"Global Unity" from Stockcake

Marita and I wish you a blessed holiday season and New Year. Each of you has contributed to the success of GMU over the past year as we begin the 24th year of GMU’s existence as an innovator in the field of theological education in the US, India, and Africa. 

Our interfaith mission continues to grow as we prepare for our third global, online conference on Migrants, Refugees, and Displaced People during the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week from February 6 to 8, 2025. This will be our third global conference in collaboration with Tangaza University Institute for Interreligious Dialogue and Islamic Studies. We also wish to thank 

Father Augustine Pamplany, Dean of the Science and Religion Institute in Kerala, India for the partnership GMU has formed with this institute 

connected to Little Flower Seminary in Kerala. This program has grown to over 40 students from Africa and India pursuing graduate degrees.

Several of us from GMU will attend a major conference on Science and Religion in Kerela from February 1 to February 3, 2025.

We remember fondly our departed brother and board member, Frank Pisciotta.

Peace to ALL!

GMU Classroom is now in the latest updated version with expanded capabilities in the text editor as well as support for emojis like👍🏽.

Thank you all for your patience, and enjoy the new classroom!

~Ricardo Silvestri

The Registrar's office will be closed from December 24 to January 1. The Business Office will remain open to receive tuition payments, application fees, and donations, and website communications will continue to be monitored.

Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan, Dean of GMU's D.Min. and M.Div. Programs, and Rev. Mary Theresa Streck

Now more than ever, we need women's leadership! Bridget Mary recommends seeing a new documentary about the women priests movement. The Forbidden Call: Women Priests.

FutureChurch hosted a special screening with AnaMichele, the film's director, and Diane Whalen, the film's subject, for conversation and questions and answers following the screening. 

GMU is a leader in feminist theology and graduate degrees and supports all areas of women's studies.

December Festivities!



At GMU we study, research, honor and compare many of the world’s faith traditions. Honoring and understanding them all are major missions of our institution. Recently I was reflecting on the month of December, when nearly all the world religions celebrate at least one major festival. These have their roots historically, of course, in the ancient observance of the winter solstice, the event that celebrates the gradual emergence of light after darkness, rebirth after death, community after a period of isolation. Here’s a summary of December holidays we acknowledge today:

Judaism

• Hanukkah (Dates vary; in 2024, December 25–January 1): An eight-day festival commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt. It involves the lighting of the menorah, prayers, and eating foods fried in oil (such as latkes).

Islam

• Mawlid al-Nabi (Dates vary; in 2024, December 14): The observance of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. While not universally celebrated in all Muslim traditions, it is observed with prayers, feasts, and gatherings in many communities.

Hinduism

• Gita Jayanti (December 25, 2024): Celebrates the day Lord Krishna imparted the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

• Kalpataru Day (December 25): Celebrates the day when Ramakrishna Paramahamsa gave his disciples spiritual blessings and teachings.

Buddhism

• Bodhi Day (December 8): Commemorates the day when Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. It is celebrated by many Buddhist communities with meditation, reflection, and rituals.

Paganism / Neopaganism

• Winter Solstice / Yule (Around December 21–22): A celebration of the rebirth of the sun and the longest night of the year. It is part of the Pagan Wheel of the Year and is observed by many Wicca and Neo-pagan traditions with rituals celebrating light, rebirth, and nature.

Bahá'í Faith

• The Birth of Bahá'u'lláh (December 2): A celebration marking the birth of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'ís gather for prayers and festive meals.

• The Birth of the Báb (December 25): Celebrates the birth of the Báb, the forerunner to Bahá'u'lláh, considered a significant figure in the Bahá'í Faith.

Sikhism

• Gurpurab (Dates vary; in 2024, December 25): A Sikh holiday celebrating the birth of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and final Guru of Sikhism. It involves prayers, singing of hymns, and processions.

Christianity

• Advent (Starts in late November and lasts until Christmas Eve): A season of expectant waiting and preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ. It begins on the Sunday closest to November 30th and lasts for four Sundays, leading up to Christmas.

