Hello friends of Multifaith! Last Thursday, we had an interesting conversation on religion and its influence on pop culture. Celebrities that are religious and non-religious often have some sort of impact on how we see certain religions.
Scientology is one that has been noted in the public sphere for some time now. There are quite a few celebs who have been (fairly or unfairly) associated with Scientology, including John Travolta, Will Smith, and Tom Cruise. Unfortunately, Tom Cruise may be the one that comes to mind first. His very odd public outbursts have made people think that it’s the religion that’s making him “crazy”. Being in the public eye can cause a lot of false information to develop and it’s very easy to get wrong ideas traveling fast.
In the case of Scientology, because there was so much media attention, the true meaning of the religion was lost. When looking into what Scientology actually consists of, it is heavily weighed on helping your community and striving to be the best that you can possibly be. The most important thing is to make yourself a better person, and helping whenever you can along your own personal journey. The morals of the faith are lost when looked at from a public lens, and it shows that it’s important to educate ourselves before we jump to conclusions based on what we’ve heard.
In the case of Scientology, for example, what makes a religion or its practitioners authentic? When unraveling this question, a large amount of our time was spent discussing cults. What makes a cult… a cult?
The word usually has a negative connotation to it, but in reality, a cult is simply defined as followers of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices. So, technically, Christianity and Buddhism are cults, along with all the other beliefs and religious systems in the world.
But why have we come to have negatives ideas with the word cult? A lot of the time, we throw that word out there because the thing the group is practicing is uncommon and unfamiliar to us. It doesn’t go with the usual belief system that one might follow. It’s something that’s ‘strange and not normal’, so you instantly put a label to it, usually ‘cult’ because it’s a word that should spark fear and unease to a person.
For example, we talked a lot about Branch Davidians, Heaven’s Gate, and other cults – what makes them uncommon, unfamiliar, strange, abnormal? What makes them incite fear and unease? What crosses the line, and who decides?
So while discussing religion, pop culture, and public opinion – and developing a deeper conversation about public opinion, cults, and connotations – the real question becomes: What makes a religious tradition authentic, what makes cults abnormal, and who decides?
November 2010 to April 2011: What If to Better Together
We all know the narratives by now. “Different religions can never get along.” “Organized religion is stupid or useless.” “Faith only breeds hatred and mistrust in the world.”
But at Hamline, we know that’s not true! We know that our faiths and traditions can be better together, and we know that it all starts with a question: “What if?” What if people of all faiths and traditions came together to do good work? What if Muslims and atheists, Christians and Hindus, Jews and Sikhs, all came together to share our stories and change the world? What if we all chipped in, learned to get along, and helped our communities together?
In November, we asked, “What if?” On a rainy Wednesday night in November, over thirty members of the Hamline community and guests all came together to share food, conversation, and stories. All around me, I watched as people of all genders, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and religious traditions bent their heads together to talk, ask questions, listen, and learn. All around me, the conversation just kept coming. People wanted to talk. People wanted to help. And we wanted to do it.
In December, weformed a partnership with Taking Root, an interfaith refugee resettlement program, to prove that our religious and cultural traditions really are Better Together! We kicked off on December 15, when a young widow named Paw Say and her children arrived in Minnesota. They were Christian Karen refugees from Burma, persecuted and displaced in their home countries by religious and ethnic violence. Upon arriving, a multilingual and interfaith team met them at the airport and took them to their new apartment. There, they were welcomed into a fresh, clean apartment, complete with furniture, beds, kitchen supplies, food in the fridge, welcome kits, and school supplies for the children! Taking Root has provided additional financial and life skills support ever since. Today, they are on their feet and part of Minnesota’s international culture.
I am proud to say that I, along with another Better Together member Adam Zagoria-Moffet, helped volunteer to make it happen. Along with other volunteers and a mountain of donated goods, we spent several hours moving and sprucing up the family’s apartment. After lugging furniture, putting together beds, stocking the kitchen, and more, we finally called it a day and surveyed our handiwork. That weekend, they would be reunited with their family. The whole family would get to enjoy the new apartment that I had helped pull together. Everyone would get the best Christmas present ever, and a sustainable one at that, all because of interfaith service work.
