Dr. David D. Grafton and Dr. Lucinda Mosher Lead Short Course in Nigeria

Professors David D. Grafton and Lucinda Allen Mosher were invited to Nigeria as part of an MOU between the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations and the Kaduna Centre for the Study of Christian-Muslim Relations (KCSCMR) — founded by alum Archbishop Josiah Iduwo-Fearon, who earned a Doctor of Ministry in the 1990s.

In 2023, Archbishop Fearon visited HIU to begin planning for collaborative activities, and this trip was one result of that planning.

KCSCMR offers a two-year program for a select group of 40 Christian and Muslim leaders — women as well as men. It is an ecumenical program, but with some involvement of the Anglican Church of Nigeria. Professor Mosher’s involvement drew attention to this project from the Episcopal Church, another branch of the Anglican Communion.

The workshop, called Reading Texts Together, was designed for the Year Two cohort. Students worked in pairs — a Christian and a Muslim together — to find commonalities and differences between selected passages from the Bible and the Qur’an. 

In plenary, students also considered examples of Christian and Muslim literature from the early centuries and the present day. 

“The practice of studying scripture interreligiously in pairs seems to have been new for this group of students,” Dr. Mosher said. 

“They were eager for more of it!” Dr. Grafton added. “I was so excited to see how many of the students and instructors – Muslims and Christians – have been working for positive relations for years. We are humbled to contribute in whatever way we can to the work they are already doing.”

In addition, Dr. Grafton spoke at St. Steven’s, and Dr. Mosher spoke at the Cathedral of Saint Michael. In the afternoon, they were guests of honor at Saint Christopher’s Church for a concert of traditional Nigerian music performed by four choirs. “This musical performance was glorious,” said Dr. Mosher, herself a parish organist and choir director.

All involved look forward to continuing the relationship between the Macdonald Center and the Kaduna Centre in the future.