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Tsubaki Grand Shrine Travel Scholarship Recipient
December 3, 2009 Meadville Lombard Theological School is very pleased to announce the recipient of the Tsubaki Grand Shrine Travel Scholarship 2009-2010. Congratulations to our recipient, Scott Rudolph. Scott is a third-year student currently interning at E. Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue, WA where Rev. Dr. Peter J. Luton is his internship supervisor.
The Scholarship is designed to foster international and interfaith engagement and will provide Scott's expenses in August for travel for up to three weeks residence. For more information about the scholarship see the details and application here.
Tsubaki Grand Shrine (TGS) is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan, dating back to the first century BCE. The long-standing relationship between Meadville Lombard and TGS has its roots within the International Association for Religious Freedom. See the initial announcement of the scholarship here.
An excerpt from Scott's winning proposal:
I hope to enhance my own understanding of the Shinto tradition, as well as to contribute my own voice into the larger conversation of inter-religious dialogue... I am intrigued to explore further the naturalistic basis of the religion and how it compares to religious naturalism and the earth-centered spirituality groups found within Unitarian Universalism... I would like to explore how the emphasis on nature uniforms the daily lives and environmental ethics of the followers of shintosim... to better understand the concentration upon practice and actions in Shintoism rather than spoken word and what this might have to offer Unitarian Universalism, which currently seems to be calling out for more liturgical elements and ritual. |
