Oberlin College
Office of Religious & Spiritual Life news
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An update of opportunities related to spirituality, ethics, culture & social justiceMarch 5, 2012
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Interfaith Youth Core Summer Leadership Institutes

 

6/18-21, DePaul University, Chicago, IL

7/16-19, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Early Bird Application Deadline: March 26 (Save $50); Final deadline: April 16

 

You can learn to be a catalyst for social change by attending an Interfaith Leadership Institute (ILI). ILIs are four-day intensive workshops that equip students and their campus allies to be movement builders for interfaith action. Join hundreds of organizers who are changing campuses by bringing together people of all religious and non-religious traditions to change the world. Bring together a campus team and apply now to join us for a summer ILI. Join us for powerful training, relationship building, and inspiration. Become an interfaith leader who can: Mobilize large numbers of students to voice their values, engage with others, and act together; Change campus by raising the volume on interfaith cooperation; and Grow as a leader, building skills for life on campus and beyond.

ORSL Photo Gallery Now on Website

 

If you haven't visited the ORSL website recently, you should check out our new Photo Gallery with pictures of some of our recent major programs. A Video Gallery is also being developed that you can (re)experience some of ORSL's exciting major programs.

Haskell Lectures in Biblical Studies: Jodi Magness

 

Monday, 3/5, 7:30 pm, Craig Aud., Palestinian Synagogues: Iconographic Cues

Wednesday, 3/7, 4:30 pm, Craig Aud., Diaspora Synagogues: Continuity and Innovation

 

Jodi Magness, PhD, is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She previously taught at Tufts University. Dr. Magness specializes in the archaeology of ancient Palestine in the Roman, Byzantine, and early Islamic periods. Her research interests include Jerusalem, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient synagogues, Masada, and ancient pottery. She received her BA in Archaeology and History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her PhD in Classical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania. She was a post-doctoral fellow at Brown University. In June 2011 she began a new dig at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village just 2.8 miles from Migdal and close to Capernaum.

Credo and OACM Midweek Lenten Services

 

During Lent Credo will be partnering with local churches from Oberlin Area Cooperating Ministries to offer Mid-Week Lenten Services on Wednesdays from 12:15-12:45 pm. The theme is "Counting the Cost of Bearing Witness to the Cross." Services will include music, prayer, scripture, and a message. Participants are encouraged to make contributions to our collective Lenten hunger offering. The schedule of locations and speakers is below:

 

3/7 - First United Methodist Church, Rev. Patrice Brewer

3/14 - First Church in Oberlin (UCC), Barbara Pierce

3/21 - Peace Community Church, Anita Peebles

3/28 - Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Speaker TBA

4/4 - May 9 Fairchild Chapel (Normal Credo A Capella services resume)

Modern Love: Hegel on the Limits of Love in Society

 

Wednesday, 3/7, 7 pm, West Lecture Hall

Thomas Lewis is an associate professor of Religion at Brown University. He is widely regarded as among the leading Hegel scholars in America and has recently published "Religion, Modernity and Politics in Hegel." For more information please contact James Swan Tuite. Sponsored by the Mead Swing Lectureship Committee. 

Peace Potluck: College/Community Relations

 

Friday, 3/9, 5:30 pm supper, program 6:30-8 pm, Peace Community Church (44 E Lorain)

The Oberlin College Peace Activist League, in cooperation with the Oberlin College Dialogue Center, is planning a Panel/Discussion on College/Community Relations, with several panelists, including at present Rev. David Hill (pastor, First Church, UCC), Rev. A.G. Miller (Religion professor at Oberlin College, pastor House of the Lord Church), Kevin Gilfeather (OC student who grew up in Oberlin), Bryan Stubbs (with the Oberlin Project), Beth Blissman (Director of the Bonner Center for Service Learning at OC), and hopefully a City Council member. The goal is to reflect on College/Community Relations, but also to develop concrete steps that could help to improve them.  Parking is at the rear of the church. Handicapped access is available. Dinner will be downstairs. The program, due to the size of the panel, will be held in the sanctuary. 

