PHOTO: 32nd Annual All Faith Service

Friday, February 21, 2025 TOPICS: Faith, University News

The University of San Diego (USD) hosted its 32nd Annual All Faith Service in the KIPJ Theatre on February 13. A cherished campus tradition that strengthens with every passing year, the event brought together a diverse array of faith traditions and beliefs.

“Caring For Our Common Home” was the theme of this year’s All Faith Service, which celebrates the wonderful diversity of students, religious leaders, faculty, staff and community members. Several faith traditions, including Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Indigenous faith were involved in the service.

‘Laudato Si', or Care For Our Common Home, is Pope Francis’ encyclical, which was promulgated June 18, 2015, and has provided both a motivation and a framework for Catholic universities implementing sustainability projects.

“Each of us on some level seeks a place to call home,” said USD student Grant Sobek, who opened the service. “We yearn to feel welcomed, accepted and recognized. To create these spaces, it’s essential that we not only embrace the beauty of our own traditions, but also the beauty and uniqueness of the traditions of others. The theme for today’s service, Caring for Our Common Home, speaks to this very idea. It’s a reflection on the invisible thread that connects every religious tradition, urging us to honor and care for the precious world which we’ve been given.”

The USD Gospel Choir, directed by Ken Anderson, sing "Love Song to the Earth" by Paul McCartney during the closing of the 32nd annual All Faith Service. The choir lead the packed theatre in the song's refrain, "Keep it safe, yeah, yeah, 'cause it's our world."

A candle, one of several to represent the varied faith traditions, is carefully placed upon an alter space near the stage at the beginning of the service.

Claudia Rodríguez-Biezunski recites an indigenous prayer during the service. The prayer gives thanks to the many miracles of life. "Today, I'm willing and open to receive an abudance of love, happines and blessings," recited Rodríguez-Biezunski.

The Natesha Dance Team performs a traditional Hindu dance composition on Lord Shiva, written by Swami Dayananda Saraswait. The dance was choreographed by Suman Nayak. Devotees pray to Lord Shiva to protect all mankind, to grant freedom from bondage and establish Dharma, or moral order in this world.

The colorful movements of three members of the Natesha Dance Team are captured in a long-exposure photograph during a traditional Hindu dance composition on Lord Shiva, written by Swami Dayananda Saraswait and choreographed by Suman Nayak.