A message from the Chaplains
Hello all,
We in the chaplains office stand in solidarity with those who are opposing racial violence and mourning the death of George Floyd. These issues have broken the hearts of many in our community. The heartbreak of systemic injustice has been part of our national landscape for a long time. Almost a year ago, our hearts were broken over the attack on synagogues and mosques in the United States and around the world. We have been living during a period when immigrants have been targets and new systems of injustice have evolved in recent years to harass and intimidate immigrants, even to the point of separating children from their families. Our national discourse has become increasingly hostile, even in the midst of a pandemic that is disproportionately affecting Black and Latinx families. And we have also seen how religion has been used to endorse injustice. We in the Chaplains’ Office are devastated, and we are also humbled for we have more questions than we do have answers. However, we would like to offer to hold space for shared grief and reflection, and hopefully together we may either give each other strength or perhaps even find solutions.
We will invite people to contact the chaplains if they need to think, pray, have a sounding board. In the upcoming weeks, as we are also being sensitive to those suffering from the COVID 19 pandemic, we would like to organize small group opportunities for prayer and reflection over the next few weeks. Please stay tuned for more information about this space.
Until then, be well and be strong. Do not give up hope.
___________________________________________________________________________
Mission Statement
The Chaplains’ Office seeks to serve the Williams College community
- by nurturing the vitality of communities of worship representing many of the world’s great religious and spiritual traditions
- by coordinating energetic and imaginative service to others beyond the campus through programs of community outreach and advocacy for social justice, and by encouraging mutually trans-formative interaction between students and their neighbors in Williamstown and the wider world
- by promoting courageous, candid and transformative dialogue among religious communities, and between theologies and other disciplines of intellectual life
- by supporting students and others in times of struggle, and by offering companionship in other spiritual questions and quests
- by encouraging growth in the spiritual and moral dimensions of human wholeness alongside the College’s attention to growth in the intellectual, physical, emotional and psychological dimensions of person-hood
The college chaplains and office staff are eager to help students, faculty, staff and all members of the Williams community to discover every resource that may be helpful in furtherance of an individual’s spiritual journey and of the religious lives of the whole College.
Sacred Spaces
-
Nature's Sanctuary - Beyond the confines of bricks and mortar, Nature provides an ever-present sanctuary for the soul -
Thompson Memorial Chapel - built in 1905 to be the visible center of Williams’ spiritual life -
Zendo - available as a meditation space. If you would like to use the Zendo for meditation, please contact the Chaplains’ Office by calling 413-597-2483. -
Muslim Prayer Room - For information, call the Chaplains’ Office at 413/597-2483 or e-mail [email protected] (The Muslim Prayer room is located on the lower level of Thompson Memorial Chapel.) -
Jewish Religious Center - located at 24 Stetson Court. If you have any questions, please contact the Chaplains’ Office at 413-597-2483. -
Newman Catholic Chapel - The Newman Catholic Community Room and Chapel provide a spiritual home for Catholics at Williams. -
Hindu Room - located on the lower level of the Thompson Memorial Chapel. -
Interfaith Common Room & Kitchen - located on the lower level of the Thompson Memorial Chapel. -
Muslim Common Room - where students can relax, socialize and study! This room is also located in the lower level of the Thompson Memorial Chapel. -
Williams Catholic's Newman Room - comfortable for study, meetings, socializing and hosting events. This space is also located on the lower level of the Thompson Memorial Chapel. -
Meditation Room - located on the lower level of the Thompson Memorial Chapel. -
Williams Christian Fellowship Room - located on the lower level of the Thompson Memorial Chapel. -
Haystack Monument - On a sultry Saturday afternoon in August, 1806, Mills and four other students gathered as usual in the maple grove of Sloan’s Meadow for one of their twice-weekly prayer meetings. Thunderclouds broke open the sky, driving the students to seek shelter from the rain on the lee side of a great haystack.
Main Social Nav