“We want to listen to and engage with a broad diversity of voices about where we are in our spiritual life at Emory — where we excel, what’s challenging, where the gaps are, and what will help meet people’s needs and interests at this time,” says the Rev. Greg McGonigle, dean of religious life and university chaplain. “Our resulting plan will help add life and vibrancy to our community, and reduce biases and prejudice. Like every institution, Emory has both strengths and opportunities in our religious life.”

Read the full article and learn more about the Emory University Spiritual and Religious Life strategic planning process here. 

Join us this Friday for a virtual meditation and Aarti facilitated by Emory Hindu Chaplain Brahmacharini Shweta Chaitanya and the Emory HSA. The Aarti will be followed by a group discussion. All are welcome to attend on Zoom by clicking here.

Aarti is a form of worship in which a lamp, typically an oil lamp, is circled around a symbol, image, or deity while singing prayers of veneration. The various icons towards which the Aarti is performed hold unique significance across different Hindu traditions, although the atmosphere of joy and upliftment is common to all. Whether performed alone in one’s home or in a communal setting like a temple, Aarti is a ritual by which Hindus connect devotionally to their spiritual and religious principles.

For more information, please contact Brahmacharini Shweta Chaitanya here. More about the Emory HSA and their activities can be found here.

Islamic Awareness Month, Muslim Call to Prayer from Cox Hall
Fridays in February, 1:45 p.m. EST

You may start to notice the Muslim call to prayer (adhan) recited from the Cox Hall carillon chimes in the month of February, which is Islamic Awareness Month at Emory.

It has been a tradition for several decades at Emory during Islamic Awareness Month and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to play the call to prayer on Fridays, which is the Muslim day for communal midday prayer (Jumu'ah).

The call to prayer is a general statement of Islamic belief and a summons to communal prayer. Traditionally, it is recited from mosque minarets five times per day to call Muslims to obligatory prayers. On Friday afternoons at Emory, it is followed immediately by communal prayer, a sermon, and a time for fellowship in Cannon Chapel.

Special Note: In-person indoor gatherings are limited to under 10 people at a time and require advanced registration. For more information, please check the Emory Forward website. For more information on Friday prayers, please contact Dr. Isam Vaid, Muslim Religious Life Scholar. 

Preacher: The Rev. Glenn Goldsmith, InterVarsity Affiliate

Scripture: Pslam 25:1-10 and Mark 1:9-15

Noncanonical Reading: "Wilderness," by Andrew King

Sermon: Waiting in the Wilderness

The Rev. Glenn Goldsmith is an ordained Presbyterian pastor in the PC(USA) and has been a campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Emory for over 15 years. 

His current work focuses on weekly programming, leadership development, and spiritual formation for graduate and professional school students and faculty. 

He is passionate about helping students and faculty love God, love their neighbors, and promote justice and compassion in and through their professional lives. He lives near Decatur with his wife and three teenage sons and enjoys long walks, good food and books, and plenty of time with his family.

All are welcome to join us for Beloved Community here.

Let's Talk: "Plural-Sectionality: A Discussion about Pluralism, Intersectionality, and Jewish Identity"
Thursday, February 18, 6:30-8:00 p.m. EST, Online

Plural-Sectionality: Pluralism, Intersectionality, and Jewish Identity is a community-building event aiming to foster dialogue between Jewish students of different backgrounds. With the help of student leaders from across Emory's Jewish community, we hope to have a meaningful dialogue about being Jewish in many ways, shapes, and forms. The event will involve a brief text study, breakout room discussions, and identity exercises.

This event is hosted by Emory Hillel. To RSVP by the February 18 deadline, please click here.
We hope to see you there. 

Guided Meditation with Emory Buddhist Club  
Thursday, February 18, 6:00 p.m. EST, To join by Zoom, please click here

This week, Emory Buddhist Club (EBC) is pleased to welcome back Guo Gu, the founder and teacher of the Tallahassee Chan Center. He will be leading a meditation and group discussion this Thursday. 

“Guo Gu” means the result of being a valley. It comes from the Chinese proverb, “To be humble as a valley.” Guo Gu was introduced to Master Guangqin, one of the most respected Chinese meditation masters and ascetics in Taiwan, at the age of four. In 1980, he moved to the United States and began studying with Master Sheng Yen. He was ordained as a monk in 1991 and became Master Sheng Yen’s first personal attendant and assistant. Responding to a deep desire to take Chan Buddhism beyond the walls of the monastery, Guo Gu gave up his robes and re-entered the world in 2000. He completed a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Princeton University and began teaching as a professor of Buddhist studies at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

To learn more about Guo Gu on his website, please click here. To see last week's recording, please click here.

The Charity and Justice Working Group
Friday, February 19, 5:00 p.m., EDT

The Charity and Just Working Group is a community of Christians who seek to follow Jesus by relying on the Spirit to practice charity and seek justice in accordance with the Bible. 

The working group aims to actively pray over the pressing needs and injustices of today; to process them in dialogue with God's Word, church history, and scholars, pastors, and practitioners in Atlanta and beyond.

The group aims to produce from the group's learnings, written and digital content in promotion of the common good; and to practice concrete acts of charity and justice in community with one another.

Beginning Spring 2021, the group may explore, amongst other issues racial justice, immigration, the breakdown of the family, and inequities in healthcare, education, and housing, all from a biblical and historically cognizant perspective.

If you are Interested in exploring these issues, and obtain additional information and please sign up here.

Emory's Graduate Christian Fellowship holds to the beliefs of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Mind Full or Mindful?
February 19-21, Online

Join us for a weekend session of breath and meditation. For more information click here. For scholarship information click here. To register click here. Sponsored by Sky@Emory.

Bible Study: Are the Dead Really Dead?
Friday, February 19, 7:00-8:30 p.m. EST, Zoom

Join Emory Adventist Christian Fellowship (EACF) on Friday night for some study and discussion surrounding the state of the dead and what happens after we die. Two of our exec board members, Ruth and Amar will be leading out.

The Zoom meeting ID is 688-621-103. We hope to see you there.

Women Worldwide
February 7-March 7

Women Worldwide is a 5-week women's program hosted by MEOR at Emory. Every Sunday at 1:30 p.m., we will host various women from different countries. The first 15 minutes are discussions lead by Michal Levy, followed by a talk from a special guest speaker.

Applications close after we have 25 applications, so apply fast. Click here to apply. Sponsored by MEOR at Emory.

Voices of the Liturgy
Tuesday, February 23, 7:30-9:00 p.m. EST, Zoom

Join the Aquinas Center of Theology for our annual Catholic-Orthodox Initiative Lecture as Dr. Susan Ashbrook Harvey and Sr. Mary Priniski converse on "Voices of the Liturgy: A Conversation on Ancient Traditions in Orthodox Worship."

Orthodox churches are known for the beauty of their worship. Especially powerful, in any of their languages, is the sound. Orthodox liturgies are a tapestry of song, adorned with hymns, musical prayers, melodic responses, chanted refrains, and intoned sacred readings. Susan Ashbrook Harvey is a scholar of ancient Byzantine Christianity, both Greek and Syriac. In this presentation, she explores the historical tradition of worship as a musical weaving to which all participants – clergy, choirs, and laity – contribute with sounding voice.

To register, click here.

Purim Program Celebration
Thursday, February 25, 8:00 p.m. EST, Zoom

Come and get your groger on. This year, Hillels of Georgia and Ma'alot are partnering for a digital Purim program. It's part Megillah, part Purim Shpiel, and all festive fun. Come see students and staff perform this fun and festive shpiel.

To join us, click here.