Multifaithchaplain.rrc.edu



CAMPUS PROJECTS 2017-2018During the first year of the Luce funded program Campus Chaplaincy for a Multifaith world, ten campuses participated in creating pilot projects. The schools represented a range of institutions. They included Rutgers, a publically funded university with only privately sponsored religious advisors along with Yale, an institution with a large, generously endowed chaplaincy staff and a rich tradition of multifaith offerings supported by the university. Our fellows designed programs that reached out in a variety of ways across their campuses, from a meaningful deep-dive for a small, diverse group of students (Princeton) to a large community wide event for the entire campus community (Vassar) to a series of programs targeted to different segments of the population. The latter included: chaplains (Northeastern), student leaders (Harvard), general student population (Georgetown), specific student populations (NYU) and more. While the reports below vary in detail, each team is available to share additional information and resources about their program.Chaplains listed in bold are the lead contact for their schools. GEORGETOWN:Rachel Gartner, Rabbi and Director of Jewish Life, rfg32@georgetown.eduBrandon Harris, Protestant ChaplainThey wrote, “Rather than talking our way through abstract concepts and slowly winding our way toward some very basic intellectual understanding, sharing practices allowed us to experience our way into the richness and power of practices with an immediacy that left a deep impression on each of us. Inspired by the religious-practice-sharing of the August retreat, we sought to create a similar program on our campus. Our most immediately energized partners were the staff and student leaders of Georgetown’s John Main Center for Christian Meditation, who were likewise seeking to create a depth-driven multi-faith initiative this particular academic year. We met with this group twice and in the interim sought feedback from all senior clergy in our Campus Ministry to gage interest and surface ideas. Ultimately, we decided to combine the interests and expertise of the John Main Center students and staff with those of our Campus Ministry clergy and we created a six-week series entitled The Many Faces of Meditation. The flyer read: The Many Faces of Meditation: Expand Your Experience. Have you ever wondered about the religious, cultural, and spiritual origins of different meditative practices? Join us for a meditation series featuring a variety of contemplative exercises that inspire, heal and energize. All levels welcome. The six Many Faces sessions were held every other Wednesday from 4:30 – 5:30 during the second half of the Spring semester. Each session was led by a different faith leader on campus. Each session had three segments:1.The faith leader explained a meditative practice from their tradition2.The faith leader led that meditative practice3.Group reflection and Q and AAn average of 15 participants attended each week. The series was a true success and we are planning on replicating and growing it. HARVARD:Getzel Davis, Hillel Rabbi and University Chaplain, getzel@hillel.harvard.eduLucy Forster-Smith, Sedgwick ChaplainThe team began by building a community for resident proctors and tutors (Harvard's RAs) who were interested in being resources for their students in spiritual, ethical, and religious life.? They convened a group of six folks in person and another five digitally who spent an afternoon brainstorming how to better support their students.? They created an active email list where they coordinate programs.??Finding interest strongest among the students themselves, they then created the peer educator program FRESI (Facilitators of Religious, Ethical and Spiritual Inquiry) program.? This program trains and designates one student in each of the upperclassmen houses (dorms) whose job it is to help support multi-faith programming in the house.? During the year, Reverend Forster-Smith moved on to a new position in Chicago. In year two, Rabbi Getzel Davis and Chaplain Donna Hakimian will support and help to grow FRESI. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY:Yael Shy, Senior Director, Global Spiritual Life Center, yael.shy@nyu.eduDoyeon Park, Buddhist ChaplainThe team created three unique retreats, hiring premiere meditation instructors with expertise in teaching people of color, young people and LGBTQ folks. In February, they held a “Queer Liberation for the New Year ? Day Retreat” through their LGBTQ Meditation with OutBreath program. The retreat entailed setting of intentions for renewal, healing of body-mind-spirit, and liberation through the stillness of traditional seated meditation, the mindful movement of yoga and walking meditation, and healing communal ritual. The majority of participants had never attended OutBreath meditations before. They