From the Office of Religious and Philosophical Life

As we welcome you back to our first e-news of the semester, we’re sharing a reflection from University Chaplain Elyse Nelson Winger, first published in Tufts Together on September 24. Our weekly reflections are first published there now, and you can find the full archive on our website. If you didn’t have a chance to read it then, we invite you to take a moment with it here.

Stone Soup Reflection

Elyse Nelson Winger

It started with a sack of red peppers and plum tomatoes from a local farm. Roasted with onions and garlic, simmered in stock and spices then pureed ‘til smooth, it filled dark blue bowls with red maple leaf-hued goodness. A splash of balsamic vinegar and conversation with friends made the meal. The next morning, I inhaled the savory, sweet smells of sautéing beef and fennel, adding barley and broth, carrots and mushrooms. I stirred, and my mind wandered to curried butternut squash…french lentils…clams and cream. Then I realized: it’s mid-September! It’s soup season. 

Now, I know there are soups for all seasons, summer gazpachos and winter stews. But there’s nothing quite like New England’s autumn harvest and the aromatic warmth soup brings to twilight’s emerging chill. Even better, soup can be made from most anything. It stretches and keeps. It’s easy to share. You can even start with a stone. Perhaps you know the story? 

Stone Soup is a story that crosses cultures, referenced variously as a traditional French, Swedish or Portuguese folktale, set in a quaint European hamlet or a high Chinese mountain village, starring monks or soldiers or otherwise weary travelers encountering wary, stony townsfolk. The travelers come upon a new place. They go house to house, seeking food, perhaps a place to rest. Each time, they are curtly dismissed. Townsfolk lie and hide their food. They close their windows, lock their doors. And so the travelers pronounce a plan: they will make stone soup. They collect firewood, rustle up a pot. They fill it with water and drop in a few smooth stones. And then they dream, conversing with one another just loudly enough for anyone to hear: wouldn’t this stone soup be delicious with just a carrot or two? And usually, it’s a child who breaks the townsfolk’s stonewalling, bringing that carrot. And others, curious about this enticing soup, bring their own once-concealed offerings: potatoes and onions, then meat and milk, finally vegetables and spices of every kind. Community tables are set with dishes and pitchers of additional food and drink, and feasting and dancing ensues. A community, once suspicious of one another and certainly of strangers, is renewed, even healed, by the ingenuity of their unexpected guests and their own hidden capacity for generosity.  

I remember the Stone Soup of my childhood, the Caldecott Honor Medal sticker affixed to its front cover. With my children, I read Jon Muth’s version, each page a gorgeous watercolor. Go to YouTube and you’ll see videos of these and other versions being read aloud. Enter the title in JumboSearch and you’ll find contemporary compositions for voice or chamber ensemble (and a long list of articles and books invoking the folktale as inspiration for best practices in education, business, social work, and scientific research). There’s reason for this!  

Stone Soup is a deeply human story. It taps into the trauma of war or the crumbling of civic ties. It names our fear of scarcity or our suspicions about strangers. It describes what happens when communities become isolated and stuck. But it also speaks to our ability to change. Sparked by courage, often from the margins, and then a bit of wonder, we discover the power of sharing whatever we have for the good of the whole. This tale celebrates the diversity of gifts each of us has to offer to whatever tables we are setting and communities we are building, including the ones we are always co-creating together at Tufts.  

Since July, students, faculty and staff have been building new and renewed communities of learning and friendship across our schools and campuses. In labs, clinics, classrooms and fields, there are imaginative and caring people tending pots, stirring stones of wisdom and knowledge, inviting others, no matter how unsure or even scared, to bring their questions and insights to the many creative acts of understanding, constructing and repairing our campuses need. Indeed, the ones who’ve brought the stones cannot continue to change, grow and discover without the gifts of each student, every colleague who comes upon their pot.  

It’s soup season. I hope this autumn brings you many bowls of warmth and the flavors you love, eaten around tables with people whom you enjoy. And I hope that the menu will also include your own special, community concoctions of stone soup.

Elyse Nelson Winger
University Chaplain

Upcoming Signature Events

Russell Lecture on Spiritual Life and Solomont Speaker Series Event
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Lecture: 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., Goddard Chapel
Reception: 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., Eaton 250

Join for the 2026 Russell Lecture on Spiritual Life featuring Dr. Fatimah Fanusie, AG01. Dr. Fanusie is a historian and scholar whose work explores African American Islam, the Civil Rights Movement, and African Diaspora culture. Her lecture, “America’s Buried Inheritance: The Forgotten Story of the Qur'an and the Formation of Human Freedom,” will examine the often-overlooked influence of Qur’anic thought on ideas of liberty, reason, and human freedom. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A and reception. Registration is requested. All are welcome.

Parents and Family Weekend with ORPL
Friday, October 9, 1:15 p.m. - Sunday, October 11, 8:00 p.m.
Goddard Chapel and Interfaith Center

We are looking forward to meeting guests for Parents and Family Weekend 2026. For more details about the 2026 events, visit here. Please find more information about Parents and Family Weekend on the Alumni and Friends website. You can find Hillel events on the Hillel website. 

