Multifaith Leadership and Engagement in a Fractured World Workshop

    About the Workshop

    On March 3, at St. Olaf College, between 2:00pm and 7:00pm CST we hosted the 2024 Multifaith Leadership Workshop.

    This year we welcomed keynote dialogue speakers Rabbi Dr. Rachel Mikva, Rabbi Herman Schaalman Chair in Jewish Studies, InterReligious Institute Senior Faculty Fellow at Chicago Theological Seminary and Professor. Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair, Professor/Executive Director of the Augsburg University Interfaith Institute.

    This daylong workshop at St. Olaf College, which was free and open to all, allowed participants to explore what it means to engage across religious differences in a time of heightened fracturing globally and locally. Attendees learned from practitioners, scholars, and leaders about developing skills to cultivate connection through storytelling, deepen understanding of how trauma impacts engaging with religious and spiritual practices, approach challenging conversations in person and online, and to develop greater self-awareness for leadership in religiously diverse societies.

    The event was open to anyone ages 16+ and was open to all religious, nonreligious, and spiritual identities, worldviews, and ways of life. 

    For pictures from the workshop, please go here.

    Keynote Dialogue Speakers

    In this moderated keynote dialogue, Rachel Mikva and Najeeba Syeed explored various paths to leadership, including their own, and strategies for bridging religious divides. They addressed both global and local tensions, offering methods to foster understanding and collaboration across different lifestances.

    Rabbi Dr. Rachel S. Mikva serves as the Herman E. Schaalman Professor in Jewish Studies and Senior Faculty Fellow of the InterReligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary. The Institute and the Seminary work at the cutting edge of theological education, training religious leaders who can build bridges across cultural and religious difference for the critical work of social transformation. With a passion for justice and academic expertise in the history of scriptural interpretation, Rabbi Mikva’s courses and publications address a range of Jewish and comparative studies, with a special interest in the intersections of sacred texts, culture and ethics. Her most recent books are Dangerous Religious Ideas: The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Beacon Press) and Interreligious Studies: An Introduction (Cambridge University Press).

    Professor Najeeba Syeed is the inaugural El-Hibri endowed chair and executive director of the Interfaith Institute at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has been a professor, expert practitioner and public speaker for the last two decades in the fields of conflict resolution, interfaith studies, mediation, restorative Justice, education, social, gender and racial equity. An award-winning educator, she has taught extensively on interreligious education and published articles on faith and community-based conflict resolution, restorative justice, and interfaith just peacemaking.  Syeed also brings significant executive experience with organizations focused on conflict resolution in community, higher education, and government settings, including the Western Justice Center Foundation and the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center.

    Schedule

    All sessions took place in Buntrock Commons at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

    1:15-2 p.m. Registration

    2-3:15 p.m. Welcome, Spiritual Practice & Plenary

    Rabbi Dr. Rachel Mikva, Rabbi Herman Schaalman Chair in Jewish Studies, InterReligious Institute Senior Faculty Fellow at Chicago Theological Seminary

    Professor Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair, Professor/Executive Director of the Augsburg University Interfaith Institute

    3:15-3:30 Break (with light refreshments and snacks)

    3:30-4:30 Breakout Session #1

    1. Continuing the Conversation with Rabbi Dr. Rachel Mikva
    2. Continuing the Conversation with Professor Najeeba Syeed
    3. Engaging Young People In The Internet Age with Dr. Danielle Clausnitzer and Ryan Avenido

    4:30-4:45 Break (with light refreshments and snacks)

    4:45-5:45 Breakout Session #2

    1. Multifaith Leadership and Engagement on Campus–Student Fellow-run session (for students only)
    2. Trauma-Informed Interfaith Work: the Role of Chaplaincy and Theology. (Rev. David Hottinger, Facilitator; Rev. Paul Galchutt, Rev. Dr. Jessica Chapman Lape, Imam Sharif A. Mohamed)
    3. Storytelling and Story-Listening as a Multireligious Practice (Dr. Marty Stortz, Dr. Matt Maruggi)

    6:00-7:15 p.m. Dinner with St. Olaf Taiko Drummers and a prayer by Pastor Matt Marohl.

    Taiko (太鼓) is a form of Japanese drumming. Originally played by one person during ceremonies, taiko was popularized by jazz musicians who played in ensembles called kumidaiko (組太鼓, ‘set of drums’). Grandmaster Seiichi Tanaka brought this art form to America in 1967 and shortly after formed the first American taiko group, San Francisco Taiko Dojo, in 1968. Since then, taiko has spread across the country in the form of professional, collegiate, and community groups. St. Olaf Taiko performs classic and student-composed repertoire with energy and enthusiasm.


    7:15 p.m. Closing/Departure

    Breakout Session Descriptions

    Organizational Partners

    Organized and hosted by the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community at St. Olaf College, the Minnesota Multifaith Network, the Interfaith Fellows Program of the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas, and the Interfaith Institute at Augsburg University. Cosponsored by the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values and Community at St. Olaf College via the Walter and Betty Stromseth Fund for Intercultural and Inter-Religious Education, the Minnesota Multifaith Network, the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies, the Interfaith Institute at Augsburg University and Luther Seminary.

    Institutional Partners. Carleton College, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University, Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, Gustavus Adolphus College, Hamline University, Macalester College, Normandale Community College, Oreck-Alpern Interreligious Forum at The College of St. Scholastica and St. Catherine University.