Office of the Chaplains
Willamette University
900 State Street
Salem, Oregon 97301
503-370-6213 voice
EVENTS, PROGRAMS and
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
Mid-Week Prayer Service
Wednesdays
September 2 - December 9, 2009
January 20 - May 5, 2010
12:30 - 1:00 p.m.
Cone Chapel
Chaplains Karen Wood and Charlie Wallace will lead an informal Christian prayer service, using liturgy from the Iona and Taizé communities and a meditative reading and reflection on a short passage of scripture. Everyone is invited to come!
University Convocation
Thursdays
September 10 - December 10, 2009
January 21 - April 29, 2010
11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.
Cone Chapel
Planned and facilitated by the interdisciplinary class, "Convo: Campus/Community/Cosmos," the University Convocation series brings speakers, musicians or other performers -- often with a spiritual or ethical message -- to campus every week.
Samhain
Sundown on October 31 through sundown on November 1, 2009
Samhain (pronounced "Sow-hen or Sow-in") is the Wiccan New Year, and is one of the four major holidays of Wicca. At this time, the God passes into the otherworld to be reborn to the Goddess at Yule. The division between the worlds is thin, and it is a time to remember one's ancestors and to reflect on the past year.
Recruiter: Vanderbilt Divinity School
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
University Center 2nd Floor Lobby
Rebecca Eberhart, Director of Admissions and Student Services, will be on campus to speak with students interested in graduate theological education and/or preparation for church leadership (lay or ordained). Vanderbilt Divinity School offers Master of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies degrees as well as dual degree programs with Vanderbilt University's Schools of Business, Law, Nursing and Medicine. The Graduate Department of Religion also offers a Ph.D. program. Vanderbilt University is located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Eid al Adha
Sundown on November 26 through sundown on November 30
Eid al Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice) is the most important festival of Islam and concludes the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca). It is a three-day festival commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, in obedience to Allah. Muslims worldwide sacrifice a lamb or other animal and distribute the meat to relatives or the needy.
Advent
Sunday, November 30 through Thursday, December 24, 2009
Advent (from the Latin adventus meaning "coming") is the Christian time of preparation for observing the birth of Jesus Christ. It begins on the Sunday nearest November 30 and is the beginning of the Christian worship year. Advent is observed with the lighting of advent candles (representing hope, love, joy and peace), the display of wreaths and special ceremonies. The season continues through Christmas Eve on December 24.
Lessons & Carols Choir
Cone Chapel
Monday, November 30, 2009
4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Monday, December 7, 2009
4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Any member of the campus community (students, faculty, staff, alumni, spouses) is welcome to be a part of the choir, which is directed by Linda McCreery (faculty spouse and director of music at Westminster Presbyterian Church). The difficulty and voicing of the music will depend on the make-up of the choir. Your commitment is four 1-hour rehearsals and the service itself during the Convocation hour at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 10. Please join us if your schedule permits!
Lessons and Carols
Thursday, December 10, 2009
11:30 a.m.
Cone Chapel
The campus and Salem communities are invited to the university's 25th annual Christmas Service of Lessons and Carols during the University Convocation hour. Based on the service broadcast annually by the BBC from King's College Chapel at Cambridge University, the worship service includes traditional scripture passages from the Old and New Testaments read by representatives of various parts of the campus community - the Lessons - and choral and congregational singing - the Carols.
An offering will be taken to benefit the work of Marion-Polk Food Share.
Hanukah
Sundown on Friday, December 11, until sundown on Saturday, December 19, 2009
Hanukah is the Jewish Festival of Lights commemorating religious freedom and the Maccabean recapture and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 BCE. The festival is observed with special readings, praise songs, games and gifts. Candles are lit on the menorah each night of the festival as a reminder that when the Jewish army returned to the Temple there was only oil enough to burn in the Eternal Light for one night, but it burned for eight.
Yule
Sundown on Sunday, December 20, until sundown on Monday, December 21, 2009
Yule is the Wiccan celebration of rebirth and renewal. At Yule, the Goddess gives birth to her son, the God, who is symbolized by the sun. His birth brings hope and the promise of the coming summer. Yule is a remnant of older rituals which hurried the end of winter and the coming of spring.
Christmas
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas celebrates the anniversary of the birth of Jesus. Christmas is given more importance in Western Christianity than in Orthodox. The day is observed with prayer, the giving of gifts and family gatherings.
Kwanzaa
Saturday, December 26, through Thursday, December 31, 2009
Kwanzaa, a seven-day holiday, was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966. This African-American and Pan-African festival celebrating family, community and culture, was modeled after African first-fruits celebrations. The candles of a seven-branched candelabrum representing the seven principles (the Nguzo Saba) of Kwanzaa - unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith - are lit successively over the seven days of the festival.
Epiphany
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Epiphany is the Christian commemoration of the manifestations of the divine nature of Jesus Christ. The evening preceding is known as Twelfth Night. The Western Church associates the day with the journey of the Magi to Bethlehem (as celebrated by Dia de los Reyes - Day of the Kings). In the Eastern Church, where it is called Theophany, the day is connected to the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and to the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana.
