29 Friday Aug 2014
Posted in Considering HDS
Tags
Diversity, Events, Faculty, Lectures, Muslim, Noon Service, Open House, Prayer, Prospective Students, RSL, Staff, Student Life
Harvard Divinity School students come from an array of different ages, ethnicities, and religious and secular backgrounds. When I first visited HDS on Admitted Students Day, I was delighted to find a diverse student body and especially excited to find a Muslim community here, to call my spiritual home.
07 Friday Feb 2014
Posted in Experiential Learning
Tags
Academics, Buddhism, Catholic, Christianity, Comparative Monasticisms, Comparative Religion, Diversity, Experiential, Experiential Learning, Love, Monks, RSL, The Divine
Saint Joseph’s Abbey, Trappist Monastery. Photo by Jahnabi Barooah
“All I want to say to you is ‘You are the Beloved,’ and all I hope is that you can hear these words as spoken to you with all the tenderness and force that love can hold. My only desire is to make these words reverberate in every corner of your being—‘You are the Beloved.’ ” —Henri J. M. Nouwen
If someone had told me a year ago that I was going to be a master’s student at Harvard Divinity School, with the opportunity to directly experience monastic life from the perspective of two different religions in the middle of January, I would have probably laughed in their face in complete disbelief. Continue reading
25 Monday Nov 2013
Posted in Student Life
Tags
Buddhism, Catholic, Clubs, Community, Community Tea, Evangelical, Faculty, Friends, Hear & Now, Humanist, HUUMS, Interfaith, Jewish, Ministry, Muslim, Noon Service, Retreats, RSL, Spirituality, Staff, UU, WomenCircle
Walking the Labyrinth during the HDS Fall Retreat. Photo by Chris Alburger
I see Harvard Divinity School as a spiritual community, within which there are many distinct spiritual communities. HDS is full of kind, caring, altruistic people, because that’s who the school attracts. Classmates, faculty, and staff have all ministered to me and supported me through difficult times. I often have conversations with people that inspire or challenge me to be my best self (like a good sermon). The Divinity School, like we say at my church, is “a place where we practice being human.”
Community Tea on Tuesday afternoons is like “Coffee Hour” at church to me. It’s when Continue reading
22 Tuesday Oct 2013
Posted in Student Life
Tags
Karen, Aisha, Molly, Angela, & Bennett—a Hear & Now group—gather for food & fellowship for one of their weekly interreligious discussions
When I showed up at my first Hear and Now meeting, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was the first one there, perpetually early because I never know if things will run on “Harvard time”—that is, starting 7-10 minutes past real time. Slowly, the rest of my group trickled in, some I had met before and some I had not. We started out hesitantly, not knowing exactly what to do, but eventually we got into the flow, talking about our days, our lives, and our experiences with religion and spirituality. Before we knew it, the hour had passed and it was time to part. Continue reading
29 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in Student Life
Tags
Diversity, Faculty, Noon Service, Religious Pluralism, RSL, Staff, Theology, Work
“So, are you religious?” This question is a perpetual one for any person who decides to enroll in Divinity School. Unlike our peers in, say, English literature, who can pursue their field of study without question even when they are not novelists in their own right, people often wonder why a person who does not explicitly identify as religious or spiritual would choose to study religion. Or, if one does study religion as a faith practitioner, one’s ability to critically engage the study of religion without bias may be called into question. Thus, we find ourselves in something of an academic Catch-22: you can’t study religion if you aren’t religious, and you shouldn’t study religion if you are religious.
Fortunately, HDS has provided me with a fantastic community of peers, faculty, and staff who are committed to breaking down these assumptions. Continue reading
20 Thursday Dec 2012
Posted in Student Life
Tags
Academic Support, Career Services, Community, Memorial Church, Mental Health, Ph.D., RSL, Student Services
“Many people are good at talking about what they are doing, but in fact do little. Others do a lot but don’t talk about it; they are the ones who make a community live.”
― Jean Vanier, Community and Growth
As you learn more about all the incredible opportunities at Harvard Divinity School I wanted to share with you a part of HDS that might not get talked about a lot but is indeed what keeps our community one of growth and enrichment. Continue reading