SEPA Annual Meeting and Talk

 

Saturday, 3/10, 4 pm, Oberlin Public Library

SEPA's Annual Meeting:  Speaker Maggie PaulinMontessori Education in Guatemala. The Santa Elena Project of Accompaniment will hold a brief annual meeting with elections.  Maggie Paulin, now in her third year at Oberlin College, will then present her experience as a co-founder of the Mi Casita Montessori primary school in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Maggie will begin with an explanation of her involvement in the project, followed by a reflection on the community response to the Montessori method in Quetzaltenango.  See SEPA's website for more details.

Javanese Shadow Drama: The Ramayana

 

Sunday, 3/11, 7 pm, Hales Gymnasium

Ki Purbo Asmoro, Java's most popular dalang, and members of his gamelan troupe, Mayangkara, will present the living classical drama and musical traditions of Java in Oberlin. There will be a wayang kulit (shadow drama) and workshop in the music wayang. The content of the show will be Sugriwa-Subali's Conflict, an episode from the Ramayana. In addition to the shadow puppets and music, Kathryn Emerson will also provide simultaneous English translation. Tickets: $3 under 16; $5 students/OCID/seniors; $10 public. All events are open to the public. Tickets are available at the Oberlin College Central Ticketing Service (440.775.8169) or the Wilder Information Desk. Sponsored by Oberlin Shansi.

Transgender Issues in Religion Film and Discussion

 

Tuesday, 3/13, 7 pm, First Church in Oberlin (UCC) Meetinghouse

"Thy Will Be Done" is a film that explores the experience of Male-to-Female transgender person Sara Herwig on her path seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). The film screening will be followed by refreshments and a panel-led discussion. All are welcome. Presented by: the First Church in Oberlin (UCC), MRC, ORSL, and QUAF. Co-Sponsored by: Christ Episcopal Church, Oberlin First United Methodist Church, Oberlin Friends Meeting, Oberlin UU Fellowship Social Justice Team, and Peace Community Church.

CROP Walk Recruiters Meeting

 

Tuesday, 3/20, 7 pm, First Church (106 N Main Street)

You are invited to take a bite out of world hunger. On the afternoon of Sunday, 4/29 we are assembling on Tappan Square to follow a three-mile trek through the town in Oberlin's CROP Walk 2012. Last year, we raised more than $12,000, distributed by Church World Service, to help people worldwide to feed themselves--providing seeds, farm animals, clean water and instruction to use valuable resources to enhance human lives. 25% of the proceeds returned to Oberlin, shared by Oberlin Community Services and our Weekday Community Meals Program. If you are interested in recruiting walkers and/or walking please contact Connie Bimber at  (440) 774-6175 or [email protected]

Interfaith Hospitality Network Volunteer Training

 

Saturday, 4/7, 12-2:30 pm, First Church in Oberlin (UCC)
Service opportunities the week of 4/15 

Friendship Day 2012: Gustav Niebuhr

 

Tuesday, 4/10

Festival: Noon, Root Room

Lecture: 8 pm, Finney Chapel

Save the date for Friendship Day 2012, when college and community will welcome Gustav Niebuhr, professor of religion and media studies at Syracuse University and former reporter for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He is a leading writer about American religion and recently published Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America. He is also the grandson of H. Richard Niebuhr and the grand nephew of Reinhold Niebuhr, two of the most famous 20th c. Protestant theologians.

Holy Cleveland: Mosque and Hindu Temple Field Trip

 

Saturday, 4/14, 10 am, Departing from the Multifaith Center

Lunch will be available for $5 at Udupi Cafe. Everyone should wear clothing that covers shoulders and knees (no tanktops, shorts) and women should bring a headscarf for visiting the masjid. To register please email [email protected]. Sponsored by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.

Interfaith Service Day Spring 2012

 

Sunday, 4/22, 1-6 pm, Starting at the Multifaith Center

OC students of all religions and philosophies are welcome to engage in this Interfaith Service Day, which will focus on intentional ecological service in celebration of Earth Day. We will register at 1 pm, serve in local non-profit settings, and conclude with reflection and a meal by 6 pm. All are welcome. Registration information available soon. For more information please contact [email protected] or [email protected].

"Out of Cordoba" Director Talk and Film Screening

 

Thursday, 4/26, 7:30 pm, King 306

Director Jacob Bender will screen and discuss his film "Out of Cordoba: Averroes and Maimonides in Their Time and Ours" which explores some of the most vexing issues of our time: Is there a "clash of civilizations" between Western and Muslim civilizations? Are Jews and Muslims incapable of peaceful coexistence? Does religious faith lead inevitably to xenophobia and violence? Sponsored by the Mead Swing Lectureship Committee, the History Department, La Casa Hisp�nica, Cinema Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Comparative Muslim Cultures and Civilizations.

