Everyone is Welcome at the Celebration of World Faiths

Come together for common cause and prayer for the greater good in the Fuller Dome on October 15th. This is a celebration among diverse faith traditions who are coming together in the miniature earth dome on the Southern Illinois University Campus to pray together and bridges of unity rather than walls of division. 

 

Guided Meditation in the Fuller Dome

An offering from the hearts of Pati Pellerito, Dianna Lucas, James Ibur, and Ben Von Harz. Join us for an evening of guided movement, meditation, and deep sound healing with cosmic gongs, bells, bowls, guitar, hand pans, and drums. Beginning with a sacred circle and moving from gentle, primal movement into deeply relaxing yoga nidra, with guided breathwork, meditation, and layers of sound, you will be transported to deep rest and a dream state. Upon awakening we will respond with mandalas of color and line, journaling and open conversation. This multi-dimensional event is held in the sacred geometry of the Buckminster Fuller Dome on the SIU Edwardsville campus.

13th Annual Leadership Awards Dinner

Center for Spirituality and Sustainability Leadership Awards Dinner

Edwardsville, IL - The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability will be holding its 13th annual Leadership Awards Dinner on Saturday, April 30th, at 7:00 p.m. in the LeClaire Room on the N. O. Nelson Campus of Lewis and Clark Community College in Edwardsville. Each year the Center bestows two awards, one for Spiritual Leadership and one for Leadership in Sustainability. These dual awards reflect the Center’s mission to “promote humanity’s sacred connection to the Earth and each other.”

Thank you to our generous "lead sponsors" of the 13th Annual Leadership Awards Dinner, who along with the Center are invested in the betterment of our community, AAIC Architects, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Illinois and The Bank of Edwardsville. 

Check out the journey of our 2016 Sustainability Award Recipient Mannie Jackson:

Our 2016 Spirituality leadership Award Recipient is the SIUE Camous Kitchen Project:

2016 Center For Spirituality & Sustainability Awardees

Each year the Center For Spirituality & Sustainability presents two awards at it's annual dinner. One award is given for leadership in sustainability and the other is for leadership in spirituality. These awards are given to people or organizations whose work is aligned with the Center's mission to promote our sacred connection to the earth and each other. The 2016 sustainability awardee is Mannie Jackson. As owner of the Harlem Globetrotters he was the 1st African-American to own a major sports organization. Now as President of the Mannie Jackson Center for Humanities, Mr. Jackson is working to promote social understanding and acceptance among groups and individuals in our society. Mr. Jackson will be present to accept his award at the Center's awards dinner on Saturday, April 30th from 7-9 pm at the N. O. Nelson Campus, LeClaire Room in Edwardsville Illinois. The 2016 spirituality awardee is the SIUE Campus Kitchen Project. This charitable organization is being honored by the Center for their leadership in participating in a national network that recovers locally donated food to cook for and feed the hungry in our community. Please join us in honoring these two awardees whose efforts have strengthened the fabric of our society and generally promoted the greater good with-in our community.

The Girls Empowered by Math & Science visit the Fuller Dome

The Girls Empowered by Math and Science (G.E.M.S.) from Alton Middle School made a field trip to the Fuller Dome again this year. The G.E.M.S. were brought to the dome, by their sponsor from Alton Middle School, Ms. O'Connor. They stayed for a talk from Benjamin Lowder on the history of the dome and it's connection to the geodesic dome's patent holder and biggest proponent Buckminster Fuller. The dome is used as a real-world example to inspire the girls to see the power that math and science have for discovering engineering solutions that can bring social and environmental equity.

Fuller Dome Selfie Contest

Post a photo of yourself with the Fuller Dome at SIUE to Instagram with the tag #fullerdomesiue and the selfie with the most "likes" by noon of 3/30/16 WINS! The winner will be awarded a prize package being donated from SIUE campus and Edwardsville area businesses. 

FullerDome

2015 Celebration of World Faiths

EMBRACING OUR MUSLIM NEIGHBORS

The Fuller Dome, on the campus of Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, was the setting for an evening of sharing worldviews and perspectives on the Muslim faith as it is experienced in the United States today. A panel of Muslim-Americans along with moderator Steve Tamari and 2014 C.S.S. "Spiritual Leadership" award recipient Rev. Anne Clark came together to build bridges of understanding among people of different faith traditions. Listed below are a series of questions presented to our panelists during the 2015 C. W. F. Please join in on the discussion began in the dome and continued here in the comment section of this post. Thank you in advance for keep the dialogue elevated and respectful.

Due to time constraints here are a few questions that our panelist were unable to answer during the C. W. F. Our panel is being invited to answer these questions and continue the discussion in the comment section below.

  1. What are some points we should make in replying to friends who believe that Islam teaches the oppression of women?
  2. What causes extremism among some Muslims, and do such groups as the Taliban and Boko Haram consider themselves observant Muslims? How do they attempt to justify their violet acts?
  3. During the discussion, Karen Armstrong was mentioned as a theologian than has written much on Islam. What specific books of hers are recommended?
  4. What are the prevalent misunderstandings in the U. S. of Sharia Law, and how have they come about?
  5. Is there a concept similar to the "golden rule" found in the Koran?
  6. How do diverse Muslim populations in different countries, such as Afghanistan, Iran and the Arab Peninsula, differ in their or interpretations of the Koran?
  7. How does someone learn more about the Interfaith Partnership organizations mentioned by the panelists that were organized in response to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center? 

Answers and discussion of these questions can be made by referring to the question by it's number listed above.

Bucky Brought to Life

WARNING, tickets are selling fast for this 3/31/16 performance of "R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe" created and performed by the talented D. W. Jacobs.

This is the first time that this play will be performed in a dome actually designed by Buckminster Fuller himself. The play is brought to the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability dome on the SIUE campus by the university's Arts & Issues program and it is set to be a very special event as Jacobs plays the role of Bucky leading the audience on an autobiographical journey through his life. Fuller's own words are the content of this one man performance that creates an engaging narrative while illustrating the profound genius of Buckminster Fuller. ACT NOW - TICKETS ARE LIMITED FOR THIS IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE:

Tebe Zalango - From the Dome

A few of those in attendance for Tebe Zalango's performance were moved to tears by the content of his lyrics and the rich sound of his stringed instruments reverberating in the dome. Violinist, singer and poet Tebe Zalango gave a moving performance in the dome on 9/12/15. Tebe has been playing the violin since hearing Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons as a young child. Tebe was so moved by Vivaldi that he was inspired to begin learning to play the violin himself. Tebe credits his mother for exposing him to a broad range of music during his formative years which has helped to build his current expansive world view. Tebe's musical performance smoothly flows from the violin to poetic hip-hop to singing and acoustic guitar. Through all of Tebe's musical styles his lyrics revolve around around his central theme's of love, unity and elevated consciousness.