Smith College Center for Religious and Spiritual Life
Helen Hills Hills Chapel
Northampton, Massachusetts 01063
October 2019
Our Year on Climate Change: Expanding
the Golden Rule


CRSL is part of Smith’s college-wide initiative on climate change. Director of Religious & Spiritual Life and College Chaplain Matilda Cantwell discusses the impact of climate change and its connection to the work of the CRSL.

My friend and colleague Rev. Jim Antal says that the work of people of faith in 2019 is to address the climate crisis.  https://www.jimantal.com/   He says we should expand the Golden Rule, a version of which can be found in every tradition, to include future generations. Climate change amplifies all forms of injustice – hunger, refugees, racism, poverty, inequality, deadly viruses, and war – and hence defense of creation is a campaign for justice.

This year we are embarking on the Year on Climate Change, focusing at the CRSL on how climate change touches us physically, morally, and spiritually.
We are asking questions about how and where we are called to confront climate change and environmental justice. But this can’t be a year on Climate Change, it must be a year when we begin all other years, as higher education has so many roles to play in this emergency. Luckily, we have each other in this community of learning to lament, brainstorm, and build a just community together in which the earth is honored and cherished and we move from latent despair to emergent participation. Read more here .
Breakfast Meeting for CRSL Community Partners

Our community partners who serve as community religious liaisons, on campus sponsors, and/or departmental collaborators, we thank you for all the work that you do! We appreciate the support you give to our students and to the leaders of our student religious organizations!

You are invited to a CRSL Community Partner Breakfast held next month.

When: Thursday, November 14, 2019

Time: 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.

Place: Bodman Lounge, Helen Hills Hills Chapel.

We will share with you plans for the year, discuss CRSL Climate Change initiatives and encourage you to submit proposals on programs and activities you want to offer students as well as resources you can provide.
Best Day Ever! Building Interfaith Community One Party at a Time

Read an article here on our CRSL blog written by Maeve Orlowski-Scherer ‘21, an intern and leader in the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. (Raleigh Williams '20 holds CRSL banner.)

By 5:30 p.m., everything was ready. The chairs had been pushed back to the sides of the Helen Hills Hills Chapel Sanctuary, replaced by small round tables cluttered with craft material, and the walls were decorated with streamers and tinsel in addition to the CRSL theme “Reflect, Resist, Rejuvenate.”  Click here to read more.

Wednesday, October 23, 12:00 -1:00 p.m. on Chapin Lawn

It's Pet-A-Pet Day at Smith! Students love this event because it reminds them of pets they have at home - free giving, gentle and affectionate. Join the Schacht Center for Wellness for a super special 10th Annivers-hairy Celebration and scratch a fuzzy head! CRSL will host a memorial table for former Smith staff member Lea Ahlen, who recently passed away (a beloved member of the Social Sciences team.) Lea had a special love for animals so this year Pet a Pet Day honors her memory.
Sunday, October 27, 10:30 a.m. at the Chapel

During Family Weekend CRSL will offer an Ecumenical Christian Service at the Helen Hills Hills Chapel. Everyone is welcome to gather in the Chapel foyer at 10:00 a.m. for donuts and coffee to begin the day! College Chaplain The Rev. Matilda Cantwell will lead an ecumenical Christian Service focused on care for the environment, hope in a time of climate change, and our inter-relatedness. This program is part of our Year on Climate Change initiative.
Acknowledging Injustice and Practicing Anti-racism

Otelia Cromwell Day 2019
Thursday, November 7, 2019
1:30 p.m. John M. Greene Hall

Keynote Address: Deborah Archer '93 , Associate Professor of Clinical Law, New York University of Law

Learning to Meditate
Practices from Tibetan Buddhist Traditions

Thursdays
October 24, November 7 & 21
7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Bodman Lounge
Helen Hills Hills Chapel

Hosted by Smith College Community Religious Adviser Geshe Ngawang Singey, these bi-weekly interactive sessions will include instruction on and practice of breathing meditation, concentration meditation, blessing meditation, and tong-len (exchange of self and other), concluding with Q&A with light refreshments.

Geshe Ngawang Singey was born in the Kham region of Tibet in 1965. At the age of 17 he left Tibet to study at the Sera Jey Monastery. He received his novice and ordination vows directly from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and later attained his (doctorate) degree.
Weekly Meditation

Every Monday
5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Sanctuary
Helen Hills Hills Chapel

Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend weekly mindful meditation in the tradition initiated by Ruth Ozeki (led by Naomi Miller and Mary Beth Brooker while Ruth is on sabbatical). A simple, relaxed, silent practice of sitting and walking meditation, using chairs or floor cushions. Initial meditation instruction offered. All levels are encouraged, with time for questions.

For disability access to any of CRSL's programs or to request information on accommodations, please call 413-585-2754. To request a sign language interpreter, call 413-585-2071 or email ods@smith.edu at least 10 days before the event.
Smith College Center for Religious and Spiritual Life
Helen Hills Hills Chapel, Northampton, MA 01063
413-585-2753 or 413-585 2754