Students gathered in the Dahlstrom Student Center’s Phillips Lounge on Monday, Feb. 3, for the first of a weeklong series of events in celebration of World Interfaith Harmony Week.
The event, Flower Planting—Be the Seed of Change, saw students hand-painting clay pots and then plating seeds in them, symbolizing creativity, rebirth, and the cycle of life.
The UN-sanctioned World Interfaith Harmony Week, Feb. 1-7, encourages people to come together in a spirit of understanding, respect, and positive action.
Events were held on campus every day at 12:30 and 4:30 p.m. to reinforce the theme of Building Bridges of Understanding.
The week’s events included:
- Tuesday, Feb. 4: Create a Friendship Bracelet, 12:30 p.m., Phillips Lounge. Learn how to make friendship bracelets and discuss how relationships are a critical part of interfaith engagement.
- Tuesday, Feb. 4: Interfaith Dinner, 4:30 p.m., Keuka Commons 133. Enjoy a (free) vegetarian dinner catered by Monroe Kabob while engaging in some great conversations and learning more about interfaith engagement.
- Wednesday, Feb. 5: Interfaith Quiz, 12:30 p.m., Phillips Lounge—we’ll have prizes! Show off what you know about key interfaith terms, people, and historical events. Everyone gets a participation ribbon. Prizes include gift cards to local businesses in Penn Yan.
- Wednesday, Feb. 5: Screening the documentary “My So-Called Enemy” by Lisa Gossels, 4:30 p.m., Keuka Commons 251. This documentary by Emmy Award-winning director Lisa Gossels follows six Palestinian and Israeli teenage girls committed to justice and mutual understanding after participating in a women’s leadership program called Building Bridges for People.
- Thursday, Feb. 6: Photo/Art Contest: Capture Your Beliefs, 12:30 p.m., Phillips Lounge; there will be prizes! Submissions for the competition must be made to CSL by Wednesday, Feb. 5. All students are invited to visit Phillips Lounge Thursday to reflect on the entries. Those that enter a piece will win a gift card to a local Penn Yan business.
- Thursday, Feb. 6: A Conversation with Interfaith Leader and Civil Rights Activist Selena Fox from Circle Sanctuary, through a Zoom meeting, 4:30 p.m., Keuka Commons 133. Selena, who was involved in the March on Washington with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will discuss what inspired her to get involved in interfaith work, how it has evolved over time, and how it can change culture.
- Friday, Feb. 7: Non-perishable Food Collection for the Keuka College Food Pantry, 12:30 p.m., Phillips Lounge. While you are there, you will see what sacred texts from various religious/non-religious traditions have to say about hospitality.
- Friday, Feb. 7: Meditation Worship with Trueman Taylor from the Zen Rochester Center, 4:30 p.m., Keuka Commons 133. Participants will learn the basics and benefits of meditation.
For additional information on any of these events, or for questions, contact College Chaplain Eric Detar.