reported that the most meaningful aspects of the retreat were the sense of community, the safety they felt as queer people, and the chance to try out new practices and explore difficult emotions in a safe space.In March, they held “The Liberated Heart: a half day meditation and yoga retreat.” The aim was to learn how mindfulness can help us let go, expand our sense of self and connect more freely to our hearts, ourselves and others through various forms of meditation and yoga. Most participants reported feeling very safe, and no participants reported feeling unsafe. Students noted in written reflections that they enjoyed learning about and accepting vulnerability, guided meditations, and sharing experiences with fellow participants.In April, they held “Existence as Resistance: a 1/2-day retreat for students of color.” The retreat was focused on self-care, healing and liberation, especially from everyday acts of racism and its impacts. Through meditation, yoga, reflection and community, we explored pathways to deep rest in a supportive and safe space. The majority of participants reported feeling very safe, and many emphasized that the instructors were very kind and welcoming. 90% also reported that the retreat was very helpful for their meditation practice. Participants particularly enjoyed the guided meditations and yoga, and reported that the self-care and sense of community they experienced was very meaningful to them. Half of participants reported that they would be very likely to attend weekly meditations after the retreat. 90% of participants reported they were very likely to attend another retreat in the future. NORTHEASTERN: Alexander Levering Kern, Executive Director, Center for Spirituality, Dialogue and Service, a.kern@northeastern.eduKarin Firoza, Assistant Director, Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and ServiceThe team created “Leading with Spirit.” The heart of this pilot program involved engaging a team of 25 Spiritual Advisors (Chaplains) in designing and implementing monthly spiritual practices workshops and dialogues for their Team Meetings, resulting in replicable curricula that can be incorporated into existing student programs such as the annual student Renew: Spirituality and Leadership Retreat and weekly Spiritual Practices sessions in the University’s Sacred Space (selected workshop designs are available on request).*An opening workshop framing goals and the importance of exploring Spiritual Practices and Character Cultivation, facilitated by Kern and Firoza. A highlight included an activity called Identity Theft which enabled advisors to share the spiritual disciplines that most undergird their vocation, identity, and practice of campus ministry *Northeastern’s CSDS and Jewish Studies welcomed acclaimed writer David Ebenbach to lead sessions on Spirituality and Creative Writing, building on his book, The Artist’s Torah. This resulted in the launch of a new biweekly program called “Spiritual Freewriting,” facilitated by Alex Kern.*A session on Muslim Prayer, led by of Samer Nasereddeen and Tasbiha Batool the University’s Sunni and Shi’a Advisors, followed by reflection and Chalice-Lighting by Unitarian Universalist Advisor Rev. MaryHelen Gunn.*“Remembering Our Ancestors: An Invitation to Buddhist Memorial Practice,” a memorable and moving session led by Buddhist Advisor Seonjoon Young – in close calendar proximity to Christian and pagan observances of All Saints and All Souls.*An ecumenical Lutheran-Episcopal reflection on Advent Spiritual Practices led by Joyce DeGreeff and Rev. Megan Holding. This dovetailed with the introduction of new spiritual practices by the Lutheran-Episcopal advisors including spirituality and the arts (creating sacred symbols), Labyrinth walks, and sacred meals.*An introduction to the Sikh practice of langar by Sarbpreet Singh including a storytelling reading from his new Podcast “Story of the Sikhs.” This led to an extremely well-attended and beautiful langar and Podcast launch event which welcomed students of all faiths and none alongside members of the wider off-campus Sikh and interfaith communities.*A Hindu philosophical discourse on spirituality and character development, followed by Mantra Meditation, led by Hindu co-Spiritual Advisor Partha Biswas, leading to deep exploration of contemplative connections across “Eastern” and “Western” religious traditions, including connections with the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and evangelical Protestant prayer traditions. *“Using Music for Worship from a Pentecostal Lens” led by Christina Richardson, a Liberian-American seminarian from BU School of Theology interning with CSDS. This experience helped fuel her leadership of an end of the year “Faith Through the Arts” celebration which included students and staff sharing poetry, music, dance, and scriptural recitations from their traditions and describing how the arts inform their indemnity and spiritual growth (traditions represented included Jewish, evangelical Christian, Pentecostal, Muslim, Sikh, Jain, and Hindu).