2026 interfaith symposium: ‘Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves’

Augsburg University will offer its fourth annual Interfaith Symposium at noon on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, featuring Rev. Jen Bailey. The Interfaith Symposium is an annual invitation to students and community members to learn about religious, spiritual, and worldview diversity and connect with exceptional interfaith leaders. 

Bailey’s keynote address, “Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves,” will draw on her work as an ordained minister, public theologian, and national leader in the multifaith movement for justice. 

“Jen Bailey is the right voice for our times,” said Professor Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive director of Interfaith at Augsburg. “She not only believes in building a better world for all, she embodies it in her ministry, professional work, and personal life.”

Bailey’s career has been anchored in service to community and a commitment to justice. She is the founder of Faith Matters Network, a Womanist-led organization equipping community organizers, faith leaders, and activists with resources for connection, spiritual sustainability, and accompaniment, and a co-founder of The People’s Supper, an initiative that brings people together across lines of difference to engage constructively on issues affecting their communities. Currently, Bailey serves as executive director of the Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund, a Nashville-based philanthropic foundation investing in the leadership of young people and the vitality of the natural environment. An ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, she has been named an Ashoka Fellow, an Aspen Ideas Scholar, an On Being Fellow, and a Truman Scholar.

Following the keynote address, a luncheon and panel discussion will take place at 1:00 p.m., featuring conversation with Anne Doepner, senior director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Minnesota Vikings; Monica Ibarra, previously of Mayo Clinic; and an Augsburg student leader. 

Event Details and Registration

Keynote Address with Rev. Jen Bailey
March 25, 2026—12 p.m.
Sateren Auditorium, Anderson Music Hall
715 22nd Ave. S., Minneapolis
Cost: Free (advance registration required)

Luncheon and Panel Discussion with Anne Doepner and Monica Ibarra
March 25, 2026—1 p.m.
Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center
625 22nd Ave. S., Minneapolis
Cost: $20 for community members, free with Augsburg ID (advance registration required)

Learn more and register now.

About Interfaith at Augsburg

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’s 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’s Interfaith Institute advances peacebuilding on campus, in the community, and beyond. Learn more at augsburg.edu/interfaith.