On Monday, Oct. 25, Hendricks Chapel will celebrate the formal installation of its sixth dean, the Rev. Tiffany Steinwert. The ceremony will take place in the chapel at 3 p.m. Members of the Syracuse University and greater Syracuse communities are welcome to attend.
Steinwert joined the Syracuse community last spring, and began her work at Hendricks on March 1. Since her arrival, she has quickly become acquainted with the community and enjoys working to share interfaith understanding, service and the traditions of Hendricks Chapel.
“Placed intentionally by Chancellor Flint at the geographical center of the emerging campus, Hendricks Chapel has always been the intellectual, moral and ethical heart of the University,” says Steinwert. “My presence here today is the result of a journey begun more than 80 years ago by a community of people who, throughout the generations, forged a path for interreligious understanding, critical reflection, community engagement and contextual education in the face of an uncertain world. I consider it a great honor to be able to carry that tradition into the future.”
An ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, Steinwert succeeds former dean Thomas V. Wolfe, now senior vice president and dean of SU’s Division of Student Affairs. Wolfe served as dean of the chapel from 1999-2008.
Steinwert is the first female dean in the chapel’s 80-year history.
“Dean Steinwert brings a great love for people and a sensitivity to issues of justice,” says Wolfe. “She has begun making deep and sustaining relationships both on and off campus and will lead the chapel well as it continues to embrace the future.”
Before coming to Syracuse, Steinwert served as a teaching fellow at Boston and Harvard universities, and lectured and led courses on various topics, including moral leadership, community organizing, and practical theology. A graduate of Williams College and Boston University, Steinwert holds degrees in psychology, women’s studies, divinity, and practical theology.
Most recently, she served both as senior pastor of Cambridge Welcoming Ministries in Massachusetts, and as an interreligious consultant, where she worked closely with different faith groups to foster dialogue and build understanding. Steinwert has worked in rural Nicaragua and has extensive experience engaging communities of faith in projects that address issues such as urban renewal, global poverty, racism and discrimination against LGBT persons.
A special luncheon and roundtable discussion, “Sacred Envy,” will take place from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26 at the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life, 102 Walnut Place. This roundtable conversation among Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Pagan teachers will encourage participants to explore what they enjoy most (and least) about their own communities and also what they see as deeply beautiful (and deeply challenging) in others.
Reservations for the roundtable conversation are required and may be made by calling Hendricks Chapel at 315-443-2902 by Friday, Oct. 22.
For more information on the installation events, contact Hendricks Chapel at 315-443-2902 or e-mail eacronk@syr.edu.