Bonnie Shafrin has been involved in Jewish education for much of her career. So what is she doing at a Catholic school of theology?
As of July 1, she is heading the Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at the Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.
And as she pointed out, the Lux Center is the only such center located in a Catholic seminary.
“I think that” — her being Jewish — “underscores the type of institution [Sacred Heart] is, wanting to have [the Lux Center] within their walls,” Shafrin told The Chronicle in a telephone interview on June 21. “To be open to teaching not only about Catholicism, but Judaism as well.”
Moreover, the Lux Center and Shafrin are not strangers to each other. When Shafrin directed the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center at the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, she worked with the center and its founder, Richard Lux, many times.
Among other things, the two institutions held a Holocaust Study Institute at Sacred Heart in 2013, a project that ended with an interfaith trip to Israel. In addition, Shafrin has been a member of the Lux Center’s advisory committee since 2014.
In a news release, Lux said, “Having worked with Bonnie on a variety of projects, I am very excited about what her background, leadership skills and energy will bring to the center as it enters a new phase.”
Shafrin herself said she is “really excited to start working” at the center “to make sure the seminarians learn about Judaism and have interfaith experiences, so when they go out to their parishes, that will be background they will take with them always.”
She said she will also be helping to expand the center’s offerings to the general community and will be working with Milwaukee’s Catholic-Jewish Conference, the collaborative program of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Jewish Community Relations Council of the MJF.
In addition to having directed HERC for almost eight years, Shafrin is a past president of the Milwaukee Association for Jewish Education and a past board chair of the Coalition for Jewish Learning, the education program of the MJF. She has been a teacher at public and Jewish schools.
The Lux Center was created in 2010 as a tribute to Lux when he retired after 37 years on Sacred Heart’s faculty. The center’s “philosophy and mission stem from his lifelong work and association with the Jewish community,” said Shafrin.
More information about the center can be seen at LuxCenter.SHSST.edu.
Leon Cohen
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