New Book Published (March 28, 2007): Lloyd Steffen, Professor of Religion Studies and University Chaplain, has published Holy War, Just War: Exploring the Moral Meaning of Religious Violence with Rowman and Littlefield.
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"In this important book, Lloyd Steffen argues persuasively that religion is ultimately about human choices. Whether religion serves or destroys us will be determined by the integrity of our moral vision of goodness and our willingness to allow that vision to challenge religiously inspired violence."—Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, professor of justice and peace studies, University of St. Thomas, author of Is Religion Killing Us? Violence in the Bible and the Quran "A powerful and moving reminder of religion's power to inspire both good and evil action; to justify or restrain human destructiveness. Steffen argues persuasively that religion itself must be subject to moral scrutiny, and that our deliberations about the goodness or badness of our contemplated actions require moral - not just religious - reasoning. At a time when leaders are increasingly motivated by their interpretations of religions teachings, this book teaches us that every one of us - especially political and religious leaders - has the obligation to ensure that our conceptions of ultimacy not be overtaken by absolutist thought."—Jessica Stern, Harvard University, author of Terror in the Name of God "Lloyd Steffen offers a much needed corrective vision of religion, and its destructive potential. The Demonic Turn is an important contribution to understanding that the margin between peace and violence in religion is always on the verge of collapsing, and often does so, with tragic consequences for humanity."—Hector Avalos, professor of religious studies, Iowa State University, author of Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence "Steffen makes a thoughtful argument for a bold, indeed a radical idea. The god that most of us want is a god of absolute power and control who assures a steady course towards goodness no matter how morally chaotic the appearance of things may be. But Steffen argues that the idea of such an absolute god is necessarily linked to religiously legitimated violence. If we want to ameliorate the human condition we need a new understanding of 'the ultimate'. If, as Steffen argues, our understanding of god must be measured by the moral consequences of those ideas here on earth, then traditional theology has a long ways to go before it becomes less dangerous to humans."—John Raines, professor of religion, Temple University "This is urgently relevant, present-tense theology on the power of religion to inspire either slaughter or peace. Lloyd Steffen candidly subjects religion—and even God—to deft exploratory surgery."—Daniel C. Maguire, Marquette University "This book persuasively argues that religion is like fire: powerful, dangerous, and in need of control. This thesis is applied to an interesting variety of examples: Japanese kamikaze pilots, the suicides at Jonestown, attacks on abortion doctors, and the terrorism of September 11. Each example of religious fanaticism helps illuminate the difference between life-affirming and demonic religion. The second half of the book provides a useful critical examination of three rival ideas about the justification of violence: pacifism, holy war/jihad, and the just war tradition. Steffen argues that even pacifists can become 'demonic' when they embrace absolute pacifism in a fanatical fashion. And he concludes that, despite its imperfections, the just war tradition represents the most moderate approach to the justification of violence. In the end, the book provides a powerful defense of the idea that we should use morality to criticize demonic religion. But this book is not anti-religion. It avoids an outright rejection of religion and admits that religion can be life-affirming. However, it does challenge religious believers to apply moral judgment to the religious traditions that provide meaning to their lives. "—Andrew Fiala, professor of philosophy, California State University, Fresno |
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In 2006, Steffen's award-winning book on the death penalty was republished by Wipf & Stock Publishers.
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Executing Justice: The Moral Meaning of the Death Penalty
Lloyd H. Steffen
"This compelling book incisively analyzes every philosophical and humanitarian argument about the death penalty. It is a searching study of the ultimate invalidity of all the arguments advanced to justify the ultimate power of the state. The last chapter . . . is a powerful treatment of the reasons why Christianity must logically be opposed to the death penalty. No one is entitled to be heard in the fractious debate about the death penalty until that person has pondered the material discussed in this indispensable book."
-- Robert F. Drinan, SJ,
Professor of Law
Georgetown University Law Center
"Lloyd Steffen has powerfully explored the moral reasoning of the death penalty. By utilizing the case of Willie Darden, he brings an abstract argument home on a personal level. Finally he poses what this means for those of us who are Christians. What will be your answer? This book provides an excellent consideration of all the available options."
