29th Annual All Faith Service
TOGETHER IN
Transition: Cultivating Community in Uncertain Times
Thursday, February 10, 2022 Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Theatre
As a contemporary and engaged Catholic university, the University of San Diego is proud to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the All Faith Service.
Since 1994, the entire campus community has gathered in an intentional way at the beginning of the spring semester to pray together. Echoing the Mass of the Holy Spirit that begins each academic year in the fall semester, the All Faith Service serves as a signature event that acknowledges our spiritual foundations and our diverse community. The All Faith Service reminds us that our lives, both at USD and off campus, are intertwined with people of a variety of faiths. And while we do not all understand God in the same way, we can experience and celebrate the similarities shared with other faiths, while retaining the integrity of our respective faiths. The All Faith Service embodies the Catholic teaching that what is true and holy in these various religious traditions reflect, through different lenses, truths that enlighten all people. Our theme this year is “Together in Transition: Cultivating Community in Uncertain Times.” To say these past two years have been difficult would be an understatement. We have been and continue to be in a constant state of immense change, all of us having suffered losses, and ongoing uncertainty taxes our ability to cope. From where can we draw wisdom about how to proceed? The founder of the Catholic Worker movement, Dorothy Day wrote in her autobiography that “we have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” Day was insistent that the only way to a more peaceful and just world was through participation in community. At USD, we hold creating a diverse and inclusive community as a core value and as essential to our mission. And yet, community does not arise on its own; it must be nurtured and protected so that it may grow. Through prayer, song, memories, chants and blessings may we be inspired to cultivate communities of peace, justice and love that will be able to sustain us through whatever the future holds.
Welcome
Michael Lovette Colyer, PhD, Vice President for Mission Integration Opening Song
Oyod-Oyod (Swaying) USD Gamelan Ensemble Meghan Hynson, PhD Director, USD Department of Music Visiting Assistant Professor For Hindus in Bali, Indonesia, religious rituals are particularly important during times of uncertainty and transition. They gather the community together and create a space for sharing, making sense of current events, and facing all that life has to offer together. Each is carried out with a spirit of community participation known as gotong royong. This “mutual assistance” is dependent on what particular skills an individual has to offer the community. Some cook ceremonial food, while others make offerings or clean the temple. Artists and musicians contribute their performances as an offering to the gods and the ancestors. Each person brings their unique gifts and everyone offers what they can through ngayah, or “selfless service,” done for the common good. Muslim Reflection
Imam Taha Hassan, Islamic Center of San Diego “In Gratitude for the Community” PRAYER READER
Aya Kawkab ’23, Accounting
Jewish Teaching
The Arnold Family Aleinu - Ben Arnold Teaching - Lisa Arnold A Prayer for Our Country - Ava and Aaron Arnold PRAYER READER
Eliana Gorham ’22, Business Administration Indigenous Stories
Kilma Lattin, MBA Cupeño, Pala Band of Mission Indians “Speaking Our Own Histories for Future Generations” PRAYER READER
Rhonda Papp ’22, Environmental and Ocean Sciences Buddhist Meditation
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, PhD, Professor, Department of Theology and Religious Studies Tonglen is an ancient form of meditation in the Buddhist tradition. In Tibetan, it means “taking and receiving,” and focuses on using the breath to awaken compassion and connection with others. PRAYER READER
Maggie Wang ’22, Master of Arts in Social Innovation, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies Hindu Reflection
Deepti Thakoor, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, Master of Arts in Conflict Management and Resolution “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — The whole world is one family” PRAYER READER
Priya Kannan, Associate Dean for Faculty and Accreditation, Knauss School of Business
Christian Song
Members of Founders Chapel Choir God is still speaking: Blessed invitation, God is still speaking: listen and draw near. God is still speaking: see a new creation. God is still speaking: stand and do not fear. “God Is Still Speaking” Text and Tune: Marty Haagen, b. 1950 C copyright, 2009, GIA Publications Live Streaming and print permissions under Onelicense.net License #A-722867. Used with Permission. All rights reserved. PRAYER READER
Rachel Shellstrom ’22, Communication Studies Closing Remarks
Michael Lovette-Colyer Sending Forth
USD Choral Scholars, Emilie Amrein, Director We shall be known by the company we keep By the ones who circle round to tend these fires We shall be known by the ones who sow and reap The seeds of change, alive from deep within the earth It is time now, it is time now that we thrive It is time we lead ourselves into the well It is time now, and what a time to be alive In this Great Turning* we shall learn to lead in love “We Shall Be Known” Text and Tune: MaMuse, 2018 *The Great Turning is the name for a shift from an extractive, industrial growth society to a life sustaining civilization described by environmental activist, author, and Buddhist scholar, Joanna Macy.
