Marita and I had lunch with Bishop Willybard Kitogho Lagho in the Sacramento area. He has worked with GMU over the past decade when he was the Vicar General of the Mombasa Archdiocese in Kenya. 

When we first went to Kenya in 2012, he was also the Chairperson of the Coast Interfaith Council of Clerics, an interfaith organization representing all religious leaders in the coastal region of Kenya. He asked us to plan and fund a summer week-long interfaith training program for community leaders in the coastal region of Kenya. We were able to raise the funds necessary to train at least 20 community leaders in interfaith skills from 2013 through 2019. During the Coronavirus epidemic we began to develop an interfaith online community meeting monthly and affiliated with Maryknoll in Kenya. This community had both Christian and Muslim members. 

GMU also began a graduate studies program in Science and Religion in 2019 in affiliation with the Tangaza University Institute for Interreligious Dialogue and Islamic Studies. This program now has over 50 students enrolled from Kenya, other African countries, India and the US. It is directed by experts in the Science and Religion Dialogue in India, Africa and the US and accredited by the European Council for Higher Education. 

Bishop Lagho asked GMU to work with him on economic development and environmental projects in the coastal region of Kenya.

Bishop Lagho is a key interfaith leader not just in the coastal region but throughout the nation of Kenya. He has just been appointed the chairperson of the Kenyan Religious Leaders Conference, based in Nairobi. He is also the only Catholic bishop in Africa with extensive training in the Islamic faith and many years of experience in interfaith dialogue. He recently represented the Catholic faith at a major center for interfaith dialogue in Abu Dhabi, which he shared with us over our luncheon meeting. We will continue to interact with Bishop Lagho in the future over common issues and concerns.

~Gerald Grudzen, Ph.D.

More Googling tips: phrasing your Google searches for more unbiased results

Recently, a librarian colleague recommended a book called Verified: how to think straight, get duped less, and make better decisions about what to believe online, by Mike Caulfield and Sam Wineburg (University of Chicago Press, 2023), a very readable, entertaining and informative book about online search strategies. I highly recommend it. From it, I learned something new about Googling; something I’ve always suspected but didn’t know for sure: how you phrase a question affects the results! Google’s algorithms give you the results it “thinks” you want to see. Surprise!

I decided to try it out. Recently a questionable pop-up ad appeared as I was scrolling along online. The ad said something like, “Why do doctors want you to stop eating blueberries?” As a person who eats blueberries on my granola almost daily, this sounded scary. I always thought they were healthy.

I typed a question into Google: “Are blueberries bad for your health?” Google, having decided that I was looking for sites to back up a theory that they’re bad, delivered these top results: 

• What happens to your body when you eat blueberries every day: can eating too much of a good thing come with downsides? (site: EatingWell)
• How blueberries may potentially be bad for you. (site: NutriFusion)
• Side effects of blueberries and what happens if you eat too many. (site: Livestrong)
• The hidden risks of eating blueberries: what not to pair for vision loss. (site: Alinart Health)

I reworded the question. This time I asked, “Are blueberries good for your health?” Now Google intuited that I was looking for evidence in support of eating blueberries and led me to these sources: 

• 10 Proven health benefits of blueberries (site: HealthLine)
• Health benefits of blueberries (site: WebMD)
• Nutritional power of blueberries (site: Mayo Clinic)
• Blueberries: nine health benefits to know (site: VeryWell Health)

Notice that among the sites that recommend eating blueberries are two highly respectable sites, WebMD and the Mayo Clinic. My intuition tells me that the sites I found when I used negative wording seemed a bit sketchy, and potentially unreliable, as did the pop-up ad that started me on this quest. Thus, I will happily continue my morning blueberry ritual. 

The takeaway from all this? Word your search queries ambiguously, using neutral language, to retrieve a balanced set of results. Example: “What are the health effects of blueberries?”

I eagerly await your comments, suggestions, and questions.

~Judy Clarence, M.L.I.S., GMU Librarian

librarian@globalministriesuniversity.org

GMU congratulates Rev. Margie Schneider on receiving the Fr. Edward J. Ciuba scholarship from Waterspirit, allowing one student to take the online Climate Pastoral Care Course for free.

Waterspirit is a non-profit spiritual ecology nonprofit that informs, inspires, and empowers people of all beliefs to deepen their consciousness of the sacredness of water and the interdependence of all Earth’s systems.

EDUCATIONAL, INSIGHTFUL, SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

The next episode of the GMU "Voices" podcast had to be postponed until September 16. We will let you know when it "drops" on the GMU YouTube channel.

It will trace the history of FCM from its founding in 1973 to the present. Bishop William Manseau, the founding president of FCM, and Tom Cusack, President of FCM today, will provide their insights into the evolution of FCM from its founding era, present status, and future directions. President Grudzen will moderate the discussion and show how GMU emerged out of FCM.

