Just a few years ago, it was uncommon to see a
student on campus dressed in traditional Muslim garb, says Viki Brooks-McDonald,
Protestant chaplain.
Today, however, the sight serves as a reminder of what
Brooks-McDonald calls the “changing landscape of faiths” at Union and other
college campuses. “Faith traditions on campus are becoming as diverse as any other
aspect of culture,” she says. “We need to be aware of what people of various
faiths bring to campus.”
So, Brooks-McDonald and a committee from the campus
community have begun to explore the possibility of celebrating an “inter-religious
service” that will include elements of a number of faith traditions. “Our hope
is to increasingly uphold spiritual aspects of who we are as individuals,”
Brooks-McDonald says.
“This is a very difficult path to walk,” she
acknowledges. “There is a difference between tolerance — where you pat somebody
on the head and tell them it's OK to be different – and pluralism — which
is truly understanding and respecting what is involved with the faith and practice of
another.”
Brooks-McDonald and other members of the campus committee
recently attended a conference titled “Education as Transformation: Religious
Pluralism, Spirituality and Higher Education” at Wellesley College, where they
learned that a growing challenge on nearly all campuses is that more students, faculty and
staff are not from Judeo-Christian faiths. Or, if they are, they have little knowledge of
other faiths.
“I have a congregational background,” says
Brooks-McDonald, citing herself as an example. “So I'm not all that familiar
with eastern religions.”
Brooks-McDonald, who joined the College this fall, is an
ordained Presbyterian pastor. She earned her masters in divinity from McCormick Seminary
in Chicago, and her bachelor's degree from the College of Wooster. She has served in
the congregational ministry for 13 years, specializing in pastoral care and the nurture of
an integrated faith.
For information or to join the committee to develop an
inter-religious service, call ext. 6618.