The 3rd annual Tale-o-Bration was held on Tuesday in the Welles-Brown Room of the Rush Rhees Library.
Sponsored by the Religious Roundtable and led by seniors Karen Taylor and Jennifer Gertman, Interfaith Interns and moderators of the Roundtable, Tale-o-Bration is a series of tales told by students representing a variety of faith traditions.
The event was established in the spring of 2002 to replace the Roundtable’s Question-and-Answer sessions.
“Tale-o-Bration was an idea we could take to the entire campus,” Taylor said. “We wanted to create a casual atmosphere where students who were not members of the Roundtable would feel comfortable sharing their faith as well.”
Roundtable members who spoke on Tuesday night represented many different religions, including Baha’ism, Judaism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Protestantism, Paganism and Mormonism. Students shared fables, personal experiences, family stories and traditional religious parables.
Senior Liz Fowler, who represented the Pagan faith, gave a historical account of Samhain, an important Pagan holiday more commonly known as Halloween.
Junior Jen Zogg, on the other hand, read a short story she wrote to subtly convey what she found to be the most important elements of Protestantism.
Other themes ranged from the Baha’ spirit of love to Buddhist clarity of mind to Catholic reverence of saints as examples rather than as idols.
Throughout the evening, 30 or so community members showed up for the event, enjoying dessert, coffee and a culturally and religiously broadening experience.
“It gave me more information about other faiths and their beliefs,” freshman Shellie Chlarson said. “It’s important to realize that we all have faith. It gives us common ground – our beliefs, our faith, our spirituality.”
Chepovetsky can be reached at mchepove@campustimes.org.
