Kaufman Updates
Permanent link for An Ode to Oman, by Zahabia Ahmed-Usmani, Program Manager on December 15, 2023
I have always lived as a member of a minority religious tradition in a predominantly Christian society. Upon arriving in Oman, one of the first feasts for my senses was the experience of being in a Muslim society. The wafting smell of Frankincense upon exiting the plane in the airport, the prominence of opulent mosques along the roadside, the witnessing of people in Omani garb, and the sounds of the call to prayers transported me to a place that felt strangely comfortable despite its foreignness. I was in Oman for an Interfaith Photovoice project at the Al Amana Centre. I had met up with two of my soon-to-be lifelong friends in this cohort, two Lutheran women from Finland. One of them had interned in Oman and said that she felt most at peace, at home and welcome in Oman. So maybe this place wasn’t making this impression on me because of my personal spirituality, maybe it was just entrancing?
Interfaith Photovoice is a visual sociology tool that uses photos taken on smartphones to answer complex questions that are impossible to convey only verbally. The pictures are accompanied by narratives that work alongside one another so that, as participants share their intention and perspective, others can build on that experience using their pictures and/or experiences, or they can share a completely different angle of the question at hand. Professor Roman Williams led our group through this process. Central to Oman’s culture is an emphasis on multiculturalism and peace. The country celebrates the UN International Day for Tolerance pretty significantly for which the photos we curated into an exhibit would share our perspectives of tools that would help promote peace and understanding across lines of difference. However, due to the violence and oppression taking place in Palestine, this celebration and all others (including the National Day of Oman) were canceled. Nonetheless, we were there for this project and the process of taking part in Interfaith Photovoice was the fodder for deep, meaningful friendships and embodied learning that will live on with us for our lifetimes.
Our cohort of two women and a Christian man from west Michigan (myself- a Muslim and a Christian man and woman), a Muslim woman from Germany, two Lutheran women (one of whom is a minister), and two Palestinians (a Muslim man and a Lutheran woman) from the West Bank. This group lived together at the Al Amana Centre in Muscat, Oman. We were in an old part of the city called Mutrah. The Al Amana Centre’s mission statement says it fosters peace and reconciliation through safe, immersive, interfaith experiences. The center housed, fed, and provided gathering spaces (the majlis) for the Photovoice project. Beyond this, they took us on excursions to multiple Souqs, a visit to a desert resort, a short hike to the aflaj irrigation system, a swim at the Wadi (ravine), a coastline sunset Dhow boat tour, a visit to date farm with a home cooked Omani meal, a trip to a private beach club where we saw bioluminescence, a visit to the National Museum, and a trip to the mall.
Most importantly, we experienced being non-Muslim in a majority Muslim country. We visited the compounds on which most Christians worshiped, a Sikh Gurudwara, and a Hindu Temple. In addition to visiting the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (jaw-droppingly gorgeous) we had the historic experience of the first time non-Muslims were welcome to observe Friday Prayers in Oman at the Al Ameen Mosque. Part of Oman keeping the peace is a strict law forbidding proselytization for people of any faith tradition. Our experiences transported us deep into the Omani culture and our meaningful conversations, excursions, and card games during downtimes bonded the group to one another. We talked about everything from Jinns in Islam to life under occupation. We shared stories of our families, our hopes and dreams, the differences among the cultures we each came from, the ways in which we would forever be transformed and the ways in which we would share our learnings with others.
Zahabia Ahmed-Usmani
Photovoice group and Christian interns from Bangladesh outside of the ticket office of the Mutrah Fort
Having lunch at the Sama desert resort
On a sand dune in the dessert with Interfaith friends from West Michigan (background), Oman, and Germany (foreground)
Al Ameen Mosque, the first time non-Muslims were allowed to observe Friday prayers
Having a traditional Omani breakfast at a restaurant on the way to Nizwa
The Wadi (ravine)
Mohammed (Al Amana Centre) serving us Omani tea after breakfast.
Our walk to the Aflaj through the old city - little did I know what lush beauty would lie ahead
Omani kids swimming in the Aflaj. I wondered how many of these children's parents and grandparents had swam in the same pool?
