for the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard and blogger at NonProphet Status. Mr. Stedman met with small groups throughout the day, exploring the role of the non-religious in the collegiate institution; in the evening, Mr. Stedman presented the lecture “(F)a(i)theist: How One Atheist Learned to Stop Hating Religion and Became an Interfaith Activist” . He shared his journey of coming to identify as a Secular Humanist and his engagement in the interfaith movement. In this blog, leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ and Secular Students Association reflect on what they heard in Mr. Stedman’s address- these students are participating with the Better Together Campaign at Elmhurst College, working to affect hunger and poverty in DuPage County by working on projects with the People’s Resource Center.

The bigger picture

Members of the 2010-2011 IFYC Fellows Alliance cohort explain why they care about Interfaith Cooperation.