"As 30 undergraduate students gathered in the Smith Campus Center's Riverview Commons, the goal was simple: Come up with a new interfaith event for the spring semester. The group didn't have to limit itself to one. Getzel Davis, inaugural director of Interfaith Engagement at Harvard, encouraged everyone to break off into pairs. Within two minutes, students had spread across the room, workshopping more than a half-dozen ideas on big sheets of paper that they stuck to the walls."
"Now, Davis was asking them to pay it forward. How could they bring more students into meaningful discussions? How could they forge closer connections with one another?"
"In its first semester, the Presidential Initiative on Interfaith Engagement has pushed these questions to the center of campus discourse. Led by Davis, with support from multifaith engagement fellow Abby McElroy, the program has brought more events, resources, and support for students looking to engage in religious, spiritual, and ethical questions in curious, nonjudgmental environments."
Thirty first-year fellows spent a semester learning about one another's religious and spiritual backgrounds, discussing campus challenges, and imagining joint events. Inaugural director Getzel Davis and multifaith engagement fellow Abby McElroy expanded offerings that include twice-monthly interfaith dinners, expert panels, community service, Interfaith Photovoice, and Pluralism Passports. Students ideated new events collaboratively and organized programs that attracted hundreds. Activities emphasize curious, nonjudgmental engagement across faith and belief differences and aim to create sustained interfaith connections and supportive spaces for religious, spiritual, and ethical exploration on campus.
Read at Harvard Gazette
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