President Grudzen's Reflection on his time in Nigeria | |
Had I read the travel advisory from the US State Department before going to Nigeria in February of 2025, I might not have made the journey given the danger of Boko Haram still being present in that country, particularly in the region of Kaduna where there is still a presence of Boko Haram.
During my travel from Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to Kaduna State University for a major interfaith conference, I was accompanied by four Nigerian policemen driving in front of our caravan as my security detail.
Providentially, I did make this trip, and upon reflection, it fulfilled a prophetic message that came to me 24 years ago when our daughter, Corita Grudzen, MD, was beginning her medical residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York. The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on 9/11/2001 were emblematic of the tangible divide between Christianity and Islam in the modern world. At that time, I dedicated the remainder of my life to help heal the divide between these great spiritual traditions by completing my doctoral studies at Columbia University in NYC on the history of Christianity and Islam and the founding of Global Ministries University in 2001...
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The Ufuk Dialogue Foundation in Nigeria invited President Grudzen to speak at three interfaith conferences from February 20–25, 2025, in diverse areas of Nigeria. The theme of these meetings was "Empowering Youth and Cultivating a Culture of Understanding."
Marita Grudzen was invited to present at the conferences. However, because of health concerns surrounding extended travel, Marita met with women in interfaith groups via Zoom.
| | GMU congratulates the newly elected Executive Director of the Federation of Christian Ministries... | | |
Library of Congress Classification System
People who’ve used public libraries for years are probably familiar with the Dewey Decimal Classification system. That’s the way you find books on the shelves. You look up the books in the online catalog on the computer, jot down the call numbers, and then hunt for the books on the shelf. Dewey call numbers start with actual numbers. For example, if you’re looking for
information on Hinduism, you look in the 294.5 section. If that’s a topic you’re interested in, you can walk into pretty much any public library and, knowing that number, go over to the 294.5s to see what they’ve got.
But one day you walk into a college or university library, and—wait a minute, what’s going on? The call numbers on the spines of the books all start out with letters, not numbers. You’re utterly confused.
Nearly all academic libraries use the Library of Congress classification system, which is alphanumeric. Checking the online catalog, you note that books on Hinduism seem to have call numbers in the BL1100-1290 range. Off you go to that section to browse among the books on that topic.
The Dewey system was devised by a man named Melvil Dewey in 1873 while he was working at the Amhurst College Library. Prior to his new arrangement, books were arranged on the shelves by height and date of acquisition. Patrons couldn’t browse the shelves; a librarian had to get the
books for them. Dewey felt that call numbers ought to enable users to locate the books themselves and to browse around to find books similar to the subject they were researching. Under his system, books were shelved by subject.
The Library of Congress in Washington DC (LC) also established its system of classification in the late 19 th century. Books in libraries using LC, too, are shelved by subject. Academic and research libraries and those with specialized collections set up that system many decades ago because it seemed more flexible and better suited to their needs.
Dewey and LC are also used in libraries in India and Africa. Public and academic libraries in both areas most often utilize Dewey; larger university and college libraries may employ LC. In India, the Colon Classification (CC), developed by S. R. Ranganathan, a renowned Indian librarian, is still used in some libraries, especially in Indian academic institutions. It is quite
comprehensive and focuses on a more Indianized method of classification.
Questions? Comments? Need help with research? Contact me:
Judy Clarence, M.L.I.S., GMU Librarian
librarian@globalministriesuniversity.org
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The next GMU Board of Directors' meeting is scheduled for Friday, April 11, 2025, at 1 PM Pacific time via Zoom. Topics will include:
- international conferences in India and Nigeria during February
- a financial report including recent major donations to GMU
- a report on student enrollments since our last board meeting
- GMU graduates in 2025
- the GMU partnership with the Institute of Science and Religion in Kochi, India, and The Institute for Lay Theology in Kochi, India
- reports on GMU marketing and website activity since our last board meeting
- report on 2025 Fratelli Tutti Conference and relationship with Tangaza University and the Harmony Institute in Kenya.
| | Spring into Spirituality! | | Spring forward and "let the light shine" in your life and in your soul! Dr. Margie Schneider is offering three courses at a discount. TH580 Creation Spirituality, TH581 Eco-Art & Creation Spirituality, and TH517 Spiritual Ecology are available individually for $235 per course. You don't want to miss this opportunity to expand your awareness of the Divine in Creation and in You! | | Explore the Parables of Jesus with Fr. Sebastien Nkoa, OP | | |
Father Sébastien Nkoa, OP, is offering a free course on “The Financial Dimensions of the Parables of Jesus” starting Wednesday, March 19 at 9 AM Pacific Time and continuing each Wednesday for the following three weeks.
From the course description:
Our world today has reached a level of financialization that has completely removed humanity from everything that is related to the economy and finance. World economic, monetary, and financial institutions have developed programs that have found themselves to be completely inhumane. In Africa, South America, and Asia, their various programs of restructuring have proven themselves to be catastrophic and completely disconnected from human local realities. Unfortunately, the sad reality of the failure of the Wall Street system is no longer a debate.
The course is FREE but you must register to receive the Zoom information.
| | 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 has begun. 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.
| | 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.
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It is quite a privilege to be able to create a meaningful experience for your clients…
However, it is also a huge responsibility to have the background to conduct appropriate services and ceremonies.
Have you had the proper training to take on this important role?
The Center for Celebrant Training offers formal preparation to conduct weddings, funerals, and other rites of passage.
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PCS 723 - Empowerment Through Embodiment Practice With Lizzie and Wambui
Giving up patriarchy for Lent this year? Join us for Freedom Fridays as international yogini, Wambui Njuguna-Räisänen, and feminist chaplain-scholar, Lizzie Berne DeGear offer a powerful opportunity for community care and self-sovereignty. In three gentle yoga sessions, we will learn to breathe deeply and practice sustainable self-care in the midst of dismantling systemic oppression. All are welcome, and no prior experience with yoga is needed.
$60 for all three sessions. Wambui and Lizzie are offering this course at this accessible rate in solidarity with all who join the Catholic Women Strike movement this Lent.
Every other Friday during Lent:
March 14, March 28, and April 11, 2025
1 PM Eastern Time
(Please check your local time each week, as the world switches to daylight savings time.)
75-minute sessions will include orientation, reflection, meditation, a 45-minute practice, and time for q-and-a. Sessions will be recorded, and participants are encouraged to revisit them as often as you like in your personal practice.
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Wambui Njuguna-Räisänen (she/her), MA, E-RYT 500, TCYM-T is a Kenyan-American based in rural Portugal, passionate about slow healing through trauma-informed yoga. She has been an Ashtanga yoga practitioner since 2008 and teacher since 2011 and is the co-founder of Yoga Roots Odeceixe, est 2023 . In 2022, Wambui moved to the countryside to learn how to grow her own food, make her own medicine and reclaim both her self- sovereignty and deep symbiosis with the Land.
Wambui is deeply inspired by spiritual teachers and communities that seek ways to apply the insights from our various practices and teachings to situations of social, racial, political, environmental and economic suffering and injustice.
| |  | Lizzie Berne DeGear, BCC, PhD is familiar to the PCS and WOC communities through her bible studies, including “The Ministry of Jesus as the Expansion of Consciousness”, “The Women Who Wrote the Bible,” and her animated short film “(m)adam: Adam’s Rib Reframed." Certified with the National Association of Catholic Chaplains since 2002, Lizzie’s passion for facilitating group experience was sparked by her hospital chaplaincy work on the inpatient psychiatric unit and with those facing addiction. This collaboration with Wambui is a dream come true—an opportunity to collaborate on their shared passions for healing and justice, while bringing her Anusara-yoga teacher training into her work with the PCS and WOC communities. | | | | | GMU will partner with the Omeriye 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 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.
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