Religious and Philosophical Events and Gatherings

Remembering October 7

Wednesday, October 7, 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Community Gathering followed by Mincha 5:00 p.m.

Granoff Family Hillel Center

Tufts Hillel invites the Tufts community to stop by Hillel on Oct 7th anytime from 9am to 9pm to mourn the tragedy and to remember and honor the lives that were lost. Knowing that everyone processes differently, we will have a designated Memorial area that will include opportunities to:

– Light a Yarzteit (memorial) candle

– Place a stone* which we will then add to our garden

– Recite prayers, reflect, and read from a selection of poems

– Take an Israeli flag (flags, pins, and stickers available)

– Write a message in a memorial book

*Traditionally, Jews put stones on graves when they visit the final resting place of a loved one.

For those looking for community during this time, we will be gathering at 5:00 p.m. for remarks led by Rabbi Brawer, followed by student-led Conservative Mincha Services. Light refreshments will follow. We hope you will find comfort and meaning in these commemorative actions.

LGBTQ+ History Month Movie Night: 1946 Film Discussion and Dinner
Tuesday, October 13, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., LGBT Center

To mark LGBTQ+ History Month, you’re invited to this special movie night! 1946 is a recent documentary that traces the origins of the anti-gay movement within modern Christianity to a grave mistranslation of the Bible in the Forties. Hosted by True Colors and COFFEE interfaith students, and Chaplain Dan Bell, we will discuss segments of the film over dinner. Snacks will be provided too! All are welcome.

RSVPs are not required but encouraged for food planning purposes. RSVP using the link below. Questions? Email Dan Bell, Associate University Chaplain, and interfaith liaison to the LGBT Center, at Daniel.Bell@tufts.edu.

Volunteer at Harvard Square Homeless Shelter
Thursday Dinner Shift (leave campus at 6:00 p.m. and return at 9:00 p.m.)

Starting October 15, we will send 3-5 students to help serve dinner at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, located in University Lutheran Church, 66 Winthrop St, Cambridge, MA (in the middle of Harvard Square). The Office of Religious and Philosophical Life will provide a Charlie Card Pass for transportation on the 96 bus into Harvard Square. Volunteers travel together, and we will send new folks with returners to offer support and guidance. We will have this shift through the spring semester. Please email Sr. Associate University Chaplain  Lynn Cooper  (Lynn.Cooper@tufts.edu)if you are interested in signing up or learning more. As a volunteer, you decide which weeks you are able to serve. Learn more about HSHS here.  

Sacred Inquiry: The Art of Meaningful Exploration 
Fridays, October 16, 23, 30 & November 6, 2026, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.,
Interfaith Center Lounge  

Facilitated by Associate University Chaplain Anthony Cruz Pantojas & Matilde Torallas Huerta, Staff Clinician. Join a small community of students for four gatherings that blend inquiry practices with evidence-based wellness approaches. Together, we will explore the art of becoming more human—with all its complexity, beauty, and challenges. No matter your spiritual, philosophical, or ethical background. Whether you’re wrestling with purpose, seeking connection, or simply curious about life’s questions and how spirituality or values-oriented systems inform mental health, this space of sacred work is for you. 

Food will be provided, so please RSVP using the link below. For any questions or concerns, email Associate University Chaplain Anthony Cruz Pantojas (Anthony.Cruz_Pantojas@tufts.edu). 

Goddard Chapel Refresh Presentation 

Sunday, October 15, 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., Goddard Chapel 

Join the Office of Religious and Philosophical Life for an overview of the Tufts University capital project to refresh the Goddard Chapel sanctuary. The changes to this space will better accommodate and host Tufts’ many religious and philosophical communities, and will increase the University’s capacity to host communal gatherings and events. We’ll share a brief history of Goddard Chapel, its role on campus, its history of renovations, and the current project! You can email the Office of Religious and Philosophical Life (orpl@tufts.edu) with any questions. 

Partner Programs

Indigenous People's Day Lunch & Learn
Thursday, October 8, 2026, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Alumnae Lounge

Join us for Indigenous Roots of Wellness: Connecting Ancestral Wisdom and Community Health, featuring presentations by Arielle Ortega, Melissa Alexis, and Maria John. Doors open at 11:15 a.m., with lunch and live music beginning at 11:30 a.m. The formal hybrid program will run from 12–1 p.m. For more information, view the presentation details.

Indigenous People's Day Community Celebration
Sunday, October 11, 2026, 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Residential Quad

Join students, staff, faculty, and local community members for a Community Celebration. Come enjoy local vendors, food, performances, and workshops throughout the afternoon.

RSVP for one or both of the events using the link below.

Mental Health and Well-being Fair
Wednesday, October 14, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., JCC Atrium

Join for the 5th annual Mental Health & Wellbeing Fair! Explore mental health resources, try out activities and coping strategies, enjoy free food, enter raffles, and visit with the therapy dogs. Stop by anytime — all Tufts students are welcome!