Mini Course: Making Sacred Our Lives, Part II

Mini Courses from the St. Catherine of Siena Center
An opportunity to study with excellent faculty, engage in lively discussion, and come away with a richer understanding of the contemporary world.

Through the lens of interfaith sharing, this course provides an opportunity to examine key rites of passage observed by the three Abrahamic traditions to mark an individual's biological and social life changes. The course will discuss the origin and meaning of such religious ritual observances, citing relevant texts. It will demonstrate how lifecycle commemorations help to promote and enhance the individual’s connections to the Divine, to the religious community, and to the self, while strengthening the community’s identity and cohesion. Rites of passage to be studied include birth and naming, coming of age, marriage, conversion and commitment, aging, death, mourning and remembrance.

Helping us to mine the riches of the three Abrahamic religious traditions are distinguished educators from the Chicago Coalition for Interreligious Learning, an organization of Jewish, Catholic and Muslim educators who have come together to better understand their own faith and the other Abrahamic faith traditions through enlightened dialogue based upon mutual respect in a context of appreciative and considerate inquiry. They will utilize writings and insights from Jewish, Christian and Muslim sacred texts and traditions as well as personal experiences and perceptions to shed light on the origin and development of key observances associated with rites of passage.

This Mini Course is presented by the Chicago Coalition for Interreligious Learning.