Holleran Center News
Holleran Center for Community Engagement sponsors "Women In Transition: A Weekend Retreat to Feed the Intellect, Heal the Heart & Energize the Spirit"
The Holleran Center for Community Engagement along with FairView Counseling & The Play Therapy Center, South Mountain YMCA, Caron Treatment Centers, Mary's Shelter, Easy Does It, Inc., and the Reading Berks Conference of Churches is sponsoring the "Women in Transition" weekend at South Mountain YMCA, October 2-4, 2009. This weekend will provide opportunities for women to develop healthier physical, emotional and spiritual connections with themselves and others. Participants will be able to gain valuable information, share personal experiences, rest, recreate, rejuvenate, and develop nurturing, supportive relationships with other women. The weekend includes lodging, nutritious meals, workshops, small groups, outdoor activities, information fellowship and social networking.
Registration for this event is $100 before September 18, and $125 thereafter. Registration forms and more information can be found here.
A limited number of scholarships are available for the weekend. If needed contact, Mary Hartman at (610) 396-9091 or Suzanne Edmonds at (610) 670-2267 x224.
A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People - Exhibit Concludes
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Blessing Exhibit officially closed at Alvernia University on Friday, July 31. Nearly 4,000 people visited the exhibit during its three month tenure at the Franco Library and Learning Center on Alvernia's main campus. The unofficial close of the exhibit was held on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 27 during an interfaith ceremony held on the steps of the Franco Library. Cantor Leah Holland provided liturgical Jewish music before, during and after the ceremony. Local leaders from many different faiths were represented and asked to each read a portion of the Assisi Decalogue for Peace written by Pope John Paul II during the Second World Day of Prayer. Over 150 people attended this beautiful closing ceremony which celebrated Pope John Paul II's commitment to peace as well as Alvernia University's commitment to continuing inter-religious dialogue on campus even after the Blessing Exhibit leaves. The exhibit, A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People will travel to Houston and debut at the Holocaust Museum of Houston, Texas.
Alvernia University hosts the nationally-touring exhibit A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Be a part of the blessing. This first-of-its-kind exhibit features photos, video footage, documents, and artifacts chronicling the Pope's contributions to relations between the Catholic and Jewish faiths from 1920 to the present day, and presents and ideal learning opportunity for adults interested in world history, World War II, the Holocaust, and Christian-Jewish dialogue
In the course of his papacy, John Paul II shattered the chain of 2,000 years of painful history between Catholics and Jews, becoming the first pope ever to enter a synagogue, officially visit and recognize the State of Israel, and formally engage in an act of repentance for the Catholic Church's historical treatment of Jews.
The exhibit draws its name from the Pope's 1993 appeal marking the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising: "As Christians and Jews, following the example of the faith of Abraham, we are called to be a blessing to the world. This is the common task awaiting us. It is therefore necessary for us, Christians and Jews, to first be a blessing to one another."
The exhibit is on display at Alvernia University's Franco Library and Learning Center until July 31, 2009. For more information on the exhibit hours and guided tours, please visit www.alvernia.edu/blessingexhibit
Alvernia University earns Carnegie Community Engagement Classification
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Alvernia University has earned the 2008 Community Engagement Classification designation by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The elective classification in Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships places Alvernia University among an elite group of institutions across the nation recognized this year including Duke, Georgetown, Purdue, and Emory Universities.
The designation brings national recognition to Alvernia and marks an alignment among mission, culture, leadership, resources, and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement the Carnegie Foundation categorized as "excellent."
"This coveted classification validates that we are living and teaching our mission - preparing our students to be engaged citizens in the local and global communities," said Alvernia University President Thomas F. Flynn. "It is also a testament to Alvernia's lifelong commitment to service, informed by our foundresses, the Bernardine Sisters, whose values and vision instilled in our institutional culture this tradition of community engagement."
The designation also recognizes the establishment of the Holleran Center for Community Engagement in 2006, whose work includes the following: increasing the University's effectiveness in creating community-based learning experiences for students; making the community an essential part of the University curriculum; and effecting and improving the quality of live in local and regional communities.
The Holleran Center works in partnership with numerous organizations to provide services such as programming for inner-city youth at the Wyomissing Institute of the Arts, resources for Angelica Park Program working in concert with the City of Reading, and a Non-Profit Roundtable with the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Other Holleran Center initiatives include offering a slate of campus events for the Greater Reading Literary Festival and a free community lecture series.
This year 119 colleges or universities were successfully classified as engaged institutions; 68 are public institutions and 51 are private, representing 34 states and Puerto Rico.
Universities and colleges with an institutional focus on community engagement were invited to apply for the classification since institutional mission and distinctiveness are not represented in national data on colleges and universities. The application process included submission of mandatory documentation describing the nature and extent of their engagement with the community, be it local or beyond.