Representatives from campus faith organizations gathered in the Parkes Hall ballroom Wednesday for the first ever Fall Faith Fest, featuring dinner and performances sponsored by Interfaith Hall.
The Fall Faith Fest featured brief remarks from University chaplain Timothy Stevens and Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs. They were followed by a speech from Lesley-Ann Brown, who is in her tenth week as the director of campus inclusion and community.
The event concluded with dinner and performances from dance groups Mirch and Raas, as well as a capella from Thunk. Associate University chaplain Tahera Ahmad also gave out awards to students nominated for outstanding service to their faith-based organization.
Adam Rothenberg, co-president of Interfaith Hall, which makes up four suites on the top floor of 1835 Hinman Residential Hall, was approached by the Office of Religious Life about the possibility of organizing a “faith fest” earlier this year. Interfaith previously sponsored a similar event called “Potluck.”
“We tried to bring together people from all over campus with a theme and a speaker,” said Rothenberg. “But it was much smaller.”
Rothenberg said he thought it made sense to develop Potluck into a larger gathering, considering recent University events, and that there are few opportunities for members of all of Northwestern’s faith based groups to come together.
“Right now diversity and inclusion are so important on campus,” said Rothenberg.
This focus lead to the selection of Brown as a featured speaker for the evening. Brown shared a number of anecdotes relating to her experiences with faith and diversity, in which she stressed that religious tolerance was based in understanding commonalities between different faiths.
“We all have humanity,” said Brown, “there are a lot of ways that we’re alike.”
Weinberg senior Rachel Schwartz, honored for her work with Hillel, said she appreciated the choice of Brown as a speaker because “religious diversity and race diversity are not easily separated.”
Schwartz also said she felt the Faith Fest was a success and was optimistic about the status of religious and racial tolerance at Northwestern.
“People at Northwestern from different backgrounds are really interested in working together.”