Two faiths

Yom HaShoah is a time for reflection and remembering, but at Rockhurst University, it’s also a time for two different worlds to come together.

On Wednesday April 11, Rockhurst University will observe Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Bureau and the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.

“It’s an incredible opportunity we have to have two faiths come together,” Bill Kriege, assistant director of campus ministry said.  “It’s just amazing that we can do this because two generations ago our fathers would not have gotten together and collaborate in this way.”

Rockhurst is commemorating this event with a recitation of names, a lecture and a prayer service. The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. -2 p.m. at the pergola, near the University bell tower. Rockhurst students, faculty, staff and community members will read aloud the names of thousands of people murdered by the Nazi regime. The names of the 152 Jesuits killed by the Nazis will also be read.

From 9-9:50 a.m., in Sedgwick Hall, Room 104 , there will be a lecture entitled The Path to Genocide by Francis Glazer Sternberg, Ph.D., program associate at the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. Sternberg’s mother survived Auschwitz – Birkenau and father survived Gunskirchen.

The day will conclude with a prayer service including a reflection by Rabbi Allen Cohen, at 2:45 p.m. at the pergola. The Ayl Mahlay Rachamim by Rabbi Paul Silbersher, and music provided by a children’s choir from Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and the Rockhurst University Choir will be included in the conclusion.

The University hopes that this day of reflection will encourage prayerful contemplation and compassionate action on the relevance of the Holocaust in today’s society.

For more information about the event contact Bill Kriege in Campus Ministry at 816-501-4855 or bill.kriege@rockhurst.edu.