We have converted our religious resource library into a Red Tent, a safe and welcoming space for women of all cultures, genders, identities, beliefs, and walks of life to come together in celebratory community. Within the Red Tent we care for one another and are cared for ourselves with healing, song, meditation, story telling, council, quiet rest, and sharing together. We care for ourselves in learning more about our stories, our identities, our ways of dealing with overcoming stress, and learning to be more gentle with ourselves. Come join us for a time of community and love.
Join us as we commit ourselves to active listening and compassionate curiosity! A handful of diverse students will share their personal multifaith stories.
Didn't have a chance to fuel up on breakfast? No worries, we've got you covered with coffee, tea, and light breakfast options available in the Numen Lumen Pavilion this morning.
Saturday February 16, 2019 8:00am - 9:00am EST
Numen Lumen
We have converted our religious resource library into a Red Tent, a safe and welcoming space for women of all cultures, genders, identities, beliefs, and walks of life to come together in celebratory community. Within the Red Tent we care for one another and are cared for ourselves with healing, song, meditation, story telling, council, quiet rest, and sharing together. We care for ourselves in learning more about our stories, our identities, our ways of dealing with overcoming stress, and learning to be more gentle with ourselves. Come join us for a time of community and love.
This session would be the culmination of my undergraduate research project. I have analyzed the musical, The Book of Mormon, and its religious content. Further, I have interviewed audiences and community members to determine whether or not they find the content of the musical offensive too, or appropriation of the faith traditions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My goal is that participants will be welcomed into an engaging discussion on the topic of religious offense in media.
Presentation and interactive discussion on religious belonging, intersectional identities, and current horizons in interfaith engagement with two emerging scholars in inter-religious studies. Discussion will include current trends in how emerging adults identify religiously and spiritually, new forms of hybrid spirituality and religious belonging, and the need for new narratives and models for interfaith engagement.
This session will review key sociological/anthropological findings on humans as story-telling animals, as well as recent neuroscience research investigating how the brain processes and reacts to narrative elements. Finally, I will share how we use both ancient and not-so-ancient stories from the world's various faith traditions in our interfaith education programs for both kids (preschool through 8th grade) and adults.
From a distance, a mountain summit looks ominous and insurmountable, but the journey begins with a single step. So, too, can sharing stories that reflect our faith tradition and spiritual path, particularly with people whose views might challenge our own. This breakout session acknowledges that our paths may differ, yet we journey up and around the same mountain and can find inspiration in hearing about those unique experiences.This breakout session is your GPS, your road map for the journey. Participants will learn how to share and hear stories, one incremental step at a time in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
This session will discuss how to respond to incidents of hate on college campus. It will educate students on how to advocate for themselves and their neighbors in the face of prejudice in higher education. Students will share personal stories about responding to an incident of hate at Queens and there will be a time for participants to share their own stories, brainstorming best practices for responding to these incidents.
Similar geometric elements and numbers are shared through seemingly unrelated parts of the natural world. How can the fossil of an ancient cephalopod be mathematically proportional to cauliflower growing today? These same elements are also shared between many religious symbols, structures, and ideologies. Why are a Christian cathedral and Buddhist mandala constructed with the same laws of symmetry? By observing the mathematics of our world, understood by many peoples from many worldviews, we can discover for the underlying patterns which connect us all. This Session will give bring an interactive experience of sacred geometry originally by compiled by religious scholar Robert Lawler to the Ripple Interfaith Conference. We will begin with me giving a short introduction on why sacred geometry is important to me, and hopefully pique some interest with exciting examples. Then, in small groups or individually we’ll solve some geometry problems corresponding to real religious art and natural processes, solved and annotated by Robert Lawler. Afterwards, we’ll have a discussion about what this could mean in the context of our different spiritualities. This is not just a seminar for math enthusiasts, but artists, scientists, and anyone else interested in learning how the many paths of faith can lead to a singular truth.
