We arrived at QofA to a warm welcome from their students and teachers. Shortly thereafter, the students broke into "tribes" and participated in a series of activities, conversations, and programs. Davis students had prepared "Jewish Passports" that contained a series of entries meant for sparking conversation and QofA students presented Articles of Faith. We sang songs from our respective faith traditions, visited their beautiful church, decorated rocks with the names of Holocaust victims for their daffodil garden and had an interfaith prayer service.
The following day we had a chance to debrief the experience with our students. Hearing them reflect on what they learned about Catholicism, Judaism, interfaith dialogue, and even their own identities was very moving. Below are two written reflections shared with my by Missy Stein, our 6th grade language arts teacher.
From Sarah Terapane's Jewish Passport project:
My favorite spiritual place is The Davis Academy. I feel most connected to God here because when I am here it is always easy to incorporate religion into everyday life. Also, being Jewish is celebrated here, and you are not an outsider because of your religion. I believe that it is important to have a safe place where everyone is proud to be Jewish, and Davis is one of those places. I feel truly blessed that I go to such an amazing school where not only do I get a great education, I get closer and closer to God every day.
From Jackson Crim:
My favorite spiritual place is the outdoor sanctuary at the Lower School. This is my favorite spiritual place because I feel really close to nature there. Also in the sanctuary, there is a place that has seats and it is meant for singing prayers in that spot. I think that it is positioned perfectly because it is surrounded by all of the animals in the sanctuary. The outdoor sanctuary is my favorite spiritual place because it is surrounded by animals.
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