-- Rev. Joseph B. Ingle,
Nobel Peace Prize nominee for his
ministry to persons on death row
"We have, by now, a shelf of books that offer empirical, constitutional, or political discussions of the death penalty. What we don't have is a comprehensive, accessible, and persuasive evaluation of the death penalty in our society from the moral point of view. Thanks to Lloyd Steffen's new book, that need has been met. He enables us to see in patient detail just how difficult -- if he is right, how impossible -- it is to defend the death penalty on moral grounds. May his argument reach and persuade many!"
-- Hugo Adam Bedau,
editor of The Death Penalty in
America: Current Controversies
"There is no moral, legal, or ethical justification for the death penalty, and Executing Justice makes this abundantly clear. Steffen makes a compelling case that America can lift itself into the league of nations that long ago abandoned this barbaric practice."
-- Morris Dees,
cofounder and chief trial counsel of the
Southern Poverty Law Center
Lloyd Steffen is University Chaplain, Professor and Chair of the Religion Studies Department at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Life/Choice: The Theory of Just Abortion (1994) and The Demonic Turn: The Power of Religion to Inspire or Restrain Violence(2003).
ISBN: 1-59752-597-9 / 194pg. / $17.60
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News Announcement: Lloyd Steffen, Professor of Religion Studies and University Chaplain, was recently awarded the first "Church and Society" Award from Pilgrim Press for his 1999 book, Executing Justice: The Moral Meaning of the Death Penalty. Steffen was presented the award at the national General Synod meeting of the United Church of Christ held in Kansas City, MO. Steffen, who has published three volumes in ethics with Pilgrim Press since 1994, was cited for having presented a balanced representation of the moral controversy surrounding the American execution practice and for having exposed in new ways the philosophical weaknesses of moral arguments advanced in support of capital punishment.
Steffen also delivered an invited paper on "Symbol, Power, and the Death of God" at the recent annual meeting of the Society for Values in Higher Education held at Alfred University. Steffen, who is an elected SVHE Fellow, spoke to the "Religion and Violence" section of the professional society.
Remarks to Open the "Speak Out for Peace" Ulrich Center, Lehigh University Campus: 20 September 2001
Lloyd Steffen, University Chaplain, Professor of Religion Studies and Chair, Department of Religion Studies
A group of concerned students, clearly upset yet wanting to respond meaningfully to the events of Tuesday, September 11, have invited us all here today. We gather under their "Call for Humane Understanding and Action." I am pleased to be here to support the effort they are making to urge us into reflection on issues of justice, in the effort they will certainly make in the next two hours to help us distinguish between patriotism and nationalism, to expose the distorting effects of religious fundamentalism in whatever faith tradition, and to advocate, as I assume speakers today here will advocate-for reasoned and multi-dimensional political solutions rather than sole reliance on military response.
In opening today's event, I want to express a couple of concerns. Let it not be overlooked that in coming here today, we continue to share with all persons of good will a deep moral outrage over the terrorist attacks that on September 11 killed thousands of innocent persons. These acts cannot be morally justified, and we are aware today that all persons of good will-not just Americans but all persons of good will-share membership in a common moral community. That community transcends national boundaries and binds us together, across difference in language, culture, national and religious identity, with a common moral vision of respect for persons and affirmation of the goodness of life and the need to live together in peace. There is a deep unity among us-all of us are concerned for the victims of violence and hatred, all of us are concerned for the security of our nation and our loved ones; all of are joined by a passion for justice and, I hope, a quest for understanding. And all of us extend condolences and sympathy to the families and loved ones of victims, some of whom are right here in the Lehigh community.
So we mourn the dead. We offer our sympathy and comfort to the loved one's of victims. We also reach out in love and friendship to our Muslim brothers and sisters, as well as people of all faith traditions, since it is only through interfaith understanding and solidarity that true peace can be established. This past week we have been aware of all that unites us.
But we are united in freedom and under a cherished form of government that protect questioning, disagreement and dissent. Our grief is universal, but how we should act in response to last week's acts of violence is not self-evident. Whatever is done must be argued for, debated and questioned. And disagreements may arise. Those disagreements are not about the moral meaning of what happened but about what to do in response, and rather than springing from un-American impulses, these questions and disagreements go to the heart of our constitutionally protected liberties and all that our flag symbolizes. This is complimented here at Lehigh in our educational mission, since integral to that mission is the development of critical, analytic abilities, and the fostering of what Martha Nussbaum has called "cosmopolitan citizenship"-to be educated means to be able to step into the world in all of its complexity with some understanding of that world and with critical acumen.
