Global Philosophy of Religion in the Local Des Moines Community
On Sunday, February 23, from 3:00–5:00 pm, Drake University’s The Comparison Project, in conjunction with the “Iowa Interfaith Exchange,” hosts “Roads to Religion” in the Olmsted Center (Parents Hall) on Drake’s campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, features dozens of local religious communities, collectively representing at least a dozen religious …
On Thursday, March 6, at 6:00 pm, in Drake's Sussman Theater (lower level of Olmsted Center), Dr. Amy Donahue, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Kennesaw State University, will deliver a lecture on “The Bhagavad Gītā’s Yoga Model of Disability.” Contemporary medical models of disability assume notions of “normal” human embodiment and functioning that South Asia’s Hindu …
On March 8th, from 6:00–7:30 pm, we will attend a Ramadan prayer and Iftar meal at Masjid an-Noor (1117 42nd St, Des Moines). The event includes the sunset (maghrib) prayer, the breaking of the fast, and an iftar meal. Please dress appropriately: women should be covered below the elbows and knees and should cover their …
On Sunday, March 16 from 11:00am–1:00pm (roughly), we will join the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center (33916 155th Lane, Madrid) in the annual celebration of Holi. Guests will be able to tour the temple, observe the Holi fire ritual (Holika Dahan), throw colored powered at one another, and dance. Please dress accordingly if you are …
On Thursday, March 27, at 6:00 pm, in Drake's Sussman Theater (lower level of Olmsted Center), Dr. Julia Watts Belser, Professor of Jewish Studies at Georgetown University, will deliver a lecture on "Radical Rest: Jewish Sabbath Practice as Resistance to Ableism." We live in a world pitched toward productivity, where we often face intense pressure …
On April 5, Drake's Comparison Project will host "A Celebration of Islam in Des Moines," in conjunction with the annual forum of the Abdelkader Education Project. The event will occur in Meredith Hall from 2:00–4:30pm. It will feature plenaries about Abd el-Kader and the Abdelkader Education Project, as well as dozens of breakout sessions on …
7:30-9:30: Interfaith Breakfast and Prayer -State Capitol Rotunda 6:00–9:00 pm: Evening Symposium on the Role of Religion in Peacemaking -World Food Prize Building Please see link for more information.
On Sunday, April 12, we will celebrate the annual holiday of Vaisakhi from roughly 12:00 to 2:00 pm with the Sikh gurdwara in West Des Moines, the Iowa Sikh Association (1115 Walnut St.). The service will include many of the elements of a typical Sunday worship service: the signing of hymns (kirtan), reading from sacred …
On Thursday, April 17, at 6:00 pm, in Drake's Sussman Theater (lower level of Olmsted Center), Dr. Max Thornton, independent scholar, will deliver a lecture on "Getting What We Deserve: Theologies at the Intersection of Disability and Work." Dr. Thornton's lecture will think through some of the connections between disability, work, and the theological ideas …