Has it already been a year since I got here? Unbelievable. And yet, in many amazing ways, it seems like I have been here so much longer. Over the course of this year I have learned to never underestimate the drive of Hopkins students. All of the behind the scenes work required to put on the following events provide a view into the dedication to service and learning that is an integral characteristic of all of the religious groups at Hopkins. Here are just a few things that happened this semester that are worth noting:

• Open Your Eyes was, once again, a fantastic event. The food was delicious and the presentation, "Concepts of G-d", offered by the Jewish Students Association and the Hindu Student Council was thoughtful, informative and interesting. This semester, Open Your Eyes was the kick-off event for Open Hands Open Hearts.
• Open Hands Open Hearts was also a success in its second year. Our 10 days of religious diversity awareness programming included events that ran the gamut from a discussion about non-violence, a lunch and conversation about inter-religious family life to a game show featuring campus ministers as contestants. Throughout OH OH we shared meals, prayers, study, community service and karaoke.
• Our community service projects continued as well. Once a month a group of students went to the Ronald McDonald House to lead the evening’s activity with the families that are living there - usually a rowdy game of BINGO complete with prizes and lots of junk food. Sandwich Sundays, our other monthly community service project, produced nearly 400 lunches for the recipients of the services of Sisters Together And Reaching - STAR - a community based non-profit organization that provides counseling and support services to people living with HIV disease in Baltimore.
• A contingent from Campus Ministries went to Loyola College one evening to hear a lecture presented by Dr. Diana Eck, a professor of comparative religion at Harvard and the director of the Pluralism Project. We were delighted that she added a few minutes into her schedule the following morning to visit the Interfaith Center. You can learn more about the Pluralism Project by going to their link on our web site.
• Which leads me to tell you that you must check out our "new" web site. Thanks to Yair Flicker, our webmaster, we have a great looking, easy to navigate site loaded with pictures and information about JHU Campus Ministries. With a few clicks of the mouse you can download the Open Your Eyes presentations, view a slide show of Celestial Jeopardy, get descriptions and dates of religious holidays for the next several years and find out Sharon’s famous chili recipe.
• Finally, I have to say that my first year here at JHU Campus Ministries has been greatly enriched by Rabbi Katz. His sense of compassion and sense of humor have been gifts to me as I get to know this place and this work. Thank-you Rabbi! Ð