*A closing small group community dialogue on the spiritual practices that nurture hope, resilience, and Sabbath rest and restoration, in preparation for the summer.PRINCETON:Vineet Chander, Coordinator for Hindu Life, vchander@princeton.eduMatthew Weiner, Associate Dean of Religious LifeThe team chose to experiment with an alternative spring break program. A small multifaith group of student spent 6 days (Sunday 4/18/18 - Friday 4/23/18) visiting Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, the only maximum-security facility for women in New York State. With the assistance of chaplain educators, students were paired with two women each: one to visit in the mornings and one in the afternoons. Students entered the prison each morning (8:30 am) and afternoon (2 pm) during visiting hours, and met with their conversation partners for around 2-3 hours. Guided reflection before, during and after the week focused on virtue formation, particularly as related to chaplaincy and multifaith work. RUTGERS:Kaiser Aslam, Chaplain, Center for Muslim Life, chaplain@David Yaden, Humanist ChaplainThe team explored three different initiatives. The biweekly Interfaith Alliance meetings were modified to incorporate sharing spiritual practices so that the leaders (students and staff) of the religious groups on campus now start each meeting by learning about and participating in each other’s spiritual practices. These have ranged from all the members moving through the actions of a Muslim Salat (congregational prayer), all the members taking part in reading and reflecting on verses from the Psalms, to all the members reciting Hebrew prayers to center themselves as would be common in orthodox Jewish practice. Previously these meetings were more informative in nature, many times turning into simple organizational updates. Now they have been transformed into reflective experiences that many of the members look forward to. The effects of starting off meetings in this manner have manifested in joint events from spiritual communities, picking up on a similarity gleaned from the spiritual sharing at the Interfaith Alliance meeting, and it eventually evolving into an event between two or more spiritual communities. The annual Trialogue (an interfaith dialogue event between Jews, Christians, and Muslims) was replaced by two large events, one in the fall semester and one in the spring. These "Spirituality Summits” incorporated many more spiritual communities, including the Humanist, Hindu, Episcopal, Progressive Christian and Orthodox Jewish communities. The format of these events saw the partnership of religious leaders and student leaders facilitating workshops in which students and staff?were encouraged to participate in spiritual rituals and practices so that they could learn and experience spiritual practices that were foreign to them.Student prizes were established to encourage students to write reflective pieces about their interfaith experiences in the semester. TUFTS:Greg McGonigle, University Chaplain, Greg.McGonigle@tufts.eduCelene Lizzio Ibrahim, Muslim ChaplainThe team created a three-pronged approach: University Chaplaincy Staff Team MeetingsOver the year, to start their twice monthly staff meetings, chaplains shared their spiritual practices and the rest of the staff learned. Some practices included meditating on the name of God in Islam, the practice of Quaker meetings, and meditatively listening to music. This helped the chaplaincy team get to know each other better and get to know one another’s traditions, as well as teaching this method for passing on to students.Interfaith Student Council MeetingsIn their weekly Interfaith Student Council meetings, they used the spiritual practice sharing method to structure the reflections that began their meetings each week. Students shared deeply and intimately about such practices as wearing a cord they received from a monk at Mount Athos, the practice of confirmation in various Christian traditions, and the praying of Jewish blessings. The students talked about how these spiritual practices form them, and this became a way for them to get to know each other better and to learn about important practices in each other’s spirituality. It increased religious literacy as well as friendships and community in the council.Interfaith Awareness MonthTo bring the practice of sharing spiritual practices and the virtues they cultivate to the wider campus, the Interfaith Student Council led an “Interfaith Awareness Month” in February 2018. They invited the whole campus to experience and learn about various spiritual traditions. From Jumma prayer and Shabbat to Catholic Mass and Protestant Worship, as well as Hindu puja and Buddhist