My Finnish friend and and I taking off on Dhow boat shoreline tour
Sunset on Mohammed's date farm
Me taking a picture of a stained glass depiction of baby Jesus in Joseph's arms at the visit to the church.
Interfaith Photovoice cohort and Al Amana Centre staff at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Posted on Permanent link for An Ode to Oman, by Zahabia Ahmed-Usmani, Program Manager on December 15, 2023.
Permanent link for Prepping for Wellness Week 2023 on November 30, 2023
As we head into the season typically known as "Exam Cram" on campus, the Kaufman team has partnered with Recreation & Wellness and the University Libraries to switch the focus a bit from cramming and stressing to decompressing for a week! Wellness Week will begin Monday December 4th and continue through Friday Dec 8th. Check out this website for more information!
One of our interns, Molly, decided to reflect a bit on what spiritual wellness means to her as she's grown into interfaith work.
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My spiritual wellness journey is something that has been really important to me and greatly impacted my life. A key factor to understanding my spiritual wellness was grasping the idea that religion looks different for everyone. Growing up I was raised in a synagogue and it was up to my parents what I participated in. As I got older it started to become up to me how I engaged with my Jewish community. I found out what brought me joy within Judaism, and it made the experiences that I had with my religion a lot more positive. For me, Judaism creates a place where I can make a difference in the world around me. In Judaism, there is a phrase tikkun olam with means, repairing the world. A big part of a lot of Jewish programming is social action. This could mean participating in service projects, bringing in speakers to learn about a topic or lobbying for a cause. I tend to gravitate towards the social action part of Judaism.
Another really big part of Judaism for me is the community aspect. The communities that I have created are not just surrounded by people of my same faith, but any community that allows me to explore my religion. My interfaith community has been so important to me in maintaining a healthy spiritual wellness. There have been times where it has felt scary to embrace my Judaism and my interfaith community has been there to support me. Whether I was going to an interfaith or a youth group event it felt refreshing to be able to express my religion in a safe environment. Being in these spaces reminds me that I am not alone, and there are people that have like minded values to mine.
Molly Schless, Kaufman Campus Intern
Posted on Permanent link for Prepping for Wellness Week 2023 on November 30, 2023.
Permanent link for Grappling with Thanksgiving, by Liz English, Kaufman Program Coordinator on November 14, 2023
While we enter into this season of thanksgiving, it’s important to be cognizant of the various perspectives and often harmful mythologies that color this time of year for many of our neighbors. For some, this is a peaceful holiday of gathering and giving, a time to surrounding oneself with loved ones; for others, it is a reminder of the painful reality and lingering effects of settler colonialism, and is seen and deeply felt as a day of mourning and loss. With these two stories at loggerheads, we’re left with a tradition that requires reimagining.
The Nuns & Nones Land Justice Project is a national interfaith organization focused on land protection, regeneration, and the expansion of land equity to marginalized and dispossessed communities. In line with this work, they are also naming and wrestling with these juxtaposed perspectives of this season while working with indigenous leaders to find solutions and work toward repair. Their upcoming webinar “Healing this Broken Land: Indigenous Leadership in the Face of Climate Crisis”,taking place next Sunday, November 19th from 4:30-6:30 EST, is a part of their “Rethinking Thanksgiving” initiative. The discussion will be led by Indigenous organizers and non-Native comrades who are cultivating strategies and radical approaches in the struggle toward decolonization, resilience, and repair.
A reminder to be grateful to those in our lives who provide us with peace, with wisdom, and with love will always be welcome. But we must also use this time of reflection to repair those relationships, with our neighbors and with the land, that are strained or broken.
Liz English
Permanent link for My Interfaith Journey, by Molly Schless, Kaufman Campus Intern on November 14, 2023
My first interfaith relationship was something that was so special to
me and got me into the interfaith work that I’m continuing to do
today. My freshman year of high school, my youth group partnered with
an interfaith nonprofit called Children of Abraham Coalition or COAC.