Bios Imam Taha Hassane currently serves as the Imam of the Islamic Center of San Diego. He joined the center in 2004 from the Colorado Muslim Youth Foundation where he served as a youth instructor. Imam Taha graduated from the Institute of Islamic Sciences at the University of Algiers and served as a high school teacher and Imam in Tenes, Algeria for 10 years before coming to the United States. In addition to his regular duties at the Islamic Center, Imam Taha provides marriage and family counseling and serves on the advisory boards of the San Diego Police Department and the San Diego District Attorney. His wife, Lallia Allali, received her Master’s in Education from USD’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences. Together, they have four daughters. Karma Lekshe Tsomo, PhD, a specialist in Buddhist studies, has taught at USD since 2000. She offers classes in Buddhist Thought and Culture, World Religions, Comparative Religious Ethics, Religious and Political Identities in the Global Community, and Negotiating Religious Diversity in India. Her research interests include women in Buddhism, death and dying, Buddhist feminist ethics, Buddhism and bioethics, religion and politics, Buddhist social ethics, and Buddhist transnationalism. She integrates scholarship and social activism through the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women and Jamyang Foundation, an innovative education project for women in developing countries, with 15 schools in the Indian Himalayas, Bangladesh and Laos. Deepti Thakoor is a Fulbright scholar who was born and raised in Mauritius.
She received her Bachelor of Laws from Cardiff University and was working for the Mauritian government prior to joining the Kroc School. She has a keen interest in interfaith matters and has collaborated with the Council of Religions to bring meaningful and peaceful interactions among the different religious groups in Mauritius. She wishes to adopt a proactive approach to justice and reduce the number of repetitive conflict-related offenders. She dreams of a world where race, religion and ethnicity are not causes to divide but unite. Unity in diversity is her motto. The Arnolds are active members of Congregation Beth El in La Jolla. Ben
earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida in both finance and real estate and serves on the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee of the Jewish Community Foundation San Diego. Ben became a founder of the Hebrew Free Loan of San Diego to address Jewish poverty throughout the San Diego region. He serves on the Policy Advisory Board of the Burnham-Moores
Center for Real Estate at USD. Lisa is a community volunteer who established the Arnold Family Tzedakah Fund to provide support to charities that enhance quality of life through healthcare and education. She serves on the USD Parent Advisory Board. Ava is a first year student at USD and intends to major in Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychology. She is a volunteer at the Neonatal Research Institute at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital. Aaron is a sophomore at La Jolla Country Day School and plays on the football and basketball teams. Aaron plans to major in real estate and business in college. Kilma Lattin is the founder and executive producer of Our Worlds, a mobile
technology platform dedicated to sharing Native American culture. His work has been featured in The San Diego Union Tribune and Comic-Con Special Edition. He grew up in La Jolla and on the Pala Indian Reservation and is an enrolled member of the Pala Indian Tribe. Lattin is also a United States veteran, tribal leader and graduate of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He holds a certificate in law enforcement and more specialized training in U.S. military helicopter operations as a pilot and gunner. Meghan Hynson , PhD, is an ethnomusicologist, music educator, performer, and
sound healing enthusiast. She has spent more than a decade living and studying music in Indonesia, particularly the performing arts of Bali and West Java. She is an avid Balinese gender wayang player (music for the Balinese shadow puppet theater) and teaches Balinese gamelan angklung, Javanese gamelan degung, and bamboo angklung. In 2019, Dr. Hynson toured internationally as a vocalist for the Indonesian pop band, the Dangdut Cowboys, under the invitation of the U.S. State Department. Throughout her career, she has developed world music curricula and outreach programs for K-12 schools and worked with major museums and international world music festivals. Emilie Amrein, DMA, is an accomplished conductor, scholar, and educator, specializing in creative programming practices and community engagement. She serves as chair of the Department of Music, conducts the USD Choral Scholars, and teaches courses on the intersection of music and social justice movements, community music, and Changemaking. Amrein is the artistic director of Common Ground Voices / La Frontera, a bi-national community music project that aims to build relationships and understanding across political, demographic, and perceptual borders as an exercise of non-violence. She is the executive producer of The Choral Commons, a virtual community where choral and community music practitioners can gather in order to envision equity-centered choral futures.
Acknowledgments
The All Faith Service could not happen without the creative talents, ministerial gifts and infinite wisdom of the entire staff of the division of Mission Integration. All Faith Service Committee
Martha Adkins, Copley Library Erin Bishop, Office for Mission Jeffrey Burns, Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture Christopher Carter, Department of Theology and Religious Studies Peter Marlow, University Communications Devon Moraes, Colleges of Arts and Sciences Mark Peters, Office for Mission Dustin Sharp, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies Annette Welsh, University Ministry Mandy Womack, Student Affairs Dan Yourg, University Athletics
Special Thanks
Marcy Alyn and Anna Garretson, Creative Services Coreen Petti, University Events and Promotions Mike Sauer, Allyson Meyer, Kelsey Gray and Patrick Simon, Digital Communications and Institutional Marketing Jeff Hugger, Kroc School of Peace Studies Carlos Beltran, Drummer Julie Marner, Pianist Chia-Yen Li, International Center Roxanne Burns and Sharon Cayetano, Executive Assistants