Shem is an Aramaic word expressing the Divine radiance and splendor in all of creation.
SHEM Center for Interfaith Spirituality offers the sojourners of all spiritual paths and faith traditions, as well as those who claim none, a sacred space where all are respectfully welcomed to encounter the wisdom found in the sacred traditions of the peoples of the world.
Join the Shem Center Board of Trustees
The Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality is currently recruiting to increase the capability and diversity of the Board of Trustees. Would you consider joining the Board and devoting 3 to 4 hours a month?
Seeking:
- The Treasurer
- Trustee at Large
Reflections From Shem Center
Election Day 2026: A Great Day For Democracy? And For Spiritual Renewal?
A reflection from “Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox” on November 3, 2026
Today is a big day in American and very possibly human/earth history. Might Americans wake up and throw off years of barbaric politics based on hatred, projection and violence and reject a cruel and debased government?
Might conscience once again play a major part in our politics, displacing greed, envy, revenge, and power for power’s sake?
Might our long, national nightmare begin to give way to new directions and smart answers to weighty moral issues such as: “When is enough enough?” And “How do we tame human avarice and move it to serve the common good? And “What constitutes a healthy democracy in the twenty-first century?”
The Order of Preachers — A Letter of Encouragement and Hope
Friends,
I have always been proud of my title, “brother” and happy to have others use it. It is a designation helpful in my life ministering to others in Shem Center’s work and in my place in today’s world. It has been a privilege to be a brother to many, often as someone who helps or listens to others when needed. As a member of an international religious order of men and women, the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans was founded in Spain 1206 by St. Dominic deGuzman. Our mission, simply put, is to bring God’s inclusive love to others. I proudly join with many others who carry the Good News of the Creator’s love to all others. Brothers minister in the world in many different ways as educators, retreat directors, medical professionals, builders of buildings and the communities who occupy them. My life as a religious brother has included a variety of ways of serving others, as a chef for a large formation community, a teacher of children with behavior disorders, and a director of interfaith retreats.
Pope Leo XIV’s Full Speech: 60 Years of Nostra Aetate
Friends ,
This speech by Pope Leo XIV speaks to what is central to Shem Center’s mission. With gratitude and joy we call attention to it, so as to come to a deeper realization of our mission in today’s world.
— Joseph Kilikevice
Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker – The Forces That Assault Us
This speech from our Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker came on my car radio recently while I was driving. Realizing that he was saying something of significance not only to Illinois citizens but to the rest of the country, I parked the car on a side street to listen with greater attention. I found his well crafted speech delivered with a sense of urgency and conviction and had a message for the whole country. I place it here inviting you to take time to hear it or to read some of it here. I hasten to add that it holds a message that is about right and wrong, good and evil, survival and not surviving. Please take the time to consider and act on his words however you may choose to do so.
May our country survive the forces that assault us.
— Joseph Kilikevice
Shem Center Director Emeritus
Fighting Despair with Understanding
People may stop caring for the world when they feel that their caring goes nowhere. The good news is that the mounting of international pressure on the Israeli government has obtained some results, such as the allowing of humanitarian aid into Gaza. But what happens when our actions are not met with success and remain — as some would say — “merely symbolic”?
Letter of Humanity to Welcome Brother Leo
Dear brother Leo, welcome! You are one of us, a man in flesh and blood so you are entitled to a warm welcome. Just as on the day your mother gave you to the world, and today again because of the task to you entrusted. It must be indeed like a second or third birth to you.
The Prophetic Jewish, Interfaith & Secular Voice to Heal and Transform the World
Tikkun uplifts Jewish, interfaith, and secular prophetic voices of hope that contribute to universal liberation. A catalyst for long-term social change Tikkun empowers people and communities to heal the world by embracing revolutionary love, compassion, and empathy. Tikkun promotes a caring society that protects the life support system of the planet and celebrates the Earth and the universe with awe and radical amazement.
A Moonlight Speech, October 11, 1962
Sixty years ago, the first night of the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII came out on a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square and gave his impromptu remarks now called "the moonlight speech.” I remember it well, making its way into the world via the news media.
A Challenge Grant to Shem Center
Once again The Wolcott/Ebbeler Foundation, our supportive friends of many years, is offering you a way to have your donations to Shem Center increase by way of their matching gift.
Shem Center Programs
Shem Center offers experiences of the prayer, meditation, rituals, and the wisdom of the peoples of the world. In doing so, each takes a place at the table with others whose spiritual tradition may be similar to or different from one’s own.
Martin Luther King Jr.
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (1929-1968)
An Interfaith Greeting of Peace
SHALOM - SHLAMA - SALAAM
These three words in Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic are used in turn as greetings of peace by Jews, Christians and Muslims, the followers of the three Abrahamic religions.
Inter-Spirituality
Recognizing that the Divine Reality is not limited to any one expression of our journey with God, Shem Center takes its place with many others committed to the task of bringing peace into the world through understanding, respect and friendship.
News
Homily for Ash Wednesday by Cardinal Blase Cupich
I gathered on February 18, 2026 with nearly 3000 people at an outdoor Mass presided by Chicago’s Cardinal Cupich, along with a number of my Dominicans friars, dozens of priests, sisters, elected officials, and faithful at the Ash Wednesday evening outdoor mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Melrose Park, Illinois, a neighborhood near the Broadview Detention Center. The Cardinal’s message delivered in both English and Spanish was deeply moving. The prayerful spirit in this very large crowd offered us the encouragement needed among us resisting the U.S.Government’s illegal policy on minorities, be they citizens or not.
— Joseph Kilikevice, OP
Shem Center on the Road
In May of 2025, Brother Joe and I travelled to Dubuque, Iowa for an Aramaic Jesus Retreat. This gathering, entitled “The Blessing Way of the Aramaic Jesus” was led by Joe’s dear friend Saadi (Neil Douglas Klotz). Neil was an integral part of the founding of the Male Spirit retreats and has always been a faithful friend and supporter of the Shem Center.
Lots of old friends from around the country and Canada were present for dancing, chanting, learning and meditating on the Aramaic words of Yeshua (Jesus’ Aramaic name). Aramaic is the language Jesus spoke, and it is recorded in ancient texts of the Bible. Neil continues to create beautiful English translations from these texts.
Building Connection and Community in Caring for Creation
Pilgrims are seekers drawn to make pilgrimages. Pilgrimages are journeys to special and holy places, places that draw forth from within us a deeper sense of connection and belonging to something greater than ourselves. These places can be as far away as we wish, or as close as our backyards, as in my case, the acres of prairie land and woods known as Jubilee Farm. This ecology and spirituality center is sponsored by my congregation and located west of Springfield, Illinois. These spaces and the journeys themselves often inspire personal transformation, leaving us in a different place than we were before.
Welcome to Shem Center. Contact Us!
Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
708 North Harvey Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 427-9905
shemcenter1993@gmail.com
Photo Credits: Emory Mead, Stephen B. Starr, Joseph Kilikevice
The Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality website is awarded a 2022 American Digital Design Award for excellence in design and user experience.
