Elijah Interfaith
Summer School and Interreligious Training Seminar, 2020
Live from Jerusalem
“Religion in Times of Crisis”
August 2-6, 9-13 2020
For the first time, you can join us at the Elijah Interfaith Summer School and Interreligious Leadership Seminar
without leaving your home. All sessions will be live-streamed on Zoom.
without leaving your home. All sessions will be live-streamed on Zoom.
Location
Live from Jerusalem
peta@elijah-interfaith.org
What are religions supposed to do: on what domains of life do they impact and what do they achieve?
What happens in times of crisis? Do crises enhance the functioning of religion, undermine it or both?
The recent COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to study the function of religion at a moment of global crisis.
We will hear from scholars of religion what they understand about the way that religions operate and we will hear from some of the world’s most prominent religious leaders about how they dealt with challenges during COVID-19, through a unique series of interviews carried out by the Elijah Interfaith Institute, titled “Coronaspection”.
Topics include:
- Understanding the human condition
- Interconnectivity: the place of humans in relation to each other and to the universe
- The role of religions in social service and acts of kindness
- The forms and functions of prayer and meditation
- The role of religious leadership
Summer school activities include
- academic lectures
- panels of scholars and religious leaders
- viewing and analyzing video messages of world religious leaders (Coronaspection project)
- small group textual study
- prayer and meditation
- anchoring activities in religious sites in Jerusalem and elsewhere
- bibliodrama workshops
- guided group discussion
Day 1
02 Aug 2020
Day 2
03 Aug 2020
Day 3
04 Aug 2020
Day 4
05 Aug 2020
Day 5
06 Aug 2020
Day 6
09 Aug 2020
Day 7
10 Aug 2020
Day 8
11 Aug 2020
Day 9
12 Aug 2020
Day 10
13 Aug 2020
0:00 EDT
Discussion:
Introduction by participants: “How the Coronavirus crisis affected me, my life, my faith”
Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein
Peta Jones Pellach
Video Excerpts from religious leaders:
“How the Coronavirus crisis affected me, my life, my faith”
Shrivatsa Goswami
13:00 EDT
Lecture and discussion:
Introduction to the course – “The parameters of religious life – in ordinary times and in times of crisis.”
Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein
9:30 EDT
Guest scholar and text study:
Religion provides meaning – explains the human condition – Meaning in Judaism
11:00 EDT
Guest scholar and text study:
Religion provides meaning – explains the human condition – Meaning in Christianity
13:00 EDT
Guest scholar and text study:
Religion provides meaning – explains the human condition – Meaning in Buddhism
9:30 EDT
Guest scholar and text study:
Religion provides meaning – explains the human condition – Meaning in Religions of India
10:30 EDT
Guest scholar and text study:
Religion provides meaning – explains the human condition – Meaning in Islam
11:30 EDT
Guest scholar and text study:
Religion provides meaning – – explains the human condition – Meaning in Bahai
13:00 EDT
Lecture and discussion:
Religion Provides Meaning: Synthesis, comparisons, contrast
Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein
0:00 EDT
Video compilation and discussion:
Religion provides the path for a relationship with G-d/ (with something greater than ourselves). Can we build a “storehouse of spirituality” to equip us for times of crisis?
Shrivatsa Goswami
11:00 EDT
Text study:
Prayer as a connection with G-d – building and strengthening the relationship in normal times and in crisis.
13:00 EDT
Bibliodrama:
Testing the relationship and expressing doubt: Abraham arguing, David calling out, Jonah trying to escape, Job’s friends doubting, Peter and Thomas.
Peta Jones Pellach
9:00 EDT
Panel discussion:
Religion provides community and identity Session 1 –Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist
Shrivatsa Goswami
Panel discussion:
Religion provides community and identity Session 2 – Muslim, Christian, Sikh
Prof. Dr. Dirk-Martin Grube
13:00 EDT
Small group discussions:
“Redefining and expanding definitions of community.” To what extent has this crisis impacted on our interfaith community, extending even to those without a strong religious community?
0:00 EDT
9:30 EDT
Text study:
Religion shapes social relations, cultivating morality, teaching us how to act towards one another – across religions
11:00 EDT
Bibliodrama:
Case studies: Religious Geniuses exemplifying morality and social responsibility.
Peta Jones Pellach
13:00 EDT
Video clips and discussion:
How Covid 19 did or did not bring out the principles of social responsibility.
9:30 EDT
Guest teacher(s)/Panel:
Where does religions take place – heart, home, community? What is the balance between these loci of the religious life in different traditions and what happens when the “normal” is... Read More
Video clips and text-study:
The balance of home and community – in regular times and in crisis.
13:00 EDT
Discussion:
Where does religions take place – heart, home, community? What is the ideal balance and what is the role of each of these “sites” in the religious life of the... Read More
0:00 EDT
9:30 EDT
Lecture and texts:
Religion teaches us about our connectivity (religion orients us to life and to nature)
11:00 EDT
Video clips and discussion:
Appreciating our connectivity in times of crisis.
13:00 EDT
Small group discussion
(geared towards day 9) – preparing questions for leaders on the meaning of religious leadership and the challenges to religious leaders in times of crisis and as we emerge into... Read More
9:30 EDT
Panel presentation:
The challenges of religious leadership before during and after Covid 19. Hindu, Muslim
11:00 EDT
Panel presentation:
The challenges of religious leadership before during and after Covid 19. Buddhist, Christian
13:00 EDT
Panel presentation:
The challenges of religious leadership before during and after Covid 19. Jewish, Bahai
9:30 EDT
Writing task:
Which of the purposes of religion have been better understood, realised or deepened through our theoretical analysis of the Covid 19 crisis?
11:00 EDT
13:00 EDT
Formal evaluation
of the summer school and how we move forward as a spiritual community.
