After nearly four decades as a controversial national figure on the Christian religious far right, the Reverend Dr. Rob Schenck has made an unusual move to join the faculty of Hebrew College as a visiting scholar. The once prominent anti-abortion activist has since repudiated his radical conservative positions and has dedicated himself to promoting racial justice, reducing gun violence, and fostering religious inclusion. His hiring as Visiting Scholar of Christianity & Religious Leadership at Hebrew College reflects the institution’s commitment to training Jewish and other religious leaders for service in an interconnected world. 

“Rev. Schenck is a brave and wise leader, who has been engaged in significant efforts to make our country a more just and compassionate society for several years now. I am profoundly inspired by his personal journey and his moral and religious leadership. We are honored to welcome him to the Hebrew College community,” commented Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, president of Hebrew College, on the hiring.

Pictured above: Rev. Robert Schenck testifying before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. 

Continue reading. 

By Rabbi Or Rose, Director of the Miller Center 

Every month, we honor an individual (or group) who inspires the bridge-building efforts of the Miller Center. Each honoree uniquely embodies the values of inclusivity, justice, and compassion.

ibrahim abdul-matin (1977-2023), environmental activist, urban strategist, and writer is our Beacon of Hope for the month of August. 

It is with great sadness that we share news of the recent passing of our friend and colleague ibrahim abdul-matin (he preferred using lowercase letters for his name near the end of his life). ibrahim was a kind, thoughtful, and impassioned person, who made significant contributions in his two decades as a public figure. We had the opportunity to welcome ibrahim to Hebrew College in 2011 to discuss his book Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2010).

We also had the opportunity to work with him on other occasions, including his written contributions to My Neighbor's Faith and, more recently, PsalmSeason.

"Well, ibrahim, the most beautiful reed, you have gone home. Every metaphor is relevant here. Use them all. Mix them up. ibrahim was like that. He loved all the ayahs — all the signs of God. The verses of the Qur’an, the oceans and the trees, the people in all their sizes and shapes... His heart could take on all forms. It was a pasture for gazelles. A cloister for monks. Ka’aba for the pilgrim. He was a refuge for love’s caravan, whichever way it turned."

— Eboo Patel, Founder and President, Interfaith America

Please read Patel's full obituary on ibrahim here. May the memory of ibrahim abdul-matin inspire all those working to create a more just, compassionate, and sustainable world.

We Want to Share Your Beacons of Hope 

To date, our Beacons of Hope have been our Beacons of Hope. But we want to feature your beacons of hope—the people or organizations that inspire your interreligious efforts. Please use the following guidelines as you share your s/heroes with us:  

Share your Beacons of Hope with the Miller Center. 

Thank you for inspiring others! 

Welcome to the Team — Liz Aeschlimann

Dignity Project Fellowship Program Director

Liz Aeschlimann has spent the last decade helping people build transformative relationships and draw on our collective wisdom traditions to take powerful action. A facilitator, community organizer, and interfaith chaplain, Liz has organized congregations in New Bedford and Fall River, supported Jewish student leaders at Tufts University and Vassar College, and facilitated collective learning experiences about everything from end-of-life planning to closing the racial wealth gap.

A proud Midwesterner, Liz has an M.Div. with a concentration in Judaism from Harvard Divinity School and a B.A. in Cognitive Science from Carleton College. She shares a Watertown triple-decker with her wife, sister-in-law, two close friends, and her daughter Raya.

State of Formation: A Miller Center Publication 

The Miller Center co-publication State of Formation recently published a fantastic new batch of articles from Building Interfaith Leadership Initiative (BILI) Launchpad Fellowship undergraduate fellows. Two are featured below.  

Engaging Hinduism and the Dharmas through an Interfaith Lens 

By Ishan Datey

The common understanding of Hinduism as one religion is a far more recent notion, which has led to the erasure of many independent Dharmas from crucial discussions of religion in the modern world. I have come to learn of more complexity: how many traditions of South Asia believe in one God or no God at all, how some are devotional or are purely philosophical. Each tradition teaches a nuanced view of how the multiverse works and our place in it. As I continued my involvement in BILI, and engaged with the complexity of the similarities and differences among traditions, I confronted an inescapable issue. 

Read here. 

Moved Toward Hope: Translating Values into Action 

By Emily Thompson

Over the past few months, the BILI (Building Interfaith Leadership Initiative) fellowship and my campus community at Tufts University have guided me to a new definition of interfaith work. I have learned that the richness of interfaith work emerges in connection, in the sharing of values, in joy and hurt. It is a discipline, one that requires a consistent showing up with care and openness; it demands a persistent belief in community and creation. Interfaith work yearns for vulnerability and witness. I would not have been able to deepen my understanding and definition of what it means to be an interfaith leader without the resources and community I found through this fellowship.  

Read here. 

Jewish and Christian Thought and Practice: Face to Face and Side by Side 

Where? Online 

When? Wednesdays 7:30-9pm EDT: 10/18, 11/15, 12/20, 1/17, 2/21, 3/20 

Taught by Rabbi Michael Shire, Ph.D., this course provides a fresh and enterprising look at Judaism and Christianity in their shared experience, their conflictual experience and their integrative experience. We will explore the history of God from Jewish And Christian theologies; read the shared Testament (Old Testament/Tanach) in Judaism and Christianity; consider our environmental responsibility; examine racial justice and equity in Jewish and Christian thought and practice; compare visions of the good life and the good death in Judaism and Christianity; discuss the possibilities and potential of Jewish and Christian partnerships; and learn about contemporary Jewish-Christian theology with guest lecturers including the Miller Center's own Rabbi Or Rose.

Learn more and register.