Spring Open House 2023

Emory students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends are invited to join us for a hard hat tour of the new Emory Interfaith Center.Tour the space, see friends, enjoy refreshments and fun activities, and help support us on Emory Day of Giving, March 22-23. Refreshments will be served. 

Please RSVP for your tour time and then stay to socialize. 

WISE Student Coordinators work closely with the OSRL staff to help plan and lead the WISE Pre-Orientation program. They help recruit and select peer mentors, provide integral student input on the planning process, and serve as strong leaders for peer mentors and first-year students. Meet our 2023 WISE Student Coordinators below. 

World Hijab Day, February 2023

Islamic Awareness Month Recap

February was Islamic Awareness Month, and Emory's active Muslim Student Association and Graduate Muslim Students Council held many events to engage the community. Events included Sisters Soiree, a World Hijab Day table at Wonderful Wednesday, a movie screening for "In Search of My Sister," a Brothers Barbeque and Khutbah Workshop, and a volunteer field day at the Istanbul Cultural Center in Alpharetta. This month OSRL, BCJ, and MSA also co-sponsored a lecture to a full house on Black History in Islam with author and historian Mustafa Briggs. Islamic Awareness Month was also marked by the Call to Prayer sounded from Cox Hall belltower each Friday afternoon.

To learn more about Emory's MSA, click here. To learn more about Emory Muslim Life, click here.

Volunteer Field Day at Alpharetta Istanbul Cultural Center (Left) and

Beyond Bilal Talk with Mustafa Briggs (Center and Right)

This week the Association for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Life in Higher Education (ACSLHE, pronounced "AXLE") held its annual conference in Atlanta. Members of OSRL's staff attended to learn and fellowship with chaplains and spiritual life professionals from around the country and world. The theme was "Joy as Resistance" and workshops included many and various topics.

Emory's own professor Director of the Tam Institute of Jewish studies, Dr. Miriam Udel, presented as one of the two keynote lectures her research on Yiddish Children's Literature as Joyful Resistance.

Last Friday, Dr. Cheryl Crowley, Associate Professor of Japanese Literature and Culture, led a Buddhist Art Workshop featuring the practice of Shakyo – Tracing Sacred Buddhist Texts. Members of Emory Buddhist Club engaged in the meditative Shakyo, learning to practice calligraphy while also discussing the significance of the different Buddhist scriptures that they copied. Thank you to Dr. Crowley and all who attended.

All are invited to reflect and decompress in a midweek, midday time of sacred music. Join Music Director, Maury Allums and the Emory University Office of Spiritual and Religious Life in taking a moment to breathe and connect with others in our community. Register on Zoom here. Like us on Facebook to receive updates on the Livestream.

Mid-Week Musical Meditation 3.1.23

Intervarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship: March First Friday Dinner
Friday, March 3, 6:30 p.m., Brooks Commons Cannon Chapel

Join Intervarsity's Graduate Christian Fellowship for this month's First Friday dinner. Register here.

Stations of the Cross
Friday, March 3, 5:30 p.m., University Catholic Center 
Join us in prayer and reflection on the Passion of Christ with our outdoor Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross is a 14-step devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ's last day on Earth. All are invited. 

Game Night with Catholic Student Union
Thursday, March 16, 7:30 p.m., University Catholic Center
Looking for something fun to do or need a mental break? Join us at the Catholic Center for pizza and board games. 

St. Patrick's Day Party
Friday, March 17, 6:00 p.m., University Catholic Center 
All students are invited to join us for a St. Patrick's Day party at the University Catholic Center, hosted by the Catholic Student Union. 

Beyond the Bars South Conference at Morehouse College
Thursday, March 23 - Saturday, March 25, Morehouse College 

The Andrew Young Center, in partnership with the National Executive Council at Columbia University’s Center for Justice, will host a conference at Morehouse College, Beyond the Bars South. This conference will focus on the relationship between universities or colleges and neighborhoods. Gentrification, income inequality, and mass incarceration have transformed southern cities that are home to leading institutions of higher education. This conference will foster conversations, build relationships, and generate practical solutions for building strong and more resilient communities. If you are interested in registering, click here.