Speakers today are going to recommend to you action. Here are a few I would recommend.
Learn more about Islam and the Middle East so that you might be an enlightened and compassionate voice in an increasing climate of religious hostility and racial prejudice. Read a book about Islam. Take a course.
Consider long and hard what retaliation will mean and whether justice can be served if the effect of proposed actions is to harm even more innocent persons. President Kennedy once said that we should not seek the victory of might but the vindication of right-might and right may be tied together more tightly in the days ahead than is wise. Be a good cosmopolitan citizen and urge that innocent persons be shielded from harm even as action to counter terroism is mounted.
Be voice in your community against hate crimes, and join in efforts to show support to Muslims and persons of Arabic background among us. Make sure Lehigh is a safe haven for all persons and that you-we-show hospitality and appreciation for our international students.
And finally, resist any movement that seeks to use this tragedy as the mechanism to promote racial hatred or to blame or scapegoat any group of people-or that seeks to advance opportunistic political agendas that unnecessarily escalate militarism and violence while ignoring other needs of people in this country and around the world.
Let us express our hope that we shall pursue as a nation and as a moral community that transcends national boundaries both justice and peace in the days ahead. And let us work together to affirm all that unites us, both in sadness, and in hope for a better, and more just world.
Press Conference, Packer Memorial Church, September 14, 2001
Statements from Lehigh Valley Religious Leaders Opposing Attitude of Hatred and Acts of Disrespect or Violence Toward Muslims or Persons of Arabic Background
Statement by Rev. Dr. Lloyd Steffen, University Chaplain, Lehigh University
The tragic events of September 11 have shocked a nation and visited all persons of good will with a terrible loss. Expressions of sympathy are pouring forth from every community around our country and from nations around the world to the families and loved ones of the victims of Tuesday's violence. These events have also inflicted terrible suffering on families in the Lehigh Valley, some of whom live in the bewildering anxiety of not knowing what has happened to family members and loved one's who may have been directly affected by Tuesday's terrorist acts.
The religious community of the Lehigh Valley, while diverse in belief and practice of faith traditions, has been able to find bonds of unity despite differences among us. It is our belief that we can speak with one voice in expressing hope that there will be yet more survivors found. We can speak with one voice in condemning such violence as occurred Tuesday in New York, Washington, D.C., and Somerset County, PA. We can speak with one voice in urging all people of faith to offer prayer for our nation while offering comfort to the many victims of Tuesday's attack.
It appears from initial investigations that the perpetrators of Tuesday's violence may be from the Middle East. It also appears that around the nation attitudes of hatred and even acts of violence are beginning to be directed by Americans at other Americans or foreign nationals among us who are Muslims and persons of Arabic background. This kind of reaction of anger and hostility is unworthy of our American ideals of tolerance and inclusivity; it is a betrayal of a covenant of respect that all persons of good will owe to Muslims and persons of Arabic background who live among other Americans as neighbors, friends, colleagues-as brothers and sisters.
As grief turns to anger in the days ahead, as the body count rises, it is possible that incidents of abuse and disrespect toward Muslims and persons of Arabic background may increase. Representatives of various faith traditions in the Lehigh Valley have agreed to interrupt schedules and on short notice come together this day to say with one voice that hatred and violence have no place here. With one voice we condemn any attitude of hatred or act of disrespect or violence that may be directed at our neighbors, colleagues, friends,-brothers and sisters in faith-who may be Muslim or of Arabic background. Such attitudes, such acts, have no place in the practice of religious faith.
It is said these days that America was attacked this week. That may be so. But our neighbors and friends, our colleagues and brothers and sisters in faith from the Islamic community, were not the attackers. We join together with them, as they join with all other persons of good will, in sorrow and grief for all that has this week been lost.
I would now offer statements from Rabbi Allen Juda, of Bethlehem, a statement of the Easton Area clergy and a statement from the Islamic Society of North America. (see below)
I would then invite those who have gathered here this day to offer their statements of support for the Muslims and persons of Arabic background among us.
