The Crossing has been honored by the opportunity for students to meet with and hear from the following internationally renowned authors and speakers:

Parker Palmer (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) is an author, educator, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change,

Peter Gomes is an American Baptist minister and a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as well as the Faculty of Divinity at Harvard University, where he has served in the Memorial Church since 1970. Widely regarded as one of America's most distinguished preachers, Professor Gomes has fulfilled preaching and lecturing engagements throughout this country and the British Isles. his New York Times and national best-selling books include The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart 1996), and Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living (1998). In The Good Book, Dr. Gomes explores why the Bible is so often used as a tool for division and exclusion and why so many intelligent and compassionate people are embarassed to say they find wisdom and comfort in the Bible. In this groundbreaking book, the man Time magazine called one of the seven best preachers in America, shows what the Bible says about topics that concern us all, including joy, suffering, evil, and goodness. With compassion, humor, and insight, he gives readers the tools and understanding they need to make the ancient wisdom of the Bible a dynamic part of their modern lives.

Dr. Gomes preached the vespers message on October 24, 2004 and mingled with students afterwards.

Lucille (Sis) & Jerry Levin live and work for peace in the Middle East. Jerry was the CNN bureau chief stationed in Lebanon in the 1980s and was kidnapped and held captive for months. Through persistance and charisma, his wife, Sis, managed to create the conditions for his release. The story of this saga was published as The Beirut Diaries and later turned into a TV movie. Sis has since attended seminary and become an ordained Episcopal priest. She also received her doctorate in conflict resolution from Columbia University. She currently teaches non-violent communication and conflict resolution in a k-university curriculum at the University of Bethlehem. Jerry works with Christian Peacemaker Teams located in Hebron (West Bank), providing a buffer and non-violent presence between Jewish settlers and Palestinians.

Sis and Jerry came to Madison as part of the Spotlight Series (a focus on comtemporary issues) at the Memorial Union in October, 2003. They also spoke at The Crossing and led a workshop for teens and parents at St. Stephen's lutheran Church in Monona as part of their series of speaking engagements entitled: "Getting in the Way of Violence: From Hostages to Peace Advocates--A Series of Conversations with Sis and Jerry Levin."

Elias Chacour is a Palestinian Christian who is a citizen of Israel. Now Archbishop of Jerusalem (Melkite Catholic Church), Chacour grew up walking the hillsides where Jesus lived--where Jesus taught "Blessed are the Peacemakers." He has worked for reconciliation and peace in the Middle East, especially by building high-quality schools in the Galileean village of Ibillin where the students and faculty include Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Druze. More than fifty percent of the 3,000 students are young women. He is a three-time nominee for the nobel peace Prize and winner of the World Methodist Peace Award as well as the Niwano Peace Prize and has written two books: Blood Brothers and We Belong to the Land: the Story of a Palestinian Israeli who Lives for Peace and Reconciliation.

Elias Chacour spoke at the Crossing in 2003 and with Crossing students in 2008. The Crossing Quest to Israel Palestine trips have toured the schools and used Chacour's peace making work as a basis for discussion. Supporters of Chacour's schools and his work have started a group called Pilgrims of Ibillin. Check out their website at http://www.pilgrimsofibillin.org/

Robert Enright is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Educational Psychology department. He studies forgiveness and the positive role forgiveness education can play, especially in areas of conflict. He has developed curriculum for school-age children grades kindergarten through sixth grade and plans on developing curriculum through high school. This curriculum has been adopted by classroom teachers in the inner city of Milwaukee and in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He started a non-profit, The International Forgiveness Institute, to support his forgiveness curriculum initiatives. His book, Forgiveness is a Choice, lays out the steps to true forgiveness--a forgiveness that benefits the forgiver even more than the forgiven.

Dr. Enright has spoken several times at vespers meals and has also partnered with the Quest to Northern Ireland groups, providing historical background, cultural perspective, and training in forgiveness education. In addition to these connections, the International Forgiveness Institute is housed in The Crossing building.

Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub grew up in Lebanon with a Muslim family, but attended a Presbyterian boarding school and considered himself a Christian--first a Presbyterian, then a Baptist, and finally, a Quaker. Later in life, he became a practicing Muslim. Dr. Ayoub has authored numerous books and articles on Islam and Muslim-Christian relations.

Between 1988 and 2008, Dr. Ayoub was a Professor and director of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religion, Temple University, Philadelphia; a Research Fellow at the Middle East Center, University of Pennsylvania; and the Tolson visiting professor at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California. He currently holds a position as an Adjunct Professor at the Duncan Black MacDonald Center, Hartford Seminary, Connecticut. In addition to his academic role, Dr. Ahoub has served as one of the U.S. Deparment of State's ambassadors to various parts of the Middle East and S.E. Asia to comment on American society and institutions, Islam in America, and inter-religious dialogue.

Dr. Ayoub came to Madison as the keynote speaker for the Lyons Lecture held at First United Methodist Church of Madison in April 2009. Crossing students attended the Saturday lectures and enjoyed Dr. Ayoub's message at Vespers the following day. Dr. Ayoub and his wife joined students for the meal following Vespers and then spoke with the Quest Israel/Palestine group later that evening. 

John Shelby Spong, author of such books as "Why Christianity Must Change or Die" and "A New Christianity for a New World" was bishop of the Episcopal Diecese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001.  A promoter of an inclusive faith, his books and lectures have both spoken to and angered many.  Bishop Spong considers himself a believer who knows and loves the Bible deeply, while recognizing that parts of it havce been used to undergird prejudices and to mask violence. 

Bishop Spong was the distinguished lecturer for the Lyons Lecture series held at the First United Methodist Church in Madison.  A large number of Crossing students attended the lectures held on Saturday and on Sunday, a small group of students met with Bishop Spong and his wife at The Crossing for tea and cookies.  We appreciated this opportunity to discuss ideas in an intimate setting with one of the leading theologians of our day.