ORSL Staff and Affiliates

Rev. Greg McGonigle (bio)
Director of the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life
Wilder 217; (440) 775-5191

Retta Harris
Administrative Assistant
Wilder 217; (440) 775-8103

Rabbi Shimon Brand
Jewish Chaplain
Wilder 219; (440) 775-8128

Debbie Dacone, M.A.
Newman Catholic Campus Minister
Wilder 217; (440) 775-5190

Revs. Mary and Steve Hammond
Ecumenical Christians of Oberlin (ECO) Affiliates

David Mange
Oberlin Christian Fellowship (OCF) Affiliate

About ORSL:
Oberlin College’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) is a multifaith resource center providing and supporting diverse religious, spiritual, and ethical programs and activities for the campus and wider community. We seek to respond to the needs of people of a wide array of faith orientations, including non-theists. We maintain dynamic partnerships with many campus and local groups, including religious and social justice organizations.

ORSL’s work is led by the Director and provided in cooperation with a number of full-time and part-time Affiliates. Together we share responsibility for nurturing campus religious and spiritual life for students, faculty, and staff. We provide support for religious groups and spiritual activities, pastoral counseling and support, and leadership and partnership in a wide range of educational, service, and social justice projects. We also eagerly join with others in examining religious and moral perspectives on such issues as gender, race, class, sexuality, relationships, work, vocations, the environment, the economy, government, education, the arts, and peace.

ORSL’s programs and services include:

• Assessing and encouraging campus religious interest and connecting the campus community with opportunities to practice and explore religious and spiritual life
• Supporting and promoting campus religious communities and connections with off-campus religious and spiritual communities, as well as College-Community initiatives
• Providing regular opportunities for prayer, meditation, worship, retreats, spiritual study, the observance of religious holidays, and other public and private spiritual practices
• Providing and co-sponsoring programs and events to illuminate and interpret the religious, spiritual, and ethical dimensions of life and issues in our society and world
• Celebrating sacred musical traditions and encouraging the appreciation of sacred arts
• Providing spiritual care, counseling, and support for people of all spiritual orientations on the full range of religious and moral concerns and life crises experienced by members of a diverse college community, including deaths, accidents, and illnesses, and traumatic events on campus, in the local community, and in the wider world
• Promoting interfaith and intra-faith dialogue, understanding, and cooperation
• Organizing and cooperating in movements for peace, service, and social justice
• Offering education and trainings for and with other campus units to equip students and staff to address religious, spiritual, and ethical issues and concerns as they relate to their particular activities (e.g., Residential Education, Multicultural Resource Center)
• Caring for and coordinating the use of Fairchild Chapel and other campus religious and spiritual spaces for students, faculty, staff, alums, families, and friends
• Coordinating weddings/holy unions, memorial services, and other lifecycle rituals
• Leading spiritual exercises at important moments in the life of the College, such as Convocation, Baccalaureate, and the annual Alumni Memorial Service
• Providing a lending library of religious, spiritual, and social justice publications
• Maintaining connections with graduate theological schools and post-baccalaureate service and social justice programs and supporting interested students and alums
• Maintaining relationships with alums engaged in religious studies and leadership