Persons scheduled to appear:
Dr. Muhamad Bugaighis, President of the Muslim Center of the Lehigh Valley
Father Richard Ford, Ecumenical Officer, representing Allentown Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church
Rev. David Wickman, Moravian Church Central Office
Dean William Lane, Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem (Representing the Bishop of
the Bethlehem diocese),
Rev. Toby Hollaman, Penn NE United Church of Christ, Associate Conference Minister
Rev. Katherine Ziel, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (Bishop's Office)s
Rev. Edith Roberts, St. Peters Lutheran Church
Rev. Helen Cochorane, Director, Bethlehm Council of Churches
Rev. Robert Wilt, Fritz Memorial Methodist Church (representing Superintendent's Office)
Ms. Mary Lou Hatcher, Clerk, Friends Meeting, Bethlehem
Father Wayne Killian, Director, Newman Center Lehigh University
Rev. Chris Giesler, Chaplain, Moravian College
Statement by Rabbi Allen Juda, Congregation Brith Sholom, Bethlehem
In traditional Jewish literature, the Rabbis asked: "Why, when the world was created, did God create just one man, Adam, and one woman, Eve? The Rabbis then answered: "so that all humankind would come from a single union, to teach us that we are all brothers and sisters." Especially during these traumatic times, we should all remember this lesson - ultimately, we are all brothers and sisters.
The Jewish community of the Lehigh Valley condemns any discriminatory behavior and, particularly at this time, any prejudice demonstrated against Moslems or Arabs. The cowardly terrorists who have attacked us this week have already claimed too many innocent victims. We should not add to their bigotry and violence by engaging in any more. The terrorists murdered as a result of baseless hatred. Baseless hatred is always destructive and has no place on a college campus or anywhere else in a civilized society
Greater Easton Clergy Association and sent to the Morning Call and Express-Times:
To the Editor:
We mourn the loss of innocent people and stand with their families and loved ones in their grief and with all who have suffered as a result of the attack on our nation Sept. 11.
The most important institution in this country can never be destroyed. It is Democracy itself, with its commitment to the sanctity of all human life. The tragic events of Sept. 11 have precipitated in some, however, a response of ultra-nationalism and xenophobia that violates
the principles upon which our nation was founded. We reject all efforts to use this attack on our national institutions as a justification so smear any people or nation with hateful labels. We are all capable of nurturing hatred and we all work hard to control our baser passions.
Those responsible for the terrible events of last Tuesday deserve to be brought to justice. But, while we applaud all efforts to punish the guilty, we also call upon our nation to help in every way it can to ameliorate conditions of poverty and despair, at home and abroad, that
can make terrorism an attractive alternative.
Our greatest security can only be in a world where all people have avenues to achieve human dignity.
Sincerely,
The Greater Easton Clergy Association
Islamic Society of North America
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/11/2001
ISNA JOINS IN CONDEMNING TERRORIST ATTACKS
(Plainfield, IN 9/11/2001) "The Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA), along with other Muslim organizations throughout North
America, today condemned the apparent terrorist attacks in New York
and Washington and offered condolences to the families of those who
were killed or injured."
"American Muslims utterly condemn what are apparently vicious and
cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians. We join
with all Americans in calling for the swift apprehension and
punishment of the perpetrators. No political cause could ever be
assisted by such immoral acts."
Signatories:
>American Muslim Alliance
>American Muslim Council
>Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers
>Association of Muslim Social Scientists
>Council on American-Islamic Relations
>Islamic Medical Association of North America
>Islamic Circle of North America
>Islamic Society of North America
>Ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohammed
>Muslim American Society
>Muslim Public Affairs Council
Steffen appointed to board; to deliver lectures
Lloyd Steffen, University Chaplain, Professor of Religion Studies and Chair of the Department of Religion Studies, was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Washington, D. C. Steffen has also been invited to speak at an upcoming conference on "The Morality of the Death Penalty" sponsored by the Catholic University Law School (March 29 and 30). His talk is entitled "From Natural Law to American Law: The Theory of Just Execution." Steffen will also speak on "The Ethical Challenge of Spiritual Diversity" "at an international conference on the Spiritual Marketplace held at the London School of Economics in late April.
Baccalaureate Speaker Announced
Lloyd Steffen, University Chaplain, is pleased to announce that the 2001 Baccalaureate speaker will be Dr. Rebecca Chopp, Professor, former Dean of Candler School of Theology, and currently Provost of Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The Baccalaureate Address will be delivered at 7:00 p. m., June 2 in Packer Memorial Church.
Dr. Lloyd Steffen Testimony Before PA Senate Judiciary Committee re: Bill 952: February 22, 2000
My name is Lloyd Steffen. I am the University Chaplain and a Professor Religion Studies at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. I am also the author of a book, Executing Justice: The Moral Meaning of the Death Penalty published last year.