Imbolc
Sundown on Monday, February 1, until sundown on Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Imbolc (also called Imbolg or Candlemas) is one of the four major holidays of Wicca. Imbolc marks the growth of the God into a strong boy, as the days grow longer and the sun gets stronger. It also marks the recovery of the Goddess from giving birth to the God. It is a time of initiation, a beginning, as the seeds begin to wake from their winter sleep. Traditionally many initiation and self-dedication rituals are done at this time. (Imbolc begins at sundown on Feb. 1.)
School of Theological Studies
Saturdays, February 13 and 20, 2010
9:00 a.m. to Noon
University Center Third Floor
The School of Theological Studies offers four, two-week classes taught by Willamette faculty and community leaders. Participation by members of the campus and Salem-Keizer communities and beyond is welcomed. A modest registration fee of $10 is asked of off-campus participants ((with a $2 discount if the registration is received by Wednesday, February 10); there is no fee for current Willamette full-time students, faculty and staff.
Course descriptions and registration information will be available in mid-Janaury.
Shrove Tuesday
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Shrove Tuesday is a Christian carnival day on the eve Lent, a time of fasting and devotions. Because fats were not allowed in foods during Lent and had to be consumed before it began, the day is also known as Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras).
Ash Wednesday
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the forty-day period (excluding Sundays) of prayer, repentance and self-denial that precedes Easter. Ashes are marked on worshippers as a sign of penitence.
Ash Wednesday Worship Service
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
12:30 p.m.
Cone Chapel
Chaplains Charlie Wallace and Karen Wood will lead a brief service that will include the imposition of ashes, prayer, singing and readings.
Purim
Sundown on Saturday, February 27, until sundown on Sunday, February 28, 2010
Purim is the Jewish celebration of the deliverance of the Jews from planned genocide as told in the book of Esther. The holiday is observed by reading the Book of Esther, food, the exchange of gifts and donations to the poor.
Ostara
Sundown on Friday, March 19, until sundown on Saturday, March 20, 2010
Ostara, the Spring Equinox marks the first day of spring. It is the time when the God grows to maturity. The night and day are equal, therefore it is a time of balance when our lives can be brought into harmony. For Wiccans it is a time of beginnings of action.
Palm Sunday
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Palm Sunday celebrates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the beginning of Christian Holy Week. The name is taken from the Gospel stories telling of people waving palm branches and spreading them in front of Jesus as he entered the city.
Passover
Passover is the eight-day celebration in remembrance of the deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. An important part of Passover is a ceremonial meal, a Seder (usually on the first or second night), in which specific foods representing elements of the Exodus story are eaten.
Maundy Thursday
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Maundy or Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus and the Apostles and the origin of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper (Communion/Eucharist).
Good/Great Friday
Friday, April 2, 2010
Good Friday (called Great Friday by Eastern Christians) is a day of remembrance of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the events immediately preceding it. The story is retold during special worship services.
Good Friday Worship Service
Friday, April 2, 2010
12:30 p.m.
Cone Chapel
A worship service remembering the crucifixion of Jesus Christ through prayer, readings and music will be led by chaplains Charlie Wallace and Karen Wood.
Easter/Pascha
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter is the most holy of Christian sacred days, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus following his death by crucifixion. The day is observed with worship services beginning at sunrise, special music, feasting and family gatherings. Easter marks the end of the forty-day period of Lent and begins a fifty-day period leading to Pentecost.
Because the Eastern Christian church determines the date of Easter according to a different "formula," Pascha is usually celebrated on a different date than Western Easter. This year, the two celebrations fall on the same date.
Yom HaSho'ah
Sundown on Saturday, April l0, to sundown on Sunday, April 11, 2010
Yom HaSho'ah is the day established to remember the six million Jews killed by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945.
Beltane
Sundown on Thursday, April 29, until sundown on Friday, April 30, 2010
Beltane is one of the four major holidays of Wicca. Beltane is the emergence of the God into manhood. He falls in love with the Goddess, and their union results in the Goddess being with child. Beltane is a celebration of their coupling and the fertility of the Earth Goddess and all living things. Beltane marks the return of vitality and passion.
College of Liberal Arts Baccalaureate
Saturday, May 15, 2010
4:30 p.m.
Smith Auditorium
This interfaith service, planned by a committee of graduating seniors and the chaplains, will be held as part of Commencement activities and will include music, scripture from a variety of traditions and reflections by graduates and others.
Pentecost
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Pentecost is the Christian observation of the day fifty days following the resurrection of Jesus when the Holy Spirit came to the Disciples in the forms of tongues of fire and rushing wind. It is a traditional day for baptism and confirmation of new Christians. The day is also called "Whitsunday," a name believed to be derived from "white Sunday," because of the white robes that are sometimes worn by persons being baptized.
Vesak/Buddha Day
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Vesak is the major Buddhist festival of the year, celebrating the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. It is observed on the full moon.