Join us this Thursday evening May 4 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm at our new Hebrew College campus for the Hebrew College Annual Spring Gala, where we will be honoring Dan Miller, the founding supporter of the Miller Center, and Andy Offit, chair of the board of Hebrew College.  

Both honorees model the classical Jewish concept of areivut, communal responsibility rooted in an understanding of the interconnection and interdependence of all life. “I truly can’t think of two more generous and deserving honorees. Andy and Dan are both so humble that it feels like a particular honor for us that they are letting us honor them. These are two highly accomplished individuals who take pride, above all, in the achievements of others, in the learning, growth, and creativity of our students, in the gates we are opening to a new generation of leaders who want to help create a more vibrant Jewish community and a better world,” said Hebrew College President Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld.

The 7:30 program will be livestreamed. 

As co-chair of the upcoming annual conference of the International Council of Christians & Jews, Rabbi Or Rose recently reflected on how exciting it is to co-host this compelling international conference in the Boston area, “Gathering in Boston, a vibrant cosmopolitan hub with a rich interreligious landscape, allows us to explore the conference theme of ‘Negotiating Multiple Identities’ through a range of modalities, including encounters with leading-edge intellectuals, activists, and artists from throughout the region.”

Over the course of the three-and-a-half-day conference, a choice of 20 interactive workshops will be facilitated by local and international interreligious practitioners, educators, activists, and thought leaders. They will share the real-world challenges they encounter in the negotiation of multiple identities, and several will focus on the tensions that arise when attempting to simultaneously address manifestations of racism and antisemitism. The workshops will bring the topic of intersectionality to life through case studies; exploration of a film project and a public art initiative; engagement in text study and contemplative practice. The workshops will also generate discussion of effective strategies and tools for bridge-building. 

Register now. 

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. Reverend Nancy S. Taylor, a Boston-based pioneering religious leader, is our Beacon of Hope for the month of April. 

I first met Rev. Nancy Taylor a decade ago through her leadership in the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO). Then, as now, she demonstrated the hallmarks of gifted bridge-builder: insight, courage, compassion, and determination.  

Rev. Taylor is a pioneering religious leader, who became the first female Senior Minister and CEO of Old South Church in 2005. During her 17-year tenure at the church she worked tirelessly to cultivate a vibrant inclusive and caring church community in the heart of Boston.  

Nancy's ministry also led her to become a leader in the interreligious community of Greater Boston, playing a key role in bringing together people from different walks of life to work for the common good. During her first year at Old South Church, she initiated the “Blessing of the Athletes” ceremony, which welcomes runners from all backgrounds to receive a blessing the day before the Boston Marathon each year.

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, Nancy worked closely with Muslim, Jewish and Christian colleagues to create allyship and healing at a time when some were sowing seeds of discontent resulting in a rise in Islamophobia. She has also been outspoken in addressing resurgent anti-Semitism in our city and beyond in recent years.  

As part of her commitment to interreligious engagement, Rev. Taylor has been an active member of the Miller Center Advisory Committee since 2016. We have benefitted greatly from her wise heart, her strategic vision, and her steadfast commitment to cultivating the next generation of interreligious leaders. Reflecting on the work of the Miller Center she recently commented "In a world in which religion is prevalent, potent, and corruptible it is imperative to touch every single young mind we can. The Miller Center trains up leaders with hearts for God, who learn to wield religion for good; leaders who, in the words of Rabbi Jesus, are 'wise as serpents yet gentle as doves.'"  

Nancy has enhanced religious and civic life in Boston in immeasurable ways; I am honored to call her my mentor, colleague, and friend.

Welcome to the Team — Rev. Seigen Johnson! 

Graduate Student Intern & Dignity Project Mentor

We are pleased to introduce you to Rev. Seigen Johnson, the newest member of the Miller Center team! 

Seigen is an ordained Soto Zen Buddhist priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. She is currently a Master of Divinity candidate (2024) at the Boston University School of Theology where she is the graduate assistant in the Spiritual Life Office. She also serves as treasurer for the Association of Black Seminarians. Seigen was a fellow in the BU Pardee School of Global Studies, Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs: CURA 2021-2022 Colloquium. Her most recent article, “Being: Awakened by All Phenomena,” was published in the October 2019 issue of Lion’s Roar magazine. Seigen’s self-love activities include crocheting, hiking, kayaking, reading, and cooking “all the things.”

Please join us on June 8 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. for an evening of interfaith dialogue through the medium of photography. Interfaith Photovoice is an arts-based approach to interfaith understanding that invites participants to respond to a series of questions with their own photographs. We will use amateur photography and group discussions to identify needs, raise awareness, and encourage change.  

The topic of the event will be “Bridges and Barriers to Belief and Belonging.” Come and share your photos with us. 

Seats are limited. Register now. 

By Harmeet Kaur Kamboj, Program Manager at Interfaith America

Shortly after the world rang in the new solar year, 27 undergraduate students and their on-campus mentors traveled to Washington, D.C. from across the country to participate in a mid-program convening for the Building Interfaith Leadership Initiative (BILI) Launchpad Fellowship. 

Led by staff from Interfaith America and the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership of Hebrew College, these students and educators embarked on four days of intensive learning, reflecting, and sharing about the ways that interfaith cooperation has helped to build and sustain communities on the national and local level. 

Read the full photo essay.

Hebrew College Spring Gala 2023

When? May 4 | 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Where? Hebrew College

Learn more & register

 

Lag B’Omer Community Education Online Event with Rabbi Natan Margalit

Disagreements with All Due Respect: Lessons found in Nature and the Talmud

When? May 9 | 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Where? Online via Zoom

Learn more & register

 

Tikkun Leyl Shavuot 2023/5783

A night full of non-stop learning on our new collaborative campus in celebration of Shavuot, including a workshop led by the Miller Center's Rabbi Or Rose on “Mystics in Modernity: Rev. Howard Thurman & Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.”

When? May 25 | 6-11:59 p.m.

Where? Temple Reyim, Hebrew College

Learn more & register

 

Bridges and Barriers to Belief and Belonging: A Workshop with Interfaith Photovoice

Interfaith Photovoice founder Dr. Roman Williams will facilitate a photovoice activity in which participants use their own photographs to have a conversation about bridges and barriers to belief and belonging.

When? June 8 | 7-9 p.m.

Where? Hebrew College, Room 102

Learn more & register

 

International Council of Christians and Jews (Boston, 2023)

“Negotiating Multiple Identities: Implications for Interreligious Relations”

When? June 18 to 21, 2023 

Where? Hebrew College, Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground at Boston University, Simmons College, & Boston College

Learn more & register