AUDIO TRANSCRIPT: Hendricks Chapel promotes interfaith awareness.
Caitlin McDonough: What started as a program to unite the Jewish and Muslim faiths has now grown into something larger. NCC News’ Brody Miller is live with the details.
Brody Miller: A local volunteer initiative hopes to change the community.
Hunter Hollows Representative: One Sunday morning at a time.
Miller: Hosted by Hendricks Chapel, Interfaith Service Learning days educate the community on interfaith awareness through acts of service. Interfaith engagement coordinator Mian Hamid chose to nurture the volunteers’ awareness in nature this month.
Mian Hamid: Usually we package goods and hygiene products to give back to the community. This time around I wanted us to have a hands-on type of experience.
Miller: Volunteers took part in a clean-up effort at local nature reserve, SU student Ava Maya explains.
Ava Maya: So I was cutting down a bunch of the honeysuckles. So I got a bunch of big trees and honeysuckles and we were putting them in piles to help conserve the environment.
Miller: Throughout the morning, volunteers discussed how their faith honors nature and how to treat other faiths with respect. Reporting live, Brody Miller, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)— From what started as a program to unite the Jewish and Muslim faiths has now grown into something larger. Hendricks Chapel hosts monthly service learning days to educate the community on interfaith awareness through acts of service.
“Usually we package goods and hygiene products to give back to the community. This time around I wanted us to have a hands-on type of experience,” Hendricks Chapel Interfaith Engagement Coordinator Mian Hamid said.
Participants spent their Sunday morning at Hunter Hollow, a 40-acre wildlife rehabilitation center, clearing invasive species to preserve its biodiversity.
“I was cutting down a bunch of the honeysuckles. So I got a bunch of big trees and honeysuckles, and we were putting them in piles to help conserve the environment,” SU senior Ava Maya said.
The learning portion of the event included a discussion on how various faiths honor nature over coffee and breakfast.
“We discussed how our faith tradition aligns with nature and what are ways that we can respect and perceive nature as a whole,” Hamid said.
Information on future service learning days can be found on the Hendricks Chapel website.