So we kept doing it! In February and March, we held awesome monthly interfaith meals and did group interfaith service projects! We ate great food, heard stories, watched films, learned, donated, and volunteered!
Februarys smash hit interfaith meal
Februarys group interfaith service project!
Marchs (even bigger) interfaith service project!
Just in those two months, we collected:
Eight garbage bags of clothing
Three or four warm winter jackets
Two or three boxes of diapers
Countless baby supplies
Tons of household items
and a TV!
We also packed eight big welcome kits for eight new apartments, including bathroom kits and kitchen kits, pots and pans, utensils, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and more! And we’ve volunteered for a total of over twelve hours of service work, helping to spruce up and move in:
Paw Say and her children
Abdi, a young Somali man who was reunited with his family here in Minnesota
Ker Ner and Paw Tar Shu, a young couple our age, who are expecting their first baby next month.
And in April, we wrapped up our campaign with our Better Together + Taking Root Finale: Raffle and Art Show! We collected an unbelievable amount of donations, ate more amazing food, shared some inspiring stories, participated in our collaborative art project, and gave away prizes. We finally proved the success of our interfaith collaboration!
This photo doesn’t do it justice, but we collected a HUGE amount of donations! As you can see, we collected toilet paper, baby supplies, household items, kids’ toys and games, household hardware supplies, and more! This picture doesn’t show the additional four big garbage bags of clothing that were donated by Safety and Security, Kaitlyn Ripley, and others by the end of the night!
Donations!
People ate, talked, checked out our art project, and added their contributions!
Margaret Crenshaw telling her story about volunteering with refugee youth, and the power of the Better Together campaign to help relate to their experiences.
Jenna Kallestad discussing her experiences interning with public schools, working with young refugee children, and developing an interest in interfaith refugee resettlement. Now, she works as an intern for Taking Root!
Our huge collaborative art project, to which people added their thoughts and prayers throughout the night!
Prize winners won gift cards to The Ginkgo, Target, and the Hamline Bookstore! Yay!
Over the weekend, Hamline students also donated and volunteered for a new Karen refugee family, Dah Bu (father), Hser Mi (mother), Lah Lah Doo (daughter, 12 years old), Peh Mue (daughter, 11 years old), Chit Koe Nai (son, 9 years old), and Paw Eh Mui (daughter, 4 years old).
Final thoughts: I feel like Hamline University finally understands the real value of asking questions, rocking the boat, changing the narrative, and working together for the common good. Now, the groundwork is set for future interfaith collaborations. Now, we can truly move forward together and make Hamline University a centerpiece of interfaith service!
Thank you all for your part in it, and I hope you’ll join us for next year’s events! We are currently working with the Interfaith Council and The President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge to plan next year’s Better Together campaign. See you then!
When I first heard about Better Together + Taking Root, I was so inspired to come out and help families who are coming to America. I understood how it feels to be coming to a new place. My father is from Somalia and a civil war has torn the country apart. My dad brought all of his family to the United Sates in 1992, which was when I was born.
I loved hearing stories as I got older about all the experiences they had. Some were funny, sad, frustrating, and happy. When they came they didn’t know any English, but luckily they had my father, who had came in the 80s to go to college, and also my mother who is African-American and knows the life here (especially as a minority).
One thing that really interested me is that Taking Root helps families who do not have any family here, nowhere to live, and also no support or help. Comparing the troubles that my family had coming to America with help, I couldn’t imagine a family coming with no help.
