Elie Wiesel to speak at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

This year, Chicago will confront evil through the words of Elie Wiesel. On Wednesday, April 17 at 7 p.m., the renowned writer will speak on “Religion and Violence in the Context of Judaism” at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. Interest in Wiesel’s talk, already high in wake of current events, increased on Friday. That day, the Chicago Public Library announced that Night, Wiesel’s revealing and horrifying view of a Jewish family in the Nazi concentration camps, has been selected for the One Book, One Chicago program. Winner of the Nobel Peace and Professor at Boston University, Wiesel will speak as part of the Chapel’s Religion and Violence series. The City of Chicago Public Library and the University of Chicago’s Hillel Center cosponsor the event.

The Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago program cultivates “reading and discussion in Chicago by bringing our diverse city together around one great book.” Mayor Daley said Wiesel raises “very troubling questions” about suffering, evil and justice that “need to be discussed.”

The Religion and Violence speakers have included: Rosemary Radford Ruether and Tikva Frymer-Kensky on religion and violence against women; Arun Gandhi and James Lawson on religion and nonviolence; Mel White on Christian theologies that promote violence, hatred and marginalization; and Seyyed Hossain Hasr on religion and violence in the context of Islam.

A free-will offering will be taken at the door. For more information, contact Lorraine Brochu at (773) 702-7059.

Named for University of Chicago founder John D. Rockefeller, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel is the center of religious activity for the University of Chicago. Events range from worship services and religious education classes to community outreach and performances by world-renowned musicians. The chapel also serves as the ceremonial center of the University, hosting many official University functions. Its E. M. Skinner organ and Laura Spelman Rockefeller carillon are among the great instruments of their kind in the country. Rockefeller Memorial Chapel is located at 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave., with plentiful free parking nearby. For more information, call (773) 702-2100.