January 2014 Program

Program from 12 noon to 1:30 pm at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on the Open Doors Thermal Shelter (formerly HARTS).

December 5 IFA Luncheon

Jerrilyn MacDanel, a highly-respected music educator who has guided our area children through many aspects of musicianship for many years while also developing her own philosophy of music education, will speak to us on music as "the heart of worship."

Jerrilyn will take on the topic of "contemporary" music and how it fits in to worship services, both within the established church and beyond the church walls.  The sacred dimension of music can penetrate every heart, and Jerrilyn will help us to explore the many ways in which choral singing can open our hearts to sacred experience.

 

We meet in the East Dining Room of EMU's cafeteria at noon Thursday, December 5.

Community Events

“The Church and Same-Sex Marriage: Two Perspectives”

A coalition of local groups will sponsor a public forum entitled, “The Church and Same-Sex Marriage: Two Perspectives,” at Bridgewater College’s Cole Hall on Tuesday, November 12^th, at 7 p.m. 

This structured dialogue will present the community with two different pastoral perspectives on same-sex marriage. The event is being hosted by Bridgewater College’s Pre-Law Society and co-sponsored by Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Interfaith Engagement and The Valley Family Forum.

The traditional position—that the Church should only endorse marriage between a man and woman—will be presented by Dr. John Sloop, who served as Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg for the past 27 years. The view that the Church should also endorse same-sex marriage will be presented by Rev. Daniel Robayo, who was ordained in 1988 and is the current Rector of Harrisonburg’s Emmanuel Episcopal Church.

While the session will bear some resemblances to a traditional debate, its organizers prefer to call it an “encounter.” The encounter is designed to foster mutual respect and a deeper understanding of the two perspectives rather than to produce a “winner.” For instance, after both perspectives are presented, each participant will be asked to restate the other’s perspective to the other's satisfaction. There will also be a time for the two participants to entertain questions from the audience. Eastern Mennonite University’s Barry Hart will moderate the encounter. Hart is a professor of Trauma, Identity and Conflict Studies at EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

This will be the first of two encounters dealing with cultural issues surrounding same-sex marriage. The second, tentatively scheduled for next spring, will feature public policy experts discussing the question of whether civil marriage should encompass committed same-sex couples.

These encounters are the product of the newly-created “Community Dialogue Project,” which seeks to bring liberal and conservative elements of the community together to discuss important cultural issues at a deeper level and with greater civility than is typical in today’s polarized, partisan environment. The Community Dialogue Project includes John Fairfield, Research Fellow at EMU's Center for Interfaith Engagement; Rita Dunaway, Vice President for Public Policy at Virginia Christian Alliance; David Brubaker, Associate Professor with EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding; and Tim Frost, Facilitating Pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

A pdf of a publicity poster is here. For more information, please contact The Community Dialogue Project at CommunityDialogueProject@gmail.com.

For more information, please contact John Fairfield at contact me at (540) 271 4008; jhn.frfld@gmail.com, or Rita Dunaway at (540) 830-1229; rita.dunaway@gmail.com

September Program

Isabel Castillo and Rick Castaneda of Virginia Organizing will present "Documented and Afraid: What does the faith community have to say about immigration reform?"

Meal and program from noon to 1:30 in the West Dining Room on the ground floor of Northlawn at Eastern Mennonite University. Come early to go through the line before the student rush. Senior discount available.

May 2013 Interfaith Program

Our May 2 meeting will be at Harrisonburg’s Church of Latter Day Saints meetinghouse at 210 South Main, http://goo.gl/maps/IoLJk .   The speakers will be Bob Brady and Jim Herrick.  They will share thoughts on being a "Mormon" in the Shenandoah Valley.  Jim is a professor of microbiology at JMU and a former bishop of the LDS 1st Ward in Harrisonburg. Bob is retired and has been an active participant of IFA for many years.

Past Programs

April 4 Interfaith Association Meeting

EMU West Dining Room

12:00 Noon

Hadley Jenner from the Interfaith Housing committee will give an update on their work to end homelessness.

New Community Project will talk about their Sustainability Center that is nearly completed.

Rev. Daniel Robayo will speak on the topic of how Emmanuel Episcopal Church lives out its faith in the valley.

 


March meeting cancelled due to weather.

February 7 Interfaith Association Meeting

EMU West Dining Room

12:00 Noon

Ben Fordney and Dwayne Martin will present on the topic of The President’s proposals to curb gun violence. 

Ben Fordney is a History professor, has served in the foreign service and is the  Chairman of the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Roundtable.

Dwayne Martin is employed at the Crossroads Counseling Center as the Mental health support program coordinator. Prior to this he served as a police officer with the city of Harrisonburg as a part of the Crisis/Hostage negotiation team, Special operations team, and two years routine patrol.

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December 6

We are fortunate to have Dr. Amir Akrami presenting at our monthly meeting, 

He will be speak about the Islamic faith and how a greater understanding of Islam helps us in America have more peaceful relations across religions and cultures. He will describe his views on how the West and Iran could peacefully resolve the current dispute.

Dr. Akrami’s bio:

Dr. Akrami, EMU’s first visiting Muslim scholar in the Center for Interfaith Engagement, arrived mid-September in Harrisonburg and will continue in his role as visiting scholar through summer 2013. He comes to EMU from the Iranian Institute of Philosophy in Tehran, Iran.

