The Larson endowment for Ecumenical Studies was established by Monsignor James Doyle in honor of Pat and Dale Larson of Brookings. The purpose of the endowment is to establish an ongoing inter-religious discussion and engagement on campus. The committee in charge of working out the details is composed of Murray Haar, chair, Richard Swanson, Ann Pederson, and Campus Pastor Paul Rohde.

Our first event will be an all-campus convocation at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, in the Chapel of Reconciliation. To prepare for the event, we asked three faculty members to write short essays on the topic: Facing the Stranger: Engaging Other Religious Traditions.

The three faculty are Peg Preston of the History Department, Stephen Minister from Philosophy, and Mary Isaacson from Nursing.

Attend the Convocation on "Facing the Stranger — Engaging Other Religious Traditions," to be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, in the Chapel of Reconciliation at Augustana.

Please take time to read the below essays and come to discuss the problems inherent in facing the stranger’s religious tradition on Tuesday, Oct. 30.

• Something about Mary: Whose Lady is Our Lady? by Peg Preston, Associate Professor and Chair of the History Department
• Living Together in a Haunted House, by Stephen Minister, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
• Being then Doing, by Mary Isaacson, RN, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Nursing