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
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.

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
Khizr Khan comes forward to say Trump is incapable of leading the US again
Khizr Khan said about Trump, “A person who has never sacrificed is incapable of love: love of country, love of purpose, love of fellow human beings. Trump is nothing but appetite and ego. Trump is incapable of leading the U.S. again. I wish to pay tribute to General John Francis Kelly and his family. General Kelly is a gold star father as well. We stand with you and are saddened to hear the remarks that Trump made in the White House and after his presidency.”
Khizr Khah is a gold star father, having lost his son Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan in 2004. Humayun was a United States Army officer who was killed by a suicide attack near Baqubah, Iraq during the Iraq War. He came to national attention in the United States during the 2016 presidential campaign as an example of a Muslim American soldier who died in service to the U.S. military.
Watch his interview on MSNBC.
Read MoreLetter From Ukraine, August 7, 2023
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers,
The phones are the first to go off. Almost every Ukrainian has an app installed on his smartphone informing us about the alarms in progress. A few seconds later, the sirens start shrieking. On Saturday this happened three different times, the last one during the evening Mass that I celebrated in the chapel of the Kyiv priory. We’ve gotten used to it, so there’s no panic, no nervousness, like there was at the beginning of the war. I doubt, however, whether anyone is capable of accepting the recurring alarms with complete calm. Especially at night, when the Russian drones and rockets fly over most often. I have to admit that for over a year and a half, almost every morning I have been starting off with checking the news, even when I’m not in Ukraine and don’t have sirens waking me up in the middle of the night.
Read MoreLetter From Ukraine, May 18, 2023
Dear sisters, dear brothers,
May nights in Kyiv are unusually restless this year. Especially the one between Monday and Tuesday. The noise made by the defenders of the Ukrainian sky as they shot at Russian rockets and drones was accompanied by car alarms. While the earth was shaking and the sky was pulsating with repeated explosions, they were going on and off maddeningly. It would be hard to find anyone in Kyiv who wasn’t up around 3am that morning. Mrs. Katia who cooks in our priory joined her neighbors in the staircase, searching for a safe place. In the building where she lives, the people were scared because during the first months of the war rockets had fallen there multiple times, and their windows had lost their glass panes. Now every shelling of the city causes them even more worry.
Read MoreWelcome to Shem Center. Contact Us!
Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
708 North Harvey Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 848-1095
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.