One of my biggest reasons for volunteering also is because when refugees come from their country, they are often told who are the “good” people in America and who are the “bad”. They are told who to avoid and not avoid. When my family came here to America, their case worker told them not socialize with Black people because “they are not good people”. This has created many issues between people from other countries and African-Americans here already in America. This issue really hurts me personally because I did a study on this, and more than 90% of foreigners from other countries are told that Black people are bad and White people are good. One thing that hurt me the most personally is my family, who have come from Somalia, were also told this, and some of them still have this mentality today.
With the Better Together campaign, I wanted to show my face, and help to show that we are not all what they say about Black people. Black people in this country have gone through so much, and with their help, refugees are able to make a new life here today.
Want to join the Better Together + Taking Root campaign? Join us for our final event, the Better Together + Taking Root Finale: Raffle and Art Show! Food. Music. Raffle. Art Show. The more donations you bring, the more money goes into the pot, and the better your chance to win. Prizes up to $150 and all proceeds go toward Taking Root’s interfaith support for refugee families in Minnesota. Even better, you can contribute to our collaborative art project and share your prayers, wishes, and stories of interfaith cooperation for the common good! Wednesday April 13, 7:30pm, Kay Fredericks Room.
Join us for one amazing month of interfaith events at Hamline! Come one, come all – tell your friends and tell your classes!
30 Hour Fast:
11:00am Wednesday April 6 – 5:00pm Thursday April 7
Empty Bowls:
5:00pm Thursday April 7 Hancock Recreation Center
Today, fast and show your support for those suffering from hunger (and support those fighting to end it). Tomorrow, break your fast at Hamline’s Empty Bowls event! Empty Bowls is an international fundraising event where participants pay a little for a handmade bowl, soup to fill the bowl, and entertainment. After the fundraiser, participants take their empty bowls to remember that there are people in their communities and around the world who are hungry. Proceeds from the FREE will donation this year will go to Keystone Community Services and White Earth Land Recovery Project.
Multifaith Alliance: Spring Holidays
Thursday April 7, 7:00pm
Bush Student Center Chapel
Join Multifaith Alliance for an annual classic, our “Spring Holidays” event! Learn about Easter, Vaisakhi, Passover, Ridvan, Imbolc, Holi, and other seasonal holidays! Where do they come from? What do eggs have to do with anything? What do these festivities have in common? How are they different? What fun customs do people participate in? (There might even be dying of eggs!) As always, free food and safe space!
Better Together Finale: Raffle and Art Show
Wednesday April 13, 7:30pm
Kay Fredericks
The Better Together + Taking Root campaign: You’ve been with us from the beginning. You’ve chipped in your religious and philosophical backgrounds, and you’ve helped make Hamline’s interfaith work possible. Thanks to you, local Somali and Karen refugees like Abdi, Paw Say, Ker Ner, Paw Tar Shu, and their families are enjoying new homes, safety, and the welcome of a peaceful community.
Join us for one last service and celebration event, the Better Together Finale: Raffle and Art Show! Food. Music. Raffle. Art Show. The more donations you bring, the more money goes into the pot, and the better your chance to win! Prizes up to $150 and all proceeds go toward Taking Root interfaith support for refugee families in Minnesota! Contribute to our collaborative art project and share your prayers, wishes, and stories of interfaith cooperation for the common good!
Chocolate Seder
Thursday April 14, 7:00pm
Sorin A/B
Passover is almost upon us – and Jewish Student Life is hosting the annual Chocolate Seder! Join in for a hilarious version of the traditional seder in which we only eat chocolate and learn a bit about Passover in the process! Everyone is welcome to attend, and no experience with a Seder is neccessary. Multifaith Alliance will be attending in lieu of our typical Thursday night gathering!
Islamic Awareness Week
Monday April 18 – Friday April 22
Join the Muslim Student Association (MSA) for the first ever Islamic Awareness Week at Hamline University. This event is going to occur in third week of April. So enjoy a week of fun filled activities.
Monday – Henna 5:00pm
Islamic Fashion Show 6:00
BSC HUB
Tuesday- Movie Night
6:30pm HUB
Wednesday – Hijab Day
Speaker. Discussion in BSC HUB 6.00pm
