Laughter and quiet conversations filled the newly renamed Center for Spiritual Life and Interfaith Engagement as guests settled in for the Grand Opening. Formerly known as the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, the center’s new name reflects a broader mission.
At the Grand Opening on Oct. 30, Dean Harold Briscoe said, “The new name conveys our mission to foster dialogue, understanding, and collaboration across diverse faith and belief systems. We want to create a campus environment where students, faculty, and staff can explore their spirituality and have the courage to engage across differences, doing that through dialogue and doing it with curiosity and respect.”
The renovated space features the Interfaith Study Lounge, Peace Café, and Muslim Life prayer space, offering students environments to reflect and connect.
Emphasizing the importance of connection, Briscoe referred to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s metaphor of a “single garment of destiny.” He added, “The wellbeing of each of us is tied up in all of us.”
Throughout his remarks, Dean Briscoe highlighted the many individuals who made the center’s transformation possible, including leaders of Muslim Student Union and Jewish life, as well as Carmen, who has served the college for 22 years; the Islamic Center of Orlando, Sean Garby, The First Congregational Church, Deb, and artist Delia Miller.
Delia Miller’s artwork is featured prominently in the new space. Her five portraits depict religious leaders who worked for peace and justice in the 20th century. Briscoe said they “invite reflection. They are companions, mentors, and provocateurs.”
“May we echo the intensity and fierceness of Malcolm X,” Briscoe said. “May we be people who put our faith and belief into action like Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. May we embrace the same resilience as Gandhi. May we be a community like Fannie Lou Hamer, who refused to let weariness dull her moral vision. May we be a community that lifts our voices on behalf of the vulnerable, like Saint Oscar Romero.”
For Miller, the project was both personal and inspirational. “It was cool to learn about the figures and have them inspire me personally,” she said. “I hope that the paintings do that for you.”
“Art is spiritual structure,” Briscoe reflected. He ended with “my hope, my prayer for this space as long as I am dean here, is that we would create a space where students can inhabitant each other’s stories.”
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