BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:icalendar-ruby CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-WR-CALNAME:LMU Interfaith Forum - The Dignity of Women: Roles & Challenge s X-WR-TIMEZONE:Pacific Time (US & Canada) BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261005T152024Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_48855138428227 DTSTART:20250406T220000Z DTEND:20250406T231500Z DESCRIPTION:PLEASE RSVP by clicking on the word REGISTER found above\; we r equest that everyone RSVP--you will have the opportunity to say that you a re coming to campus in person or viewing the livestream.\n\nThe Martin Gan g Institute for Intergroup Relations\, the Center for Religion and Spiritu ality\, and the CSJ Center for Reconciliation and Justice invite you to an interfaith dialogue both in person and online.\n\nFor centuries\, women a cross faith traditions and cultures have carried out important roles in th e dissemination of the faith\, as caretakers of their spiritual traditions \, and as roles models of how to live their faith in practice\, even as th ose same faith communities do not always recognize their contributions.\n\ nWhat is lost when the role of women in our faith communities is ignored\, devalued\, and their expression and/or understanding of the divine is dim inished or even silenced?\n\nJoin us for this important panel of Catholic\ , Jewish\, and Muslim women who will reflect on the role of women in their tradition\, historical examples of women that inspire\, and hear about th eir own personal experiences as women of faith. We invite you to conside r how a dialogue about the role of women in the various faith traditions m ight enliven your own understanding of God\, your community\, and your own role.\n\nPlease RSVP by clicking here.\n\nReading\nBefore participating i n the Forum\, we ask you to read Nostra Aetate\, a short but significant V atican II document on the relation of the Catholic Church to non-Christian religions. Click here to access this document.\n\nProgram\n\n2:00 - 2:40 PM - Interfaith at LMU\, a tour of sacred sites on Campus (in-person only) \n\n3:00 - 4:15 PM – Interfaith Forum\, online and in-person in Seaver H all 200 \n\n4:15 – 5:00 PM – Reception for those attending in person\n \nPanelists\n\n• Melissa Balaban\, CEO and founding president of IKAR (H ebrew for “essence”)\n\nMelissa Balaban is the CEO and founding presid ent of IKAR. Prior to IKAR\, Melissa was Assistant Dean at the University of Southern California Law School. She was Directing Attorney of Public C ounsel’s Child Care Law Project\, a senior consultant for a national hum an resources consulting firm\, and an adjunct professor at Loyola Marymoun t MBA program. Melissa is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the University of Southern California Law School. She was the 2017 recipient of the Trailbla zer Award from NewGround\, a Muslim Jewish partnership for change and the Outstanding Professional Achievement award from the Jewish Communal Profes sionals of Southern California. Melissa is married to Adam Wergeles\, a la wyer\, and has two grown daughters.\n\n• Dr. Laila Al-Marayati\, OBGYN\n \nDr. Laila Al-Marayati has been a long-time activist in the American Musl im community\, writing and speaking extensively on issues of concern to Mu slim women and Muslims in general with particular focus on religious freed om\, women’s rights in Islam\, reproductive health and sexuality\, and s pirituality. She spearheaded the Muslim Women’s League’s efforts on be half of rape survivors from the war in Bosnia in the early 1990’s and wa s a member of the official US Delegation to the UN Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. As an appointee of former President Bill Clinton\, Dr. A l-Marayati served for two years on the US Commission on International Reli gious Freedom. Of Palestinian-American descent with an extended family in Gaza\, Dr. Al-Marayati is the chair of KinderUSA (Kids in Need of Developm ent\, Education and Relief)\, a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides health\, education and other forms of assistance to Palestinian c hildren and their families living in the West Bank\, Gaza\, and refugee ca mps in Lebanon. She has participated in a number of medical missions abro ad serving refugees in Europe\, indigent populations in Mexico and Peru\, and others in the Middle East. Dr. Al-Marayati is an Associate Clinical P rofessor and Division Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Keck Schoo l of Medicine of USC. Her professional career has focused on service to wo men of all ages\, especially those in marginalized communities with partic ular expertise in caring for women who have undergone female genital cutti ng. She received her MD from UC Irvine and a BS from UCLA and completed he r residency at LA County-USC Medical Center.\n\n• Sister MaryAnne Hueppe r\, CSJ\, Associate Director of the C.S.J. Center for Reconciliation and J ustice\, and LMU Trustee\n\nMaryAnne is associate director of the CSJ Cent er and a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. She has served in the field of education in diverse roles: as an elementary teacher\, princi pal\, high school teacher\, college administrator\, adjunct instructor for Marymount College and the University of San Francisco. MaryAnne served th e Diocese of Orange as an instructor for the Pastoral Ministry Institute a nd the Deaconate Program and as a member of the Commission for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs. Before coming to LMU she was director of the Cente r for Spiritual Development in Orange. MaryAnne has served at St. Joseph Health (now Providence-St. Joseph Health)\, as a trustee in two hospitals and as a board member of a hospital foundation. MaryAnne continues to prov ide presentations for programs of ministry formation. She serves currently on the LMU Board of Trustees. MaryAnne has undergraduate degrees in Art H istory and Religious Studies from Loyola Marymount University and a master 's degree in Sacred Theology and Religious Studies from Katholieke Univers iteit (Leuven\, Belgium).\n\n• MODERATOR: Kienan Taweil\, Interim Assoc iate Director of LMU Campus Ministry\, Muslim Student Life\, and Interfait h Initiatives\n\nKienan Taweil earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Sc ience and Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Loyola Marym ount University in 2019. During his time as a student\, he was Co-Founder and Co-President of LMU’s Muslim Student Association. Prior to his curre nt role in Muslim Student Life\, he served as a student Program Assistant in the newly established office. Kienan works to promote the faith formati on of the Muslim students on campus through Islamic pastoral support. He a lso develops programs that promote spiritual growth\, personal development \, diversity\, leadership\, interfaith understanding\, and community invol vement. He leads weekly Friday-Jummah Prayer services on campus and regula rly engages in interfaith work. Coming from a multi-ethnic and multi-faith family inspires Kienan to promote interfaith dialogue built on understand ing and love for our neighbors. In his free time\, Kienan enjoys spending time with family and friends\, traveling\, and watching movies. A Los Ange les native of Syrian and Hungarian heritage\, Kienan is also an avid reade r who enjoys reading about politics\, history\, and theology.\n\n \n\nFOR THOSE WHO WILL BE VIEWING LIVESTREAM \n\nPlease click on the following Zo om link to join the livestream. \n\nJoin Zoom Meeting \n\nhttps://lmula.z oom.us/j/89875071407 \n\nMeeting ID: 898 7507 1407 GEO:33.969316;-118.416307 LOCATION:Seaver Science Hall\, 200 SUMMARY:LMU Interfaith Forum - The Dignity of Women: Roles & Challenges URL;VALUE=URI:https://cal.lmu.edu/event/lmu-24-25-interfaith-forum CATEGORIES:Discussions END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR