Human Connection | Interfaith Understanding | Collective Transformation

Upcoming Events & Activities

Interfaith Tuesday Table Talk: “Centering Down” in an Uncertain World

Tuesday September 10, from 6-8:30pm
Dominican Center Marywood
Cost: $25.00

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” — Maya Angelou

Join us for dinner and a conversation on the spiritual toll and the tangible ramifications of existing in a constant state of ‘fight, flight, or freeze.’ Hear from community leaders as we explore the importance of remaining grounded in anxious times so that we can respond compassionately rather than react negatively to an uncertain world.

Thursday, September 12th from 3-6pm
North Library Lawn on the Allendale campus

Calling all Lakers! Join the Kaufman Interfaith Institute and reps from a variety of religious and spiritual student orgs on the Allendale campus for our Multifaith Mixer! Enjoy a free meal, mingle and make connections, win prizes, and play yard games with folks from across the university devoted to creating spaces of belonging for our students.  We encourage you to bring your authentic self - whether you identify as religious, secular, spiritual, none of the above, or something else entirely!

Faith Over Division Tour: A Conversation with Randy Callender

Tuesday September 24, from 7pm
Loosemore Auditorium, GVSU Downtown Campus

Join us for an evening of inspiration and healing as we bring together people of faith to find hope and a shared future in the the midst of toxic divisiveness. This conversation will explore how we can lean in to our respective religious, secular, and spiritual values as we seek to heal toxic polarization through relationship and understanding. This event will highlight the wisdom and experience of Rev. Randy Kyle Callender in conversation with One America Movement and Kaufman Interfaith Institute.

Register here

Monday, September 30, 4 - 5:30pm
Kirkhof 2201

Every semester, the Kaufman team invites GV students to explore some of the basics of 'interfaith' - how to engage in conversations around religious, secular, and spiritual identities, how we all orient differently around our worldviews and values, and how we can work together to create an inclusive campus climate for all. 

One Small Step Listening Event & Reception

Tuesday, October 1, 6-8pm
Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus

One Small Step is an effort to remind the country of the humanity in all of us, even those with whom we disagree. In collaboration with StoryCorps and a coalition of community organizations, including WGVU Public Media, the Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse, the Kaufman Interfaith Institute, the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, Seeds of Promise, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, we have spent the past four months bringing strangers with different political views together to record a 50-minute conversation—not to debate politics, but to learn who we are as people. On October 1, we will gather to listen to some of those stories.

Thursday, October 10, 2024 6-9pm
Eberhard Center

Join visionary civil rights leader Valarie Kaur in an immersive experience of storytelling, music, song, ancestral wisdom, and community-building. We invite you into a space for soulful introspection, deep listening, and courageous action. Each stop uplifts local leaders, artists, and advocates who catalyze hope. You will leave with the tools needed to lead with love and courage in your daily life.

Save The Date

October 22^{nd   -} Community Event | The History of Nazi Germany and the Road to the Holocaust

October 29^th    - Padnos Public Engagement on Jewish Learning Lecture: How Women Changed American Religion - A Jewish Perspective

December 5^th  - "The Challenge of Power, Morality, and Religion" The Triennial Jewish, Christian, Muslim Dialogue