AFA's Cadet Interfaith Council accepts president's community service challenge

  • Published
  • By Don Branum
  • Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The Cadet Interfaith Council here kicked off an outreach partnership with a Colorado Springs food bank Saturday, answering President Barack Obama's challenge to colleges to become involved in interfaith cooperation and community service.

Council members and chaplains spent two hours at Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado packing and palletizing boxes for distribution to families in need of assistance.

The Air Force Academy's involvement began earlier this year, when Chaplain (Capt.) Shawn Menchion, branch chief of the Academy Chapel's plans and programs division, received an email outlining the program. He drafted a plan for the Academy to participate and submitted it to Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould for approval.

"We have a three-year strategic plan," said Menchion, a native of Panama City, Fla. "In year one, we'll conduct interfaith service projects and host dialogs to foster interfaith cooperation at the Academy."

The Interfaith Council consists of representatives from each of the Academy's religious and philosophical groups. Some of the groups represented include Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Latter-Day Saints, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists and followers of Earth-Centered Spirituality. Cadet 1st Class Philicia Fahrenbruch, the council president, attended the White House's Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge meeting in Washington Aug. 3.

"It was really interesting to talk to other schools and hear what they've done," said Fahrenbruch, a native of Falcon, Colo. "It was great to see everyone coming together, hearing new ideas and seeing the interfaith cohesiveness."

Future volunteer opportunities with Care and Share, located at 2605 Preamble Point in Colorado Springs, are scheduled for Sept. 17, Oct. 1 and Nov. 12 from 1 to 3 p.m., Menchion said. Cadets, staff members and faculty and their families are all welcome.

"We want as many people as are willing to volunteer," he added.

Subsequent years will see the Interfaith Council widen the scope of its activities, including local colleges' and cities' interfaith organizations, as well as entering dialogs on how the Academy can continue to improve its religious respect climate, Menchion said.

"We'll talk about barriers that can prevent us from working together to meet the community's needs," Menchion said. "The only way we can cross barriers is to talk about the commonalities our communities have in service to humanity."

The President's Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge invites colleges to commit to at least one year of interfaith cooperation and community service programming on campus, according to the White House's website. Initiatives will be evaluated on their plan implementation by the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the Corporation for National and Community Service based on several guidelines, including how initiatives involve cross-campus support, identifying how initiatives advance institutions' ability to engage diversity and build a culture of interreligious and intercultural cooperation. The White House will recognize the most exemplary initiatives next summer.