{"id":11403,"date":"2024-01-26T17:11:54","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T17:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/?p=11403"},"modified":"2024-01-26T17:11:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T17:11:54","slug":"building-trust-in-divisive-times-augsburg-university-to-offer-second-annual-interfaith-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/2024\/01\/26\/building-trust-in-divisive-times-augsburg-university-to-offer-second-annual-interfaith-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Trust in Divisive Times: Augsburg University to Offer Second Annual Interfaith Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/01\/Manu-Meel.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11404 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/01\/Manu-Meel-300x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Manu Meel is smiling at the camera against a backdrop of trees and water. He is wearing black glasses, a dark jacket, and blue shirt.\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/01\/Manu-Meel-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/01\/Manu-Meel-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/01\/Manu-Meel.jpeg 563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Augsburg University will offer its second annual Interfaith Symposium at 11 a.m. on March 7, 2024, featuring keynote speaker Manu Meel, CEO of BridgeUSA. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/interfaith\/about\/interfaith-spring-symposium\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Interfaith Symposium<\/span><\/a> is an annual invitation to students and community members to learn about religious, spiritual, and worldview diversity; participate in enriching dialogue; and network with exceptional interfaith leaders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Meel\u2019s keynote will focus on \u201cBuilding Trust in Divisive Times,\u201d the symposium\u2019s 2024 theme. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeusa.org\/\"><span class=\"s2\">BridgeUSA<\/span><\/a> is a youth-led, multi-partisan student movement that creates spaces on high school and college campuses for open discussion between students about differences. By engaging America\u2019s youth in constructive discussions, the nonprofit organization is equipping the next generation of leaders with the skills necessary for navigating conflict, finding solutions across differences and building bridges in their communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe are thrilled to welcome Manu Meel to Augsburg for this year\u2019s Interfaith Symposium,\u201d said Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive director of Interfaith at Augsburg. \u201cBridgeUSA\u2019s efforts to help young people resolve conflicts and navigate difficult conversations aligns closely with the work of Augsburg\u2019s Interfaith Institute. His message of building trust across different perspectives will be incredibly valuable during the U.S. election cycle and as conflict continues to play out across the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Following the keynote address, a luncheon and panel discussion will take place at 12:30 p.m., featuring conversation with Rabbi Adam Stock Spilker, Mount Zion Temple; Martha Stortz, professor emerita of religion at Augsburg; and Joffrey Wilson, vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Mortenson Construction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/interfaith\/about\/interfaith-spring-symposium\/\">For information and to register, visit the 2024 Interfaith Symposium website.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">About Interfaith at Augsburg<\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Situated in a neighborhood home to numerous immigrant communities and with an increasingly diverse student body, Augsburg University is uniquely positioned to facilitate building bridges in a polarized world. Augsburg\u2019s commitment to interfaith engagement is central to its mission, identified as a key outcome of its strategic plan, and rooted in its Lutheran theological heritage. Through interfaith education and intentional opportunities to strengthen interreligious communication, understanding, and relationships, Augsburg\u2019s Interfaith Institute advances peacemaking on campus, in the community, and beyond. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/interfaith\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Learn more at augsburg.edu\/interfaith.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Augsburg University will offer its second annual Interfaith Symposium at 11 a.m. on March 7, 2024, featuring keynote speaker Manu Meel, CEO of BridgeUSA. The Interfaith Symposium is an annual invitation to students and community members to learn about religious, spiritual, and worldview diversity; participate in enriching dialogue; and network with exceptional interfaith leaders.\u00a0 Meel\u2019s &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":11404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3235,3231],"tags":[4026],"class_list":["post-11403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-media-advisories","tag-interfaith-at-augsburg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11403"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11405,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11403\/revisions\/11405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}