"Interfaith Spiritual Advocates"

President Grudzen is working with the New York State Office of Faith and Non-Profit Development to pursue funding for GMU's Community Chaplaincy program, now designated as "Interfaith Spiritual Advocates," for outreach to the immigrant and refugee communities in the State of New York in collaboration with Mustafa Gokek, President of Buffalo United for Peace The program is scheduled to be launched in January 2025.

GMU partners with the Institute of Science and Religion program in Cochin, India. You can view lectures on their YouTube channel.

Theology for the 21st Century

A new cohort in the GMU's Religion and Science Program will begin in September 2024. Reduced tuition is offered to North American, European, and Australian applicants. Discover the compatibility of science, spirituality, and faith.

Collaboration with People's Catholic Seminary

GMU seeks to meet the needs and aspirations of those who wish to start Intentional Eucharistic Communities. Together with PCS, GMU is now offering:

Creating Inclusive Eucharistic Communities in an Emerging Synodal Church 

5 sessions  $475 + $25 App Fee

Women in the Bible and Christian Tradition

5 sessions  $475 + $25 App Fee

Credit for these courses can be applied towards a GMU graduate degree or certificate.

The Center for Celebrant Training Center is thriving, primarily because there has been a significant increase in applications for Funeral Celebrants in the past two years. This growing interest is likely due to the number of people who want to serve bereaved families in a meaningful and personal way. The Center offers that kind of training in your own time schedule and tailored to the kind of services you would like to offer with confidence.  

We have even had the honor of funeral directors enrolling in our program or paying for the training of an individual that is conducting services for their funeral home. There has also been a newfound strong interest in training from end-of-life doulas.  

It is a privilege to be able to provide a service that is so needed.

~Michael Conley, D.Min.

PCS 506 - Ancient Christian Texts for Healing

The new cohort begins Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at 7 PM Eastern, meeting every other week until November 19, 2024. The course is available for Live-Online Hybrid Study.

Instructor: Shirley Paulson, PhD, the founder and principal producer of Early Christian Texts: The Bible and Beyond

PCS 720: The Poetics of Stitched Prayers 

The three-month course begins September 1st

Instructor: Sybil Reynolds

Women have gathered in circles to stitch and pray for centuries. Join us as we experience the blessing of slow, meditative, hand-stitching. Using simple materials, and needle and thread, you will learn basic stitches for stitching your prayers.

PCS 311: The Women Who Wrote the Bible

Nine Wednesdays from September 18th - November 13th, 2024 

7:30-8:30 PM ET

Instructor: Lizzie Berne DeGea, chaplain and scholar teaching Bible studies to people around the world. She is the author of Jesus Found in Translation: The Story Within the Story of the Bible's Earliest Gospel

Retreat/Independent Course: Celebrating the Sacred Feminine in Your Life with Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan

"Celebrating the Sacred Feminine in Your Life" invites you to explore the beautiful mosaic of names and images that depict God's all-embracing, inclusive love for us. Each section provides imagery of the sacred feminine in Scripture, in Christian mystics, and in contemporary life. Open yourself to your belovedness as an image of the Divine Feminine in prayer and action, and explore new paths to spiritual healing, nourishment, and transformation in our world.

Celebrating the Sacred Feminine in Your Life is available as a private retreat, an independent study, or as a course for sharing in a cohort model.

Cohorts meet in a Zoom video conference to share insights on their meditations.

For those taking this course as an independent study or retreat, Bridget Mary will be available upon request to share with you in phone or Zoom conversations. 

A "Call for Papers" for the February conference has been issued. Interested parties can submit proposals for inclusion in the conference proceedings and publications to the three "hubs" in Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

 President Grudzen has pledged GMU's support of the Proposal for Nature and Climate to the Bezos' Earth Fund as a "Contributing Interfaith Organization."

GMU will partner with Omeriey Foundation as the focal point in Kenya, and participate as the USA mentor for Makerere University Kampala and Nairobi University in the EARTH FUNDS AI for Climate and Environmental Challenges in September 2025

Global Cultural Connections at Pacifica Institute has given a $500 donation for tuition scholarships for students residing in Africa. 

Private donations totaling $1150 were given to GMU's General Fund to cover operating expenses.

GMU operates under the corporate umbrella of the Federation of Community Ministries of California (FCM of CA), originally formed on October 30, 1997, when we gained the status of a 501c3 nonprofit corporation. GMU is registered in Santa Clara County, CA, as a DBA of FCM of CA. The two entities have the same Board of Directors.

Help "Bring the World Together!"

https://www.globalministriesuniversity.org/

info@globalministriesuniversity.org