Oberlin Orthodox Christian Fellowship welcomes all to a Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Tuesdays 3/13, 3/20, 3/27 and 4/3, at 6 pm in the Lewis House Multifaith Center. These special services are centuries old and are in keeping with the Great Lenten season encompassing repentance, fasting and intensified prayer. As with all of our services you do not have to be Orthodox to attend. Afterwards there will be a free Lenten soup/bread/fruit supper. We hope you can make it. And by "make it" this doesn't mean you have to be there for the entire program. If you can make the service, or a part of it - great! If you can only make the dinner - great! If you can only stop by to say "Hi" - great! We suspect the dinner will probably start around 7 pm. So, come late or early--no reservations required. 

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.

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:

3/14 - 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)

Wednesdays, 5 pm, First Church JFO Room

Community jazz worship services will be held at the First Church in Oberlin, United Church of Christ, weekly starting March 7. The Wednesday evening worship services run from 5 to 5:45 pm and will be held weekly through May 2, except for spring break, March 28, and Easter week, April 4. The worship service features the divinely inspired piano playing of Michael King and heavenly vocal stylings of Tamara Fingal; both are seniors in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Utilizing readings from contemporary theologians, poets, and writers, the service explores what it means to hear God still speaking. The church's John Frederick Oberlin (JFO) room provides an intimate forum for listening, singing, praying and reflecting. Children are welcome in the service and childcare is available in the church nursery. The community jazz worship service kicks off the weekly Wednesday night activities at the church. Following worship, there is a supper at 5:45 pm, open to the community, for $3/person or $10/family. Students eat free. After supper, adult religious education classes and children's activities begin at 6:30 pm.

Saturday, March 17, Noon-1 pm, Southeast Corner of Tappan Square

Wear green--which is appropriate for St. Partick's Day and also the color of the Iranian people's opposition to the present Iranian regime. Sponsored by Community Peace Builders, Veterans for Peace, and Peace Community Church.

Sarah Johnson spent her winter term with a Christian intentional community in Atlanta, and found out that they are desperately looking for someone to live on and care for a farm that the community owns. This would be a fantastic opportunity for a graduating senior or somebody who wants to take a year off. Here's their official pitch: "The Open Door Community of Atlanta is praying for a person(s) without children or dogs to live for a year or more at our Dayspringfarm. Dayspring is 88 miles from the Open Door Community. Life would include: hospitality, maintenance, gardening, alternative water and sewerage system development, Sunday Worship and one Soup Kitchen per week at Open Door Community." (http://opendoorcommunity.org/archives/670 ) They really want to fill this position--they might need to sell the farm if they don't. You definitely do not have to ascribe to any particular faith to join the Open Door Community. For more information, questions, etc, email sarah.johnson@oberlin.edu or Ed Loring at eduardloring@opendoorcommunity.org.

Are you thinking of staying in Oberlin over spring break? Here's an amazing spring break volunteer opportunity! Habitat for Humanity is working with Students for Environmental Sustainability to organize a volunteer day to fix up a house in Vermillion, OH, just about an hour away from campus. Students will work with students from Lorain County Community College on weekends during spring break, from March 24-25 and March 31-April 1. Volunteering would include working on projects to fix up the house, including painting, removing carpet, weatherization, etc. Once the house is fixed up, it will be given to a low-income family from Vermillion. Interested students should sign up on this google doc or email Maggie Heraty (mheraty@oberlin.edu). Depending on the number of students interested in participating, transportation will be provided with opportunities for students to fundraise.

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 cbimber@oberlin.net. 

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

Tuesday, 4/10

Festival: Lunch Starting at 11:30 am, Program at Noon, Root Room

Lecture: Persian Music Starting at 7:30 pm, Lecture at 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.

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 greg.mcgonigle@oberlin.edu. Sponsored by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.

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 Alyssa.Phelps@oberlin.edu or Lara.Griffin@oberlin.edu.

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 Hispánica, Cinema Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Comparative Muslim Cultures and Civilizations.

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.

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.