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COVID Chronicles—National Undergraduate Writing Fellowship
In response to the shifting tides of the pandemic, the Miller Center recently launched a new national COVID-related fellowship program: The COVID Chronicles. The goal of this inter-institutional initiative—a partnership with Boston Medical Center with support from the Interfaith Youth Core—is to feature the voices of young adults regarding their pandemic experiences and insights. Each month of the four-month program (January-April), the 12 fellows participate in a Zoom discussion with a prominent guest presenter, meet individually with their writing mentors, and produce a blog post or other creative output (poetry, photography, audio recording, etc.).
In describing his experience as a convener and mentor, Dr. Benjamin Linas, Associate Professor of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center, stated: “The COVID Chronicles serves as a much-needed platform on which to amplify the voices of adolescents and young adults, whose lives have been deeply disrupted by COVID but who are too often absent from the public discourse. The diversity of our fellows allows for robust and thoughtful discussion of systemic issues of inclusivity and justice that are crucial to the healing of our nation. For me, COVID Chronicles meetings are a joy and often provide a ray of hope in this otherwise very difficult time.”
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Welcome to the Team—Joshua Polanski!
We are pleased to welcome Joshua Polanski to the Miller Center team! Josh is in the final year of his MTS program at the Boston University School of Theology. Among his areas of academic interest are medieval Christianity and contemporary Islam. Josh brings expertise in digital communications to his interreligious work. In his free time, he has been learning Turkish.
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Welcome to the World—Gabriel Oakley Hersey!
Mazel tov to our colleague Shelton Hersey Oakley, Director of the Dignity Project, and her family on the birth of Gabriel Hosea Payne Oakley Hersey, who recently came into the world. We wish the Oakley Hersey family many years of good health and happiness!
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A New Opportunity to Study with Rabbi Or Rose
A Dialogue of Devotion: Thomas Merton & Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
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Journal of Interreligious Studies
We are excited to announce that JIRS has been fully integrated into the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) Religion Database. This development makes the Journal—a free, open-access publication—much more accessible to a broader audience. Our thanks to Rev. Dr. Soren Hessler, JIRS advisory board member and Coordinator of Assessment at Huron College (and former Associate Director of the Miller Center), for shepherding this important project.
- New Issue: “The Spiritual But Not Religious & Theology Without Walls” – Volume 34: This special issue, published on January 10, 2022, was guest edited by Dr. Bin Song, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Washington College (Maryland, U.S.A).
- Inter/Sections Podcast: In collaboration with the Institute for Communication and Religion of Seton Hall, JIRS has created the Inter/Sections podcast, which features leading scholars, educators, and activists working in the field of interreligious engagement.
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The Dignity Project Wraps Up with MLK Day of Service-Learning
The Dignity Project Fellowship for Boston-area youth wound down this year with a special celebration of the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Sunday, January 16, the 21 fellows and 4 mentors hosted a day of service-learning in partnership with Prozdor and Kids4Peace (now known as Mosaic Interfaith Action). The diverse group of teens explored the values and spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, asking how they might carry forth these lessons today. The program included a panel discussion on food insecurity, the collection and packaging of 99 food bags for the Centre Street Food Pantry, and youth-led workshops on the power of music, photography, and dialogue in creating social change. Dignity Project mentor Rev. Andrew Kimble delivered an inspiring opening address to help set the tone for the day. Below, please find a beautiful thank-you letter from our friends at the Centre Street Pantry.
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Dignity Project fellows preparing packages for Centre Street Pantry
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| Dear Miller Center and Partner Programs,
I wanted to thank you for your amazing donation of 99 Kids Club bags to the Pantry! Your generosity and those of your students is just breathtaking. Every bag that was donated frees up our weight allotment in our Greater Boston Food Bank order so that we can give that same family a half gallon of milk, American cheese, and a dozen eggs. In addition, we estimate that each bag costs around $20 so you saved us almost $2000. It is so gratifying to see our local schools and businesses step up to help our friends and neighbors who face food insecurity in these times of need. Please thank everyone who participated in this incredible endeavor for us – we so appreciate it.
Thank you,
The Centre Street Food Pantry
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We are beginning to recruit our 2022-2023 cohort of Dignity Project Fellows (ages 15-18). If you know of a young person who is interested in growing as an interreligious leader, please email Dignity Project Assistant Director, Batya Ellinoy, at batya.ellinoy@hebrewcollege.edu. Applications will be accepted in March and interviews will begin in April.
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Virtual Trip to Washington, DC
This past January, the Boston and Charlotte Building Interfaith Leadership Initiative (BILI) cohorts planned to meet in Washington, DC to explore the subject of faith and public life through in-person meetings with clergy, community organizers, lobbyists, educators, and scholars. However, in response to the COVID-19 Omicron surge, we were forced to pivot and craft a virtual DC trip. While we were very sorry to miss out on this face-to-face encounter with our colleagues from North Carolina and to spend time in the nation’s capital, we are very proud of and grateful for the rich three-day Zoom experience.
The fellows met with representatives from the United States Holocaust Museum; The National Cathedral; the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Sojourners; the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Center, and other outstanding organizations. Through a combination of panel discussions, text study, virtual tours, and hands-on workshops, the BILI students were provided with an engaging, in-depth introduction to religion and civic and political leadership at the national level. Our sincere thanks to Rev. Tom Reid, BILI Program Coordinator and Associate Director of the Miller Center, for his outstanding efforts in reshaping this special learning experience under very difficult circumstances.
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Boston Bridges—Emerging Religious & Cultural Leaders
This year's Boston Bridges cohort of emerging leaders from throughout the city continues to meet monthly for fellowship, learning, skill-building, and a shared meal. Thanks to Alicia Adamson, Executive Director of the Brookline Teen Center and a current fellow, for hosting many of our meetings this year.
The following is a brief reflection from Batya Ellinoy, a current Boston Bridges fellow and graduating Hebrew College rabbinical student, on her experience to date in the cohort: “I have been thoroughly enjoying my experience as a Boston Bridges Fellow, particularly the opportunity to meet monthly with remarkable peers and leaders from across the greater Boston area. In anticipation of our sessions, I find myself looking forward to reconnecting with the other fellows and engaging in soulful discussion of our spiritual and vocational journeys. In our most recent session, Bob Stains, dialogue trainer extraordinaire, reminded us of this wonderful quotation from Martin Buber: ‘All real living is meeting.’ I find Boston Bridges to be a context in which we can tap into this kind of real living.”
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Interreligious Heroes—Book Launch
On Tuesday, March 1, the Miller Center and the Elijah Interfaith Institute co-hosted a Zoom event celebrating the recently published anthology, Interreligious Heroes. Editor, Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein—founder and Director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute—opened the gathering with an overview of the project and several contributors, including Rabbi Or Rose, shared reflections on their chosen heroes. A recording of the event is available on Zoom.
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Seeking in the Company of Others—Book Launch
Join Hebrew College on March 23, 7:00-8:30 p.m. (EST) for a conversation with Dr. Roslyn G. Weiner, spiritual director and author of Seeking in the Company of Others: The Wisdom of Group Spiritual Direction. The evening will include a response by Dr. Claire Wolfteich, Professor of Practical Theology and Spiritual Studies of the Boston University School of Theology, commenting on the use of this group work in interfaith settings and from different faith perspectives. This fall, under the auspices of the Miller Center, the Rabbinical School of Hebrew School, and the Center for Practical Theology at Boston University, Dr. Weiner initiated a innovative spiritual direction group for future Jewish and Christian clergy.
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Celebrating Lucinda Mosher & The Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies
On May 5, 2022, the Journal of Interreligious Studies will honor our Senior Editor, Dr. Lucinda Mosher, on the occasion of her 75th birthday and the publication of The Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies, for which she served as editor. Dr. Mosher is a moral theologian in the Anglican tradition. She is Faculty Associate in Interfaith Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, where she teaches courses on America’s religious diversity, comparative theology, chaplaincy in multifaith contexts, and Christian-Muslim relations.
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About the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center of Hebrew College
The Miller Center was established in 2016 in honor of Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller (of blessed memory), MAJS’05. Our mission is to provide current and future religious and ethical leaders with the knowledge and skills to serve in a religiously diverse society.
Please consider supporting this important work with a financial gift. Thank you!
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