The AU community gathered at the weekly “Thank Clawed It’s Wednesday” event on Oct. 22 on the quad to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Kay Spiritual Life Center, one of the oldest interfaith centers in higher education in the U.S.
The festivities focused on what Kay means to the University community today and reflect a period of time when interfaith communities on college campuses were just beginning to develop. The event celebrated the center’s lasting role as a gathering place for unity and belonging with music, cupcakes and reflections from current students and faculty.
Julia Lisco, a first-year master’s student and graduate assistant, said she finds meaningful rewards in her experience working with Kay’s programs and students. With a background in church work and interfaith service, she said she was drawn to the center’s welcoming environment when she began at American.
“The atmosphere in the Kay Spiritual Life Center is really welcoming, inclusive, energetic and exciting,” Lisco said. “It’s uniquely optimistic in a way that’s refreshing right now, with everything happening around us on campus and in politics.”
Kay hosts a wide range of programs focused on interfaith engagement across campus, including events such as community discussions, shared meals, student retreats and weekly services. The center offers opportunities for students to participate in spiritual life in various group and individual settings.
Lisco said her graduate assistant position has helped her connect to the University’s community, discover new opportunities and feel part of campus in ways that can be more challenging for graduate students. She said that the programs and events at the University, including those at Kay, help connect all students.
“Working here on campus and helping with events, especially forward-facing student events every week, has really thrown me into the community and made me feel more involved and knowledgeable than I would have otherwise,” Lisco said.
The sense of community exists among students as well as through programs led by volunteers and staff, including interfaith gatherings and shared practices that bring together members of the AU community.
Barbara Kraft, a community volunteer for the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist community, said she meets regularly with students to reflect on how Buddhist teachings can apply to their daily lives. She said the center’s environment is restorative and welcoming, acting as a peaceful place where people can find each other and encouragement.
“I feel like the whole center itself is like a community of communities,” Kraft said. “I think it just continues to develop along the lines of that theme. It becomes more and more of a meaningful place, more and more of a community that’s inclusive and actually reaches out.”
Students who attend often describe the group as a “safe place,” where they can speak openly. Kraft said students can participate in chantings regardless of background or familiarity with Buddhism, and are welcome to share their experiences during the meetings.
The Kay Spiritual Life Center hosts programs that allow students to engage with their beliefs alongside others from different traditions. The center incorporates established religious practices and student-led initiatives, providing opportunities for personal and communal reflection.
Chaplain Eric Doolittle, who was raised in East Tennessee and first learned about Kay while studying at Wesley Theological Seminary, now leads the center’s interfaith mission. As the University’s chaplain, he said he works to create an environment where students have the freedom to explore spirituality and purpose in ways that feel authentic to them, regardless of their background or beliefs.
“I love the model that brings people together intentionally across different spectrums of beliefs and faiths and lets them have a space where they feel comfortable, but also intersect and communicate across,” Doolittle said. “I love that we have both the individual spaces and spaces for everyone to come together.”
Doolittle said his role revolves around supporting an open and welcoming environment where students of all faiths, or none, can feel the same sense of belonging that Kay was founded on six decades ago. He said he hopes that the center continues to be a space where all people can come together to connect through shared conversations and reflection.
“For me, as a Christian who takes seriously the command to love my neighbor, being able to create a space like that and be part of it really embodies who Kay is, who American University is, and how I want to participate,” Doolittle said.
This article was edited by Payton Anderson, Abigail Hatting and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Avery Grossman, Audrey Smith and Ava Stuzin.
