Interfaith Chapel Celebrates its 40th Anniversary with Panel Discussion

TIME, DATE, PLACE: 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16 at in the sanctuary of the University of Rochester's Interfaith Chapel (500 Wilson Boulevard).

WHAT: In celebration of the Interfaith Chapel's 40th anniversary, a panel discussion will explore the connection between the mind, body, and spirit. Panel members come from a diverse range of disciplines including religion, medicine, education, and nursing. Panelists will comment on the historical context of faith and healing while share anecdotes from their professional experiences and research they have conducted on the subject.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS: The following professors will be participating in the panel discussion:

Mary-Therese Bahar Dombeck '78N (MS), '84 (MS), '89 (PHD) is a professor at the School of Nursing, where she teaches courses in epistemology, psychotherapy, and cultural sensitivity. She has developed and taught a course titled Religious and Spiritual Issues in Health Care. She practices pastoral counseling, psychotherapy and spiritual direction at the Pastoral Counseling and Family Therapy Group in Rochester.

Douglas Guiffrida is an associate professor of counseling and human development in the Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development. He is a nationally certified counselor and licensed mental health counselor. He teaches mindfulness to counselors and educators as a means of improving their effectiveness with clients and students. He also teaches mind/body approaches to healing as part of a graduate course titled Religion, Spirituality, and Healing in Counseling.

Anne Merideth is an assistant professor of religion in Arts, Sciences and Engineering, where she teaches the history and literature of ancient Judaism and Christianity and Greco-Roman religions. Her research focuses on illness and healing as well as on gender, religious dress and adornment, blindness, and ritual in late antiquity. She teaches a course titled Medicine, Magic, and Miracle: Healing in Antiquity.

Michael Krasner is an associate professor of clinical medicine at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and practices primary-care internal medicine in Rochester. Krasner and has been teaching mindfulness-based stress reduction for more than 10 years. He is engaged in a variety of research projects including the investigation of the effects of mindfulness practices on the immune system in the elderly, on patients, and on medical students. He recently completed work as the project director of Mindful Communication: Bringing Intention, Attention, and Reflection to Clinical Practice, sponsored by the New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians and funded by the Physicians Foundation for Health Systems Excellence.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call Melissa Greco Lopes at 585-260-6666 or e-mail mgrecolo@ur.rochester.edu.