Amy Garno

Staff Writer

Tues. Oct. 16, 2012, was Common Dialogue Day at Siena Heights University (SHU). Each year the event brings together faculty, staff and students to discuss important social issues. This year’s theme was “The Common Good”.  Tom Puszczewicz, SHU campus minister, opened up the morning events with a greeting and encouragement noting, “We need to contemplate and share the fruit of one’s contemplation”.  He went on to say this is one of his favorite days of the academic year and a very Dominican day.  SHU President Peg Albert agreed. “Yes, this is a very Dominican day.  This is a day of prayer, study, community and service”.  She then went on to ask, “What does common good mean? Who defines it? “How do we live it as a community?”

Paul Spradley, the director of multi-cultural student affairs, introduced himself and the keynote speaker, Pastor Mackenie Kambizi , by joking people mistake them as brothers.  The pastor is only a foot taller than he is, and the pastor has an accent whereas Spradley doesn’t.

Kambizi started by asking the big question, “What would happen if everyone would believe that we were the generation that the world has been waiting for?”  He gave the scripture in Mark 12:28-32 saying, “Here oh Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord.  You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbor as yourself”.  He said we must first love ourselves in order to love and appreciate anyone else.  Also, everyone is looking for a solution on how we can have this common good, which is love.

His message was short and to the point.  Fitting the theme of the common good Kambizi noted that we must love ourselves first, for without a healthy self we cannot truly love another person.  Following the keynote address the university engaged in various multi-disciplinary breakout sessions related to the Common Dialogue Day theme followed by closing mass in the afternoon.