Clear your schedules because LU for REAL is back with another event to bring students closer to understanding the many cultures around the world for March 3, 2020! 

For those who don’t know, the LU for Religious Education Awareness, and Literacy Series is an event that has been taking place at Lakeland for three years. Only twice a year are Lakeland students graced with an atmosphere that encourages listeners to ask questions about the religions and cultures previously unknown to them.  

These events have been very popular among students since they started three years ago.  

“…I have only been here this year, but…I’ve heard students reflect really positively on programs we’ve had last year and even the year before,” said Chaplain Julie Maddalena, and this semester will be no different. 

For this semester, we have Sheboygan resident Mr. Vue X. Yang, who will be going into the origins of Hmong traditions. This is an animist based religion that focuses on the belief of two worlds, the seen world (our world), and the unseen world (the world of spirits). It is through this belief that all human bodies, the hosts, house more than one or even two souls.   

The isolation of a soul can lead to illness or even death. Only through the rituals of the Hmong religion and its Shaman can a soul be retrieved and restore balance and harmony to the host.    

This is not all that pertains to the Hmong traditions. Along with their Shamans, curing rites, and marriage traditions, Yang will be sharing not only the many fascinating traditions of Hmong but also how it has branched out to other religions such as Catholicism, Mormonism, Trinity Lutheranism, Baptism, as well as many others, over the generations. 

Lakeland wants students to attend and develop, “an understanding…a greater awareness about a faith tradition that they might not know anything about, or a culture, or faith tradition…” explained Linda Bosman, director of the Ulrich Center and donor relations. 

There are many students who feel grateful for these attempts to spread awareness. “I’ve heard students who represent or who are members of religious communities that are less common…say how grateful they are to feel a little bit more understood, a little bit more known, and a little bit more seen,” explained Maddalena. 

This is event will be at 6:30 p.m. in Laun 209 on March 3.