Under the portico outside Sargent Hall Dec. 5, the Rev. Amy Fisher, Suffolk University’s chaplain, spoke to dozens gathered to celebrate the 25th annual Festival of Lights presented by the Interfaith Center.
“At this time of year as many religions celebrate the joy and harmony of light over darkness, may we as the Suffolk University community strive towards peace over strife, love over hate, and hope over despair,” said Fisher. “Let there be joy!”
Since she arrived at Suffolk in the fall of 1999, Fisher has directed the Interfaith Center with the mission to bring students of all religious, spiritual and secular identities together for meaningful connections on campus. As the only Interfaith Center at any college in the Boston area, Suffolk’s is a unique space where people are encouraged to ask questions and interact with belief systems outside their own.
Over the years, the center has cultivated an inclusive space where students can feel comfortable to embrace faith — or lack thereof. Weekly meetings include discussions of religious texts and philosophical inquiry; students can alternatively attend a guided meditation or yoga class to take a break from their usual schedule.
The Interfaith Center’s role as a safe and sacred place has remained throughout its 25 years, providing support for students in response to major world and life events that can be difficult to navigate.
“What doesn’t change is offering a place for everybody to feel like they belong,” said Fisher.
Asma Akbar, a senior politics, philosophy and economics major, has worked for the Interfaith Center since her freshman year. She became the center’s inaugural Interfaith Scholar in 2023, helping organize panels and provide support for students on campus.
For Akbar, the ability to be a peer resource for students undergoing life’s challenges has helped fulfill her during her time at Suffolk.
“I think it’s so rewarding to have worked at a place that is there to make students feel seen and included — no matter what background you’re from, all coexisting,” said Akbar.
Fisher, along with assistant chaplains from Harvard Divinity School and student leaders, aim to accommodate the needs for a person of any faith or background. Religion is an often overlooked aspect of diversity, Fisher said, and the Interfaith Center works to further how diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Suffolk incorporate religion.
“Higher education owes it to its students to treat that aspect of their diversity with as much respect and thoughtfulness as any other,” said Fisher.
Through the Interfaith Center, students can find local places of worship and assistance obtaining religious accommodations for campus housing and dining.
The philosophy department also offers a religious studies minor for which Fisher teaches introductory classes on world religions. Many students begin the class without having ever stepped foot in the Interfaith Center and become regular attendants by the end of the semester, Fisher said.
The nature of the center’s homey atmosphere and physical proximity to other key Suffolk offices like the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion and Orientation, New Student and Family Programs make it a hub of activity, according to Akbar. She attributed the welcoming environment to the rise in student engagement.
“It is so refreshing to see new faces become regular people who come together during not only their favorite event but to others,” said Akbar.
Each year since its conception, the Festival of Lights has embodied the center’s doctrine of mutual respect by commemorating the many religious and cultural observances that occur in the final days of the year.
At the silver anniversary of the event, representatives from half a dozen Interfaith Center groups — the Muslim Student Association, Suffolk Hillel, Questioning Catholics, Christian Bible Study, Mystics and Witches and Atheists, Humanists, Agnotists & Anti-Theists — spoke about the significance of their respective holidays or observances.
Following a greeting by Fisher, Muslim Student Association Vice President Nazma Khalifa read a verse from the Quran, Surah An-Nur (24:35).
Emilee Anderson, the Interfaith Center’s graduate administrative assistant, introduced the Christian month of Advent, which begins the Christian calendar year. The month started Dec. 1 and is celebrated on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. Fisher read Matthew 24:36-44 for the holiday.
Nicole Kaufman, Suffolk Hillel’s social media coordinator, told the story of Hanukkah, which begins at sundown Dec. 25 and lasts eight days. Each night a candle on the menorah, or hanukkiah, is lit in honor of the eight days the oil lasted at the rededicated Temple in Jerusalem.
Lucy Olbrys of the Mystics and Witches spoke about the Winter Solstice, Dec. 21, which marks the start of the new solar year and has been celebrated across the world for millennia. In Pagan traditions, the Yule log lit on the solstice welcomes rebirth and light.
Winter break serves as a time to embrace the joy of connecting with loved ones and observe the secular elements of major holidays.
Ramblers Chamber Choir performed a selection of seasonal songs throughout the festival, including “Carol of the Bells,” “Hanukkah!” and “Winter Wonderland.” Olbrys also performed “Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G major.”
Attendants were asked to “share their light” with the community by placing candles on a table beside a holiday that was special to them.
Engagement with the Interfaith Center continues to grow each year as programming expands, Fisher said. Last year, around 700 students attended at least one of the center’s events, and this year is already expected to surpass that number.
Akbar said she hopes the center will continue to foster students’ sense of belonging.
“It really makes me glad to know that I am part of a place that makes people feel like they have a place in the Suffolk community,” said Akbar.
