An Atheist at Interfaith Week

Monday marked the second time I have stepped into Memorial Church.
As an atheist, I’ve marveled at the beauty of the venue but have had little
motivation to attend specific events. Piqued by the emails titled “From
Guns to Pastries” and the mentions of one “Homeboy Industries,” I decided
to sit in on Monday’s service in Celebration of The Life and Message of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr sponsored by the Harvard Chaplains, The Memorial
Church, The Harvard Foundation, and The Black Students Association. The
event was the official kickoff for Interfaith Awareness Week, a series aiming
to create space for interfaith exchange and dialogue. As an observer, I was
disappointed that non-believers were not included in the introduction of
the religious diversity of America, but I was also happily surprised by the
universality of the service’s message.
The service was a call to compassion. As Father Gregory Boyle, Executive
Director of Homeboy Industries, began, he directed the audience
to “imagine a circle of compassion, then imagine that no one is outside
of it.” Father Boyle continued to speak humbly and with humor about
his many interactions with former gang members. From learning new
internet slang (“ohn” = “oh hellllll no”) to forging friendships between
former enemies, Boyle has built the largest gang intervention and re-entry
program in the country. His vision of social justice as building friendship
and kinship is accessible and grounded. Martin Evelyn, Political Action
Chair of the Black Students Association and a good friend of mine, said “the
message of compassion really touched my heart, it is a message that can
cross religious boundaries and a call we all can aspire to.”
If Martin’s analysis is correct, which I believe that it is, I hope that
Interfaith Week brings opportunities for religious students as well as non-
believers to introspect on doing good for humanity. As cited in Spring
2010’s popular article Rise of the Nonbelievers, 25 percent of 18-to-29 year-
olds are nonreligious (Pew Forum). A quarter of the student body certainly
warrant an explicit welcome to the Interfaith Week community.
Upcoming Events:
WEDNESDAY
8:00pm Reflecting on Vocation
A discussion about what you’re called to do with your
life and how to make major decisions led by
Episcopal Chaplain (Cameron Partridge) and the
Memorial Church Epps Fellow (Nat Katz)
Location: basement of Memorial Church
8:15pm – 10:00pm Film Screening: Freemont, USA
Barker Center (Thompson Room)
Sponsored by The Pluralism Project at Harvard
THURSDAY
4:00pm – 6:30pm Interfaith @ Harvard Scavenger Hunt
Memorial Church (Chaplains’ Office, in the basement)
Sponsored by the Harvard Interfaith Collaborative
FRIDAY
2:00pm – 4:00pm Interfaith Speak-In: What If…?
Boylston Hall (Ticknor Lounge)
Sponsored by the Harvard College Interfaith Council