Connections Quarterly Winter 2018 - World Religions

B E I N G A FO R C E FO R C HA N GE dents from Saint Mark’s Episcopal School and facilitated by the Weizmann Day School in Pas- adena. The program is attended annually by Judea and Ruth Pearl, who founded the Daniel Pearl Foundation and the World Music Days to celebrate their son’s life and to promote mutu- al respect and understanding through music. Afterward, students eat lunch together and engage in ice breakers and games. Lainer School, a Jewish day school. Students spend a day at each other’s campuses en- gaged in service learning, art, and games to get to know each other and to learn about each other’s faiths. These experiences can be life-changing. One student shared her own transformation with these simple words, “I came into the school with stereotypes, and I left without them.” The culminating activity of the middle school is an Interfaith Exchange Program between seventh and eighth graders at New Horizon and seventh graders at the Alice and Nahum While not every school can find a partner school for such activities, through the world religion class and supportive leadership for building understanding, a school can invite guest speakers for assemblies, arrange visits to houses of worship, and give their own students of different faiths the opportunity to share their special celebrations. “I hope our experience and practices can serve as a re- minder that rather than being surprised and shocked by the world we live in, we can be forces of change to impact and improve the world we live in by laying the groundwork for deeper understanding and mutual respect among one another.” I hope our experience and practices can serve as a reminder that rather than being surprised and shocked, we can be forces of change to impact and improve the world we live in by laying the groundwork for deeper understanding and mutual respect among one another. Creating spaces for such con- versations shall certainly expand the possi- bilities for a more just and peaceful world. l Amira Al-Sarraf is the Head of School at New Horizon School in Pasadena. She has been actively involved in interfaith projects with the Skirball Cultural Center, Weizmann Jewish Day School, the Interfaith Peace Academy, the Guibord Center, and the Alice and Nahum Lainer School. In addition to serving on the CSEE Board, she also serves on the Board of the Western Justice Center and served for three years on the Board of Alverno Heights Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school. She is also a member of the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health Interfaith Clergy Roundtable Project in Arcadia. She initiated and supervised the creation of a Peace Garden at New Horizon which provides an inspiring space for the school’s community and interfaith activi- ties. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she grew up in a mixed faith household. CSEE Connections Winter 2018 Page 9

Connections Quarterly Winter 2018 - World Religions | Page 11