Evening of Roses
The Sister Rose Thering Fund is thrilled to announce that this year's honoree will
be Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., D.D., Archbishop of Newark. Cardinal Tobin will
receive The Sister Rose Thering Fund Nostra Aetate Award for Excellence in Interreligious Dialogue.
Evening of Roses will take place on June 3, 2027 starting at 6 p.m. at Bethany Hall, Seton Hall University. Details on registration will be forthcoming. Join us for a wonderful evening of conversation and conviviality as we honor those who strive to build a more informed and peaceful world.
About the Evening of Roses
"I know the power of teachers. It is my deepest wish that teachers in our public and parochial schools, with scholarship assistance, will be able to enroll in Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University to stem the tide of ignorance in our schools and in society." — Sister Rose Thering, O.P., Ph.D.
Interim President Mary J. Meehan at the 2019 Evening of Roses with (L to R) featured speakers the Most Reverend Roberto Octavio González Nieves and Elisha Wiesel, along with honorees David M. Bossman and Deborah Lerner Duane.
The Evening of Roses is the major fund raising vehicle for the Sister Rose Thering Fund for Jewish-Christian Studies. Its aim is to promote the Fund's work by honoring outstanding scholars in the field of Jewish-Christian relations and conferring honorary Doctor of Humane Letters as well as Humanitarian of the Year awards upon individuals who have demonstrated outstanding compassion, altruism, and courage in various endeavors. Honorary degrees have been bestowed upon Professor Elie Wiesel, Cynthia Ozick, Sister Rose Thering, Judith H. Banki and Sir Martin Gilbert, Nechama Tec, Theodore Bikel and Dr. Eugene Fisher.
Students perform an original staging of "Brundibar" at the 2011 Evening of Roses.
Each Evening of Roses event has attracted between 300-500 attendees whose participation and financial support have been rewarded by an outstanding program followed by a reception. Honored guests offer to sign copies of their most recent publications or serenade all with a song, such as our friend Theodore Bikel has done.
Previous Programs and Honorees
2026
Honoring Rev. Marcia Robbins-Wilf, Ed.D, Philanthropist and Founding Member, Sister
Rose Thering Fund Board of Trustees.
View the 2026 ad journal »
View photos from the event »
2025
Honoring Rev. Dr. Forrest M. Pritchett, director of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Program and the University Gospel
Choir and Rabbi Michael Berenbaum, distinguished professor and director of the Sigi Ziering Institute of the Ziegler
School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University.
View the 2025 ad journal »
View photos from the event »
Watch the video »
2024
Honoring Daniel Mendelsohn, author of the international bestseller The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, Cantor Perry S. Fine of Temple Beth Shalom (Livingston, New Jersey) and the Founding Supporters of the Sister Rose Thering Fund
View the 2024 ad journal »
View photos from the event »
2023
Honoring Rabbi Noam Marans, American Jewish Committee's Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations
and Rev. Msgr. C. Anthony Ziccardi, Coordinator For Undergraduate Admissions and Retention and Assistant Professor of
Biblical Studies.
View the 2023 ad journal »
View a recording of the 2023 event »
2022
Honoring Oren Jacoby, director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Sister Rose's Passion
View the 2022 ad journal »
View photos from the event »
2021
Honoring the Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation and philanthropist, Gene Hoffman, D.S.