David PesciFebruary 8, 20103min
Unexpected invitations come with the holidays every year, but one in particular received by Jan Willis, professor of religion, caught her attention. It was from the U.S. State Department, and was inspired by President Barack Obama. The invitation asked Willis to serve as just one of 20 American religious scholars and nonprofit leaders selected by the U.S. State Department to participate in the inaugural Indonesia-U.S. Interfaith Cooperation Forum that was being held in Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan. 25-27 under the auspices of Religions for Peace. “As soon as I read it, I knew I had to attend this,” Willis says. “It…