Cross-faith collaboration and service were at the center of Hamline University’s second roundtable of the semester, “Engaging and Learning Across Religious Differences,” held Thursday, March 19.
The event, organized by the Office of Inclusive Excellence, brought together faculty, staff and featured speakers Rabbi Esther Adler, associate chaplain of Jewish Life, and Leah Patton, executive director of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC), a multi-faith advocacy group focused on anti-poverty and social justice policies at the Minnesota State Capitol.
Patton opened the discussion by describing the coalition’s work uniting Catholic, Protestant and Jewish communities to support vulnerable populations. She highlighted initiatives addressing housing and homelessness, childcare and family support programs, including the Sacred Settlements Bill, which allows faith communities to host tiny homes on their property for chronically unhoused individuals.
Patton also shared her personal journey, explaining how studying abroad in Ireland during her masters program shaped her approach to advocacy. While there, she witnessed a national referendum on abortion that underscored how deeply people’s values influence their views on policy.
“Hearing how people’s lives were directly impacted by laws made me realize that valuing human life can lead to very different conclusions,” Patton said.
She emphasized that collaboration across faith goes beyond simply agreeing on policy and is rooted in shared values and hands-on experience.
“There is so much common ground that can be found, pretty much in any faith tradition…it’s refreshing to see how that can manifest in meaningful impactful work,” Patton said.
Building on the theme of common ground, Adler shared personal stories about navigating differences and connecting across faith. She described her journey from a music major to becoming a rabbi, including a gap-year in Israel and mentorship from a pioneering woman rabbi that guided her vocation path.
At Mount Zion Temple in Saint Paul, where Adler has served for more than 25 years, she finds joy in the variety of her work, which includes teaching, pastoral care, advocacy and interfaith engagement.
She recounted mentoring a student from a small northern Minnesota town who initially posted something offensive without understanding why it was hurtful. Adler met with him several times. Years later, after graduating Hamline University, he reached out to say her guidance had changed his life and that he was now pursuing a career in immigration law.
“He wants to support the people who he was ready to just throw away, so that was my success story,” Adler said.
Adler also described her work with multi-faith students and colleagues, bringing together Muslims, Christians, Jews and non-religious students to explore social justice and personal values. She acknowledged that these conversations can be challenging, especially when opinions clash.
“We have to continue to learn together and respect each other," Adler said. “Find a way to be together, live together, be in community even though we are on absolute opposite sides of one issue.”
Through these experiences, Adler said she has learned as much as she has taught, confronting her own assumptions along the way.
“It opened my mind to what people, through no fault of their own, inherit from their culture,” she said. She emphasized that working toward shared goals strengthens understanding and fosters genuine collaboration.
The roundtable concluded with participants breaking into smaller tables to share their experiences and insights across religious differences.
Adler acknowledged that discussion about faith can be difficult to bring up in the classroom and encouraged everyone to continue these conversations in supportive spaces, including the Wesley Center.