The Center for the Study of Human Health often hears that it is challenging for students to find the time to practice the healthy habits they discuss in class. To address this, they created Living Health Week, which focuses on applying the evidence-based health practices students discuss in class to their own lives. To learn more about Living Health Week, click HERE. 

CSLR Fortieth Anniversary Celebration
Wednesday, March 22, 4:00 p.m., Hunter Atrium 3rd Floor (Emory University School of Law)

Please join us for an open house and brief program in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR) at Emory. Emory University founded its program in law and religion in 1982 as part of a larger goal of building a fully interdisciplinary university. The program’s mission was to increase understanding of the fundamental role of religion in shaping law, politics, and society. At the time, no other major U.S. law school devoted serious scholarship or teaching to the field of law and religion. Now widely recognized as a thought leader in the field, CSLR continues to produce and promote path-breaking scholarship, teaching, and public programs on the interaction of law and religion around the world.

Guests will have an opportunity to meet CSLR core faculty, fellows, staff, and friends and explore the different aspects of CSLR’s history and current work while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Brief program will include remarks from Emory Law School Dean Mary Anne Bobinski, Robert W. Woodruff Professor and CSLR Faculty Director John Witte, Jr., and CSLR Executive Director Whittney Barth.

RSVP here.

Bread Coffeehouse will be hosting their Spring Retreat on Friday, March 31 through Sunday, April 2 at Woodland Christian Camp in Temple, GA, about an hour away from campus.

The deposit is $25 and is due Friday, March 10. The total cost of the retreat will be no more than $75. Scholarships may be requested by contacting Alex Zhong.

To sign up for the retreat, click HERE

The Intervarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship will be gathering throughout the season of Lent to collectively complete devotional time.

You can get a copy of the devotional book by contacting Glenn Goldsmith.

Intervarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship: Lenten Devotional - "A Just Passion"
Want to make a difference in the lives of young children? Casa de Esperanza seeks applicants for the Hands of Hope Service Year Program.  Casa de Esperanza provides residential foster care to children ages birth through six who are in crisis due to abuse, neglect, or the effects of HIV. For a complete description visit our website.  The application can be found by clicking HERE.

For more information, please email Darean Talmadge.

There are a plethora of weekly religious and philosophical gatherings offered at Emory. Many of them are listed here and at the button below. Can't find what you are looking for? Contact many of our undergraduate and graduate communities directly or contact our religious life affiliates and OSRL staff.

For questions, or to add an item to our weekly gatherings page, please email our office here.

Upcoming Religious Holidays
These events are drawn from the multifaith calendar maintained by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at Harvard Divinity School. To see more upcoming religious holidays and festivals, please click here. 

Great Lent
Mon., Feb. 27 – Sat., Apr. 15, 2023
Tradition: Christianity-Orthodox
In Orthodox churches, the first day of Lent marks the beginning of the Great Fast, the final six weeks of a 10-week period leading up to Holy Week and Easter (Pascha). In the churches that follow the Gregorian calendar, Lent is a six-week observance (40 days excluding Sundays) beginning with Ash Wednesday and culminating in Holy Week. It is a time of repentance and sacrifice in preparation for Easter.

Nineteen Day Fast
Wed., Mar. 1 – Sun., Mar. 19, 2023
Tradition: Baha'i
A designated 19-day period of fasting each year immediately before the Bahá’í New Year. The fasting is seen as a period of spiritual preparation and regeneration for the new year ahead.

Laylat al-Bara'ah
Mon., Mar. 6, 2023
Tradition: Islam
Begins at sundown.
(Night of Repentance)
On this night, God approaches the Earth to call humanity and to grant forgiveness of sins. Observed on the 14th day of the lunar month of Sha'ban.

Purim
Mon., Mar. 6, 2023
Tradition: Judaism
Celebrates the rescue of the Jews of ancient Persia from a plot to destroy them as related in the Book of Esther, which is read at this time. Purim is a joyous holiday, celebrated by wearing of costumes, giving gifts to friends, giving to the poor, and socializing. Preceded by the Fast of Esther, Purim is a day of feasting. Begins at sundown.

Holi
Tue., Mar. 7, 2023
Tradition: Hinduism
A joyous spring Hindu festival that is dedicated to Krishna in some parts of India; in other parts of India, it is dedicated to Kama, the God of Pleasure. People throw colored water or colored powder in celebration.