The Sacred Side of Jazz

 

Saturday, 4/28, Time TBA, First Church in Oberlin UCC

Members of the Oikos Ensemble will lead a workshop in collaboration with local artists on the spiritual side of jazz music and its use in worshipful settings. Sponsored by the First Church in Oberlin UCC.

Multifaith Baccalaureate Celebration 2012

 

Sunday, 5/27, 1:30 pm, Warner Concert Hall

All are welcome at this multifaith spiritual celebration with music, prayers, inspirational readings and an address to give thanks for, inspire, and bless the Class of 2012. This year's address will be given by Daisy Kahn, Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, which was a major partner in the effort to build a mosque and interfaith center near Ground Zero in New York City. ASMA is also engaged in domestic and international programs to promote Muslim women's and youth empowerment and leadership and to deepen the discourse of progressive Islam. Sponsored by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and the Commencement/Reunion Weekend Committee.

Weekly Gatherings 
  • Christ Episcopal Church Student Lunch: Mondays, Noon, The Rectory (158 Elm Street)
  • Hillel Meeting: Tuesdays, 12:15 pm, Wilder 216
  • Queers and Allies of Faith: Tuesdays, 8 pm, Multifaith Center 
  • A Cappella Chapel Service (led by CREDO): Wednesdays, 12:10 pm, Fairchild Chapel
  • First Church in Oberlin (UCC) Wednesdays: Free Student Dinner 5:45 pm, and Adult Education 6:45 pm, First Church
  • Liberated Unitarian Universalist Voices: Wednesdays, 7 pm, Multifaith Center
  • Oberlin Pagan Awareness Network: Wednesdays, 7 pm, Wilder TBA
  • Taize Service (led by Ecumenical Christians of Oberlin): Wednesdays, 7 pm, Fairchild Chapel
  • Oberlin Buddhist Fellowship Meetings: Thursdays, 7 pm, Wilder 215
  • ECO Lunch: Fridays, Noon, Wilder DeCafe
  • Muslim Students Association Jumah Prayer: Fridays, 12:45 pm, Wilder 222
  • Campus Shabbat: Fridays, Services 5:30 pm, Dinner 7 pm, Kosher-Halal Co-op (Talcott Hall)
  • Chabad Shabbat: Fridays, Services 6:30 pm, Dinner 7 pm, 111 N. Pleasant
  • Chinese Christian Fellowship (Mandarin): Fridays, 7:30 pm, Wilder TBA
  • Oberlin Orthodox Christian Fellowship Morning Prayer and Divine Liturgy: Sundays, Leaving at 8:20 am, Please contact the OOCF Advisor
  • Oberlin Buddhist Fellowship Meditation: Sundays, 11 am, Warner Dance Studio
  • Oberlin Friends Meeting: Sundays, 11 am, Multifaith Center
  • Voices for Christ: Sundays, 3:30 pm, Bibbins 334
  • Newman Mass: Sundays, 5 pm, Fairchild Chapel
  • Oberlin Baha'i Club Dinner and Devotions: Sundays, 5 pm, Please contact Amanda Schmidt 
  • ECO Dinner and Discussion: Sundays, 6 pm, Multifaith Center
  • Oberlin Bhakti Yoga Society Kirtan: Sundays, 7 pm, Fairchild Chapel
  • Oberlin Meditators: Sundays-Thursdays, 5 and 8:30 pm, Wilder 325
  • Oberlin Christian Fellowship (InterVarsity) Small and Large Groups: Please see the OCF website
 
Meditation of the Week

 

If you are skeptical about whether or not God has ears, it does not mean that you do not want to connect with a deeper source of wisdom, goodness, and hope...Even the most skeptical agnostics still have the human needs to do what others do with prayer--to offer gratitude, to praise beauty, to confess personal failures, to dedicate their lives to a path of goodness, to cry out in despair, or to call on the powers of healing or strength. So if you don't pray, what do you do? You create inner space, which is where you become comfortable with yourself in all space. --Sarah York 

Rev. Greg McGonigle

Contact Us

Rev. Greg McGonigle
Director | Office of Religious & Spiritual Life
(440) 935-4629

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