After the program itself, we all had dinner together and I decided to
sit next to one of the boys from COAC who was in my group. To be
completely honest, the main reason I did this was out of pity. I
noticed that this boy was sitting alone in a room full of Jews and was
one of the only people of a different faith. We ended up having a
really great conversation and it was my favorite part of that whole
weekend. After that event, I continued to do things with COAC and I
got to know this boy, Fares and the amazing person he is. Fares moved
to the US when he was around 10 years old and came here without
speaking any English. Even though his whole life had been turned
upside down when he came to America, he decided to be an interfaith
leader. Through his years at COAC, Fares has inspired so many
including myself to stand up against faith-based hate and treat others
with kindness. These kinds of connections have been one of my favorite
parts about being in the interfaith community. Through my years at
events, I have met so many amazing people like Fares and seen so many
different points of views on life. What I have learned from other
faiths has made me not only become a better leader but a better
person. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have gotten as an
interfaith leader and am so excited to continue my journey through Kaufman.
Molly
Schless
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Permanent link for Jesus and John Wayne: A Book Review and Look Into a Larger Dialogue, by Cecelia Olson, Kaufman Campus Intern on November 10, 2023
As part of my education here at Grand Valley students are required to take courses related to global issues and conversations. This led me, fittingly, to a classroom full of students dedicated to learning about the history of religion within the United States. Supporting our efforts of further research on religion that pertained to our personal interests our professor assigned a book review and research proposal. This is how Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez entered my life.
For some background information, Kristin Kobes Du Mez is an American Historian having been published on multiple occasions and earning a place on New York Times BestSellers list. She is currently also a professor at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan teaching courses surrounding History and Gender Studies. Du Mez earned her PhD from the University of Notre Dame and her studies surround the intersection of gender, politics, and religion. While she has written numerous articles for various media companies like NPR and the New York Times, she has two book publications of her own authorship: A New Gospel for Women and Jesus and John Wayne.
The full title of this Evangelical American history book is: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. While I am personally a Christian, I find myself a minority in America as a traditional Orthodox Christian, therefore not falling under the umbrella of Evangelicalism like most Protestant traditions here in the nation. I say this to highlight how little I know about this version of Christianity that has dominated much of American history and identity, and as Du Mez showed me, has influenced American culture in deeper ways than I had ever thought.
There is not a particular progressive agenda with Jesus and John
Wayne. Written around the time of the 2016 presidential election
many people in the nation were puzzled and asking, “Where did all of
these Trump Voters come from?” and Du Mez offers an answer. It is no
surprise these voters were largely made up of politically
conservative Evangelical Christians, but how did this strong and
unique identity even develop in the first place? Jesus and John Wayne
works retrospectively to untangle the history of social and political
movements of the past century that have created the present day
“evangelical cult of masculinity” (301). Very broadly summarized, Du
Mez unpacks how white Evangelicals in present American society are not
only a distinct group, but a group not totally submitted to the
theology and scripture of Christianity. She suggests they are rather
people of a culture that promotes rugged individualism, patriarchal
authority, militancy, as well as American nationalism and superiority,
but didn’t want to give up the label of Christians.
Du Mez does not focus on anything specifically Interfaith within her
work but she does thoroughly demonstrate the depth of relationship
between religion and culture.
This is obviously not a new concept,
the intertwinedness of religion and culture, but the general belief is
that religion dictates culture. Jesus and John Wayne brings to our
attention a group of people who have lived in the inverse, where a
culture dominated and “corrupted” a religion.
Du Mez writes, “By the early twentieth century, Christians recognized that they had a masculinity problem. Unable to shake the sense that Christianity had a less than masculine feel, many blamed the faith itself, or at least the “feminization” of Victorian Christianity, which privileged gentility, restraint, and an emotive response to the gospel message”(15). The virtues that are the pillar of Chrsitan life, patience, love, peace, gentleness and so on, are not conducive to the American man or the image of American masculinity.
Jesus didn’t look, talk, or act like John Wyane. This rugged and militant American culture clashed with Christianity and the image of Christ was corrupted.
This reality Du Mez untangles, opens a dialogue to a much larger conversation of Christ in America. As an Eastern Orthodox Christian, the image of Jesus and Christianity I witness in Evangelicalism and Protestantism in general, is very different from the Christ I know. But oftentimes these are still images of Christ I can recognize because it is still the God of genuine love for thy neighbor and thy enemy.
