| Fairchild Chapel of Oberlin College. |
Campus Spiritual Communities |
Oberlin College’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) supports a great number of campus spiritual communities and recommends a number of religious communities in the local area. For more information about these communities, please contact ORSL or the contact persons listed below: Campus Spiritual Communities: Affirming Choice Through Spirituality (ACTS; Multifaith) Affirming Choice Through Spirituality (ACTS) provides a forum for diverse religious and spiritual discussion and social action around issues of reproductive freedom and justice. The group holds regular meetings as well as special programs on issues related to its mission. It is connected with the national organization Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom. AGAPE Fellowship (African-American Protestant Christian) AGAPE is an African American Christian organization. Our mission is to edify the student body by providing a safe space for spiritual exploration, development, and analysis. AGAPE also seeks facilitate programs that meet the needs of the Africana community regardless of spiritual preference in order to share the love of God. Credo Club (Nondenominational Christian) Credo is a summer program of intensive chamber music study designed to nurture serious music students artistically and spiritually. Credo celebrates musical excellence as a gift of the Spirit, and its mission is threefold: to develop the gift of music; to acknowledge the Source of the gift; and to respond with service. Credo has a growing community of “alumni” who attend Oberlin Conservatory and College, and these students gather once a month to share a meal, fellowship, and prayer. They also lead a weekly Sing (a service of songs, scripture, and prayer) open to the whole campus community. For more information about CREDO, please visit: www.credochambermusic.org. Ecumenical Christians of Oberlin (ECO; Mainline/Progressive Christian): ECO occupies a distinctive place among the religious groups on campus. It attracts students from the spectrum of the Christian tradition, but is particularly appealing to those of a more progressive bent. ECO attempts to maintain an environment that welcomes all kinds of people and all kinds of questions. ECO meets weekly for dinner, discussion, and prayer. Members take turns preparing the meal and leading the discussions. There are also weekly lunches and opportunities for fellowship and special activities such as retreats and guest speakers, cookie bakes and holiday parties. Beyond that, ECO also serves as a gateway and a connection to the several mainline/progressive Protestant churches in town. Hillel (Jewish) At Oberlin, Hillel is both an umbrella organization for various campus groups and a group in its own right. It sponsors many programs including Shabbat and festival celebrations. Weekly meetings are held in the Hillel Room, Wilder 216. Lunch is provided. Hillel of Northeastern Ohio, a member agency of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, provides Oberlin College with a Jewish Chaplain who encourages and facilitates Jewish activities at Oberlin. Hillel also sponsors Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. A community Seder is held on the first night of Passover and it is possible to eat in the Kosher Co-op for the entire Passover week. For more information please visit our website at www.oberlin.edu/stuorg/hillel. Hebrew House (Johnson House), the program house of Oberlin’s Judaic and Near Eastern Studies Program, also sponsors numerous events of interest to Jewish students. Kosher-Halal Co-Op (Jewish and Muslim) Kosher-Halal Co-op, a member of Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, is an eating co-op where Jewish and Muslim students eat together and observe laws of Kashrut and Halal. Jewish and Muslim holidays are also celebrated in the co-op. Latter Day Saints Study Association (LDSSA) The LDSSA is a student organization associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) that seeks to meet the needs of individual college students. LDSSA correlates all phases of the LDS Church that affect LDS students within the college setting. Liberated Unitarian Universalist Voices (LUUV) LUUV is a group for Unitarian Universalists and those interested in Unitarian Universalism at Oberlin. Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious tradition with a Jewish and Christian heritage that is open to world religions and focused on personal ethics and social justice. LUUV gathers regularly for dinner discussions and spiritual exploration and organizes workshops on Unitarian Universalist topics, service and social justice projects, and social activities. LUUV is also connected with the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and the UU Ohio Meadville District as well as the national Unitarian Universalist Association. The group is known for a strong sense of community, caring, support and friendship. Muslim Students Association (MSA) The Oberlin College Muslim Students Association provides religious, spiritual, and cultural opportunities for those that identify as Muslim. MSA’s membership is diverse in race, gender, practice, and Islamic interpretation, also comprised of men and women representing different parts of the Islamic diaspora: South Asian, Arab, African, and African-American. Our members have different attitudes and interpretations of Islam, and the organization is sensitive and respectful to this diversity however we are all united by our common faith. We perform prayers together as much as possible but always on Friday, the most significant prayer of the week. Our prayers are held in our prayer room in Wilder 221 on Fridays at 12:45pm. The prayer room is always available for use during Wilder’s operational hours for those that want to perform other prayers of the day. Newman Catholic Community (NCC) The Newman Catholic Community (NCC) is a student organization dedicated to living a Catholic presence on campus. NCC Leadership meets weekly to plan events and programming. Specifically the NCC plans and celebrates Mass each Sunday, supports one another through small group faith sharing, plans retreats of various formats including the overnight “Hot Tub” retreat, and participates in scripture study and other educational endeavors such as the “Catholic Conversations” discussion event. In addition, the NCC plays an active role in peace and justice issues around campus and the community. The NCC strives to be a source of friendship, support and mentoring primarily to Catholic students but always open to the wider Oberlin community. The