Center for Interfaith Engagement
Keuka College seeks to help students acquire knowledge and standards of value, develop a sense of civic responsibility, explore their religious concerns and issues, and develop their own sense of purpose. Keuka College gives expression to this aspect of personal development through the programs of the Center for Interfaith Engagement, which the College Chaplain directs.
These programs facilitate an interfaith culture on campus which help members of the Keuka College community:
• address issues of religion, values, ethics, and morality in life;
• articulate their own faith or philosophy of life, and to understand that of others;
• examine the relation of their faith or philosophy of life to current moral, ethical, and social issues, and to various academic disciplines and professional and vocational fields; and
• understand the interactions of faith, intellectual inquiry, and social responsibility as bases for finding and affirming meaning and satisfaction in life.
The Center for Interfaith Engagement uses 8 paths that help spiritual growth regardless of a person’s religious, secular, or spiritual background. The 8 paths include: arts/creativity, contemplation, intellectual inquiry, nature, relationship, service, social activism and worship. A “Quest” survey is available to help identify which spiritual paths one most likely relates to. Student directors of spiritual pathways, under direction of the chaplain, offer programs in these 8 paths throughout the academic year. Regular activities include Wednesday Christian worship services, Yoga, a weekly conversation on campus called "Know Your Neighbor", occasional retreats/field trips, a service trip called an Alternative Spring Break, and leadership opportunities.
The Center for Interfaith Engagement encourages student involvement in spiritually based groups on campus, through the Senate recognized club entitled Coexist. Coexist provides opportunities for faith and non- faith communities to explore their beliefs, customs, traditions, and communities as well as to work collaboratively with other faith groups represented on campus. The College chaplain encourages the development of new faith-based clubs on campus as opportunity allows. The center also encourages student participation in religious life in the local community.
The College Chaplain and the Center for Interfaith Engagement programs receive guidance, feedback, and advice from an advisory board, which consists of students, faculty, staff, local clergy, and lay persons from a variety of religious and denominational backgrounds. These people work together to give guidance and serve as a resource to connect the religious resources of the College to the spiritual needs of the Keuka College community and to assist in the development of spiritual programs.
The College Chaplain is available for pastoral care and spiritual guidance. The Center for Interfaith Engagement is located in the Dahlstrom Student Center and the Chaplain can be reached at 315-279-5377.