On March 8-9, Emory University OSRL and others co-sponsored the inaugural conference of the new Association for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Life in Higher Education (ACSLHE). Originally intended to be an in-person conference hosted on Emory's Atlanta campus, the COVID19 pandemic forced it to go online. Nevertheless, some 300 chaplains, faculty, students, and university leaders attended. The conference marked the consolidation of two long-time professional associations, ACURA and NACUC to combine resources to better support religious diversity on college campuses. Emory University Dean of Religious Life The Rev. Greg McGonigle, an ACURA board member and former NACUC president, served on the conference planning committee and moderated the closing keynote with Joy Harjo, the current and the first Native American poet laureate of the United States. Other speakers included Bishop William Barber II, President Ruth Simmons, and Dean Varun Soni.

The conference was covered by Religion News Service and Emory Report.

World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film is an annual observance held on March 11 over the world, which has taken place for the past 11 years. This day was created in 2010 by Javed Mohammed, a writer and producer from California. The main aim of the celebration is to share and discuss Muslim culture to create a link and understanding across faiths and to promote a better knowledge of Muslim culture. For more information please visit: https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/woodruff/library-resources/world-day-of-muslim-culture. 

Emory Spiritual and Religious Life nurtures a diverse religious life program that supports particular faith traditions and interfaith engagement, educates about spirituality and ethics in society and the world, and builds bridges of understanding and peace. 

When you make a gift to Emory OSRL, you are strengthening our community and enhancing spiritual life on campus and in the many communities we serve. On Emory Day of Giving, we are highlighting these giving opportunities:

Save the date on your calendar and make a gift on Emory's Day of Giving, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. 

Emory University OSRL and student leaders are planning an interfaith pre-orientation program for incoming first-year students for mid-August 2021. This program will provide participants with an introduction to spiritual and interfaith life at Emory and in Atlanta. It will also welcome new students to Emory and ease their transition to college.

We seek Peer Mentors from diverse religious, philosophical, and spiritual backgrounds. 

Peer Mentors would return to campus early and lead incoming students through the program.

To view a full Peer Mentor position description, please click here.

If you are a current undergraduate interested in applying to be a peer mentor, please fill out this form by clicking here. Learn more about the program here. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Zachary Cole.  

Emory’s Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (OSRL) will present a “Chat with the Chaplaincy” session in which you can meet and talk with Emory's multifaith chaplaincy staff  – Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Unitarian Universalist.

Are you curious about how to stay calm balancing coursework and life during the COVID19 pandemic, or are you interested in how spiritual life connects with current events? Bring your questions or just come and learn more.

All are welcome. You can submit questions beforehand or during the event.

Passover is around the corner. Hillel has you covered for all things Seder, meals, and more. Pick up Seder to go from Hillel or host your own Seder with the help of Hillel. Sign up for everything on the Hillel Hive. 

Register on the Hillel Hive by Sunday, March 21. Seder meals will be picked up Friday, March 26, 4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. at Marcus Hillel Center.

Emory University Office of Spiritual and Religious Life and Emory Dining are pleased to provide suhoor and iftar meals for students currently living on Clairmont Campus or Main Campus and observing Ramadan (April 12-May 12, 2021).

Iftar and suhoor (for the following morning) meals can be picked up at a time that will be announced by Thursday, April 1, 2021. Please complete the form below by Thursday, April 1, 2021 to request meals.  Meal pick up location will be by area of residence: Main Campus at DCT,  Clairmont Campus at SAAC. 

To sign up, please click here. For questions or support, please contact Dr. Isam Vaid by clicking here or the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life by clicking here.

Each year, we look forward to celebrating graduating seniors and sending them into the world with blessings in the Multifaith Baccalaureate Ceremony. Again this year this will be a video tribute, but last year's was a cherised production that brought together Emory deans, chaplains, affiliates, faculty, staff, and seniors to create a video celebration and keepsake.

Opportunity to Get Involved: If you are a graduating senior who would like to help plan the 2021 Multifaith Baccalaureate for the Class of 2021 or contribute original music, poetry, readings, dance, art or spiritual blessings and reflections, please contact Jewish Chaplain Rabbi Jordan Braunig at jordan.braunig@emory.edu. You can also submit ideas here. 

Check the OSRL website soon for a full schedule of Emory Commencement events. 

