Girls Promoting Acceptance
Girls Promoting Acceptance is an interfaith club founded by Brooke Buckett '13 and Alexia Williams '13. The mission of this club is to broaden student awareness and understanding of different religions and to promote acceptance. On Wednesday, January 25 the club sponsored an assembly for the Upper School student body that showcased a panel of four women represtenting four different religions.
BUDDHISM: Nancy Hedgpeth was born and raised Protestant Christian and has been a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn since 1979 and received inka in July 1994. She has held many positions at various Zen centers and has done long meditative retreats in the U.S. and Korea.
ISLAM: Dr. Wendy Manchester Ibrahim was born and raised in the United States as Episcopalian. In college she travelled to Cairo, Egypt for her studies and spent over a year studying Islam. She later converted to Islam and moved to Cairo with her family, and returned in 2011 after the beginning of the Revolution. Wendy has her PhD in natural health, nutrition and lifestyles. She is currently working as an Independent Arbonne Consultant.
JUDAISM: Rabbi Sarah Mack was born into Judaism. She has served Temple Beth-El since 2003, upon her ordination from the New York campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Rabbi Mack also spent a year studying at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. She graduated from Brandeis University in 1996 with degrees in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and English. A native of Seattle, Washington, Rabbi Mack served pulpits in Juneau, Alaska; Bainbridge Island; Washington; and New York City as a student before coming to Temple Beth-El.
HINDUISM: Anshika Jain was born and raised in India as Hindu. She came to the United States in 1999 and has lived here ever since. She continues to practice her faith, and works with the Vendanta Society of Providence.
The club members developed questions and posed them to the panel giving each speaker an oppourtinty to respond and inform the audience about their religion. We learned that all four religions expect mindfulness and intentional practice. We also learned that the differences teach us how to respect each other.