meditation, many weekly gatherings and spiritual practice opportunities were publicized as being open for exploration, and sessions were held before or after to help visitors learn, ask questions, and reflect. The month started with a visibility campaign that invited people to share on a white board their response to a prompt such as: “Interfaith means…” or “Being spiritual means…” and add a photo of themselves with the board online.UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA:Charles Howard, University Chaplain, choward@pobox.upenn.eduPatricia Anton, Muslim ChaplainThe team partnered with Penn Hillel and Wharton Sirius FM Radio Station to create Podcast Conversations around the Intersection of Faith and Character Formation.The goal was to create a series of conversations that would explore the role that faith (specific religious traditions as well as personal spiritualties) might have on character formation.? They first brought together the campus partners to wrestle with the question: “who is to say what ‘good character’ is?”? Certainly none of us.? Or perhaps all of us.? Ultimately the answer was that their traditions have a lot to say about character and maybe if they let them all speak, students and listeners will hear something that resonates and challenges them.They shared the uploaded podcasts through their SoundCloud page and social media.? They entitled the podcast “The Good Life”!? It can be found at team discovered they faced a steep learning curve with this project. In the coming year, they hope to take advantage of their increased skill with technology, to expand the number of voices and to promote the podcast through social media. The project is not only at the intersection of faith and character formation, but of technology and social media as well. It potentially can have impact beyond the Penn campus.VASSAR: Samuel Speers, Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, saspeers@vassar.eduElizabeth Aeschlimann, Director of Jewish Student Life and Assistant Director of Religious and Spiritual LifeThe team worked in three ways.They threaded practice sharing through most of the work they did, inviting students and staff to share their own practices at student interns' meetings, monthly student leaders' meetings across their different religious communities, monthly faculty advisory committee meetings, and monthly affiliate advisors meetings. They held two Smaller Programs: In the fall, "Practices of Being in a Fractured World," a student fishbowl on practices that sustain them in a fractured world. Rabbi Rena Blumenthal (consultant to the Luce/RRC project) and Professor Louis Romer (Anthropology) served as facilitators.In the spring, "Practices of Resilient Solidarity"--Professor Romer and Elizabeth Aeschlimann, Director of Jewish Student Life facilitated this panel.The highlight of their work for the year was a community wide program "The Art of Living: Practices for Flourishing in a Fractured World," co-sponsored by the Office of Teaching Development. About 75 students and staff attended a talk by Stephanie Paulsell of Harvard Divinity School and an Advisory Board member of the Luce/RRC program, which articulated practices as those shared activities people do that shape a way of life. Following Paulsell's talk, the audience divided into breakout workshops in which professors invited all to participate in practices that are meaningful to them personally. Students chose between sessions on communal eating and hospitality, contemplation, movement, poetry writing, and reading Harry Potter as a sacred text.While on campus, Paulsell also visited Philosophy/Media Studies Professor Barry Lam's class on Podcasts; one of the students did a project on her experience at a Buddhist monastery retreat. In addition, Paulsell led a faculty session, hosted by the Office of Teaching Development, on Contemplation and the Liberal Arts.YALE: Asha Shipman, Director of Hindu Life, asha.shipman@yale.eduSharon Kugler, University ChaplainThe team created two projects, one with religious advisors and the other for students. The “Grateful Not Dead” ProjectThis project was directed towards the 35 members of the Yale Religious Ministries () during their monthly meetings in September, October and November. During the first meeting they unveiled their plans by giving each member a big rainbow lollipop and describing their experiences at the RRC retreat.?Each gave a short presentation highlighting three things they do with their respective organizations that are of the more creative and non-routine bent.?At the second meeting they broke them into small groups and they explored together individual hopes they hold for student character formation.?The prompt was whole-heartedly swiped from the first moments of the RRC retreat “How do you want your students to shine in the world?” Responses largely took the form of advice they would give