• Christmas (December 25): Celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the Christian world.

In a spirit of ecumenism, let’s gather with family and friends to light the menorah, eat latkes, prayerfully wish Jesus Christ and the Prophet Mohammed happy birthday, read a bit of the Bhagavad Gita, meditate on the life of the Buddha, hug a tree, sing hymns and carols, and celebrate the return of the Light! Happy December to all!

Questions? Comments? Need help with research? Contact me: 

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

librarian@globalministriesuniversity.org

GMU partners with the Institute of Science and Religion program in Kerala, 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 January 2025. Discover the compatibility of science, spirituality, and faith. Asian and African applications will soon be made directly on Fr. Augustine Pamplany's website. The applications will then be sent to GMU for follow-up and enrollment. Email Fr. Augustine for information on when the applications will be available.

Present Grudzen has reported that women religious from Africa and India will be receiving scholarships to join the January cohort.

We had 25 students attend the final class for the second cohort of our Science and Religion Master’s program. Most of the students are in Africa and will spend the next six months working on a supervised research project in Science and Religion. The students are located in diverse parts of Africa and expressed great appreciation for the academic content of our program and that it is very helpful in combating various forms of fundamentalism, whether it is religious, political, or tribal. Look for a video coming soon on the GMU's YouTube channel.

Emotions, Beliefs, and Mental Health

President Grudzen, Robert Graf, and Thomas James will present papers at the international Religion and Science symposium in Kerala, India, from February 1 to February 3, 2025. Father Augustine Pamplany is the director of this conference in collaboration with GMU.

Spring into Spirituality!

Make New Year's Resolution to Connect with Creation! Dr. Margie Schneider is offering three courses at a discount. TH580 Creation Spirituality, TH Eco-Art & Creation Spirituality, and TH517 Spiritual Ecology are available individually for half the price of the traditional tuition, $235 per course. You don't want to miss this opportunity to expand your awareness of the Divine in Creation and in You!

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.

I wish you all the blessings of the upcoming holidays. Thank you for bringing light and love to sacred journeys of people's lives.

 ~Michael Conley, D.Min.

You are most welcome to gather with other Celtic Spirits on a journey around the Celtic Wheel of the Year. The Celtic Wheel offers a framework to explore Celtic Spirituality, the cyclical nature of the seasons and the eight festivals of the year, observed throughout the Celtic lands. 

PCA 721-Gathering of Celtic Spirit

Instructor: Mary Coffey

I’m a creative soul, laughing.

I'm also a mixed-media artist, teacher, a certified spiritual director, and a priest ordained in the independent Catholic movement. I’m curious to see how the Divine shows up in and through creative expression both on the canvas and in real life.

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. 

Keynote speakers for the conference include Rev. Daniel G. Groody, C.S.C. author of A Theology of Migration: The Bodies of Refugees and the Body of Christ, which won first-place honors from the Catholic Press Association; Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., Prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; and Most Rev. Mark J. Seitz, D.D., Bishop of El Paso, Texas..

Technical Director of Conference Abducted in Kenya

Mustafa Genç, who led the technical operations of the biennial conference from Harmony Institute and the Institute for Religious Dialogue and Islamic Studies at Tangaza University (IRDIS) was kidnapped with other Turkish refugees in Kenya by gunmen on October 18. They have been repatriated to Turkey. The United Nations and international organizations are working for their release.

UN 'deeply concerned' Kenya returned Turkish refugees

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

GMU recently received donations to Honor Mary Manseau 

   $500 from Marita and Gerry Grudzen

   $1000 from Graf Family Fund

Individual donors have provided scholarships for women students in the Religion and Science program.

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.

Please consider making a year-end tax-deductible contribution to GMU.

Thank you for your generosity!

Help Our Global Family

GMU wishes all of our FAMILY of faculty, students, friends, partners, collaborators, affiliates, and benefactors very Blessed Holidays and Happy New Year!

https://www.globalministriesuniversity.org/

info@globalministriesuniversity.org