Diocese of Cleveland provides Oberlin College with a Catholic Chaplain who advises the Newman Catholic Community student organization. The Catholic Chaplain arranges for Catholic Mass and holy day observances on campus, provides faith formation and educational opportunities, and offers leadership development to the NCC student organization. The Catholic Chaplain also provides one-on-one spiritual direction, facilitates retreats (like the Busy Student Retreat), leads scripture study and small group faith sharing, invites engaging speakers, instructs ExCo classes on various aspects of Catholicism, and provides RCIA instruction to individuals who are considering conversion to Catholicism. There are numerous ways to be involved in Newman at Oberlin. The NCC invites you to check the on-line calendar and request to be on our e-mailing list and Blackboard. Oberlin Christian Fellowship (OCF; InterVarsity) Oberlin Christian Fellowship is a worshiping and praying community dedicated to knowing and sharing the love of God. We are a chapter member of an international Christian organization, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The purpose of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is to establish and advance at colleges and universities witnessing communities of students and faculty who follow Jesus as Savior and Lord: growing in love for God, God's Word, God's people of every ethnicity, and culture and God's purposes in the world. For more information about the organization you can visit our website: www.oberlin.edu/stuorg/ocf or contact our InterVarsity Fellowship ORSL affiliate. OCF has weekly small group meetings and two large group meetings per month that usually meet at Wilder Hall. OCF participates in the Urbana conference every three years. For more information about Urbana, visit the website: www.urbana.org. Oberlin Meditators (OM; Multifaith) Oberlin Meditators is an interfaith group that gathers weekly on campus for sitting meditation. We can also talk before or after about other plans we would like to make, such as hosting a speaker or other event. Please contact us for info. Oberlin Multifaith Student Group (OMSG) The Oberlin Multifaith Student Group is a group of students interested in exploring many religious and spiritual traditions and the intersections between them. The group encourages participation of members of all of the spiritual communities on campus but also welcomes those who are not connected with a particular spiritual community but who are interested in exploring religious practice and supporting understanding, conversation, and cooperation among people of different religious and spiritual beliefs and practices. Our meetings offer opportunities for multifaith learning and conversation and for planning further engagement for those interested (e.g., campus events, fieldtrips, service projects). Through our advisor, OMSG is also connected with regional, national, and international multifaith endeavors. Oberlin Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OOCF) Oberlin Orthodox Christian Fellowship is a pan-Orthodox group of students who meet for fellowship, worship, spiritual development, and support. Our members experience and witness to the Orthodox Christian Church through community life, prayer, service to others, and study of the Faith (Acts 2:42). The organization is open to all students – both Orthodox and non-Orthodox. OOCF meets for Bible study once a week in Wilder Hall, and is able to provide transportation to and from Lorain, OH, for Divine Liturgy. Oberlin Young Friends (OYF) Oberlin Young Friends provides a spiritual community for students based on Quaker ideas, a comfortable environment and resource for students interested in Quakerism, and a forum for addressing relevant issues from a Quaker perspective. Membership is open to all Oberlin College students as well as senior-high and college-age students from the town regardless of whether they identify as Quaker. Oberlin Zionists (OZ) Oberlin Zionists is committed to pro-Israel activity, as well as a forum for the expression of Jewish and Israeli culture. Far from being a monolithic group, OZ serves as a place of open discussion involving diverse opinions. There is a casual atmosphere, and different individual members are encouraged to lead the meetings each week. Although the ideological particulars vary from one member to another, there is an underlying common bond, at the most basic level, of identification with and interest in Israel. Activity ranges from discussions and holiday events (especially Yom Ha'atzma'ut) to bringing speakers and performers to the Oberlin campus. Pagan Awareness Network (OPAN) The Oberlin Pagan Awareness Network is a group for practitioners of nature-based and magical religions, and those interested in such practice. Our main focus is on introspection and learning more about the various types of Pagan religions in the world today. However, we also seek to educate the larger community about these issues. For more information please visit our website: www.oberlin.edu/stuorg/PAN. Queer Jews and Allies (QJA) Queer Jews and Allies is an organization for exploring Jewish and queer identities and advocating for queer rights in and out of the Jewish community. Queers and Allies of Faith (QUAF; Multifaith) The purpose of this organization functions on two levels, the personal and the public. Our goal is to create a supportive environment for people who are dealing with issues around their religion and/or spirituality and their sexuality and/or gender identity and to provide a space in which they can grow spiritually through membership. At the same time, by our very existence, we prove to the world that being queer and religious and/or spiritual is not a contradiction. In this more public sphere, our goal is to create awareness of these issues throughout the Oberlin community and promote unity between queer and religious communities. Our emphasis is to promote personal growth through community action. Tzedek (Jewish) Tzedek provides a voice for progressive Jewish students who support Democracy, Human Rights, Justice, and Peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Voices for Christ (VFC) We are a gospel group on the Oberlin College campus that seeks to lift up the name of Jesus through the art of praising and worshiping God. Other Campus Spiritual Communities Other campus spiritual communities that have existed in the past include: Bhakti Yoga and Oberlin Unity Fellowship. ORSL also encourages the formation of new campus spiritual communities. Please contact us for our support.
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