UNF Interfaith Center

We wish all those celebrating a very Merry Christmas from the Interfaith Center! 🎄 Christmas, an annual Christian celebration, marks the birth of Jesus Christ, lord and savior. May your Christmases be filled with joy, love, peace, and memorable moments.

December 8, 2023 marks the observation of this year’s Bodhi Day. Bodhi Day is a Buddhist holiday commemorating the day that Gautama Buddha experienced enlightenment. The day is often celebrated with meditation and prayer.

Happy Hanukkah from the Interfaith Center. 🕎 May this year’s 8-day “Festival of Lights” celebration bring you joy and love. Hanukkah 2023 began at sundown on Thursday, December 7 and will end on Friday, December 15.

Hey Ospreys! Just a friendly reminder that there is a new prayer/meditation room available in the , Building 58 West, 3rd Floor, Room 3613. While the Reflection Room in our suite remains available at this time, students are encouraged to use the new Student Union space. This new, permanent space offers a larger prayer area and extended hours. 💙

Great news! A permanent large prayer and meditation is now open in the Student Union, Building 58 West, Room 3613. It will keep Student Union hours.

The small prayer and meditation rooms remain open in the Interfaith Center, Founders Hall, Building 2, Suites 1400 and 1500.

Farewell to Director Matt Hartley, whose last day is today, November 15, after 5 and a half years leading the Interfaith Center. Tomorrow, he begins work with , a local Interfaith organization. He says, “Thanks to all the students, staff, and faculty who I’ve had the honor to work with. We made some great Interfaith things happen and will remain Better Together!”

The Interfaith Center remains open, and inquiries may be directed to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Congratulations and farewell to Interfaith Specialist Bryant Wilcox, who is moving up to Director of Campus Ministry at Edward Waters University next week. Thanks for your service to the Interfaith Center and UNF, Bryant.

Wishing a blessed Rosh Hashanah to our Jewish Ospreys, friends, and neighbors and to all who celebrate!

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, a two day celebration kicking off the high holidays, a time of joy, introspection, and repentance, culminating 10 days later in the fast day of Yom Kippur.

(new student club, give it a follow!) and Staff went to Chicago for ’s Leadership Summit! We are proud that not only did 9 students get trained to bring Interfaith skills back to campus, we had generations of UNF leaders:

• Director Matt Hartley presenting on the Interfaith Leaders in Higher Education panel
• Student Ama Deleon presenting on the Interfaith Activities panel
• Student Samira Yssa joining the Building Interfaith Leadership Institute
• Alum and former staff Kalilah Jamall training students
• Alum Nagat Khalifa featured on materials all over as an Emerging Leader.

And we want you to join the next generation! Follow to get involved with Interfaith activities and student leadership this Fall!

Check out Interfaith Specialist Bryant Wilcox with this thought-provoking and inspiring essay in Magazine! Link in bio. “Faith and education are two distant lovers in some religious spaces, but a marriage between the two could result in world changing experiences.”

Starting July 1, the prayer and reflection Room in Gray Lounge, Student West is moving.

The new room is located in J. Brown Brooks Hall, Building 39, Room 1002A.

It will be open July 3 to August 4, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm.

Join the Interfaith Center for a talk and discussion on Critical Hope for Interfaith Futures with author Dr. Kari Grain, via Zoom, on Tuesday, June 27, 6 pm. Register ahead of time via out website events page; link in Bio.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion invites you to A Fair to Remember, a carnival and arcade-inspired event that you won’t want to miss! Join us for food trucks, carnival games, arcade prizes, music, a photo booth, a raffle and more! Open to all UNF students with your Osprey1Card.

Happy Easter and Resurrection Day to Christian friends and neighbors and to all who celebrate from the Interfaith Center!

Join the Interfaith Center tomorrow, Friday, April 7, in for Spirituality in the Garden, 10 to 11:30 am.

Chag Sameach! The Interfaith Center wishes our Jewish students, faculty, staff, neighbors and all celebrating a Happy and meaningful Passover. May these festive days bring positivity and prosperity to you and your dear ones.

Join us Thursday for Coffee and Conversation: Interfaith Guided Journaling, a time to reflect with student leaders on how spirit shapes you. April 7, 10 am, in the Interfaith/SAID Lounge, Building 2, Suite 1400. Coffee and Tea served!

Ramadan Kareem from the UNF Interfaith Center to all our Muslim Ospreys, friends, and neighbors!

Today (Wednesday, March 8) at 1:30 pm! We’ll discuss how Harry Potter stories intersect with religious and spiritual themes. In Building 2, Suite 1400. Coffee and tea served!

Please join the Interfaith Center, United Faculty of Florida (UFF-UNF), and the Center for Community-Based Learning as we celebrate the start of early voting in Duval's unitary elections! Students, staff, and faculty are invited to join the celebration, complete with free food, fun, and prizes!

Join us for two events this week!

•Interfaith Soccer on the Green, Tuesday, 12:30 pm - 2 pm
•Coffee & Conversation: Sexuality and Religion, Thursday, 10 am, Building 2, Suite 1400

On Sunday, February 26, 6:00 pm, at UNF Osprey Plaza by the Student Union, join a Vigil in solidarity with those affected by the Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, and to support our local Turkish and Syrian communities, in partnership with the Istanbul Center, OneJax, Interfaith Center of Northeast Florida, and Islamic Center of Northeast Florida

“I want to be in a place of knowing.” This was just one reflection as 18 students discussed Black faith & spirituality last night with local pastor Rev. Chris McKee of The Oak Church & Qasim Abdul-Tawwab of the Howard Thurman House in Daytona Beach. This conversation launched the Black Student Interfaith Alliance, a multi campus initiative in Jacksonville. We asked questions like: Is a spiritual experience necessary for social change? How do mystics like Howard Thurman, the mentor of MLK Jr., fit into movements? What does it signify when the Qur’an says humanity was created from “sounding clay and black mud”?

We are celebrating Black History Month this week with two great events in the Interfaith Center Lounge, Building 2, Suite 1400:

• Join us tonight, Monday, February 20, for Chew On This: Black Faith and Spirituality, for dinner and discussion with Black Christian and Muslim faith leaders about how their scriptures inspire them.

• On Thursday, Feb 23, join us at 10 am for Coffee and Conversation on Heroes of Black Faith.

Spring 2023 Interfaith highlights so far!
•Better Together student leaders!
•Ama Deleon to Washington, D.C. for her Building Interfaith Leadership Fellowship with !
•Staff and students leading Interfaith Prayer for Peace on Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
•Black Student Interfaith Alliance kicks off!
•Coffee and Conversation on the After-life led by new leaders Karena and Lamija!

Who gets to represent a religion? Join us for this engaging conversation led by students on diverse representations in religion. Wednesday, February 15, 1:30-2:30 pm, in the Interfaith Center lounge, Building 2, Suite 1400. Coffee served!

Join us tomorrow, Tuesday, February 6, 12:30-1:30 pm, for our next Coffee & Conversation, on what comes After-life. We’ll share some classic ideas and discuss what makes sense to you. In the Interfaith Lounge, Building 2, Suite 1400, Coffee and Tea served.