Better Together Week

Better Together Week 2019 #BetterTogetherMU

This is an archived page showing a past year's program. See this year's program.


Miami supports Better Together Days, an annual event organized on colleges and universities across the U.S., headed by the national nonprofit organization Interfaith Youth Core. Students come together to learn about faith and meaning-making traditions other than their own, to identify common values, and to collaborate on community service projects.

Here at Miami, we will celebrate Better Together Week on March 10-15.

Schedule of Events - 2019

Sunday, March 10

12:00 noon, 101 Benton Hall
Undivided, with Chuck Mingo

Undivided is a program developed by Crossroads church that organizes small-group discussions among people of different races, ethnicities, backgrounds, and demographics.

Sponsor: Crossroads Oxford

Monday, March 11

12:00-2:00 p.m., Interfaith Center (16 S. Campus Ave.)
Panel for Hope

The Interfaith Dialogue on Civic Engagement & Social Justice will include a few local people whose religious, spiritual, or secular faith influences their civic engagement and social justice efforts. The panelists will share their personal experiences about how their beliefs inform their activism or social justice in the United States and around the world. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn from different religious/secular perspectives and how local leaders conceptualize civic engagement and social justice.

Open to the public. Food will be served.

Sponsors: Ph.D. students in the Department of Educational Leadership; Mindfulness & Contemplative Inquiry Center

4:00-5:30 p.m., Interfaith Center (16 S. Campus Ave.)
A Mosaic View: Faiths among the Asian/Asian American Community

Join us to learn more about, and discuss, diverse Asian/Asian American religious and secular practices.

Sponsors: Asian and Asian-American Faculty & Staff Association (AAA-FSA); Mindfulness and Contemplative Inquiry Center

7:30 p.m., Hall Auditorium
Chew on Life's Big Questions, with Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson is a three-time Emmy nominee who starred in the long-running NBC series The Office. In 2008, Rainn and two friends created SoulPancake, to establish a space where people from all walks of life could discuss and question what it means to be human and wrestle with the spiritual, philosophical, and creative journey that is life.

IMPORTANT! A free ticket is required for admission to this event. Ticket distribution for the Miami community will occur on Wednesday, March 6, beginning at 8:00 am at the Campus Services Center Office (formerly HOME Office), 34 CAB. Individuals will be limited to one ticket each for this lecture.

Sponsor: Miami University Lecture Series

7:30 p.m., 297 Upham Hall
A Conversation: The Orthodox Church in the News

With Dr. Scott Kenworthy from the Department of Comparative Religion. Refreshments will be provided.

Sponsor: Comparative Religion Student Association

Tuesday, March 12

12:00-1:30 p.m., 128 McGuffey Hall
Sharing the Symbols that Define Us

For students, staff, faculty, and community members. Bring a ritual object or a symbol that holds sacred meaning to you or to a friend. This may be related to your religious, spiritual, or secular perspectives. Be ready to engage in critically informed, in-depth discussion of the meaning we make from ritual symbols that reflect our beliefs. There will be refreshments!

Sponsor: Mindfulness and Contemplative Inquiry Center

7:00-8:00 p.m., 053 Shideler Hall
Theologies of Religions

What does Christian theology have to say about other religions? Several perspectives will be presented, followed by discussion. There will be catering.

Sponsor: Progressive Christian Students

Wednesday, March 13

4:30 p.m., Dolibois Room, Shriver Center
Speaking to the Enemy: The Making of the "Caliphate" Podcast, with Rukmini Callimachi

Rukmini Callimachi, ISIS expert and reporter for the New York Times, takes you behind the scenes of her popular podcast series, "Caliphate," revealing how she built her revolutionary approach by speaking to those we consider to be the embodiment of evil.

Sponsors: Department of Comparative Religion; Middle East and Islamic Studies; Global and Intercultural Studies; Media, Journalism, and Film

Thursday, March 14

5:00-7:00 p.m., Marcum Conference Center
Deliberate Dining

Join us for delicious Mediterranean food and table discussions about topics related to identity and interfaith and social justice. Kosher and halal food will be available.

Sponsor: Hillel at Miami University

6:30-8:00 p.m., Interfaith Center (16 S. Campus Ave.)
"Heartbeat of Humanity" Interfaith Drum Circle

Free food, drinks, and drums provided!

Sponsor: Oxford Interfaith Center

Monday, March 18

11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., 128 McGuffey Hall (registration required)
Navigating Faith at the Intersections of Identity

IMPORTANT! Space for this event is limited; registration is required.

Guest facilitators Leah Vernon and Michael Vasquez will host a dialogue exercise to help participants explore the following complicated questions:

  • Ever feel like you have to leave parts of yourself at the door when you walk into a religious or faith space?
  • Or that you have to put your spiritual life on a shelf in other non-religious spaces?

Sponsors: Mindfulness & Contemplative Inquiry Center; Mystic Soul Cincinnati