On a recent Saturday morning, our group, eighteen strong, journeyed from campus to Yogaville, otherwise known as Satchidananda Ashram. Our journey was not far—a little more than an hour’s drive from Lynchburg to the ashram. An ashram is a form …
The beginning of November is a time of so many celebrations! We have just celebrated American Halloween, and today we acknowledge the beginning of American Indian Heritage month. This is also the time when our LatinX brothers and sisters are …
I was reading the book Cracking the Walnut by Zen master Thich Nhat Hahn, in which he shares the story of getting a letter from a German Christian priest. In this letter the priest spoke about his Christian journey and …
“How can I be a presence of peace during so much chaos?” This is the question I have repeatedly asked myself since the news broke of violence in Israel. I took off a few days over midterm break, and with …
When I saw the news headlines this weekend about another war and a tally that included over a thousand individuals who have been killed, my heart sank. I learned of this event after I had spent a wonderful day with …
At a clergy retreat last week, storyteller Sheila Arnold recounted how a woman she knows desperately wanted to attract beautiful songbirds to her front porch. She had seen her neighbor’s array of bird feeders and even a bird bath and …
Last Hanukkah, my mother gave me a snow globe with a Star of David inside. Sometimes when I shake it, and see all the particles fly apart and then gather together, I am reminded of something a rabbi once told …
During my senior year of college I had some freedom in my schedule to take a sculpting class in the art department. One of our big assignments was to sculpt a self portrait out of clay. At each of our …
Most days I am late returning to my home nestled in the woods. Lately, I am greeted by a deer I have named Moonbeam. She has two large white circles of fur around her eyes. When I look into them, …
Last semester, our office utilized the Lynchburg Cares Fund to help cover the cost of a flight in order for a student to attend the funeral of their brother who had tragically died. After booking the flight, the student stayed …