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News Release
Office of News and Information
Johns Hopkins University
3003 N. Charles Street, Suite 100
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-3843
Phone: (410) 516-7160 | Fax (410) 516-5251
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February 20, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Amy Cowles
(410) 516-7800
amycowles@jhu.edu
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Open Hands Open
Hearts: Exploring Diverse Faith Traditions
A Celebration of Religion and Spirituality at Johns
Hopkins University
Lectures, digital media presentations and a medieval
labyrinth will mark The Johns Hopkins University's first
religious awareness days, March 4 through 13. The 10-day
celebration, "Open Hands, Open Hearts: Exploring Diverse
Faith Traditions," aims to explore various faiths while
examining issues facing modern religious communities.
Open Hands, Open Hearts is a collaborative effort
between Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus
Interfaith Council and Campus
Ministries, as well as student representatives from a
variety of Hopkins faith-based organizations.
"The very notion of setting aside a few days to
publicly discuss matters of faith was one that excited the
Interfaith Council before Sept. 11," said Sharon Kugler,
Johns Hopkins' chaplain and director of the
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center. "After Sept. 11, it
fueled their souls. It has never been more important to look
at ourselves and others with an eye towards deepening our
mutual understanding. It has never been more critical for
religious communities to refocus on cooperation and invite
others to do the same."
On March 11, a meditative labyrinth will be installed
in the Glass Pavilion for the day, commemorating the six
months that have passed since the attacks of Sept. 11.
Walking the winding path is meant to inspire reflection and
contemplation.
"Open Hands, Open Hearts is an invitation to listen
with an open mind, not just with your ears, but also with
your eyes, with your feet, with your hands, and with your
heart," says Johns Hopkins sophomore Sarah Berkson, founder
and coordinator of the program. "I hope that these events
may encourage us to go deeper into our own questions and
journey hand-in-hand with other wanderers from different
paths. I hope and believe that this is how we start the work
of recovery from a long history of past abuses and develop a
context for building peace."
Following is a list of events open to the Johns Hopkins
community. All events are free unless noted. For more
information about these events, call the Bunting-Meyerhoff
Interfaith Center at (410) 261-1880, email at
ohandohearts@hotmail.com, or go to
www.jhu.edu/~chaplain/.
Monday, March 4, 8 p.m.
Student Digital Media Presentation
Shaffer 3
In December 2001, Johns Hopkins students were provided
grants to create digital media projects exploring questions
of religion and spirituality, such as such as mediation
practices and their benefits and freedom of opinion in the
Islamic faith. The artists will discuss the realization of
their artistic visions.
Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m.
Rabbi Shira L. Lander, "What Makes a Sacred Space
Sacred?"
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles
St.
A former Homewood campus rabbi, Lander is a dissertation
fellow in the Department of Religious Studies at the
University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. From 1990-94,
Rabbi Lander worked at the Institute for Christian and
Jewish Studies in Baltimore. She currently teaches at the
University of Maryland and the Ecumenical Institute of St.
Mary's Seminary, where she received the Dunning
Distinguished Lectureship Award.
Wednesday, March 6, 8 p.m.
Campus Ministers Panel Discussion: Peace-Making in Different
Religious Traditions
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles
St.
Can different religious traditions, each claiming to be the
true faith, come together and work towards a greater peace?
How do various faiths make peace with one another?
Ministers from the Johns Hopkins University's Homewood
campus will address these and other questions in an open
panel discussion.
Thursday, March 7, 12:30 p.m.
Brown Bag Luncheon: Meet the Interfaith Council
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles
St.
Faculty and staff are invited to come and meet Chaplain
Kugler and the Interfaith Council, a
group of student representatives from different faith
perspectives sharing one common vision: to work towards
establishing a cooperative community spirit among religious
groups and to dispel myths and misunderstandings that others
may hold about the various religions, faiths, and belief
systems. Kosher lunch will be provided.
Thursday, March 7, 6 p.m.
Mind-body Workshop
Student Recreation Center (J-card ID required)
Tsang Fan will lead an interactive workshop, introducing
participants to T'ai Chi Chuan, a traditional Chinese form
of mind-body-spirit practice. Fan began studying T'ai Chi 20
years ago in Chen Jiagou, Henan, China, and has taught
privately in Japan for over ten years.
