photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Smith Hall, which houses the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas, shown on Monday, April 6, 2026. The department of religious studies is organizing a talk with representatives from the Lawrence-based interfaith advocacy group Justice Matters about the group's work in promoting community health and well-being.

The University of Kansas’ Department of Religious Studies will host a public talk on Thursday where a Lawrence interfaith advocacy group will discuss its work on promoting community health and well-being.

The event, called “Faith and Health,” will feature speakers from Justice Matters, who will discuss the group’s mission, the work it has undertaken in Lawrence and what makes its interfaith work different from other advocacy efforts, according to a press release from the department. It will also address “the ways interfaith collaboration contributes to improving community health outcomes.” Much of the event will be a question-and-answer session with the audience.

The event is part of the department’s “Faith and Health Community Series” and is being sponsored in part by a $60,000 grant from Interfaith America that the department received in December 2025.

The discussion will take place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.