University Catholic Center: Ash Wednesday and the Beginning of Lent 
Wednesday, February 17, 2021

While ash distribution will be different this year, we will begin the season of Lent by celebrating Ash Wednesday as a community. Our schedule will be:

- 7:30 a.m. - Ashes distributed at the University Catholic Center.

- 9:00 a.m. - Live Streamed Mass.

Islamic Awareness Month, Muslim Call to Prayer from Cox Hall
Fridays in February, 1:45 p.m. EST

You may start to notice the Muslim call to prayer (adhan) recited from the Cox Hall carillon chimes in the month of February, which is Islamic Awareness Month at Emory.

It has been a tradition for several decades at Emory during Islamic Awareness Month and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to play the call to prayer on Fridays, which is the Muslim day for communal midday prayer (Jumu'ah).

The call to prayer is a general statement of Islamic belief and a summons to communal prayer. Traditionally, it is recited from mosque minarets five times per day to call Muslims to obligatory prayers. On Friday afternoons at Emory, it is followed immediately by communal prayer, a sermon, and a time for fellowship in Cannon Chapel.

Special Note: In-person indoor gatherings are limited to under 10 people at a time and require advanced registration. For more information, please check the Emory Forward website. For more information on Friday prayers, please contact Dr. Isam Vaid, Muslim Religious Life Scholar. 

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion invites you to join the Emory community as we celebrate those whose life work paved the way for equity, inclusion, and social justice. Let us honor their legacy and determine our responsibility “to create, preserve, teach, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity.” A number of events happening across Emory can be found below:

Find additional programming here. 

Office for RACE and Black Student Union: Black History Month
February 4-24, 2021

The Office for Racial and Cultural Engagement (RACE) and the Emory Black Student Union (EBSU) invite you to their Black History Month events. Additionally, if you attend three or more events, you will be entered into our prize raffle. Follow RACE and EBSU on Instagram for Black History Month content all February.

Preacher: Liz Martin, Chaplain Intern, Office of Spiritual and Religious Life

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-21

Sermon: Valentines for Beloved Community

Liz Martin is a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, a sixth-generation Mormon (non-practicing), and an aspirant for Unitarian Universalist ministry. Last July, Liz and her husband transferred to Atlanta to enable her to study at Emory (Candler). They have two young adult children and a large extended family.

Liz is very passionate about prison reform, comprehensive sexuality education, and delicious vegan food. Her favorite recreational activities are road trips and attending concerts. To learn more about Liz Martin, please click here.

All are welcome to join us for Beloved Community here 

The Emory University Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (OSRL) welcomes applications for our CST Contextual Education II internship program for 2021-2022. OSRL is the multifaith office that supports all religious and philosophical life at Emory University for all students, faculty, and staff on the Atlanta campus. We support religious and philosophical communities, educate about spirituality and ethics in society and the world, provide pastoral care and opportunities to engage in service and social justice work, and support interfaith engagement.

We offer a number of signature programs (e.g., Inter-religious Council, Beloved Community Protestant Worship) and also encourage students to bring their own backgrounds and interests to our work. More information is available at www.religiouslife.emory.edu. Apply here. For questions, please contact Dean Greg McGonigle at Gregory.McGonigle@emory.edu.

Guided Meditation with Emory Buddhist Club  
Thursday, February 11, 6:00 p.m. EST, To join by Zoom, please click here

This week, Emory Buddhist Club (EBC) is pleased to welcome back Guo Gu, the founder and teacher of the Tallahassee Chan Center. He will be leading a meditation and group discussion this Thursday. 

“Guo Gu” means the result of being a valley. It comes from the Chinese proverb, “To be humble as a valley.” A valley is humble because it is empty, resting at the lowest part of earth. Yet it is able to support and nourish all life forms. This page on Guo Gu’s life aims to pay gratitude to his teachers, students, and the Dharma. Guo Gu first learned meditation as a child in Taiwan. He was introduced to Master Guangqin (1892-1986), one of the most respected Chinese meditation masters and ascetics in Taiwan, at the age of four and received instruction from the master. In 1980, he moved to the United States and began studying with Master Sheng Yen (1931-2009).

