Chaplain’s Office/Center for Spiritual Life (C.S.L.)
The Center for Spiritual Life (C.S.L.) is located in Dahlstrom Student Center. The office has a lounge, a meditation/prayer/reflection room, and an office space for the chaplain.
The C.S.L. encourages and supports the spiritual and religious development of the campus community, creating citizens and leaders who are balanced in body, mind, and spirit to serve the world. The office raises spiritual awareness in keeping with the vision of the College’s founder, Rev. George Harvey Ball, who believed, “a vibrant spiritual life is fundamental to building creative and complete lives.” In the midst of a diverse, multi-faith people, the CSL seeks to provide possibilities and alternatives for peacemaking, social justice, interfaith dialogue, leadership development, and personal growth for both the individual and the community.
The programs of the C.S.L. are centered on the spiritual growth of the campus community, utilizing eight spiritual paths. (Arts/Creativity, Contemplation, Intellectual Inquiry, Nature, Relationship, Service, Social Activism, and Worship) All students, regardless of their religious and/or faith expression, are encouraged to participate in a survey which will help them identify which paths they relate most to spiritually. Students are encouraged to participate in programs in those paths.
While Keuka College is a church-related institution (American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.), there are multiple forms of religious belief as well as non-belief expressed on campus. Some C.S.L. programming, therefore, is faith- specific, while other programming brings people of different faiths/beliefs together to discuss and learn from each other. Faith-specific programming includes a Catholic mass and a non-denominational Christian worship service.
The student directors work with the chaplain to provide interfaith programming to the campus, using the eight spiritual paths, to explore life’s big questions. Yoga is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays to students, by a yoga/meditation instructor, in Norton Chapel. The C.S.L informs the campus about religious traditions by providing a religious holidays calendar that highlights major religious celebrations in religions represented on our campus and around the world. The C.S.L. leads an annual Alternative Spring Break trip to provide students with a weeklong service and cultural experience. Alternative Spring Break trips have been both domestic and international.
There are many leadership opportunities in the C.S.L. including student directors of spiritual paths (work study), a student leadership team, and a Spiritual Life Advisory Board (SLAB). The C.S.L. encourages student involvement in faith-based groups on campus, through the Senate recognized club, Coexist. Coexist is led by students interested in spiritual and religious life. The diverse group demonstrates how persons of different religious and nonreligious beliefs can grow and work collaboratively.
The C.S.L. will help students connect to faith communities in the surrounding area, when students express interest. The College chaplain is available to the entire Keuka College community for pastoral care, support, and spiritual guidance and can be reached at ext. 5378.