“If we truly see ourselves as interconnected, we must endeavor for others as we endeavor for ourselves,” writes Executive Director of Aspen Institute's Religion & Society Program Simran Jeet Singh. If "endeavor for ourselves" and for greater self-discovery is inherently wrapped up in "endeavor for others" and for greater interpersonal engagement, then, as Pope Francis proclaims, “our great challenge is to create a culture of encounter which encourages individuals and groups to share the richness of their traditions and experience; to break down walls and to build bridges.” Cultivating a culture of encounter, grounded in curiosity and wonder, strives for a world in which “we can also speak with those who think differently, as well as those who hold other beliefs, who do not have the same faith.” Advancing common public goods in such a world embraces the reality that great minds do not – and need not – always think alike but requires them to think alongside one another in order to address the urgent matters of our day.

Join us for this daylong workshop at the University of St. Thomas, free and open to all, to explore what it means to create a culture of curiosity, wonder, and encounter. Learn from practitioners, scholars, and leaders about developing skills to engage religious diversity, cultivate curiosity through storytelling, listen with empathetic understanding, navigate difficult conversations, participate in religious and nonreligious spiritual practices, and to develop greater self-awareness for leadership in religiously diverse societies.

Free and open to the public. Registration Required. Lunch included. Ages 16+. Open to all religious, nonreligious, and spiritual identities, worldviews, and ways of life. Join us for good food, rich conversation, and deep engagement.

free of charge

Registration Closed (please email jpc@stthomas.edu with qusestions) 

Organized and hosted by the Interfaith Fellows Program of the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas and the Minnesota Multifaith Network in collaboration with the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community at St. Olaf College and the Interfaith Institute at Augsburg University. 

Cosponsored by Minnesota Multifaith Network and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of St. Thomas, in collaboration with the Office for Mission, Residence Life, Center for the Common Good, MA in Diversity Leadership program, and Campus Ministry Office at the University of St. Thomas. Funded, in part, by generous grants from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota.

Institutional Partners: Augsburg University, Bethel University, College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University, Collegeville Institute, Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, Luther Seminary, Normandale Community College, St. Catherine University, St. Olaf College, University of St. Thomas

Information: click here for parking directions; click here for map of Iversen Center for Faith