By Emery Jansen ’26

The wicker bowl of candy beckons you into the Lutheran Center as you make your way to the library for a study session. But do you actually know what goes on in there? I’m in my second year of work as an Interfaith Fellow, and I am still learning the full scope of the projects in which the Lutheran Center staff and student workers are involved. Nevertheless, I am eager to share what my time as an Interfaith Fellow has looked like. As you read, keep in mind that the Interfaith Fellows program responds to the interests of each year’s cohort of fellows, so each Fellow has a different experience. I can only share my own.

Along with the cohort of Interfaith Fellows, another set of students works in the Center as Nourishing Vocation Project (NVP) Fellows. Coming into work has been especially joyful this year because the NVP and Interfaith Fellow cohorts have such a great rapport. To find out what an NVP Fellow does, you should strike up a conversation with Campbell Kirtley ’27, Declan Mears ’27, Sarah Queiroz de Oliveira Santa ’29, Svea Rundman ’29, or David Thomas ’29. You can learn more about them here. If you want to know more about the ’25-’26 Interfaith Fellow cohort, you can do that here. My coworkers bring their wonderfully diverse perspectives to the Lutheran Center table to discuss an array of issues, including free will, the continuity of distinct identities in heaven, AI use, and how Shrek the Musical is actually a great model for vocational exploration (the song “Who I’d Be” in particular). Much of my work centers around building skills to connect across lines of difference, and in conversing with NVP and Interfaith Fellows, I am able to put these skills into practice alongside my peers. 

The first year of the Interfaith Fellow program involved a lot of conceptual learning. That is, before we jump into having conversations across lines of religious difference, we learn how to thoughtfully engage with religious plurality. My first year, readings were often excerpts from books—Holy Envy by Barbara Brown Taylor, Mni Sota Mkoce by Gwen Westerman and Bruce White, Claiming Our Callings edited by Kaethe Schwehn and L. DeAne Lagerquist, and No Longer Invisible by Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, to name several. One of my favorites was a chapter from Everyday Wisdom by Hans Gustafson, which used Dr. Seuss’s story The Sneetches to explain the importance of looking beyond superficial differences to find common ground.

I had opportunities to build interfaith skills in other ways throughout my first year as an Interfaith Fellow as well. I participated in the Interfaith Leadership Seminar hosted by the Jay Phillips Center at the University of St. Thomas, and, in partnership with the Buntrock Institute for Freedom and Community, completed Interfaith America’s Bridging the Gap training to earn the Constructive Dialogue Institute’s Perspectives Certificate. These trainings helped me build a toolkit for engaging productively in conversations with others in every facet of my life. Am I a perfect conversationalist now? By no means. But I am certainly both a better speaker and listener now. I also raise my hand in class more often now because I am more confident in my ability to articulate effectively. 

Interfaith Fellows attend many events, too! You may have seen members of this year’s Interfaith Fellows cohort stationed at the Groot Gallery in October. We were essentially an information booth for faculty, staff, students, and Northfield community members visiting the Granskou Complex to watch the creation of an intricate sand mandala by Buddhist monks from the Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery in Minneapolis. You can read more about the event here. During my junior year, I attended Angela Denker’s lecture “The Threat of Christian Nationalism: Rebuilding Trust in the Age of Fear;” the opening of the “Why Treaties Matter” exhibit, which explores broken treaties between the federal government and the Dakota and Ojibwe nations in Minnesota as well as current cultural expressions; the panel discussion and dinner entitled “The Critical Interfaith Work of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps;” and more. 

In attending such events—from lectures and informational displays to dinner discussions about military chaplaincy—I view my role as twofold. First, I must do work within myself. In fact, I would say the bulk of my work as an Interfaith Fellow is intrapersonal. I have learned to get comfortable with discomfort. And, somewhat paradoxically, I have grounded myself in an inherently dynamic identity. That is, I am learning to embrace the fact that I will not be exactly the same person tomorrow that I was today. Honestly, I don’t want to be. If I never let my perspective shift, I would miss out on so much of the good I might otherwise experience. Second, it is my job to bear witness to other individuals and communities. When I observe and listen thoughtfully, I am able to find common ground and ultimately build connections across lines of difference. Seeking similarities rather than differences is crucial in this process.

In the past two years, I have grown in my ability to brainstorm and take initiative on projects that align with my interests, and engage thoughtfully with texts and people alike. With commencement quickly approaching, I am especially grateful for the ways in which my position as an Interfaith Fellow has prepared me for life beyond the Hill.