The Office of the Chaplain hosts numerous ongoing programs, services, and groups each week. We hope you will join us for any or all!
Many programs and services (see our up-to-date calendar) are planned and led by specific religious communities or cultural groups on campus. Others are designed to be specifically interfaith. Still others presume no faith background at all, but gather with shared questions or a desire to make a difference in the world. Students, staff, and faculty are welcome to participate in our programs, unless otherwise noted. Each program runs from first to ninth week.
Our numerous student religious groups represent many different faith traditions. If you don’t see yours in the list above, please let us know and we will happily work with you to connect you with others of your tradition.
We work closely with local religious communities and clergy. We are here to help explore with you which community might be a good fit, arrange rides or travel logistics, and introduce you to individual faith leaders. We are also happy to connect you with faculty and staff of a particular religious tradition, many of whom are eager to welcome students to their community.
Please contact our College Chaplain, Rev. Schuyler Vogel, at svogel@veosonica.com or any of Chaplains, with questions or for support.
An updated list of weekly programs for the 2023-2024 year is below. For specific meeting details, view our event calendar. We hope to see you soon!
Winter Mindfulness Meditation
Whether you are new to meditation or an experienced practitioner, this weekly Buddhist meditation is for you! These sessions are led by Bhante Sathi, Guiding Teacher from Triple Gem of the North Meditation Center. We meet from 8 – 9 p.m. on Thursdays during odd numbered weeks in the chapel.
Week 1: Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation
In this session, we’ll delve into the foundational principles of mindfulness meditation. It’s an opportunity for participants to gain insight into focusing the mind, managing distractions, and cultivating a deeper sense of present-moment awareness.
Week 3: Practice Loving-kindness for a Peaceful Mind
Our second session will explore the practice of loving-kindness meditation, or “Metta.” We’ll delve into the transformative power of compassion and loving-kindness, allowing participants to open their hearts and extend goodwill towards themselves and others.
Week 5: Mindfulness in Daily Life
This session focuses on the practical integration of mindfulness into our daily routines, work, and relationships. Participants will receive guidance on how to bring mindfulness into their everyday lives, fostering greater awareness and presence.
Week 7: Meditation for Health
Our fourth session will concentrate on meditation techniques for maintaining and promoting physical and mental health.
Week 9: Mindfulness for Wisdom
In the fifth session, we will explore how mindfulness can enhance wisdom and insight, fostering a deeper understanding of our own minds and the world around us.
Tibetan Buddhist Meditation
These sessions are led by Professor Roger Jackson, John W. Nason Professor of Asian Studies and Religion, Emeritus. They are a great way to learn about Buddhism and meditation, while also discovering a deeper sense of peace and grounding. We meet from 8 – 9 p.m. on Thursdays during even numbered weeks in the main chapel sanctuary.
Week 2: Meditation on Purifying Light
This session focuses on meditations aimed at concentrating the mind, with a special focus on breath-related practices ranging from observing or counting breaths to visualizing the purification of one’s negative emotions through the inhalation of light from a luminous sphere.
Week 4: Meditation in Search of the Self
This session is concerned primarily with an analytical search through one’s body-mind complex for any trace of a permanent, partless, independent, self-sufficient self and resting in the contemplative state that results from such a search.
Week 6: Meditation on Compassion
This session is mostly given over to a range of meditative techniques for generating loving kindness and compassion toward ourselves and other beings, for instance, through equalizing ourselves with others or visualizing taking on the sufferings of beings and sending them all our happiness.
Week 8: Meditation on the Nature of Mind
This session focuses on concentrating upon, analyzing, and resting within the nature of the mind – which is understood to be clear, knowing, and blissful.
Week 10: Meditation on Green Tara
The final session combines many features of the previous sessions, through the lens of a practice focused on the female Buddha, Tara, who purifies us, absorbs into us, and becomes inseparable from us physically, verbally, and mentally.
Transformation Tuesdays
A weekly Christian bible study that meets at noon on Tuesdays in the Chapel Lounge. All Christian perspectives and traditions welcome and pizza is served!
Time to Meditate
Gently guided mindfulness meditation. Meets for twenty minutes in the main chapel at the following times:
- Sundays, 7:30 p.m.
- Mondays, 8:15 p.m.
- Fridays, 8:05 a.m.
Muslim Dialogues
Join us for discussions on Muslim life and practice at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. We meet in the Chapel Lounge.
Interfaith Social Action
IFSA is an organization dedicated to promoting social justice on campus. Come join us as we explore the intersection between justice and religion and put our principles and faith into action!
Hard Questions
Come explore religion, science, and ethics! We meet on Mondays at 7 p.m. in the Chapel Lounge to discuss these and other complex topics. All are welcome!
Friday Shabbat
Join us on Fridays at 6:15 p.m. for Shabbat at Page East House, led by Chaplain Rabbi Shosh Dworsky. All are welcome!
Evensong
A contemplative Christian evening service with song, prayer, and meditative silence. All are welcome! We gather from 8:30 – 9 p.m. each Wednesday in the main chapel sanctuary.
Bagels and The Book
Join us each Tuesday at noon for Torah study, led by our Associate Chaplain of Jewish and Interfaith Life, Rabbi Shosh Dworsky. We meet in the chapel lounge.
Jummah with the Ummah (Friday Prayers)
Join us for Friday prayers at 3:30 p.m. in the Muslim Prayer Room (located northeast corner of the Chapel basement).
What Matters to Me and Why
Every term, two staff/faculty members are invited to speak on what matters most to them and why. The series is co-sponsored with EthIC. To listen to past reflections.
These conversations are a wonderful opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to come to know the people at Carleton in a deeper, more personal way. Lunch is provided.
If you would like to nominate a speaker, please email our College Chaplain, Schuyler Vogel, at svogel@veosonica.com. We strive to represent the full diversity of staff and faculty on campus and welcome nominations regardless of role or longevity. All members of the Carleton community have wisdom to share.