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The University establishment
of the Office for Religious Life
is a testament to Stanford
historical commitment
to education of the whole
person for the common good.
The Office for Religious Life, located in the Round Room directly behind Memorial Church, is open
Monday through Friday from 8:00-5:00 p.m. The office is closed from 12-1 pm.
We are collectively committed and devoted to ensuring lively, thoughtful and supportive contexts for Stanford students, faculty and staff who wish to pursue spiritual interests. We recognize that a spiritual/religious journey can be an important, balancing complement to the numerous challenges one faces in the pursuit of academic and career goals.
Our office: Come and meet our
multi-faith team!
While each one of us participates in and leads worship and study in her/his own religious traditions, our primary objective as a staff is to collaborate as a multi-faith team and work with all constituents of this dynamic university. Our aim is to promote enriching dialogue, meaningful ritual, and enduring friendships among people of all religious backgrounds.
To address these objectives, some of the initiatives our staff has taken are:
- "What Matters to Me and Why" seminars
- Explorations in spirituality and service
- Interfaith study groups
- Women's Soul Matters
- Grief and bereavement workshops
- Contemporary and traditional readings of religious texts
- Feminist approaches to religion
- Seminars/discussions in residences on a number of spiritual/ethical issues
- Formal and informal classes on a range of topics, including women's spirituality, business/social ethics, and the intersection of sports and spirituality.
One of our greatest joys as a team is to create multi-faith worship opportunities for significant events in the life of the Stanford community. This includes campus-wide Welcome Back events, Parents' Weekend Service, Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration, Women's Soul Matters, and Baccalaureate.
We are also committed to developing an awareness of social and global justice and strive to maintain a close working relationship with the Haas Center for Public Service on campus.
Additionally, each of us serves on a number of administrative committees and works collaboratively with other university offices on issues that enhance the quality of life at Stanford.
Stanford's establishment of the Office for Religious Life is remarkable evidence of the historical commitment to education of the whole person for the common good. As Deans for Religious Life, we are unequivocally committed to supporting that endeavor!
The Office for Religious Life strives to:
- Foster individual and communal religious
faith, expression and study
- Promote interfaith appreciation, dialogue,
education and ritual
- Lead the university community in celebrating
and mourning through ritual
- Create a sacred context for rites of passage
and services of worship
- Provide attentive, thoughtful and respectful
pastoral presence and care
- Affirm community by connecting people
and encouraging reflection
- Wrestle with issues of ethics, citizenship,
vocation and values
- Challenge bigotry and injustice, guided by
religious traditions
- Engage ourselves and others in the sacred
duty to repair the world
- Situate intellectual life within a universal
and sacred context
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