Kaufman Updates
Permanent link for Lessons of Humility and Hope from Interfaith America | By Liz English on August 20, 2024
Earlier in August, I had the opportunity to attend the Interfaith America Leadership Summit with two of my GVSU students volunteers. The theme of this year's Summit was The Ties That Bind, and we asked the question, in a time when our social fabric is being stretched thin, how can we come together to create positive engagement and reconnect? The three-day conference in Chicago was geared toward both educators and students actively engaged in interfaith work on their respective campuses across the country.
As a part of the opening plenary, we heard from Shira Hoffer, a senior at Harvard and a changemaker in the pursuit of interfaith understanding on her campus. In response to the October 7th attacks, Shira created the Hotline for Israel/Palestine, an educational initiative meant to provide a multi-partisan approach to the conflict with an emphasis on creating your own nuanced and informed perspective. From there, she went on to found the Institute for Multipartisan Education to continue to encourage curiosity as a tool for engaging across difference.
In her opening remarks, among her many pearls of wisdom, she left us with this very poignant and frank advice: “If you ever feel as ‘unexpert’ as me, it doesn’t mean you can’t still do something.”
Over the last two years in this job, there have been any number of times where the word ‘unexpert’ would have come in handy. Navigating the crisis in the Middle East is just one recent example. Securing musical instruments for visiting international bands was another. Developing engaging campus programming is an ongoing experience filled with questions like - Do I really know what I’m doing? Who am I to say? I’m no expert!
Thankfully, an integral part of the Summit is connecting with others who are also sailing uncharted waters and yes, sometimes making it up as they go. All levels of experience were present. Workshops included folks from Big 10 universities who brought 30 staff and students to the conference and also the single representative from the private school with less than 1500 people. Together, we were able to share our experiences, our wisdom, occasionally our resources, our successes, and, importantly, our missteps. We could name the challenge of this work honestly - the landscape for this work changes every day, and we must adapt to succeed. That means finding yourself in new and unfamiliar territory quite often as a program manager. We aren’t going to get it right every time. We cannot possibly be experts in everything that this diverse work requires of us. What we can do, though, is keep learning and keep trying, and it is so much easier to do so in community.
Shira’s comment provided a moment of vulnerability, honesty, and humility. And critically for those of us who may be worn down or burned out, her insight instilled within us a drive to keep going no matter what, because this work is truly that important.
As we enter into a new school year, we are trying new things once again, inventing and reinventing in community. On campus this year, Kaufman is creating spaces devoted to simply being human together, playing games, and sharing a meal (like our Multifaith Mixer), as well as those where we’ll dig deep to explore difficult conversations (such as our Faith Over Division conversation). I am perhaps most excited about the development of the Interfaith Student Council (IFSC) at GVSU, with a board of four fantastic students from across worldview traditions devoted to creating campus culture that values diversity, promotes understanding, and inspires collective action for positive change.
Rachel and Franklin, both of whom are on the board of the newly-minted IFSC, joined me at the Summit, and left with perhaps even more enthusiasm than they came with (which is saying something!). The energy with which they engaged in the three-day conference did wonders for my own excitement for the upcoming year. I cannot wait to see what they come up with for ways of engaging their fellow students. While we all will likely feel ‘unexpert’ from time to time, especially as we adapt and try new things, we will be sure to pause and celebrate what we have accomplished. Sure, that could mean a sell-out crowd at one of our large events, or more likely, in such relational work, it could mean a handful of heartfelt and open conversations, or a collaboration with a new university partner, or coffee and connection with a new friend. Or perhaps it looks like bringing two students to the Summit where my first year I attended alone. :)
A banner with The Ties That Bind, the theme for the Interfaith America Leadership Summit for 2024, hangs over the Makerspace, a spot for crafting during the conference.
Franklin and Rachel, members of the Interfaith Student Council board.
A closeup of a quilt created as part of the Interfaith America Summit 2024. (Franklin's addition is in the middle!)
The Surabhi Ensemble performing on the first night of the conference.
The crew! Liz, Rachel, and Franklin at the Summit.