Emory Beloved Community Holy Week 2021 

All are welcome. Register for services here. 

For more information, please email religiouslife@emory.edu. 

Join Venerable Priya, Emory Buddhist Chaplain, and other participants for a time of community and reflection together.

The purpose of this time is to connect and relax with each other as we share our reflections on our favorite poems, texts, and experiences that are meaningful, whether spiritually or not. There will be pre-selected topics/texts for reflection. We also encourage you to bring a poem or text that is meaningful to you, but that is not required.

All students are welcome. To register, please click here. For more information, please contact priya.rakkhit.sraman@emory.edu.

Midweek Musical Meditation
Wednesdays during term, 12:00-12:15 p.m. EST, Zoom and Facebook Live

All are invited to reflect and decompress in a mid-week, mid-day time of sacred music. Join Maury Allums, OSRL Director of Music, and the Emory Office of Spiritual and Religious Life in taking a moment to breathe, relax, and connect with others in our community.

Visit http://bit.ly/OSRLMidWeekMusic to register for this weekly event via Zoom and to receive updates on our weekly musical reflections. You can also watch live on Facebook by visiting the Emory OSRL Facebook page.

Sponsored by the Emory University Office of Spiritual and Religious Life. For more information contact mallums@emory.edu.

Upcoming Programs

Guided Meditation and Discussion
Thursdays, 6:00 p.m., Register for Zoom meeting here.

This week, Emory Buddhist Club welcomes back Geshe Dadul Namgyal. Geshe Dadul-la is a Tibetan Buddhist monk who serves on the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative. He is an exceptional scholar and translator of Tibetan Buddhism, with years of experience in communicating the Dharma at all levels. During the meeting on Thursday, Geshe-la plans to discuss the 3rd chapter of the Dhammapada, centered around the topic of "the mind". He will also guide a meditation and lead the recitation of "Homage to the Shakyamuni Buddha" which is attached. 

To participate in the meeting, simply paste the link included above into your computer URL bar. Anyone is welcome to join. The Emory Buddhist Club is a student-led effort. Our primary mission is to provide a free, weekly opportunity for anyone with any interest in Buddhism or meditation to meet, practice, and learn with qualified Buddhist teachers from the Atlanta area. Our meetings are always free and open to the public. We welcome anyone, regardless of meditation experience or point of view.

Learn more about the University Catholic Center here and see their full bulletin here. Find more Lenten Faith resources here. 

The vision of the International InterVarsity Fellowship (IIF) is to build a fellowship experiencing God’s love and to create a community for international students, visiting scholars, and exchange students from all backgrounds to come, belong, build lifelong friendships, trust, pray, study God’s word, and seek who Jesus is as well as experience the beauty of diverse friendships around the world. Keep up-to-date by joining our Facebook group. We also invite you to any and all of our regular events:

2021 Anna Julia Cooper Lecture
Wednesday, March 17, 4:00 p.m., EST

Please join Candler School of Theology's Black Church Studies program in welcoming the Reverend Dr. Renita J. Weems, PhD, biblical scholar, author, public intellectual and co-pastor of Nashville’s Ray of Hope Community Church to deliver the 2021 Anna Julia Cooper Lecture.

In the lecture entitled "We Build On Foundations We Did Not Lay: The Emergence of Womanist (Biblical) Scholarship in the '70s and '80s," Dr. Weems explores the 1980s as a pivotal decade. Black women had begun enrolling in theological schools in significant numbers in the decade before, and they arrived challenging institutional expectations about their "God-given" roles as women, their right to preach, lead, interpret sacred scripture, and be knowledge producers. Above all was their insistence upon distinguishing their work from that of other marginalized voices pushing against the center. To register, please click here.

Sacred Work: Science, Religion and Human Health
Wednesday, March 31, 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST, Zoom

There is a great convergence of disciplines in health science taking place in the world today. Human values are moving to the forefront of what constitutes for health of person and community. Vocations in spiritual health and religious care are turning to the importance of scientific preparation while health scientists are incorporating sacred underpinnings to discover and be present to whole person and population health. Emory University invites you to hear from two of our most accomplished scholars, Dr. Ellen L. Idler and the Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Y. Lartey, who will address current and future movements of these elements. Dr. George H. Grant and Dr. Charles Raison will moderate.

This is a free event that will be recorded. To learn more about our speakers and register click here.