I am an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. This denomination, like all the other mainline Protestant Churches in America, has gone on record as a Church body to oppose the death penalty and work for its abolition.
Of course not all members of the United Church of Christ support the Church's stance on capital punishment, and there is even support for the death penalty in the PennNortheast Conference of the United Church of Christ of which I am a part. This conference is made up of 170 churches and claims 55,000 members. The Penn Northeast Conference is one of four UCC Conferences in Pennsylvania and covers the easternmost quarter of the Commonwealth.
Every year, our conference brings clergy and lay representatives from our 170 churches to an annual meeting where we conduct the business of the Church. Two years ago, a Peace and Justice Task Force in the Conference submitted a resolution calling for a moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania, doing so not to reiterate the stand of our denomination, but to appeal to those members of our Conference who support execution, to respond to the disturbing way execution is practiced in America today. Disturbing: because there is overwhelming evidence of wrongful convictions in capital cases; disturbing: because there is overwhelming evidence of discrimination in the application of the death penalty on racial, gender and class lines; disturbing because the death penalty is sought and pursued overwhelmingly in cases where the defendant cannot afford counsel and must rely on overworked and sometimes inadequate court appointed lawyers; disturbing because of arbitrariness in our criminal justice system.
In 1998 at our Conference Annual Meeting, we were told that our moratorium resolution was not going to pass. Rather than withdraw our resolution in the face of certain defeat, we agreed on a compromise. We agreed to postpone a vote on a death penalty moratorium so that our clergy and laity might consider this issue, study it for a year, have classes and conversations, and do some education as well as prayerful reflection. This education resolution-which is much akin to what you are considering in Senate Bill 952--passed overwhelmingly and for the simple reason that no one at our annual meeting could in conscience vote against education or for ignorance about the execution system, not if innocent lives were at stake, not if there were issues of injustice and unfairness at stake. The United Church of Christ has historically been committed to working for justice, and we were presenting a claim that injustice had infected America's application of the death penalty.
After our year of study, the PennNortheast Conference gathered last April in its Annual Meeting and once again considered the moratorium resolution. The death penalty was a part of our common program. It was the focus of several hours of small group discussion involving the over 500 people in attendance; and our task was to subject the death penalty and what we had learned about it to a process of spiritual discernment. The resolution was then debated in our business meeting; and it was overwhelmingly passed. Yes, there was still some opposition, but the time of study we had taken, the reflection we gave to this issue, yielded this result: a vote for the moratorium was not a vote on theory, but on practice. Even death penalty supporters had become convinced that the execution practice was flawed. And our moratorium measure was ultimately addressed to them-to death penalty supporters. Supporters of the death penalty are the ones who bear the moral weight of capital punishment, for they are the ones who must be concerned that mistakes are not made and that no execution falls short of the requirements of justice. Death penalty opponents ordinarily rest their opposition elsewhere than in concern over questions about the delivery systems of justice and legal tests of fairness. But not the supporter. Unfairness in the administration of the death penalty will render an execution unjust-and an unjust killing cannot be justified. So death penalty supporters, those who believe executions are justified killings, must insist that execution carry no taint of injustice and unfairness. You cannot support the death penalty and ignore issues of justice. And morally you ought not to turn away from those who are close up to the criminal justice system and who are telling you that there are problems, there is unfairness, there is injustice.
I am speaking to you today on behalf of the PennNortheast Conference of the United Church of Christ and with the authorization of our interim Conference Minister, Rev. Daniel VanderPloeg. I wish you to have a copy of the resolution we passed in 1999. The message I bring to you is that a lot of people in the PennNortheast Conference of the United Church of Christ-55,000 of them in 170 churches-may be at odds over the ultimate validity of the death penalty, but not over the question of justice. Our people studied this issue. They reflected on the evidence of injustice. And they voted to endorse a moratorium. They voted to inform the Governor and Legislature of this Commonwealth of their decision. And in that vote were death penalty supporters who realized that even if they continued to support capital punishment in theory, they could not condone injustice in its application. In the United Church of Christ's General Synod this past summer, the entire denomination voted a similar moratorium resolution, and it too was addressed to death penalty supporters. My denomination felt a need to vote on the moratorium even in the face of our long-standing opposition to capital punishment.