Friday, March 8, 5:45 p.m.
Shabbat Dinner
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles
St.
JHU Hillel, Campus Ministries, and the dean of student life
sponsor a traditional Jewish Shabbat dinner with kosher
Chinese food.
Friday, March 8, 7 p.m.
Muslim Student Association Banquet
Glass Pavilion
The Muslim Student Association holds its annual banquet in
the Glass Pavilion celebrating Eid-ul-fitr, the celebration
after the month of Ramadan, and also Eid-ul-Adha, which
commemorates the pilgrimage season. Featured speaker for the
event is Salam Al-Marayati, director and one of the founders
of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a public service
agency aimed at disseminating accurate information about
Islam to the American public. Al-Marayati has written
extensively on Islam, human rights, democracy, Middle East
politics, the Balkan crisis and the Transcaucus conflict.
Tickets are $10, and can be purchased in advance at Wolman
Hall and Terrace Caf‚. Chinese and Iranian food served.
Saturday, March 9
Circle K Day of Service
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles
St.
Circle K, an international organization of college and
university students with a lifelong commitment to community
service worldwide, will sponsor a day of service in the
Baltimore community. Time to be announced. Meet at the
Levering Union, transportation provided.
Saturday, March 9, 8 p.m.
"Princess Mononoke" screening and discussion
Mudd Auditorium
Drawing from Japanese folklore, this acclaimed anime film
features the voices of actors Billy
Crudup, Minnie Driver, and Claire Danes. Discussion of the
film and earth-centered religion to follow.
Sunday, March 10, 5 p.m.
Sandwich Sunday
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles
St.
Join the Johns Hopkins communities of faith for their
monthly sandwich making. Lunches are donated to the Maryland
Community Resource Center to assist its effort to fight
hunger among low-income people living with HIV and AIDS.
Volunteers also welcome for delivery on Monday mornings.
Sunday, March 10, 6 p.m.
Multi-cultural Women's Seder
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles
St.
All women are invited to participate in this unique
multicultural seder. Participants will share their
experiences as women and as people of faith and the
relationship between these two identities. Men are also
welcome.
Monday, March 11, 9 a.m.- 8 p.m.
The Labyrinth: A Walking Meditation
Glass Pavilion
The labyrinth has long stood as a metaphor for life's
journey, combining the senses of unity and purposeful
wandering into a complicated and beautiful symbol.
Labyrinths were first constructed
in ancient Greece and have since been passed from culture to
culture.
Tuesday, March 12, 7 p.m.
Dr. Andrew Newberg,"Why God Won't Go Away?"
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles
St.
In this age of science, of rigorous rationality, why do
people still believe in God? Director of Clinical Nuclear
Medicine, director of NeuroPET Research, and assistant
professor in the Department of Radiology at the Hospital of
the University of Pennsylvania, Newberg will give his
perspective on the relationship between faith and
psychology.
Wednesday, March 13, 7 p.m.
Buddhist service
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles
St.
Open Hands, Open Hearts will conclude with an introduction
to Buddhist meditation and a short service called the Heart
Sutra, led by Hoji Scott, minister of the Johns Hopkins
University Buddhist Society.
Ongoing Weekly Religious Services
Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith Center, 3509 N. Charles St.
Muslim Prayer - five times daily in Interfaith Center
Prayer Room
Roman Catholic Mass - Sundays, March 3 and 10, 11
a.m., upper level
Hindu Aarthi - Sundays, March 3 and 10, 11 a.m.,
lower level
Taize Service - Sunday, March 3, 5 p.m., upper level.
Followed by dinner.
Buddhist Samu/Zazen - Monday, March 4 through
Thursday, March 7, 9 - 10 a.m., upper level
Unitarian Universalist Group Meetings - Tuesdays,
March 5 and 12, 5 p.m., Interfaith Center Library
Lutheran Bible Study - Thursday, March 7, 5 p.m.,
Interfaith Center Library
Jumah Prayers - Friday, March 8, 1:15 p.m., upper
level
Shabbat Services -
Friday, March 8, 5:45 p.m., followed by dinner.
Saturday, March 9, 11:30 a.m., Shabbat brunch
Johns Hopkins University news releases can be found on the
World Wide Web at
http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/
Information on automatic e-mail delivery
of science and medical news releases is available at the
same address.
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