Dr. Akrami has been a regular participant in the internationally respected Building Bridges Seminars in London, 2002; Bosnia, 2005; Washington DC, 2006; Singapore, 2007 and Rome 2008 (http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/networks/building_bridges), and has organized and participated in numerous interfaith conferences and workshops. He has written and published broadly on topics of inter-religious dialogue, religious pluralism, Islamic mysticism, theology and philosophy.

He holds an M.A in Religions and Mysticism from the University of Tehran, and a PhD in Philosophy of Religion from McGill University in Montreal. From 2006-2009 he served as lecturer of Islamic Studies at Al-Mahdi Institute, Birmingham, UK, and has taught courses in Buddhism, Christianity, Philosophy of Religion, and Islamic Mysticism.

November 1
Guest speaker Dr. Sam Showalter spoke on "Addiction and Grace," based on his own experience in working with addicted persons and on the book by that title authored by the late Dr. Gerald May, a psychiatrist and theologian, and led us in a conversation on how addiction affects each of us.

October 4

“Religion and the 2012 Election”

Dr. Frances Flannery and Dr. Jennifer Connerley, are both professors at James Madison University.  Dr. Connerley will be present to the October 4 Interfaith meeting and most likely Dr. Flannery.  There is a family health issue that could prevent her from coming.

Professor Connerley teaches courses in U.S. religions and American Studies. Her writing and research interests include new religious movements in the United States, evangelicalism, and the Latter-day Saints.

Professor Flannery teaches and researches in the areas of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism, and Religious Terrorism. Her main areas of study have been Second Temple Judaism, particularly focusing on issues related to apocalypticism, early Jewish mysticism, and religious experience. More recently, she has been focusing her research and writing on issues of Religious Terrorism, in the context of religious beliefs and cultural constructs.

Dr. Jennifer Connerley will address the specific religious histories of Barack Obama (United Church of Christ) and Mitt Romney (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).  She will also consider the public discussions and controversies surrounding the religions of both candidates, reflecting on both the 2008 and 2012 election cycles.

Dr. Frances Flannery will discuss the religious ideas informing this year's presidential election cycle.  She will provide a special focus on apocalyptic beliefs amongst candidates, as well as an analysis of the election in the context of terrorism threats and unstable governments worldwide.

COMMUNITY EVENTS BULLETIN BOARD

Center for Interfaith Engagement

Spring Semester Classes at EMU

CIE 530 Topics in Interfaith Studies:  Introduction to Islam
This course introduces Islam as a living and significant religion in today’s world.  Beginning with the revelation of the Quran and the Prophet’s life, the main doctrinal, mythical, ethical- legal, spiritual-mystical, ritual and social dimensions of Islam will be explored. In the context of interfaith engagement, similarities and contrasts between Islam, Christianity and Judaism will be examined.   $100
Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. January 8 – April 16, 2013. 

CIE 535 Topics in Interfaith Studies:  Issues in Islam 
This course focuses on issues such as the relation between Islam and other religions, Islam and modernity, Islam and violence, Islamic spirituality, Islamic theology and philosophy. Opportunity will be given for students to identify issues of interest. A wide variety of classical and contemporary views of Islam will be discussed, giving more attention to the responses of Muslim scholars to modern challenges. Comparisons will be made between Islam and other religious traditions to develop a better interfaith engagement. Fundamental knowledge of Islam is a prerequisite.  $200
Wednesdays, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. January 9 – April 17, 2013. 

Reserve space in one or both of these classes by replying directly to this email or by emailing interfaith@emu.edu. Although offered at a special non-credit rate, community members are welcome to register for college credit through the EMU Registrar’s Office, 432-4110.

Both classes will be taught by Dr. Amir Akrami.

An Intro to Dr. Amir Akrami

Dr. Akrami, EMU’s first visiting Muslim scholar in the Center for Interfaith Engagement, arrived mid-September in Harrisonburg and will continue in his role as visiting scholar through summer 2013.  He comes to EMU from the Iranian Institute of Philosophy in Tehran, Iran.

Dr. Akrami has been a regular participant in the internationally respected Building Bridges Seminars in London, 2002; Bosnia, 2005; Washington DC, 2006; Singapore, 2007 and Rome 2008 (http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/networks/building_bridges), and has organized and participated in numerous interfaith conferences and workshops. He has written and published broadly on topics of inter-religious dialogue, religious pluralism, Islamic mysticism, theology and philosophy.

He holds an M.A in Religions and Mysticism from the University of Tehran, and a PhD in Philosophy of Religion from McGill University in Montreal.  From 2006-2009 he served as lecturer of Islamic Studies at Al-Mahdi Institute, Birmingham, UK, and has taught courses in Buddhism, Christianity, Philosophy of Religion, and Islamic Mysticism. 

EMU’s Visiting Scholar program has been made possible by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

More information about EMU’s Center for Interfaith Engagement is available at www.emu.edu/interfaith

Gretchen H. Maust, Associate Director

Center for Interfaith Engagement

Seminary South Suite, 138

Eastern Mennonite University

1200 Park Road

Harrisonburg, VA  22802