Welcome back to spring semester, Bearcats.
While Omicron has put us in quiet hours, we are continually reminded of and hold gratitude for your commitments to the safety and wellbeing of each other and this community.
Here are a few updates from the Office of SRL and dates you will want to look out for this semester.
First, Chaplain Ineda now has blocked care hours every week reserved for those hoping to have a one-on-one visit or session. They are Tuesdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. You can sign up to make an appointment with her during one of these blocks through the link below.
Second, to stay up to date with all things Office of SRL, follow us on Instagram and Facebook. You can also sign up to be on our email list through the link below.
Third, coming soon to the Portland campus is a dedicated SRL reflection room similar to the one on the Salem campus. Connect with us and stay tuned for the grand opening, Portland care hours and other PNCA programming.
Fourth, if you have interest in starting or re-starting the Buddhist, Muslim, Spiritual But Not Religious, or Catholic (Newman) student organizations, or if you’d like to create a new religious, spiritual, or ethical student organization, please reach out to Chaplain Ineda at chaplain@willamette.edu.
Fifth, we’d like to recognize our staff and student employee members who contribute compassion, openness, and creative work to the culture of the SRL office: Communication Specialists Qinyi He and Clara Nithiparan, Office Assistant II CJ Lane, program interns Nia Lopez-Salmons and Rachel Schmitt, and CPE and Interfaith Chaplain intern Kim Griggs. SRL will soon benefit from additional student staffers in both Salem and Portland this semester. Come by, say hello, and hang out - they’re amazing people to get to know.
Finally, as always, the Salem reflection room (UC 217) is available to you daily. It has arts and crafts materials, yoga mats, prayer pillows, string lights, comfy seating and a meditation deck with diverse practices. In our main office area, there is a hospitality station ready with tea, hot chocolate, and snacks for you, as well as a happy light and salt lamp on the table for the days when Oregon’s overcast weather feels extra gloomy. You are welcome here and belong here, no matter your ethical, spiritual or religious background. Let’s get connected.
Upcoming SRL events this spring semester:
- A Meditation Moment: Weekdays in UC217 from 12:15 - 12:30 p.m. (starting back up after quiet period is lifted)
- A Time for Mediation: Thursdays in Cone Chapel from 4:15 - 5:00 p.m. (starting back up after quiet period is lifted)
- WOW (Words of Wisdom): Thursdays in Rick’s (Activities) Corner from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
- Contemplative Moment: Wednesdays, Law School, Room 114 from 11:15 - 11:45 a.m.
- Feb. 10 convo: A Hope to Keep Going, Cone Chapel from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- Continuing the conversation with Dr. Nicholas Grier after the MLK lecture on his book Care for the Mental and Spiritual Health of Black Men: Hope to Keep Going. Join us in discussion on the topics of Critical Race Theory and Womanist Theory.
- Feb. 23: Reckoning with Racism, Session 1, Virtual Event from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
- You’re invited to join us for the first discussion in our Reckoning with Racism series. This meeting’s topic will be the Doctrine of Discovery with a recorded video presentation by Edith and Randy Woodley who run the Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice in Yamhill, Oregon. We will follow the presentation with dialogue among the Zoom participants.
- This series is open to all CST and WU staff, faculty, and students, and it is brought to you in partnership by Claremont School of Theology, Willamette University’s Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (SRL), and the Common Table of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon.
- Feb. 24 convo: Spirituality and Ethics: What’s the Difference?, Cone Chapel from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- March 3 convo: Big Energy - Science or Mystery?, Cone Chapel from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- March 4: Drawing in the Light, Mediatheque on PNCA Portland campus from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
- Join us for this exploration lab with CST Professor Yohana Junker where we will turn to creative practices to weave, potentialize and "draw in the light" into an hour of our day. Through a series of centering, creative, and meditative exercises, we will learn to integrate spiritual wisdom, the visual arts, and our corporeal ways of knowing so we can have an opportunity to pause, sense and see our realities anew.
- March 10 convo: A Hope to Keep Going, Cone Chapel from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- Continuing the conversation with Dr. Nicholas Grier after his MLK lecture on his book Care for the Mental and Spiritual Health of Black Men: Hope to Keep Going. Join us in discussion on the topic of Reflections on Lived Experiences With Black Masculinity.
- March 17 convo: Spiritual Direction - What is it? Why Do I Need it?, Cone Chapel from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- March 30: Reckoning with Racism, Session 2, Virtual Event from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
- March 31 convo: Labyrinth - It’s Not Just a Maze, Cone Chapel from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- April 14 convo: A Hope to Keep Going, Cone Chapel from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- Continuing the conversation with Dr. Nicholas Grier on his book Care for the Mental and Spiritual Health of Black Men: Hope to Keep Going. Join us in a discussion on embodied and integrated spirituality that takes social justice seriously.
- April 21 convo at PNCA with Kelvin Clarke
- April 27: Reckoning with Racism, Session 3, Virtual Event from 4:00 -5:30 p.m.
Upcoming programs to look for:
- Deep Listening Circles and Spiritual and Ethical Care Sessions
