“Interfaith exploration is a profound experience that I have been lucky to have at Syracuse University. Now, you have the chance to experience it, too.”
Hendricks Chapel and the Student Assembly of Interfaith Leaders (SAIL) invite the Syracuse University community to Interfaith Exploration Week from March 3 to March 10. This event will give us the opportunity to explore both our own faiths and faiths other than our own, while also learning more about the cultures and communities that exist within these faiths and traditions. Through interfaith exploration, we are able to understand both ourselves and those we live with. It opens us up to new possibilities in the world, broadens our sense of self and community, and helps us accept each other for who we are. This effort to learn and grow enables us to be global citizens and create stronger connections to cultures throughout the world.
Members of SAIL had the idea to welcome other students into this journey in the fall, and in unison with Hendricks Chapel, decided to move forward with a week of programs dedicated to interfaith exploration and cultural expansion. This event embodies the mission of SAIL: creating a stronger interfaith community on campus that is more aware of its diverse roots. SAIL, which aims to represent all faiths on campus, developed Interfaith Exploration Week to enable people of all faiths to come together in interfaith harmony, to learn and grow from one another, and create a space where people can explore their faith and beliefs.
For me, SAIL has provided an opportunity to understand how I, in my faith, can relate to others of different faiths. I am consistently fascinated by the strong relation between my Jewish heritage, and the heritage of my Muslim peers. It’s incredible to see how we are more alike than we are different, especially in a world that tells us how different we are supposed to be. In addition to being a multifaith group, SAIL is also a multinational group, adding an extra layer to our understanding of faith and religion. Rather than seeing only an American perspective, we get to learn from people born and raised all over the world. This unique experience provides opportunities to explore my perspective in faith not just as a Jew, but as an American, and gives me a better understanding of how our world works. Without this work exploring my own faith and culture through SAIL, I would not know how to connect as well with people who seem so distant and different from me. Interfaith Exploration Week grants all students on campus the opportunity to explore themselves and learn from others’ faith and culture as I have through SAIL.
If you are interested in participating in any of the events during the Interfaith Exploration Week, a full schedule is available on the Hendricks Chapel website. If you are interested in joining SAIL, we meet every other Sunday at 5 p.m. in the Chaplains’ Suite of Hendricks Chapel, located in the lower level, and our next meeting is March 6. Please email me if you have any questions.
Written By Ethan Smith ’20 G’22, Falk College, 2020-22 Convener of SAIL