2014 Sessions

Creating the Beloved Community through Relationship-Building
Presenters: Deacon Tom Brown, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Professor Larry Baas, Department of Political Science, and President Paul Schreiner, Project Neighbors
Location: Arts and Sciences Building, room 231
Description: The creation of the beloved community is predicated upon “loving one’s neighbor.” This necessitates relationship-building, volunteering time, talent, and treasure, and, in some cases, assuming risk. Numerous individuals and families living in untenable conditions and facing few opportunities for advancement have been assisted by Project Neighbors for nearly 30 years. This commitment to community service has been made possible by forging partnerships with members of local organizations, churches, and civic groups, uniting to answer the call in Luke 12:48: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”
Sponsors: Immanuel Lutheran Church, Project Neighbors, Trinity Lutheran Church, and the Valparaiso University Department of Political Science

Ministering to the Beloved Community: Reaching out to the Detained and Forgotten
Presenters: Sister Pat Murphy and Sister JoAnne Perch, Sisters of Mercy
Location: Arts and Sciences Building, room 113
Description: Certain groups comprising a portion of our beloved community have been designated as “illegals” — stripped of human dignity and isolated from the rest of society to face unknown and somewhat perilous futures. Acting through the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants (icdichicago.org), Sister Pat Murphy and Sister JoAnne Perch of the Sisters of Mercy have tirelessly worked with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Illinois legislature to bring pastoral services to detained immigrants. Their decades of tireless work have been featured in the documentary “Band of Sisters” as well as in countless articles.
Moderator: Rev. Larry Morkert
Sponsor: St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Student Center

Celebrating the Beloved Community: Imparting Values through Music
Presenter: Three Rivers Institute for Afrikan Art and Culture
Location: Center for the Arts, University Theatre
Description: A performance by the Three Rivers Institute for Afrikan Art and Culture from Fort Wayne, Ind. will be given in celebration of our all- inclusive, beloved community. The Three Rivers Institute will demonstrate through drumming how our common values can be shared with each other and, particularly, with the next generation.
Moderator: Rev. Mike Cobbler
Sponsors: Union Community Church of Valparaiso and the Valparaiso University Department of Theatre

Promoting Diversity in the Beloved Community
Presenters: Selected Valparaiso High School students, under the direction of Ryan Labis, Deb Shaffer, and Principal Reid Amones
Location: Harre Union, Brown and Gold Room B
Description: Members of Valparaiso High School’s STAND and/or Key Club will discuss their efforts to advocate inclusiveness, service, tolerance, and understanding within their particular educational environment.
Moderators: Ryan Labis and Deb Shaffer
Sponsor: Valparaiso Community Schools (Superintendent Michael J. Berta, Jr.)

Unlearning Violence: A Problematic Within the “Beloved” Community
Presenter: Professor Gregory Jones, Department of Theology and the Northwest Indiana African American Alliance
Location: Arts and Sciences Building, room 114
Description: This presentation will reveal a brief overview of the problem of violence and its acceptance within western society. Particular focus will be on everyday integration of violence as a social norm within the beloved community and the problematic of passive acceptance of violence as a universal social reality within the cultural community.
Sponsors: Valparaiso University Department of Theology and the Northwest Indiana African American Alliance

Building a Community: The Student Literary Magazine, the Stage, and Campus Dialogue
Presenter: Editor Gregory Maher, The Lighter
Location: Mueller Hall Commons
Description: This presentation intends to show how a literary magazine can serve through its platform of publishing and hosting events to raise forth voices, encourage dialogue, and establish community through the act of mutual creation of appreciation. It will cover the unique role of student literary magazines, open mic performances, and the difficult but worthy task of nourishing and spreading community through these forms.
Sponsor: The Lighter (the literary magazine of Valparaiso University)

Storytelling in the Beloved Community
Presenter: Sarah Carson, Integrated Marketing and Communications, Elizabeth Hunter, Beverly Price, Jacob Saenz, and Angela Narciso Torres
Location: Arts and Sciences Building, room 234
Description: This session will discuss the power artists, storytellers, and creative professionals have to influence discussions of race, diversity, and inclusion by presenting these stories in their work. Presenters include a documentary filmmaker, two poetry and fiction editors, and a journalist/children’s editor who all use their work to tell stories of underrepresented and often marginalized populations.

The Ummah: The Concept of Community in Islam
Presenter: Valparaiso University Muslim Students Association
Location: Christopher Center, room 205
Description: The Islamic tradition greatly stresses the importance of being an active member of society. The Muslim Students Association will give a short presentation on the concept of community in Islam. The well-being of the community is considered the personal responsibility of each Muslim. In this session, the importance of being involved and Muslims’ place in the community is the main focus. As Muslims become a larger part of the Valpo community and the broader American community, learning about the Islamic perspective on community will help eliminate some misconceptions about Islam as well as help us take steps forward to work together to nurture a welcoming, productive community.
Sponsor: Valparaiso University Muslim Students Association

The Star Activity
Presenters: Valpo students Kelsey Larson and Caprice Balleweg
Location: Mueller Hall Refectory
Description: Students will present an interactive play that brings the audience into the struggles and simple victories of those in the LGBTQ community. The objective is to educate and build a compassionate understanding of the problems facing the LGBTQ community.
Sponsor: Valparaiso University Alliance

Reaching the Next Level of Beloved Community: Eliminating Racial Microaggressions
Presenter: Director of Counseling Services Stewart Cooper with Office of Multicultural Programs student panelists
Location: Harre Union, Brown and Gold Room A
Description: Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color. This presentation will help participants learn to identify and avoid microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations. The program will also cover the underlying issues for why race talk is difficult with suggestions for embracing such dialogue.
Sponsor: Valparaiso University Counseling Services

On Barriers and Benefits: An Open Dialogue about Connection, Community, and Selfhood
Presenters: Gideon Litherland, Northwestern University graduate student, and Sara Vivens, Chicago School of Professional Psychology graduate student
Location: Mueller Hall, room 112
Description: In this interactive forum, presenters will review the dramatic influence an empowering community may have on an individual’s psychosocial well-being. The presenters will share personal experiences illustrating the impact of collective rejection, individual resilience, and the necessity for intentional community-building. An open forum will offer attendees the opportunity to begin to dialogue about their personal reactions to the material presented as well as begin to reconsider how Valpo “does” community.

95 Years as a Community of Service
Presenters: Diane Marten, Edie Eickemeyer, Diana Iltzsche, and Nicole Kass
Location: Center for the Arts, room 1412
Description: Valpo alums and LDA Deaconesses/ students will talk about how deaconesses have built and sustained a faith-based community. Panelists will share how being part of the deaconess community helps them serve their churches and communities. Panelists include LDA Director of Education/Formation Diane Marten ’72, volunteer Edie Eickemeyer ’67, Special Education Case Manager Diana Iltzsche ’77, and current psychology major/Native American studies minor Nicole Kass.
Sponsor: Lutheran Deaconess Association

We All Have a Dream: Poetry Reading by DJ, the Kingdom Poet
Presenter: Alumna Debbie Hollingsworth
Location: Center for the Arts, Brauer Museum of Art
Description: Debbie Hollingsworth, who goes by the name “DJ, the Kingdom Poet” for poetry events, will read a selection of her poems. She has read her poems previously in the Brauer Museum in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibition of paintings by Prophet Blackmon. Hollingsworth’s poems are largely autobiographical, emphasize Christian themes, and demonstrate a commitment to fairness and equality.
Sponsor: Valparaiso University’s Brauer Museum of Art