When I have the chance to talk to staff and faculty at universities who are interested in doing interfaith work on their campuses, I am often met with several responses. One response is disbelief that a Christian university would have the courage and the foresight to develop and host a center devoted to interfaith engagement when many Christians in the U.S. have a lot of fear about the religious other. Many staff working in both secular and religious universities have expressed their wish to have a center at their university like we do at EMU. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nI continue to be grateful to those who saw this need ten years ago, developed the possibility for a Center for Interfaith Engagement at EMU and worked to bring it to life. I am excited for what the next ten years will bring. We need holistic and restorative interfaith engagement now more than ever.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom Rabbi Dr. Niles Goldstein<\/strong>, visiting Jewish scholar in 2013: Working with my colleagues from other faith traditions was an enriching and inspiring experience, and I particularly enjoyed learning more about the Mennonite tradition and the spirit of ecumenical openness that made CIE possible. As a counterweight to today’s climate of tribalism and demonization of the other, the work of CIE is vital to mutual understanding, breaking down stereotypes, and building bridges between and among religious and spiritual communities. CIE has made me a better rabbi and a better man, and I will always be grateful to the men and women I worked with there and who have made such an important, relevant, and unique organization possible.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAmir Akrami<\/strong>, Phd, first visiting Muslim scholar at CIE from 2012 to 2015, sent hopes and prayers \u201cthat CIE will be further expanded and strengthened to be able to continue their wonderful job which aims at building bridges between people of different faiths at a time when more than before the US and the whole world need meaningful engagement, mutual understanding and friendship.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cMay God bless you and your work<\/em>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\nShare your CIE experience and send congratulations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n To share a comment or experience or to send good wishes, visit the comment box at the end of this article. For more information, connect with CIE online at www.emu.edu\/cie<\/a> or donate at www.emu.edu\/giving\/donate<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rabbi Dr. Niles Goldstein, asked to reflect on the impact of 草莓社区’s Center for Interfaith Engagement on its 10th anniversary, called the organization \u201ca counterweight to today\u2019s climate ... read more about Building bridges of understanding, EMU\u2019s Center for Interfaith Engagement celebrates 10th anniversary<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5589,14184,13679,12503,5861,17562,14145],"tags":[9439,17592,17565],"feature":[17426,17241],"class_list":["post-44798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-and-religion","category-campus-guests","category-center-for-interfaith-engagement","category-cjp","category-conferences-and-events","category-digest","category-peacebuilding-and-development","tag-peter-dula","tag-timothy-seidel","tag-trina-trotter-nussbaum","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nBuilding bridges of understanding, EMU\u2019s Center for Interfaith Engagement celebrates 10th anniversary - EMU News<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n