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A new series from the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Hellenic College Holy Cross bears the title “Encounters” and was an idea of a long-time friend and publisher in Greece, Maria Kokkinou, of Akritas Books in Athens. I was instantly inspired because the concept of meeting—and opening up to—other people and other worldviews is precisely how I envisaged and have implemented the goals of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute. My interview with renowned primatologist and U.N. peace ambassador Jane Goodall (1934–2023) constitutes content of this first volume in the series. Jane speaks openly about care for the planet, peace in the world, and hope for the future.
Jane was the first guest to be invited as a speaker at our institute only days after its official opening in September 2023. As a close advisor and ally for over a decade, she was visiting Massachusetts for several presentations, including large crowds at the Museum of Science in Boston, the Chevalier Theater in Medford, and Plymouth South High School. She called me to meet for coffee, and I counter proposed that she come for coffee at our theological school. She spontaneously accepted, though we had just over a day to prepare and promote her visit. The lobby of the Maliotis Cultural Center would be brimming with visitors, families and staff eager to hear this diminutive, albeit larger-than-life figure.
Let me share two quaint reminiscences on this occasion. I recall our distinguished guest asking to survey the area where she and I would hold the planned interview. She wasn’t comfortable using a podium. She asked instead for two chairs where she would respond to my questions about her about her life, travels, and passion. When I set up two armchairs so she would feel comfortable, she considerately asked if there were two stools available so that so that the audience in the back could see her more easily. Before the event commenced, as she sipped her tea, she would be interrupted by a seemingly endless string of admirers. Without a doubt, for me at least, the highlight of those conversations was the moment when Jane signed a book for a young girl Sienna, for whom Jane was an “idol” and whom Sienna dressed up as each year for Halloween!
My second story comes from Jane’s departure. As we descended the steps of the Maliotis Center and I opened the door of the car with which she would be driven to New York, I noticed how the back seat was filled with papers and books. There was barely enough space for Jane to squeeze into the seat where, after securing her seatbelt, she opened her laptop to work. No pomp or circumstance; only the unpretentious and unassuming dedication that appeared to suffuse everything she did. Over the next four hours, she would be responding to emails and editing her writing. Not too long afterward, she called me to say that she and her companions had thoroughly enjoyed the snacks and sweets prepared by the Maliotis Center staff for her trip.
Some of the moments from her unforgettable visit are captured in the photographs that embellish the pages of this book that Jane managed to edit prior to her death one year ago. The series will be simultaneously available in Greek from Akritas Books and in English from Holy Cross Press. I could not imagine a more appropriate profile to launch the inaugural book of our series.
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