Peace and Forgiveness on the 10th Anniversary of September 11

By: Eddie Crise

I had the privilege to attend a community event remembering 9/11 and looking to the future for peace.  After the event, we also went on a peace walk around City Park.  Both religious leaders, city and university administrators, and the University of Iowa Interfaith Service Group's Michael Goldberg spoke at the event.  He eloquently related the focus of peace to the Interfaith work we are doing.

 Michael Goldberg

Here is what Michael said:

"I would like to thank the other speakers for coming, and I would thank the Consultation of Religious Communities for allowing me the opportunity to speak tonight in memory of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

I was in fifth grade when the terrorist attacks took place. My generation remembers 9/11, but many of us had a limited conception of the world before then. We’ve come of age in a post-9/11 world, a fact that presents both disadvantages and opportunities.

I’m speaking here tonight as a representative of the University of Iowa Interfaith Service Group, a student organization on the Iowa campus that was just established this past spring semester.

This organization is a service group that seeks to include participants from different faith and non-faith backgrounds, people with diverse beliefs and practices. There are two main activities that the group focuses on. The first is action—where participants work together to perform community service. The second is dialogue—where participants share their experiences with the service and share the beliefs that brought them there and inspire them to act.

Some chose to demonize religion after 9/11. Conversely, we recognize an opportunity to be constructive, to find and work together with people who share in our commitment to building a better society.

9/11 was an example of the harmful form belief can take. It was an act intended to control people through fear, to divide and incite hatred. That is why interfaith service, cooperation, and dialogue are as important as ever. And that is why it is so crucial that we come together; that we stand and proudly voice our common beliefs in building a more inclusive society and improving our communities. 

Thank you for your time."

Thank You Free Lunch Volunteers!

By: Eddie Crise

We had such a great meal at Free Lunch this Tuesday!  Fifteen volunteers came over the course of preparation, serving and clean-up to offer over 120 servings.  Jobs varied from lots of washing and recycling (thanks Chris and Tim!), to cutting a watermelon (thanks Hannah!), to serving guests (thanks Jeremy, Marsha, Elizabeth, Misael, and Gail).  And thank you so much to everyone I didn't call out by name.  The timing of when volunteers arrived and left worked perfectly as it seemed that someone new would step in as somebody else left. 

One other organization I want to praise is Table to Table.  They have an awesome mission of the reclamation of food that is not able to be sold at the grocery store, but good enough to eat the next day at Free Lunch and other programs in Iowa City.  All of our food from Table to Table (this month included some great salad greens, fresh fruit and veggies, and dessert) comes to us completely free.  They did a fantastic job for us!

So thank you to everyone who made Free Lunch a reality on Tuesday and if you're looking to help in the future, our next meal is October 11.  Hope to see you there!

Free Lunch with Interfaith Service Group

By: Eddie Crise

Hi Blogees,

I want to break the mold a little bit here and talk about an upcoming event, one that I have done over the past few years at Wesley.  Once a month the students at the Wesley Center serve in the Free Lunch Program.  Free Lunch is available to anyone who needs it in the basement of the Wesley Center six days a week, Monday through Saturday.  The students at Wesley serve on the second Tuesday of the month, coming up September 13.  

Free Lunch is perfect for college students because there are a variety of jobs and timing is flexible.  Any time that you can give between classes is valuable!  We start prep work around 10 AM, serve the meal between Noon and 1 PM, and clean up until about 2 PM.  It’s a great, hopefully convenient way for many of you to help serve the community.

This month I’m especially excited about Free Lunch because the University of Iowa Interfaith Service Group will be making Free Lunch their first service event of the year.  The UIISG is a new organization on campus that brings together people of different faith backgrounds to do community service and subsequently talk about how service is important to everyone’s faith.

Hopefully you can join us for part of Free Lunch on September 13 between 10 AM and 2 PM.  Whether it’s cooking, serving, or dishes we really appreciate your help.  I’ll be back with a follow-up to tell you how the meal went.