On behalf of the Penn Northeast Conference of the United Church of Christ, I urge you to vote for Senate Bill 952. This is not an up or down on the death penalty-that battle is yet to be fought here. Bill 952, rather, is a vote to take some time out and think about what we are doing-to acquire some information, to assess it, evaluate it, and test it against the standards of justice embedded in the legal detail of the Bill. Although some individuals might oppose this bill on the grounds that the facts about how the death penalty is practiced in America today are well known and need no further investigation, please do not assume this to be true. We have death penalty supporters in my church who voted for a moratorium because they first voted to get information. They voted to learn and educate themselves not about that never ending and sometimes abstract debate over capital punishment, but about how we actually do it-how do we put a person on death row, and who is it who gets there?; and they found out some things that offended their commitment to justice and their sense of decency. I am hoping you might make a similar journey: to vote for learning, for listening, for rendering judgement based on information you may not have at the moment. I support this measure personally because I believe that if you do study this issue, if you do investigate and discover how the death penalty works, if you shift the focus from theory to practice, you will one day join those of us who find the death penalty a terrible model that teaches our children that we can solve societal problems by resorting to violence, and an injustice so great as to subvert in practice our democratic ideal of justice under law.
Steffen Book Published
News Release
Lloyd Steffen, University Chaplain and professor of Religion Studies at Lehigh University, has recently published a new book in ethics,Executing Justice: The Moral Meaning of the Death Penalty.
Published by Pilgrim Press, the book engages the major moral arguments often heard today to debate the death penalty, including the views that capital punishment deters crime, that it defends society, and that it is an act of just retribution ('eye for an eye'). Using arguments from classic Western thinkers, including John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and Immanuel Kant, Steffen argues that the contemporary practice of state-sponsored execution fails to meet the moral tests advanced by these theories and that these classic defenders could not on the basis of their own theories logically support the death penalty as it is practiced today.
Steffen goes on to argue that the evolution of the death penalty in American law has implicitly appealed to a moral theory that he calls "just execution." While the theory explains the justification for restricting capital conviction to just over 1% of all homicides, the theory also imposes standards of fairness and conditions of just treatment that Steffen believes the American practice of execution has filed to satisfy, not only historically but even today. Although it is a work in moral philosophy, Steffen's book concludes with a religious analysis of Christian support for the death penalty, which Steffen argues is tied to a particular way Christian theology has come to value the cross, deeming it as a positive symbol of salvation rather than as a moral horror. Steffen criticizes this positive view of the cross and argues for a theology grounded in opposition to the absolute power a state must claim in order to kill its own citizens. Former congressman and Georgetown University law professor, Robert Drinan, has said that Executing Justice "is a searching study of the ultimate invalidity of all the arguments advanced to justify the ultimate power of the state."
Steffen, who has been at Lehigh since 1990, has published three other books: Self-Deception and the Common Life, Life/Choice: The Theory of Just Abortion, and Abortion: A Reader. A graduate of New College, Andover Newton Theological School, Yale Divinity School, and Brown University, where he received his Ph.D., Steffen is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ as well as a religion and ethics scholar who has been teaching ethics for twenty years. A frequent public speaker, Steffen recently offered two lectures at Penn State University where he had been named the first scholar in residence at the Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs; and he delivered the 10th Curtis Lecture at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in March, 1999.
Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics
The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity sponsors an annual essay contest for full-time undergraduate college juniors and seniors. The compteition encourages students to analyze urgent ethical issues in 3000-4000 word essays. The essays are due January 22 and several prizes are awarded, including a $5000 first prize. More infomration is availabe in the Chaplain's Office.
Chaplain's Forum
Chaplain's Office Forums events will be anounced when available. Cf. announcements.
Share a Meal with a Family
The Spiritual Life Committee of a local church, Christ United Church of Christ, would like to begin a program where volunteer families in the Church would invite a student to dinner once a month. Their purpose is to provide the student with a good home-cooked meal and the warmth of a local family's hospitality.
Families in the Bethlehem community have already volunteered, but now some students are need to take advantage of this gracious invitation.
Please consider participating.
If you would like more information or want to be identified to the Church, please stop by the Chaplain's Office (Johnson Hall 110, x83877) so that we can help make arrangements.
OXFAM Fast
The Annual University Oxfam Fast will be held on November 15, 2001. Mark Hoff will be a main coordinator of the event this year.