Other times I see a weaponized version of “Christ”. Just the other
day, on Grand Valley’s campus there was a group of preachers who
called themselves Chrsitans but
shouted nothing but superiority,
contention, exclusivity, condemnation, and hate towards others.
They didn’t look, talk, or act like the Jesus I know.
A friend of mine, who is one of the most devout Christians I have
ever met and identifies under the non-denominational branch, came to
me crying for the same
reason. This corruption of a faith, as Du
Mez would say, did not simply corrupt evangelicalism but spread and
weaponized the image of a much larger faith that is
Christianity.
It is worth noting that not all evangelicals or protestant Christians
belong, subscribe, or agree with the Christianity De Mez highlights,
but I am not alone in being
aware that the image of the true
Christian God and the Jesus’ teachings, has been horribly distorted
and made harmful to countless people. So we are left with a question
that has no real answer: what do we do? How do Christians, interfaith
leaders, Americans even go about trying to heal something that has
been so fractured and corrupted?
I certainly don’t have an answer of how to heal this reality of a
weaponized Jesus that dominates American culture. But the first step
towards healing is to identify and accept that something is broken,
distorted, or corrupted. Du Mez and her work Jesus and John
Wayne analyzes and identifies this wound that is openly bleeding
in the
American spiritual scene. The last line of Jesus and John
Wayne reads, “What was once done might also be undone” (304).
With an informed and hopeful voice, Du Mez decided to speak up and open a very relevant and crucial dialogue about Christianity and its relationship with American culture. Perhaps this is the first step to the undoing.
Cecelia Olson
Permanent link for On Forgiveness, by Franklin Specter, Kaufman Campus Intern on October 31, 2023
“...the wise forgive but do not forget.” - Thomas Szasz
Recently, I chose to look into how Judaism tackles forgiveness.
After struggling with someone recently, I thought it would be
important to reflect on the situation. Forgiveness is a value I hold
dear - living with forgiveness and embracing the wholeness of its
caliber offers me a lot of peace from day to day. Opening Google
Chrome and typing into the search bar, I was hoping to find a cool
story about forgiveness. Instead, I came across an
article written by Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar titled “A Story of
Forgiveness and Reconciliation,” written a couple of years ago.
I enjoyed it less for the biblical (torah-lical?) text, and more so
for the new perspective it offered to me on forgiveness. It was a much
better find than just a cool story.
In the middle of the work, Rabbi Kedar starts a paragraph with “Memory goes to the very foundation of our tradition.” I believe this statement applies to humans in general, and all their cultural mechanisms. From viking funerals to a native American burial, there’s an honor in conducting ceremonies to remember someone’s passing. Memory serves many feelings, and forgiveness is one of them. Later in the paragraph Kedar says “The evil and offensive ways of the world are remembered so that we may learn to do better, that we may hold the victims in a loving space in our hearts, that we may be wiser in identifying when evil begins to lurk in our midst. No, we do not forget,” following that later with my key takeaway from the article:
“Forgiveness is the gift we give ourselves.”
As I said, forgiveness offers me a lot of peace, but never before have I thought of forgiveness as a gift to myself. I think this gift can be given to others as well if they choose to embrace forgiveness. Thinking about the larger world, and my seemingly small problems in relation, I think it is important for forgiveness to be given to one’s self and others more often. Forgiving in the day-to-day will let us all take a look at a bigger picture and work together. Given this post, I can leave those who take time out of their day for me with one last thing to think about: Going forward, how will you use the phrase “Forgive and forget”?
Franklin Specter, Kaufman Campus Intern
Posted on Permanent link for On Forgiveness, by Franklin Specter, Kaufman Campus Intern on October 31, 2023.
Permanent link for A Reflection On Patel's Interfaith Leadership, by Franklin Specter, Kaufman Campus Intern on October 17, 2023
Interfaith Leadership A Primer is written by Eboo Patel, founder of Interfaith America.The foundation stands to bring together diverse communities into spaces of cooperation; and this book compiles information, strategies, and personal narratives from Patel’s experiences working toward that goal. The book introduces the interfaith in a consumable way providing opportunity for the reader to think and explore further.