NOTE: The Red Tent will be open the entire conference. If you are not able to sign up for this session, fret not! The session leaders will be in the Red Tent throughout the weekend and would love to spend time with you outside of their breakout session time.
What is a womanist or feminist spirituality? What part does social equality play in Women's theology? What are some contemporary versions of women ancient rituals and ceremonies that women use today? Come to the Red Tent - a place of empowerment and exploration - and examine with us the Divine Feminine identity, authenticity, female voices in spirituality, and what it means to be a woman in our various traditions.
Enjoy lunch on your own, on and off campus! Use your free coffee card to get to know a new friend at the Oak House, walk to one of our favorite local restaurants, hang out in the Red Tent space, or explore somewhere new on your own!
And, have some restful down time while you're at it! :)
Participants will be given an "identity" when they come in with background information on the identity as well as a daily schedule for their identity; each "person" comes from a Muslim background, but has other important defining characteristics. Participants will read about it - max 15 min, and then there will be open discussion about the different intersections of Muslim identities - such as race, sexuality, class, origin, gender, etc. This discussion will focus on general aspects of the Islamic identity and specific details of religious texts and scholarly works. Afterwards, each participant will be able to share their understanding of the identity they received and how their identity is reflective of the dialogues - and a facilitation to deconstruct the different layers of the identity will take place. At the conclusion of the event, participants will be able to ask questions and also learn more general information if they would like. The purpose of the event is to give an authentic representation of an American Muslim today, and provide a day-to-day representation of a Muslim in action.
Through the use of a sharing circle, this breakout session will seek to draw out individual stories via questions about fear, and the importance of emotional intelligence. Some example questions include: what causes fear? In what ways does it control our behavior for the better or worse? If it is inevitable, how do we navigate it in a healthy way? Fear seemingly shapes so much of society and our sense of identity, so come and chat about it in this 90-minute session!
This track offers a “train the trainer” approach to facilitating interfaith trainings and workshops on campus. Although many in higher education agree that engaging religious diversity is a priority, they often feel as though they lack the skills and knowledge to do this important work. Through this “train the trainer” workshop, participants will cultivate the ability to develop and lead interfaith professional development for faculty, staff, and/or paraprofessionals within their campus community. Using IFYC’s BRIDGE curriculum as a learning tool, participants will experience interfaith workshop modules as participants, reflect on strengths and limitations as facilitators, practice workshop facilitation, develop strategies for addressing challenging situations that can arise during interfaith workshops, and plan concrete facilitation opportunities back on campus.
Don't write people's stories for them. This is the theme of this session. We all see people and make snap judgments but learning to suspend this judgement is key to life, love and interfaith relationships.
During this time, we will explore the power of appearance, particuraly in relation to immigration. I am writing my senior thesis on Muslim immigrants in the United States and the prejudice they face and how better education could restore and prevent it. I currently live in an immigrant community in Raleigh where my roommate and I are the only Americans. Through my living experience and the research I am conducting for my thesis, I have had the opportunity to explore what interfaith stories immigrants have to share and how a lack of interfaith work impacts them.
We will create a space called the middle ground, which is demonstrated by a very popular Youtube channel called the Middle Ground. (I highly suggest you check it out). We will also discuss the history of immigration here in the United States and recent events surrounding immigration and the role interfaith can play in this change. Overall, we will explore the power of listening to the interfaith stories of immigrants and how to equip the younger generation to be better listeners and story tellers.
This session will focus on why each of us is inspired to do interfaith work and explore where we draw that inspiration from. You will have an opportunity to seek out your own story of interfaith cooperation, share what brings you to this work, and draw connections from each other’s stories. Participants in this session will walk through the steps needed to identify interfaith moments in their lives and how to turn those moments into calls for action that will enable them to find their voice and affect campus change.
This breakout session will explore some of the major findings and themes coming out of the Interfaith Diversity Experiences & Attitudes Longitudinal Study (IDEALS). Thousands of students from 122 institutions have participated in the study representing a variety of institutional types (public, private, Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical). Participants will be encouraged to think about how the findings of the study compare to their experiences on their campuses, and how the findings might be used to improve student experiences on their campuses.
Join us as we learn from a panel of diverse speakers as they share their stories of identity and multifaith. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions!
A Ripple fan-favorite! Join us for music, poetry-sharing, chai tea, sweet treats, twinkly lights, and so much more! Sign ups to perform will be available at registration; you're also welcome to perform on the spot as well!
We have converted our religious resource library into a Red Tent, a safe and welcoming space for women of all cultures, genders, identities, beliefs, and walks of life to come together in celebratory community. Within the Red Tent we care for one another and are cared for ourselves with healing, song, meditation, story telling, council, quiet rest, and sharing together. We care for ourselves in learning more about our stories, our identities, our ways of dealing with overcoming stress, and learning to be more gentle with ourselves. Come join us for a time of community and love.
Building the capacity for interfaith programs can take many forms. In this session, participants will discuss best practices and methods to engaging their campus community. Whether it is building student capacity or communicating to senior administration, there are several key practices that will lead to an increase in engagement and mobilization for interfaith cooperation.
Food is essential to our health and survival. I would like to share my food journey and how I believe I've found the ultimate connection to the divine becuase of the what and how I eat. My journey from eating meat, to eating vegetarian, to going vegan has healed and revealed parts of myself I didn't know existed. It has been an unfolding. It has been a spiritual process. Through it all, I've found my voice for social justice, environmentalism, health, anti-racism, and spiritual development. If you're interested in figuring out ways you can become more spiritually algined through your food come on over and make some tasty treats!
This session will describe how growing up in a Southern Baptist, super conservative household shaped my views of diversity and challenged me to accept the idea of interfaith. As I have grown I realized that I held my own views separate from what I was being taught, and that I loved the idea of interfaith cooperation. With much backlash from those who I had grown up with, I came to see that being an interfaith supporter would not be easy. Especially entering college, I realized that I wanted to find a way to define my own beliefs and not how my beliefs defined me. The college that I go to is representative of over 30 nations and multiple faith groups. I want to describe how I came to define myself as not a southern baptist, but a christian humanist through my interaction with other students and faith communities.
We usually think of Identity (gender, sexual orientation, and many other identities) as attributes of our body. Although this is part of the story, what if there was more to Identity that our physical world allows us to see. What if our most full and encompassing identity includes but is bigger tan our our bodies and our own experiences? In this session, we'll sing, laugh, tell stories, go deep into our own spiritual selves and make some new discoveries about ourselves.
The PBS documentary Redneck Muslim examines race and religion in the deep south, documenting the life and transformation of Imam Shane Atkinson. Raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Imam Atkinson has dedicated himself to anti-racism initiatives within and outside of the Muslim community. This session will screen the short film Redneck Muslim, have a moderated discussion, and open for questions from the audience.
The MultiFaith Scholars of Elon University will describe their various research interests, which engage national and international intersections of religion. Scholars will also share some stories from their fieldwork and research process from the last year. As majors from a variety of departments, including religious studies, journalism, political science, international global studies, strategic communications, psychology, and anthropology, they will discuss how their specific discipline influences their purpose and voice. Interfaith conferences often focus on what an individual’s voice is, but this session focuses on the ways that different stories can be told to fulfill a specific purpose. Scholars will help participants brainstorm how they see their role and the various mediums through which they might amplify their voice to achieve their goals. This session aims to help participants move forward in ways that will be constructive both during their time in college and after.
Do you have a passion for social justice, sustainability, and artistic expression? In this session you will explore how Noonday Collection partners with artisanal businesses working to empower women through dignified jobs. Ambassadors create a sustainable marketplace at Trunk Shows across the country to share the stories of these artisans and their hand-made goods. Attendees will have the opportunity to shop the artisans' hand-made accessories.
Let's recommit ourselves to sharing our own stories and hearing the stories of others. This may be the end of the conference, but the Ripple only grows wider!
