2012 - 2013
Letter from an Unknown Woman: Joseph's Dream
Lecture by Avivah Zornberg at CSB on April 17, 2013
Drawing on literature, film, and psychoanalytic thought to inform her literary analysis of the biblical narrative about Joseph's dreams, Avivah Zornberg, one of the world's most captivating biblical teachers, explored the complex interplay between conscious and unconscious levels of experience reflected in the narrative's message about what it means to be human. This lecture was sponsored by the CSB Literary Arts Institute in collaboration with the Jay Phillips Center.
The U.S. Economy and "The Faithful Budget"
Lecture by Sister Simone Campbell, with responses by Rabbi Amy Eilberg and Nahid Khan, at CSB on March 6, 2013
Sister Simone Campbell, a leading spokesperson for the interreligious document "Priorities for a Faithful Budget," explained how the ideas contained in this document promote economic opportunity, adequate resources for the country's fiscal needs, reduction of poverty and hardship, care for the environment, better access to health care, true national security, and responsibility for future generations. She also explained how this budget reflects Catholic social teaching and why and how it can be promoted by Americans of different religious traditions and of no religious tradition. Following the lecture, Rabbi Amy Eilberg and Nahid Khan offered brief reflections about how "Priorities for a Faithful Budget" reflects Jewish and Muslim values. This program was sponsored by the College of Saint Benedict Koch Chair in Catholic Thought and Culture and co-sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning.
From Enemy to Friend: Jewish Reflections on Everyday Peacemaking
Lecture by Rabbi Amy Eilberg at SJU on February 4, 2013
Drawing on Judaism's rich body of sacred texts about peace and peacemaking, Rabbi Amy Eilberg, the first woman ordained as a rabbi in Judaism's Conservative Movement and a Jay Phillips Center rabbi-in-residence, explored why conflict arises among individuals and groups, what contributes to the resolution of conflict, and how each of us can serve the cause of peace. The lecture was sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center in collaboration with the CSB/SJU departments of peace studies and theology.
American Made
Film Screening and Student Interfaith Panel at SJU on January 31, 2013
The film "American Made," directed by Sharat Raju, was screened and followed by a student interfaith panel discussion. The panelists, each from a different religious tradition, explored religious stereotypes and generational changes in today's America, issues present in "American Made." The panelists were: Jinxi Han (moderator), Angela Dols, Nick Hamel, Hudda Ibrahim, and Tiffany Vang.
Adapting Buddhist Meditation Practices to Christian Spirituality
Lecture by Susan Stabile at SJU on November 12, 2012
Drawing from her recently published book, Growing in Love and Wisdom: Tibetan Buddhist Sources for Christian Meditation(Oxford University Press, 2012), Susan Stabile, who holds the Robert and Marion Short Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, explored values common to Christianity and Buddhism and how Buddhist meditation practices can enrich Christian spirituality. The program, sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center in collaboration with the CSB/SJU Buddhist Meditation Club, also included a guided meditation led by Professor Stabile.
Religion and Politics in Today's America
Interfaith Conversation Moderated by Kerri Miller at SJU on October 25, 2012
In response to questions from Kerri Miller, host of Minnesota Public Radio's weekday news program The Daily Circuit and monthly literary series Talking Volumes, and from members of the audience, panelists Pastor Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, Dr. Jon Armajani, associate professor of theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, Fr. Bill Vos, director of Catholic Relief Services for central Minnesota, and Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman, senior rabbi of Temple Israel in Minneapolis, discussed a wide variety of issues as they explored the interrelationship of personal faith, religious affiliation, political engagement, and public policy, particularly as these have been expressed during the 2012 political campaign season in Minnesota and throughout the United States. The program was jointly sponsored by the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement and the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning.
Dakota 38
Film Screening and Discussion with Jim Miller at SJU on October 18, 2012
The film "Dakota 38" was shown and followed by a discussion led by Dakota spiritual leader Jim Miller of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation about the Dakota history and spirituality introduced in the film. In 2005 Miller had a dream about riding on horseback across the great plains of South Dakota. Prior to waking, he found himself at a riverbank in Minnesota and saw 38 of his Dakota ancestors hanged. At the time, he knew nothing of the largest mass execution in United States history in 1862. Four years later, after embracing the message of the dream, Miller and a group of riders retraced the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback from Lower Brule, South Dakota, to Mankato, Minnesota, to arrive at the site of the hanging on the anniversary of the execution. "Dakota 38," which documents their journey, is a story of hope and healing as they confront the painful history it represents and the plight of their communities today. This program was sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning and the CSB/SJU Peace Studies Department in collaboration with the Healing Minnesota Stories initiative promoted by the St. Paul Interfaith Network.
The Radical Notion of Rest: Reflections on the Meaning of the Sabbath
Lecture by Rabbi David Wirtschafter at SJU on October 10, 2012
Rabbi David Wirtschafter, rabbi of the Ames Jewish Congregation in Iowa and rabbi-in-residence with the Jay Phillips Center for the 2012-2013 academic year, explored ways in which Jewish scholars have probed the meaning of the Sabbath and how the digital age raises new challenges for the distinction between the work place and home, labor and rest.
Pain Knows No Boundaries: An Interfaith Journey of Healing and Hope
Lecture by Fr. Michael Lapsley at SJU on October 2, 2012
Fr. Michael Lapsley, a legendary hero of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement and founding director the Institute for the Healing of Memories, explored the fundamental importance of an interfaith vision for the work of building a peaceful world. In the process, he highlighted the urgency of acknowledging past wounds to break the cycle that turns victims into victimizers and he considered how lessons from South Africa's long journey to freedom-a journey in which he played a key role and for which he suffered greatly-might apply to analogous struggles in the United States. This program was sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center in collaboration with the CSB/SJU departments of nursing and peace studies.