Monday, 12/17, 7 pm, First Church in Oberlin, 106 N. Main Street

Bring your family and friends this holiday season to enjoy the brilliant sounds of organ and brass, a sing-a-long beautiful handcrafted pottery mugs, and complimentary beverages. All proceeds go directly to the Oberlin Community Services. Mugs: $10; Admission: free 

Tuesday, 12/18, 5 pm, Wilder Bowl near Wilder Hall

Come together in the spirit of love and justice to honor the lives lost in the tragedy at Newtown, CT and to pray for peace in our communities. Sponsored by Ecumenical Christians of Oberlin and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. 

Tuesday, 12/18, 7-9 pm, Multifaith Center

Students of all faith backgrounds are invited to stop by the Multifaith Center next Tuesday anytime between 7 and 9 pm to shape and decorate sugar cookies--a mere twelve minutes later, you'll have some snazzy treats guaranteed to make you smile and fuel your brain. Persuasive papers and easy exams could be in your future! Sponsored by Oberlin College Liberated Unitarian Universalist Voices (OC-LUUV).

Wednesday, 12/19, 12:15 pm, First Church in Oberlin (UCC)

Performers in the opening concert include: organists James David Christie (Professor of Organ, Oberlin), Don Verkuilen (Minister of Music at First Congregational Church, Elyria), harpist Kevin Layer (OC '12), soprano Marlene Rosen (Oberlin Professor of Voice), plus a string orchestra of Oberlin students and community members. Bring a bag lunch.

Below is information from several congregations that have shared their Christmas service times with ORSL. Additional congregations are listed at: www.oberlin.edu/orsl/ocalworship.

Christ Episcopal Church

Monday, 12/24, 10:30 p.m., Hymns, Carols and Sung Eucharist 
Tuesday, 12/25, 10:30 a.m., Said celebration of the Eucharist 

First Church in Oberlin (UCC)

Monday, 12/24, 7 p.m., Christmas Eve Family-Friendly Candlelight Service

All are welcome at this beautiful service of carols, stories, music and candlelight as we welcome in the Christ child.

Peace Community Church

Monday, 12/24, 7 p.m., Christmas Eve Communion Service

Sunday, 12/30, 10 am, Christmastide Brunch

Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) is a community of faith that unites people to work for peace with justice. LVC matches volunteers with full-time positions in social justice organizations for one year in one of 14 U.S. cities. LVC volunteers commit to three core practices: building community, working for social justice and living simply and sustainably. When you join LVC,

your talent, strength and imagination will be valued in our collective struggle for justice. In addition to gaining valuable life and work experience, all volunteers receive health insurance, modest living stipend, two weeks vacation and additional program support. Apply at:

www.lutheranvolunteercorps.org/index.cfm/apply-today. Application Deadline: 1/14

1/25 3-5 and 6:30-8 pm, 1/26 10 am-2 pm (lunch provided), First Church in Oberlin

The English translator of "Drawn to Freedom" Dr. William Rader will facilitate this discussion that will address the role of freedom in the Christian life and the divide between Christians who place different emphases on personal morality or social justice. In his translator's preface, Rader recognizes that while it might seem counterintuitive to use a catechism as a springboard to discuss freedom, he sees Busch's work as a way to answer the question, "Why are you called a Christian?" and is primarily interested in the relevance of the gospel for this "tangled world." Eberhard Busch is best known for his biography of Karl Barth. $10.00 registration fee; $15 for registration and "Drawn to Freedom"; $20 for registration, "Drawn to Freedom" and "The Heidelberg Catechism". RSVP by 1/15 to Jim Deitz ejdeitz@centurytel.net, 988-2714 or Linda Slocum lrslocum@gmail.com, 775-2482.

Tuesdays beginning 2/12

Instructor: Rev. Greg McGonigle

This new course will explore the resources that various religious and philosophical traditions offer in efforts toward environmental sustainability. How do various religious traditions relate with nature or the environment, and the scientific claims that warn of its degradation? What resources exist in cosmology, scripture, theology, philosophy, law, ethics, ritual, mysticism, community, art, music, soteriology, and eschatology that relate to environmental concerns? How can environmentalists be helped to work in partnership with religious communities, and faith communities be motivated to participate in environmental action? The course will involve readings and class discussions about world religions and ecology and, as a community-based learning course, it will also require leadership in an applied community project. Limited to 15.

For more information or a copy of the syllabus, please email greg.mcgonigle@oberlin.edu

Illuminating Faith in the Russian Old Believer Tradition (Ripin Print Gallery)

This exhibition draws on the holdings of the AMAM and Oberlin College's Special Collections to present late-18th and early-19th century illuminated manuscript leaves of the Russian Old Believers, a Christian faction that split off from the Russian Orthodox Church in the middle of the 17th century.

The exhibition features art and instruments of ritual Yoruba performance from Nigeria and the broader Yoruba world. The diaspora in the Caribbean, North America, and England has been seminal in the construction of Yoruba ethnic identity, and the exhibition examines commonalities in rituals of divination and the performance of identity through the artwork of Vodun ("Voodoo") ceremonies, Orisha cults, and contemporary artists.

Modern Book Illustrations (Ripin Print Gallery)  This exhibition presents 19th-20th century works from the AMAM collection designed by artists to illustrate texts such as William Blake's Book of Job, Edouard Manet's The Raven, Claire Leighton's Wuthering Heights, and Oskar Kokoschka's King Lear."

Illuminated Manuscripts from Oberlin Collections (Ripin Print Gallery)

Friday, 3/8, 7:30 pm, King 106

In honor of International Women's Day, Loretta Ross will lecture on Reproductive Justice, Religion, and Human Rights. Ross is co-founder of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, a network founded in 1997 comprised of 80 local, regional, and national organizations that focus on reproductive justice for women of color. Sponsored by the Mead Swing Lectureship Fund and the Oberlin Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies.