Festival of Lights celebrates 25th anniversary of Interfaith Center – The Suffolk Journal

Asma Akbar, the interfaith scholar, and Amichai Levy, human resources consultant for Suffolk Hillel at the Festival of Lights.

Under the portico outside Sargent Hall on Dec. 5, the Rev. Amy Fisher, chaplain of Suffolk University, spoke to dozens of people gathered to celebrate the Interfaith Center’s 25th annual Festival of Lights.

“At this time of year when many religions celebrate the joy and harmony of light over darkness, may we as a Suffolk University community strive for peace rather than strife, love rather than hate, and hope rather than despair,” Fisher said. “Let there be joy!”

Since arriving in Suffolk in the fall of 1999, Fisher has led the Interfaith Center with a mission to bring together students of all religious, spiritual and secular identities to make meaningful connections on campus. As the only interfaith center at a college in the Boston area, Suffolk’s is a unique place where people are encouraged to ask questions and interact with belief systems outside their own.

Over the years, the center has created an inclusive space where students can feel comfortable to embrace faith—or the lack thereof. Weekly meetings include discussions of religious texts and philosophical investigations. Alternatively, students can take a guided meditation or yoga class to take a break from their usual schedule.

The Interfaith Center’s role as a safe and sacred space has endured throughout its 25 years, providing students with support as they navigate major world and life events that can be difficult to navigate.

“What doesn’t change is giving everyone a place to feel like they belong,” Fisher said.

Asma Akbar, a senior politics, philosophy and economics major, has worked for the Interfaith Center since her freshman year. In 2023, she became the center’s first interfaith fellow and helped organize panels and support students on campus.

For Akbar, the ability to act as a peer resource for students dealing with life’s challenges has helped fulfill her during her time at Suffolk.

“I think it’s so rewarding to have worked in a place that exists to make students feel seen and included – no matter what your background, everyone lives next to each other,” Akbar said.

Along with Harvard Divinity School associate chaplains and student leaders, Fisher strives to meet the needs of people of all faiths or backgrounds. Religion is an often overlooked aspect of diversity, Fisher said, and the Interfaith Center is working to advance the integration of religion into diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in Suffolk.

“Higher education owes it to its students to treat this aspect of their diversity with as much respect and consideration as any other,” Fisher said.

Students can find information through the Interfaith Center local places of worship and assisting in obtaining religious accommodations for on-campus room and board.

The philosophy department also offers a minor in religious studies, for which Fisher teaches introductory courses in world religions. Many students begin the course without ever setting foot in the Interfaith Center and attend regularly by the end of the semester, Fisher said.

The center’s homelike atmosphere and proximity to other major Suffolk offices such as the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion and Orientation, New Student and Family Programs make it a hub of activity, according to Akbar. She attributed the welcoming atmosphere to the increased engagement of students.

“It’s so refreshing to see new faces becoming normal people, coming together not only at their favorite event but at others too,” Akbar said.

Every year since its inception, the Festival of Lights embodies the Center’s doctrine of mutual respect by commemorating the many religious and cultural customs that take place in the final days of the year.

At the event’s silver anniversary, representatives from a half-dozen Interfaith Center groups – the Muslim Student Association, Suffolk Hillel, Questioning Catholics, Christian Bible Study, Mystics and Witches and Atheists, Humanists, Agnotists & Anti-Theists – spoke about the significance of each Holidays or commemorations.

After a welcome from Fisher, Muslim Student Association Vice President Nazma Khalifa read a verse from the Quran, Surah An-Nur (24:35).

Emilee Anderson, graduate administrative assistant at the Interfaith Center, introduced the Christian month of Advent, which begins the Christian calendar year. The month began on December 1st and is celebrated on the four Sundays before Christmas. Fisher read Matthew 24:36-44 for the holiday.

Nicole Kaufman, social media coordinator for Suffolk Hillel, told the story of Hanukkah, which begins at sunset on December 25 and lasts eight days. Each night a candle is lit on the menorah, or Hanukkah, in honor of the eight days that the oil lasted in the newly dedicated Temple in Jerusalem.

Lucy Olbrys from the Mystics and Witches spoke about the winter solstice on December 21st, which marks the start of the new solar year and has been celebrated around the world for thousands of years. In pagan traditions, the Yule log lit at the solstice welcomes rebirth and light.

The winter holidays are about enjoying the joy of gathering with loved ones and observing the secular elements of important holidays.

The Ramblers Chamber Choir performed a selection of seasonal songs during the festival, including “Carol of the Bells” and “Hanukkah!” and “Winter Wonderland.” Olbrys also played “Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major.”

Participants were asked to “share their light” with the community by placing candles on a table next to a holiday special to them.

Collaboration with the Interfaith Center increases each year as the program expands, Fisher said. Last year, around 700 students attended at least one of the center’s events, and this year is already expected to exceed that number.

Akbar said she hopes the center will continue to foster students’ sense of belonging.

“It makes me really happy to know that I am part of a place that makes people feel like they have a place in the Suffolk community,” Akbar said.