He was ordained as a monk in 1991 and became Master Sheng Yen’s first personal attendant and assistant. Responding to a deep desire to take Chan Buddhism beyond the walls of the monastery, Guo Gu gave up his robes and re-entered the world in 2000. He completed a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Princeton University and began teaching as a professor of Buddhist studies at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. These two dimensions of Guo Gu (theory and practice) come through his teachings, following the footsteps of his teacher. To learn more about Guo Gu, please visit his website at https://guogulaoshi.com.

Spring 2021 Small Group
Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. EST, Zoom

The topic is The New Testament in The Gospel of John. Click here to email Siv with any questions or concerns.

To access the Zoom meeting, click here.

Sponsored by Graduate Christian Fellowship. Everyone is welcome at our events, whatever your background, religious beliefs, or program of study. GCF is an affiliate chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA.

Peculiar Dating in an Unpeculiar Society
Friday, February 12, 7:00-8:30 p.m. EST, Zoom

Join Emory Adventist Christian Fellowship (EACF) for Bible study as we discuss the intersection between relationships, Christianity, and living on a secular campus. Chris Mogaka, the president of GSU's Adventist Christian Fellowship will be leading out.

The Zoom ID is 688 621 103. We hope to see you there.

Let's Talk Plural-Sectionality: A Discussioon Aabout Pluralism, Intersectionality, and Jewish Identity
Thursday, February 18, 6:30-8:00 p.m. EST, Online

Plural-Sectionality: Pluralism, Intersectionality, and Jewish Identity is a community-building event aiming to foster dialogue between Jewish students of different backgrounds. With the help of student leaders from across Emory's Jewish community, we hope to have a meaningful dialogue about being Jewish in many ways, shapes, and forms. The event will involve a brief text study, breakout room discussions, and identity exercises.

This event is hosted by Emory Hillel. To RSVP by the February 18 deadline, please click here.
We hope to see you there. 

Voices of the Liturgy
Tuesday, February 23, 7:30-9:00 p.m. EST, Zoom

Join the Aquinas Center of Theology for our annual Catholic-Orthodox Initiative Lecture as Dr. Susan Ashbrook Harvey and Sr. Mary Priniski converse on "Voices of the Liturgy: A Conversation on Ancient Traditions in Orthodox Worship."

Orthodox churches are known for the beauty of their worship. Especially powerful, in any of their languages, is the sound. Orthodox liturgies are a tapestry of song, adorned with hymns, musical prayers, melodic responses, chanted refrains, and intoned sacred readings. Susan Ashbrook Harvey is a scholar of ancient Byzantine Christianity, both Greek and Syriac. In this presentation, she explores the historical tradition of worship as a musical weaving to which all participants – clergy, choirs, and laity – contribute with sounding voice.

To register, click here.

Purim Program Celebration
Thursday, February 25, 8:00 p.m. EST, Zoom

Come and get your groger on. This year, Hillels of Georgia and Ma'alot are partnering for a digital Purim program. It's part Megillah, part Purim Shpiel, and all festive fun. Come see students and staff perform this fun and festive shpiel.

To join us, click here.

Friend, if you are interested in helping international students and visiting scholars to know more about English, the American culture, or your own culture (if not American), please consider volunteering with IIF.

If you are interested, contact LoAnn for more information by email here. 

Celebrating the Black Church Tradition of Sankofa
February 18- April 15  

Candler’s Black Church Studies program prepares men and women to provide learned, prophetic and compassionate leadership in Black and multiracial churches; and educates the entire Candler community about the origins, development and contemporary diversity of the Black church tradition.

The program also explores religious traditions among peoples of African descent across Africa and the diaspora. The program seeks to integrate Black church studies into foundational courses at Candler and to expand and deepen Black church studies courses. The program also seeks to respond to the need for literature in Black religion, in particular the need for primary field research on Black congregational life. Register for each event by clicking here. 

Candler Chapel Worship Services Schedule, Spring 2021, Online
January 26-April 29, Online

View the live stream services on the day on Facebook, Instagram or Candler live stream. The services will also be available on Vimeo after the live stream. To view the schedule and for more information click here and email Dean Williams here.