Lebanon Valley College Hosts Sustained Interfaith Dialogue on Poverty

A variety of faith responses considered on Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. in Miller Chapel

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Father Job Foote of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church

ANNVILLE, PA (09/17/2013)(readMedia)-- Three Sustained Interfaith Dialogues will be held at Lebanon Valley College during the fall semester. The first, held in Miller Chapel Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 11 a.m., will focus on the topic of local and global poverty. How are various faith traditions responding to alleviate poverty both locally and globally?

Each dialogue will involve a panel of six to eight religiously active members of the community who represent different faiths and approaches to life. At the event, Dr. Matt Sayers, assistant professor of religion at LVC, will ask each panelist questions and give them a chance to reply and respond to other's answers. Dr. Sayers will then open the discussion to students and community members in attendance. Panelists at the dialogue on poverty will include Rabbi Paula Reimers of Congregation Beth Israel, Jay Deshpande from the Hindu community, Father Job Foote of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Irshad Jaffri from Lebanon Valley Mosque, Rev. Shellie Sterner from the United Methodist Church, and Shosu Geoff Dunaway from Blue Mountain Lotus Society.

"Friendly, thoughtful dialogue among faiths is a key ingredient for enhancing mutual understanding and respect among cultures and religions, which becomes increasingly important as our society becomes increasingly globalized," said Paul Fullmer, LVC chaplain. "We certainly won't all agree on all points of our discussion, but chances are that we will learn from one another."

A simple pizza lunch will be offered at the event, which is free and open to the public. To register, call 717-867-6135 or email nsmith@lvc.edu.

Sustained Dialogues are conducted at colleges and universities across the United States. The dialogues at LVC are designed to enhance religious literacy and further the mission of the College "to enable our students to become people of broad vision" and "to enhance their sensitivity to and appreciation of differences among human beings." More information about Sustained Dialogues can be found at http://www.lvc.edu/spiritual-life/concerts-events.aspx.

Lebanon Valley College's Offices of Spiritual Life and Multicultural Affairs, as well as its Department of Religion and Philosophy, will sponsor the events.