Building Bridges of Faith
Application Supplement
Rebecca Friedrichs
1. Growing up as a Unitarian Universalist, I was constantly exposed to interfaith
activities. Throughout middle school and high school, youth group on Sundays offered a
chance to learn about Krishna, the Buddha, and Jesus simultaneously. While sitting in
services, my neighbors may have been from a pagan, a Methodist, or a Jewish
background. These Sundays during my childhood instilled in me a deep respect for all
faiths, no matter how different they are from my own.
My first experience in a leadership role within an interfaith context came during
my junior year of high school. My senior youth group hosted a delegation of Northern
Irish youth, both Protestant and Catholic, and facilitated discussions between them. After
they had departed, we decided that “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland were an important
global issue of which American teens had little awareness. As a founding member of
“Youth Partners For Peace” I traveled with 5 other UU teens to Ballymena, Northern
Ireland, where for 10 days we engaged Catholic and Protestant youth in a dialogue about
growing up amidst religious and political turmoil. Upon our return we conducted several
educational sessions to help raise awareness about the conflict in Northern Ireland.
In 2001 I continued my work in interfaith dialogue when I was chosen to lead
discussions between Palestinian and Israeli youth at a Seeds of Peace meeting held at
Mount Holyoke College. This further exposed me to religious conflict on the world stage,
and I was again able to practice my facilitation skills.
I am currently the co-chair of the Mount Holyoke College Multifaith Council, an
interfaith group that meets once a week to discuss religious diversity issues. The
Multifaith Council is comprised of 3 representatives from each of the 9 active faith
groups on campus, as well as representatives who do not identify with an organized
religion. As co-chair I am responsible for leading and facilitating the discussions,
organizing interfaith activities with the Dean of Religious Life, and conducting campuswide interfaith services for students, faculty, and trustees. I love what I do with the
Multifaith Council; every week I am exposed to new perspectives on faith, religion,
tradition, and ritual in daily life.
2. My primary expectation of this program is to gain a greater understanding of
the Shinto and Buddhist faiths by experiencing them in an environment in which they are
practiced. Further, I expect to learn more about the Jewish faith as well, because my
education will not end upon our return to the United States. I expect to foster interfaith
relationships that will last past the end of the program, and the trip to Japan will
challenge me to test my established comfort zone. These will all be skills that I will rely
on as I continue my education in graduate school and my entrance into the workplace,
which I hope to be in an interfaith environment. I expect that through this program I will
learn not only about the faiths as separate entities, but experience how they relate to one
another, and how dialogue is conducted within a group of such diversity.
3. I am pursuing a career in international mediation and peace studies with a focus
on faith’s role on the world stage, and this program will be a crucial stepping-stone in my
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education. I believe that one critical step toward peacemaking is gaining personal
knowledge of those whom we consider “other,” and for that reason I intend to develop a
public presentation about the program and my experiences when I return. I envision
presenting my experiences to the diverse body of my church, a membership that already
boasts a multitude of faiths and beliefs. Their diversity will challenge me to truly reflect
on what I have learned and to develop a comprehensive presentation of my experience
that will appeal to all, no matter what their faith background. Further, I intend to return to
Mount Holyoke College to discuss my experiences with the Multifaith Council and other
members of the college community, in an effort not only to educate but also to encourage
others to participate in similar programs. Although I am graduating in May, I believe that
I have a responsibility to follow through with my interfaith experience and to give
something back to those who have aided me in my education. In addition to returning to
“where I came from,” I will also look ahead, and this opportunity will be essential to my
experience in graduate school, as well as in the workplace. I plan to continue working
with people of different faiths in a mediation or conflict-resolution context, and this
program will help me to develop interfaith relationships and to expand my experience of
international relations within the realm of religious dialogue.
4. Rev. Andrea Ayvazian, Dean of Religious Life and Protestant Chaplain
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA 01075
(001)(413) 538-2791
aayvazia@mtholyoke.edu
Rev. Erik Walker Wikstrom, Minister of the First Universalist Church
97 Main St. Yarmouth, ME 04096
(001)(207) 846-4148
YarmouthUU@aol.com
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