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This is the blog of the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life (CRSL) at Smith College. To learn more, visit our website.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in these posts are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily shared by CRSL or by Smith College.
Tag Archives: campus news
Invocation for Generating Justice and Joy Nov. 30, 2021
by Kim Alston
We are grateful that our earth has the capacity to take care of all living creatures. We affirm the importance of the humanity of all people. We are gathered to reconfirm our commitment to the seeking of this great concept … Continue reading
2021-2022: The Center for Religious and Spiritual Life Explores Transformative and Disability Justice as Spiritual Practices
This year as Smith focuses on “Democracies,” we are painfully aware that social injustices were woven into the fabric of our society at its founding. We also find ourselves at a point at which the very structure of democracy in … Continue reading
Posted in History, Newsletter Articles, Reflections, Social Justice, Spirituality, Uncategorized
Tagged campus news, community, CRSL news, Democracy, Disability, spirituality, transformation, welcome
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Reparations in Higher Education
by Kim Alston
This post is the first of a few to explore the theme of reparations. The term has come to refer to a broad movement advocating for payments and structural repair to those harmed by slavery in the U.S. and to … Continue reading
Posted in History, Programs & Events, Reflections, Social Justice
Tagged campus news, community, CRSL news, national news, race/racism, Reparations
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The War in Afghanistan, 9-11, and our Interconnectedness
by Kim Alston
I thought it was a good idea to bring attention to the handling of the events in Afghanistan by the U.S. military last month through Generating Justice and Joy because it demonstrates the confusion, complexity, complicity, and connection that so … Continue reading
Think of Criticalhope as One Word
Critical hope seems at first to be a contradiction in terms–a clash of two universes of discourse. “Hope” has to do with the experience of faith which inspires vision, which engages us in action and (hopefully) to a sacred, healing … Continue reading
Mrs. New’s Tattoo
I remember the first time I really saw the numbers tattooed on Mrs. New’s arm. I had seen them before, but by 11 years old, I knew enough to really see them. I remember a 2 and a long chain … Continue reading
Reflection on Cromwell Day
by Kim Alston
I’m reading a book that I find interesting on the subject of race. It’s called Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life, written by scholar educators Karen E. Fields and Barbara J. Fields. As the title suggests race or … Continue reading
A Reflection
The Place Where We Are Right by Yehuda Amichai From the place where we are right Flowers will never grow In the spring. The place where we are right Is hard and trampled Like a yard. But doubts and loves … Continue reading
Posted in Newsletter Articles, Reflections, Social Justice, Spirituality
Tagged campus news, community, CRSL news, spirituality
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Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a Tzadik
After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, 11-year-old Micah Blay made a pilgrimage to the U.S. Supreme Court and blew the shofar for the hundreds of people gathered there. In keeping with Jewish custom, they laid small stones on the steps … Continue reading
Posted in History, Holidays, Programs & Events, Reflections, Social Justice, Spirituality
Tagged campus news, CRSL news, grief, Jewish, politics, world news
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CONVOCATION (Invocation) 2020, August 31, 2020
Smith College acknowledges and appreciates the fact that our College is built within the ancestral homelands of the Nonotuck peoples. We also recognize our present-day neighboring indigenous nations: the Nipmuc and the Wampanoag to the East, the Mohegan, Pequot, and … Continue reading
Posted in Programs & Events, Reflections, Social Justice, Spirituality
Tagged black lives matter, campus news, community, CRSL news, grief, hope, possibilities, race/racism, spirituality
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