ICC Library Presents "Perspectives on Joy in Our Daily Lives"

Illinois Central College Library will host Asayo Horibe, President of the Buddhist Council of the Midwest; and Rev. Jonathan Thomas, Co-Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Peoria; for “Perspectives on Joy in Our Daily Lives.” The program is Thurs., October 19 from 12:30-1:30 pm in Room 212 C/D on the ICC East Peoria Campus. 

The presentation is part of the ICC Library’s “One Book, One College” program and reflects this year’s book selection, The Book of Joy, by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu, along with Douglas Abrams. In the spring of 2015, Archbishop Desmond Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama’s home in India to celebrate His Holiness’s 80^th birthday. In the book, the pair look back on their lives to answer a single question: “How do we find joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering?”

Asayo Horibe is a 3^rd generation Japanese American Buddhist. She serves as President of the Buddhist Council of the Midwest, on the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago, the Secretary of State Asian American Advisory Board, and is Trustee Emeritus of the Parliament of World Religions. A registered nurse for more than 50 years, Horibe also is a lay minister, caregiver for her two granddaughters, and lives in Evanston, Ill. She attended Chicago Public Schools as a youth.

               The Rev. Jonathan Thomas studied Religious Studies at the University of Virginia and Theology at Princeton University, where he focused on the topic of theology and mental illness. He taught for some years before accepting a call to become an Episcopal priest. He has been ordained for seven years and served at churches in Virginia, New Jersey, and Connecticut before coming to Illinois. He and his wife, The Rev. Jenny Replogle, are the priests at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Peoria. He is involved in a number of groups engaged in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue. His focus is on building a church where important conversations occur and people are drawn closer to God because the full image of God is present and given space and voice in the human diversity gathered in our communion.

The mission of the “One Book, One College” program is to foster interdisciplinary relationships through a shared reading experience. More information is available at icc.edu/library/one-book-one-college/

               For questions on this event or on “One Book, One College,” call the ICC Library at (309) 694-5355.