including:Many of the YRM members spoke about how much they cared for their students’ welfare as they navigate the very confusing waters of our time. As they shared in the larger group they centered back on gratitude and that much of what was discussed had to with encouraging students to think beyond themselves and their own worldviews. They would like their students to have a sense that they have a common goal of improving themselves and the world and to be grateful for each other’s contributions in that vein.In their last meeting the prompt was: “Please come prepared to share a practice that your group participates in that centers around gratitude. This could be in the form of a special centering object, a portion of sacred text/prayer, a specific ritual or any other way that your group might use to focus on gratitude.”One member shared the practice of honoring each senior by asking the senior to invite people dear to them from the various communities they belong to. Then the senior talks about their time at Yale and the group does a toast in which people talked about how important that senior is to them and how grateful they were to have him/her in that particular community. Another member discussed Native American gratitude practices that include prayers indicating gratitude for the ground we walk on and gratitude towards people in the past, people now present, and people yet to be met. Another member felt that attending Mass was in itself a ritual of Thanksgiving, a lifting up of gratitude at the altar. A “Teach me How to Pray” program described by another member explored different kinds of prayer and asked students to consider thankful moments throughout the day. Others spoke about including gratitude in their sermons as a counter to the attitude of self-reliance and a testimonial that God has guided all achievements.A Buddhist member related a Heart prayer: “If the only prayer you said in your life is ‘Thank You’ then that would be enough.” He related that monks say that to be human is to experience ten thousand joys and ten thousand sorrows. The monks sometimes pray for sorrows so that they can grow. Buddhists are grateful to be born as a human who can study and grow. Sometimes he and his students make mental lists of what they are grateful for. A Jewish member shared that one of the first prayers said in the morning, even before opening your eyes is “Thank you God, for me.” She tries to get the Yale students to be appreciative of the people around them such as kitchen staff, people who provide them services and might be invisible. She also talked about sharing with students an e e cummings poem that begins “I thank you God for this most amazing day.”Shipman shared a concluding prayer (Aatma Samarpana) from the Hindu worship services that is a surrendering to the Lord. It requires action to surrender, it is not easy and it requires gratitude. The last stanza includes “You are all-in-all; you are everything to me; you are the core of my being, the Heart of my heart, the Source of my self, the Soul of my soul, the Ultimate Reality devoid of duality and partiality….” It is a complete prayer of gratitude for everything known and unknowable, for being touched by grace, love, knowledge and companionship.To sum up this session, gratitude towards our planet, to people and to God seems to be built into all faith traditions. Exercises such as these certainly increase self-awareness of the practices members incorporate into their lives and in their students’ lives. Beyond serving as a helpful reminder of the good work that is already being done, this three-month deep inquiry certainly brought much joy as they (re)discovered shared practices and perspectives. If they were to run this project again they might compile gratitude practices from the members’ communities into a small booklet. The booklet would be a lovely keepsake but also potentially serve as a bridge to bring communities together that share similar practices but were unaware of that fact. The “Gratus” ProjectThe Gratus Project was for students participating in IFFY, the Interfaith Forum at Yale (). Since September 11 the group has met weekly on Monday evenings, sustaining 20-25 students in attendance each session.? The goal of IFFY is to bring together undergraduate students who are interested in grappling with life questions from a deeply personal spiritual perspective. Sessions in the fall planted the roots for what became a campus-wide art project. We read “We were made for times like these” by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and used it as a launching point to share stories about what sustains us, when we experience?awe, and moments of gratitude. These conversations also launched a larger discussion about the role chaplains play in the lives of others, particularly our campus community. ................
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