President of Global Ministries University, Gerald Grudzen, Th.D., will be given a “Global Peace Award” by the Buddhist Council of America during its 3rd Global Peace Conference, on June 16, 2024, International Vesak Day.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan will present the award to Dr. Grudzen and other dignitaries, including United States Senator Gary Peters, and Michigan State Senators Stephanie Chang, John Damoose, and Paul Wojno. Several Michigan mayors and international and national Buddhist dignitaries will also be honored.

The event will occur at the Fitzgerald High School Auditorium, 23200 Ryan Road, Warren, Michigan.

In 1999, the United Nations declared Vesak, or Buddha Purnima, marking the Birth, Enlightenment, and Parinibbana of Buddha, an official international holiday.

Community and interfaith leaders across Michigan and the country will attend the event. The public is invited.

For more information, contact the Buddhist Council of America: http://www.buddhistcouncilofamerica.com/

Marita Grudzen has been invited by Imam Arif Huskic, Minister of Interfaith Relations, founder and President of the Common Word Alliance Clergy Interfaith Organization, to speak about her environmental ministry at the 218th Healing Prayer for Humanity weekly conference on May 31, 2024.

Marita founded "Stewards of Our Common Home" in the Diocese of San Jose. She also serves as an officer in the GMU corporation and leads interfaith projects in Kenya with Maryknoll Affiliates and GMU.

People as Resources

As a scholar embarking on a research project, you know, of course, to look for books, articles, and websites relevant to your topic. But you may tend to overlook another significant resource: people. People can serve as actual resources themselves, just as when we ask a friend for a restaurant or movie recommendation. Similarly, incorporating the points of view of individuals with experience or knowledge of your topic can add rich dimensions to your paper or thesis. To incorporate that experience or knowledge into your project you’ll want to conduct an interview.

Find someone with firsthand experience in your topic. Unless you’re writing about an event in history with no living survivors, you’ll consider searching for someone with direct knowledge of your subject. Perhaps you’re writing about spiritual direction for high school kids. Find a minister, chaplain or spiritual director who works in that area. Additionally, you may want to interview one of the students who’s worked with a spiritual advisor. Maybe you’re investigating the effects of climate and environmental changes on the religious life of migrant populations. You could interview scientists who examine climate change, individual migrants living with those changes, or members and leaders of faith groups and churches that support and educate those groups. 

Of course, the information provided through interviews must be evaluated, just like any other source. The possibility of bias is always present, but probably acceptable in this context since the point of view of the person being interviewed comes directly from their lived experience.

You can conduct an interview by phone, Zoom or FaceTime, or in person. Let them know the purpose of your interview and how the information they provide will be used. Good interview techniques are helpful. Try to put the person at ease, using active listening to encourage them to talk, asking follow-up questions, and thanking them at the end of the interview. 

Like other sources, people need to be cited in your research final product, depending on the citation style you’re using. See Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) for information on how to handle interviews and other communication with people in various styles.

Good luck! And remember to contact me for assistance with any part of your research journey.

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

(Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash.)

Spirituality for our Global Age

President Grudzen will conduct a series of interviews with GMU instructors and students on the evolution of their spirituality. GMU's offerings that focus on spirituality will be also be discussed.

The first podcast will take place on June 10. Dr. Margie Schneider, Richard Weinhagen, and Michal Lewon will speak on the "importance of art and music for spiritual grounding." It will be aired on the GMU website.

"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.

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.

New 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.

May the Experience of Joy and Satisfaction of Being a Celebrant Be Yours!

PCS 310 - Introduction to Mary Magdalene: A Leader for the First and Twenty-First Centuries

May 14, 2024 – July 23, 2024 Zoom meeting every other week

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Course Instructor: Dr. Shirley Paulson

Christians have imagined Mary Magdalene as the repentant prostitute for well over a thousand years, but now, after the discovery of the Gospel of Mary and other early Christian writings, we know there is not a shred of truth to that. She was also the one person most closely associated with the resurrection of Jesus. Was she actually one of Jesus’s disciples? Or even the first apostle? In our own complex and confusing world of the 21st century, what we learn from Mary can startle us with refreshing spiritual insights. They are profoundly relevant today for men and women who resonate with the teachings and acts of Jesus.

Learning the Inspiration and Controversies Surrounding Mary Magdalene

• Who was Mary?
• Why is the Gospel of Mary so valuable?
• How shall we understand Mary's most important teachings?
• What were the controversies, and why do they matter?
• How does Mary relate to the Bible?
• What could Mary's life and teachings mean to us today?

New PCS 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.

“Acceptance, Social Entrepreneurship, and Artificial Intelligence in Peacebuilding”

21–22 September 2025

Organized by

Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University

Global Ministries University

Pacifica Institute

Bay Area Cultural Connections

Redwood Social Entrepreneurship Group

The Alliance for Shared Values is providing scholarships for 3 students from Africa for GMU's Religion and Science Program.

To the Moms Who Are

To the Moms who are struggling, to those filled with incandescent joy.

To the Moms who are remembering children who have died, and pregnancies that miscarried.

To the Moms who decided other parents were the best choice for their babies, to the Moms who adopted those kids and loved them fierce.

To those experiencing frustration or desperation in infertility.

To those who knew they never wanted kids, and the ways they have contributed to our shared world.

To those who mothered colleagues, mentees, neighborhood kids, and anyone who needed it.

To those remembering Moms no longer with us.

To those moving forward from Moms who did not show love, or hurt those they should have cared for.

[We] honor the unyielding love and care for others we call 'Motherhood,' wherever we have found it and in whatever ways we have found to cultivate it within ourselves.

~ Hannah Kardon, Pastor at Elston Avenue United Methodist Church

Please support your university!

https://www.globalministriesuniversity.org/

info@globalministriesuniversity.org