April news from the Vanderbilt University Chaplain and Office of Religious Life

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Religious Life E-Newsletter [Vanderbilt University]

March 2016

Dear Friends of the Office of the University Chaplain and Religious Life:

Mark-Forrester

This month has been tragic for the Vanderbilt community. We lost three members of the Vanderbilt family in March to terrorism. Taylor Force, a student in the Owen Graduate School of Management, was killed by a terrorist while on a global business trip in Israel March 8. Just over two weeks later, we learned that two alumni, Justin and Stephanie Shults, were killed in the attack on the Brussels airport March 22. Both Justin and Stephanie received degrees from our Owen Graduate School of Management. Justin also received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt. All three of these wonderful young people were global citizens, taking what they were learning and had learned at Vanderbilt to other countries, in the words of Chancellor Zeppos, “to grow, to learn, and to broaden their perspective.” Let us keep the friends and family of Taylor, Justin and Stephanie in our thoughts and prayers and let us be inspired by the bright and impactful lives they lived.

While we cannot make sense of the senseless violence that took the lives of these wonderful young people, we can attempt to build bridges among our own different communities to provide hope and learning in the face of such devastation. It is in this spirit that we schedule interfaith and intercultural learning opportunities, which included the second annual Interfaith Spring Break, co-sponsored by OUCRL with the International Student Scholars Services office. Recruiting a group of 17 students from many faith backgrounds and nationalities, we immersed ourselves in an interfaith tour of Washington, D.C., exploring centers of worship and learning that span the globe: Sunday service at Howard University Chapel, prayer and teaching at our capital’s Islamic Center, receiving the Eucharist at the National Cathedral, learning techniques of mindfulness at a Buddhist meditation center, learning about the history of Judaism in America at a historic synagogue, and ending our week at All Souls Unitarian Church with a candlelight vespers service. We also visited the Holocaust Museum, enjoyed breakfast with Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker during their weekly “Tennessee Tuesday” open house, and were invited to the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society as well as the State Department to hear from Secretary of State John Kerry’s staff who focused on “religion and global relations.”

As Vanderbilt’s student body gets more religiously diverse, and as the nation becomes more of a global society requiring interfaith understanding, such trips help equip students to interpret religious and philosophical differences with knowledge, empathy and a sense of shared belonging to a sacred society. See below for links to pictures and stories.

As we look ahead, the OUCRL is excited about bringing Eboo Patel to campus on April 12 to be our Chaplain’s Speakers Series keynoter. He is founder and executive director of Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based organization that assists students and campus leaders engage effectively in interfaith dialogue and community building. His talk, “Interfaith Leadership: Engaging Faith and Philosophical Diversity in the 21st Century,” will be at 7 p.m. in Benton Chapel and is free and open to the public. Earlier that day, Patel will have a lunch discussion with religious leaders in higher education about the intersectionality of religion and spirituality in the lives of students, and how religious identity is often overlooked and not appreciated for the positive and transformative potential it holds. The OUCRL will also have Patel and the IFYC staff give a professional development seminar on interfaith competency and how religious organizations often hold the key to advancing other concerns pertaining to diversity, inclusion and equity.

As always, thanks for your support and good faith in the work we share as we seek to build peace and understanding in these difficult times.

Reverend Mark Forrester

University Chaplain and Director of Religious Life


memorial-service-etiquette-mainVanderbilt Remembers Taylor Force and Justin and Stephanie Shults

Force, a 28-year-old West Point graduate who served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, was killed in a terrorist attack in Jaffa, Israel, on March 8. Read more.

Vanderbilt alumni Jason and Stephanie Shults were killed in the March 22 terrorist attack at the Brussels airport. Read Chancellor Zeppos’ statement.
Interfaith_0Eboo Patel to Speak for Chaplain’s Speaker Series

Patel will come back to Vanderbilt University for a special engagement with the Chaplain’s Speaker Series at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in Benton Chapel. Read more.

orlInterfaith Spring Break Recap

This past spring break, the offices of the University Chaplain and Religious Life and the International Student and Scholar Services hosted the second annual Interfaith Spring Break Trip to Washington, D.C. Read more

Vanderbilt University Office of the University Chaplain and Religious Life
401 24th Ave South   |   Nashville, TN 37240   |   religiouslife@vanderbilt.edu   |   Subscribe