Oberlin College has two main campus groups that offer meditation--Oberlin Meditators (OM) and Oberlin Buddhist Fellowship (OBF). OM is for people who want to meditate from any religious or philosophical perspective. OBF is for people interested in studying and practicing Buddhism, including meditation. OM offers meditation Sunday-Thursday at 8 pm in Wilder 325. It is having a general interest meeting on Monday 9/19 from 8-9 pm in Wilder 115. OBF meets for meditation, dharma talk, and tea Sundays at 11 am. There is significant overlap between the groups and many students participate in both. For more information on OM please contact Aki Gormezano and for more information on OBF please contact Max Zahn.

ORSL is working with students to facilitate ways to remember Rachel Avcioglu and Peter Schellhorn. The Oberlin Queer Wellness Coalition has made their office in Wilder 206 available as a space for writing notes to Rachel and Peter or their families and for finding support resources. A campus memorial service is being planned in the next few weeks. Students, faculty and staff who would like to be involved can contact Rev. Greg McGonigle.

At the Connections Fair on Wednesday 9/14 at 4:30 pm in WIlder Bowl (rain site: Science Center) ORSL as well as many campus spiritual communities and local religious communities will be present for you to learn more about us and get involved. Check it out.

Saturday 9/17, 1-4 pm, First Church Oberlin UCC (Corner of Main and Lorain Streets, enter Fellowship Hall from rear parking lot.). Find out about IHN.

The ECO (Ecumenical Christians of Oberlin) Walk in the Arb has been rescheduled for Saturday, 9/17. Gather at the Multifaith Center (68 S. Professor) at 4:00 pm, though you can come early, starting at 3:30 pm for ice cream. The Arb is close to campus and it will be a beautiful walk and great time to chat. The walk will last about an hour. For more information please contact Rev. Steve Hammond.

Join Greg McGonigle and Mary Grigolia (Oberlin UU Fellowship) for an introduction to walking meditation, including using the new Oberlin College portable labyrinth. Tuesday 9/20 at 7:30 pm in Wilder Main. For more information please contact Rev. Greg McGonigle.

Angela Kraft Cross, M.D. and church and concert organist from the San Francisco Bay Area, will perform a Benefit Concert for Peace Community Church (44 E. Lorain St.) on Tuesday, 9/20 at 7:30 pm, featuring works of German Masters Schumann, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. The concert will help defray the costs of housing and sharing this beautiful organ with the wider community. A free will offering will be received during the program. A reception will follow. Parking is located behind the church. Handicapped access is available. For more information please contact Rev. Mary Hammond.

Mary Grigolia will lead a three-session workshop with insights and techniques from neuroscience for maintaining a peaceful, creative, playful and caring mind. Don't be bullied by procrastination, depression or anxiety. Tuesdays 10/4, 11, and 18 from 7:30-8:30 pm at the Multifaith Center (68 S Professor). For more information please contact Rev. Mary Grigolia.

The Mead-Swing Lectureship Fund presents the Lecture-Demonstration "Music in Indian Himalayan Possession Ceremonies" by Pritam Bhartwan with Dr. Stefan Fiol. Additional funds that have made the event possible have been contributed by the Musicology Department, Oberlin Shansi, and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. The event is open to the public free of charge. For more information please contact Professor Jennifer Fraser.

 

Sunday 10/16: Garhwali (Himalayan) Music

Pritam Bhartwan is a hereditary, professional drummer from the Garhwal region in the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Together with ethnomusicologist Dr. Stefan Fiol, he will explain the role of music in jāgar (possession ceremonies). Primarily associated with the various forms of the Goddess and many male deities, possession is one of the most direct and powerful modes of encountering the divine and is a significant part of many local traditions across India. In the jāgar tradition of Uttarakhand, as in other cases, deities are made present in human mediums in order to allow devotees to interact with goddesses and gods in order to secure blessings and procure a variety of benefits. These possessions are incited through the ritual performances involving narrative, song, and drumming. As a hereditary drummer, Pritam Bhartwan will expose students to local styles of music never before performed in the United States, showing them the sensory richness of Hindu praxis and highlighting the central role of the arts while contextualizing it in village practice. At the same time, as a successful commercial performer and recording artist, he can also show that these practices belong not only to the "timeless village" but also to the India of today in which religiosity is shaped by internal economic migration and electronic media as well as traditional practice.

11/4-5: Hear world-renowned keynote speakers Joan Chittister, OSB and Shane Claiborne. Choose from more than 30 engaging workshops. Connect with a variety of vibrant monastic communities - both 'traditional' and 'new'.

 

Just a week and half left for early registration and lower rates--early registration ends 9/23. 

Register with a group of students today.

Roy Mottahedeh, Professor of Islamic History and Director of the Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University, and author of "The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran", will speak on "Friendship in Islamic Ethical Thought" on Monday 11/7 at 4:30 pm in West Lecture Hall. He will also deliver a visual presentation on "Felines in Islamic Art and Culture" on Tuesday 11/8 at 1 pm in King 106. Sponsored by the Mead-Swing Lectureship Committee. For more information please contact Professor Jafar Mahallati.