I am expressing my thoughts on an in-between I found in the book that I want to explore further. I found Patel’s book never really touched on what I discuss, and believe it is an interesting perspective to consider. If you build an educational bridge for interfaith for a community that wants to embrace it but doesn’t have the opportunity, can they cross that bridge and be considered pluralist?
Page 63 states a key concept from the book: “Such insights [discussing how diversity leads to civil isolation] lead scholars like Diana Eck to draw a distinction between diversity and pluralism: diversity is simply the fact the fact of people with different identities in intense interaction; pluralism is the achievement of understanding and cooperation.” This distinction was new to me, but it makes sense. A place can be diverse and individualist. However, I had a few thoughts regarding the paragraph. If the goal is pluralism, do you first have to make the space diverse? Can you educate on interfaith well enough without personal interactions for people to understand and be willing to cooperate once they do meet a diverse environment? I do believe it is possible, but then maybe never successful. If you instill within someone the willingness to cooperate, is it their job to seek out diversity? If a community is understanding and willingly cooperative but the environment isn’t diverse, will they ever be pluralist? The small town of Nowhere, Kansas would have a hard time enacting what Patel teaches even if they want to embrace it. There’s an interesting position within the transition between diversity and pluralism that exists. I think people reside there, and I’m not quite sure how I’d classify their experiences with interfaith.
Franklin Specter, Kaufman Campus Intern
Permanent link for Standing Together On Campus: Presence as Activism on September 26, 2023
Last week, the Kaufman Institute partnered with United Campus Christian Fellowship, Campus Ministry, and InterVarsity to host a food drive. We were stationed front and center on the Allendale Campus, at the Cook Carillon Tower. We started out with high spirits and a beautiful day.
About an hour later, we were joined in the public courtyard by several enthusiastic preachers, some very boisterous with t-shirts declaring “Only Christians Can Be Saved,” some with flyers, and others with whiteboards about sin, salvation, and who would and would not be included when that day came. We as an interfaith organization with our signs advertising our “Interfaith Food Drive” were quickly labeled a “false path,” ultimately leading students away from the only true path to redemption, namely “born-again Christianity.” This continued for hours. Needless to say, it was a rough day.
The beauty and the challenge of freedom of speech was in full-effect. As a public university with a public campus, this group had every right to be present and to make themselves heard. A number of students engaged with them, many in protest of their presence and their message.
In watching all of this unfold, I was reminded of just how difficult it is to engaging with those with whom you disagree, especially when their message and manner is antagonistic, aggressive, and unwieldy. I felt waves of emotion wash over me, from disbelief to exasperation to anger to hurt and back again. I was frozen. Despite my knowledge of good conversational tactics, of how to disagree well, of the ineffectiveness of fighting emotion with fact, in the moment, I remained in a mode self-preservation. Best I could do was to listen, to hold space for those passers-by who were verbally assaulted to find a moment of respite, and to remind them where to find spaces of support on campus. It did not feel like enough.
Balancing self-care with activism, self-preservation with bravery, is a skill I have not yet mastered. However, that we stayed in that space for the full 5 hours that we reserved our tables, that we chose not to engage with hateful speech, is itself a form of activism. We demonstrated an alternative to their message in our presence alone, something that did not go unnoticed. Many students, faculty, and staff approached us with expressions of gratitude, support, and apology for having to experience such a barrage, which we returned in kind.
I am very grateful for the team of co-sponsors that stuck it out, that broadcast messages of acceptance and affirmation, and that helped hand out pizza to passing students as a compassionate attempt to offer nourishment during a trying situation. While I hope the next food drive will prove less traumatic, I am also grateful for the lessons learned and the reminder of the importance of cooperation as we face these challenges together.
Liz English
Posted on Permanent link for Standing Together On Campus: Presence as Activism on September 26, 2023.
Permanent link for Naming and Addressing Food Insecurity on Campus on September 12, 2023
According to a 2016 survey of 34 two- and four-year colleges in the US, a staggering 30% of students experience food insecurity at some point during their time on campus, with numbers as high as 48% reporting it within the last 30 days. With the sharp economic decline that accompanied the pandemic, some estimates suggest the national rate of food insecurity has doubled since then. This has led some to call food insecurity on college campuses "the invisible epidemic."
