Grand Opening Celebration

On October 21, 2023, during Emory University's Homecoming and Family Weekend, the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (OSRL) proudly celebrated the grand opening of the Emory Interfaith Center at 1707 North Decatur Road. The celebration marked a historic milestone in Emory's commitment to religious and spiritual life, bringing together approximately 170 students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and community members to dedicate a space designed to foster worship, reflection, dialogue, learning, service, and belonging.

The opening ceremony featured remarks from Emory University President Gregory L. Fenves, Dean of Religious Life and University Chaplain Rev. Gregory W. McGonigle, Dean Emerita Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe, OSRL chaplains, and student spiritual leaders representing a wide range of religious and spiritual traditions. Speakers reflected on the decades-long vision for the center and its role in advancing interfaith understanding, compassion, peacebuilding, and social justice.

Throughout the celebration, chaplains and student leaders emphasized that the Emory Interfaith Center is more than a building—it is a welcoming home for Emory's diverse religious, spiritual, and philosophical communities. The center provides dedicated spaces for worship, meditation, study, gathering, and collaboration, including a student lounge, library, shrine room, prayer and lecture room, meditation room, and conference room. It also creates permanent sacred spaces for historically underrepresented communities, including Hindu, Jain, Sikh, and Buddhist traditions.

A particularly meaningful moment of the dedication ceremony included the blessing of the center with sacred soil that had been preserved for more than a decade after being blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama during one of his visits to Emory. The ceremonial spreading of the soil symbolized the university's commitment to interfaith friendship, shared humanity, and the interconnectedness of all people.

The grand opening celebrated not only the completion of a long-envisioned project but also the beginning of a new chapter for Emory University. Today, the Emory Interfaith Center stands as a vibrant gathering place where students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members come together to build relationships across religious and philosophical differences, cultivate understanding and compassion, and work collectively toward a more just and peaceful world.