Earlier this month I spent time with the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee and gave the keynote for their 54th annual luncheon. For more than half a century, these faith leaders and practitioners from different traditions have been coming together to build relationships and connections in good times, knowing that sometimes we encounter bumps in the road. And when those bumps occur, we can navigate … Continue reading Interfaith
Rose Berger is the senior editor at Sojourners magazine. She is a poet and a Catholic peace activist. She’s traveled to conflict zones around the world to be in fellowship with faith communities who are working toward peace. We spoke about her recent trip to Ukraine, her belief in nonviolence and finding the courage to live an authentic life rooted in her faith. Read more about her … Continue reading Rose Berger
A few years back, I helped organize some interfaith programming at Holden Village and friends from Hamline University’s Wesley Center for Spirituality, Service and Social Justice joined us for a week of learning and fellowship in the mountains. I’d been to Holden several times previously and had been in the village already for a week when the Hamline folks arrived, so I gladly took on … Continue reading Intent vs. perception
We stood in utter darkness. I was 12 years old, 100 feet underground, in the long, winding passages of Mammoth Cave. The park service guide gathered us in one of the large rooms. He spoke of geology and history. He told us about preservation and heritage. Then he introduced me to the idea of light pollution. He explained that because of stray light in our … Continue reading My New Year’s Wish
I was at Holden Village last month when I heard the news. A mosque in my hometown of Bloomington, Minnesota had been bombed. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. I saw photos of the bomb’s damage in the national media, and those photos were taken by a friend. In the footage of the crowd that gathered, I saw people I knew, and they were friends. A few … Continue reading Coming down the mountain
Like all of us, I have a clear memory of that day 15 years ago. I remember the replayed television footage, the quiet skies. I was scheduled to leave for Africa on September 17. So little made sense and even less felt certain. Since that day I have been to Ground Zero three times. The first time, it was still a construction zone. Most recently, … Continue reading Talat Hamdani
“We can find peace together, or we can be left desiring.” Maham Khan was in her first year at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois in 2001. At the time, her Muslim faith was very private to her and she didn’t speak about it publicly. As a new student, she recognized the need to gain leadership experience and decided to join the Muslim Student Association, which … Continue reading Maham Khan