There is ample research outlining the devastating effect food- and basic-needs-insecurity can have on a student’s performance and health, as food-insecure students generally fall into a lower GPA category, have lower completion rates, and have reported higher levels of stress and depression, to name a few.
University food banks are a small-scale but critical solution to a very large-scale issue, and we are thrilled to support GVSU’s fantastic Replenish Basic Needs Center with an Interfaith Food Drive next Thursday, September 21st on the Allendale Campus. Our hope is to raise awareness about the pervasiveness of this issue, to try to remove the stigma of turning to Replenish for support, and to stock Replenish’s shelves!
Replenish’s mission statement states it quite succinctly: “By offering free basic needs items while connecting students to essential services, Replenish helps students meet the short-term challenges of accessing basic needs, while also building and advocating for long-term support services to address these needs, all while using a holistic and social justice approach.” They serves students on each of GV’s three predominant campuses - Allendale, Pew, and the Health Campus. Not only do they provide free perishable and non-perishable food items, they connect students to a wide variety of support resources on and off campus, including mental health services, financial assistance, technology needs, and more.
The United Campus Christian Fellowship, Campus Ministry, and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship are teaming up with the Kaufman Interfaith Institute to host this drive. Let’s get folks out in droves to support our Laker community!
Posted by Liz English on Permanent link for Naming and Addressing Food Insecurity on Campus on September 12, 2023.
Permanent link for Interfaith Across the State of Michigan on September 5, 2023
This past week, the Kaufman Interfaith Institute called together 15 leaders representing 19 different interfaith initiatives and organizations from across the state of Michigan for a convening at Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo. This small gathering of Interfaith leaders was a fruitful time of listening and story sharing about the structures, dynamics, and foci of multi-faith groups to identify best practices and offer support to one another.
We delighted in the opportunity to build new connections and relationships with each other and between our respective organizations. While each of our organizations are unique to the communities in which we operate and the missions we seek to advance, we were able to share and learn about the work that each of us is engaged in to bridge divides, address disparities, and work towards individual or community transformation. Whether these initiatives focused on multi-faith dialogue, community organizing, political activism, or inclusive spirituality, it was inspiring to see the diversity of imperatives and approaches to doing interfaith engagement.
Over the course of our time together, we deepened our knowledge of each other’s work, delved into national research and local survey data to examine the current Interfaith landscape in Michigan, and held space for listening sessions to better understand what resources exist or need to be developed to support interfaith cooperation. As you can imagine, there were some common themes! To that end, beyond sharing about our individual work, we also explored the possibilities of cooperation in the future, looking to the possibility of state-wide information and resource sharing as we look to offer each other mutual support.
We are so grateful to all of the organizations who responded to our invitation, to Rev. Holly Makimaa for facilitating our time together, to Allison Ralph for collecting and presenting us with powerful data on current trends in interfaith work, and to Fetzer Institute for being a fantastic host. For those who don’ know, the Fetzer Institute helps to build the spiritual foundation for a loving world. The Fetzer Institute is a growing community of people who see we’re part of something more. They aim to inspire and serve a global movement that transforms the world into a more loving home for all.
Participating Orgs:
- Downtown Outreach Churches Collaboration
- Fetzer Institute
- Interfaith Action of Southwest Michigan
- Interfaith Clergy Association of Greater Lansing
- Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice
- Interfaith Photovoice
- Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County
- Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy & Action in the Community
- International Campus Ministry at Western Michigan University
- Kaufman Interfaith Institute
- Michigan Interfaith Power & Light
- Michigan Religious Leaders for Justice
- Momentum Center
- Mother’s Trust, Mother’s Place
- My Oasis Center
- Northern Michigan Interfaith Common Grounds
- Reformed Church in America – Interreligious Relations
- Synergy Health Center
- Together West Michigan
We are excited to see where this new relationship might lead and to share out the research and learning from this gathering in more detail soon. Stay tuned!
Posted by Kyle Kooyers on Permanent link for Interfaith Across the State of Michigan on September 5, 2023.