Division News & Statements
Dr. Doug Kindschi: "Focusing on a new generation: The future of interfaith"
June 29, 2016
Division and fear in the world, as well as in our nation, is
increasing and is being fueled by interests that believe promoting
fear will advance a particular political ideology. It is a dangerous
development that is pushing people and nations apart rather than
bringing them together to support common interests. It is a
frightening concept that has also led to some misappropriation of
religion by radical groups in some Muslim as well as Christian
communities. We are committed to countering this narrative as we also
become increasingly connected with national and international groups
with similar missions.
There is, however, a very hopeful sign that the younger
generation in America has not bought into this narrative and is much
less likely to condemn the “other,” whether it is seen in terms of
those who are different in race, nationality, religious belief (or no
belief), sexual identity, etc. It is important that we encourage this
openness among the college age group and provide models and programs
to support and develop these attitudes.
Eboo Patel, founder and president of the Interfaith Youth Core,
has been a national leader in bringing this message to college
campuses, and we now have students at Grand Valley State University as
well as at Hope, Calvin and Aquinas colleges actively involved in this
national effort. His presence this last year was inspiring, in
speaking engagements at Aquinas and Calvin as well as at GVSU. You
can watch his Grand Valley talk at: https://www.gvsu.edu/interfaith/2015-eboo-patel-lecture-34.htm
Thanks to a grant from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation we
were able to initiate an internship program for students at Grand
Valley and the Grand Rapids colleges. We have been working with these
students and to find effective ways to keep more students engaged in
this work, reward them for their efforts, and build wider projects
among the college communities to promote religious understanding. We
recently received funding to create a Kruizenga Interfaith Ambassador
internship at Hope College as well.
The work of Patel, the Interfaith Youth Core and these internship
programs has given me great hope for the future of interfaith
understanding as we reach out to the college communities as energetic partners.
At GVSU the Division of Inclusion and Equity is also expanding
its focus to include interfaith inclusion with the appointment of the
Kaufman Interfaith Institute’s program manager, Katie Gordon, to serve
as the Interfaith Services Coordinator. She will continue to help
guide the Institute’s programming in the community while taking on
this new role on the university’s Allendale campus.
Thanks to the efforts of its intern, Allison Garstecki, Aquinas
College received the award this year from the Interfaith Youth Core as
the “Better Together Rookie of the Year.”
The interfaith interns from the three colleges will be sharing
their experiences and reflections in the Interfaith Insights columns
for the next three weeks. Next week will feature Allison from
Aquinas, who will be graduating this fall with a major in Education
and plans to be a science teacher.
The following week we will hear from Derek Zuverink, who will be
graduating this fall from GVSU with a Business & Marketing major.
He participated in interfaith activities at the university and also
helped the Kaufman Institute with some of its publicity and Internet efforts.
Then we will read the insight from the Calvin College intern,
Meghan Bogema, who was featured on the Calvin January Series as a part
of the opening of Patel’s talk given there last January. See the
video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQxJXGaLCx8&index=2&list=PLVB3DnzqdR8d8P7sSQdUEp7hP5OA4D5Ko
Meghan graduated this past spring with a major in Social Work &
International Development and is now working at Bethany Christian
Services in Grand Rapids.
It has been great this past year to work with these interns and
we look forward to the continuing efforts here and also with the new
program at Hope College. Yes, the new generation is ready to carry
forward the important efforts of interfaith understanding and
acceptance. [email protected]
Dr. Douglas Kindschi is the Director of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute at Grand Valley State University. These weekly Insights are published in the Grand Rapids Press, Kalamazoo Gazette, and Muskegon Chronicle Religion sections every Thursday. For an archive of previous articles, click here.