World Religions Cafe Series

Melissa Coles, MDiv candidate

Reflections from Clinical Pastoral Education at Massachusetts General Hospital

September 28, 2016

"Shared joy is double joy and shared sorrow is half sorrow."
—Swedish proverb

On Wednesday, September 28, Melissa Coles, a Master of Divinity candidate at Harvard Divinity School and resident at the Center for the Study of World Religions, presented "Reflections from Clinical Pastoral Education at Massachusetts General Hospital" during the CSWR residents' weekly café.

Respective of the sensitive topic and in order to make room for personal reflection and processing, Melissa's presentation was guided by times of pause and reflection....

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Hadel Jarada, PhD candidate

The Problem of Free Will

September 14, 2016

On Wednesday, September 14, Hadel Jarada, PhD candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, presented on the problem of free will and the diverse stance and contribution of contemporary philosophy to the age-old issue.... Read more about The Problem of Free Will

Grace Nono, HDS Visiting Lecturer in Women and Shamanism

Decolonizing Voice

March 23, 2016

Scholar of Philippine shamanism, ethnomusicologist and singer Dr. Grace Nono who currently serves as Research Associate of the Women's Studies in Religion Program and HDS Visiting Lecturer in Women and Shamanism, delivered a performance-lecture for the World Religions Café on Wednesday, March 23.

Grace spoke about the mutual imbrication of precolonial Philippine oral songs and indigenous (pre-Christian and pre-Islamic) religious traditions, and how these came under the silencing regimes of the Spanish and American colonial forces because of the role they played in reinforcing...

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Farah Zahra, MTS candidate

Audible War: Musics of Syrians at Home & in Exile

March 9, 2016

"I sent my soul to wander in my home, when my footsteps towards it have lost their way, to ask our home if it still remembers us, or has it forgotten us even since we left"From the song "I sent my Soul to You," by Syrian poet M.D Sabouni.

On Wednesday, March 9, Farah Zahra, an MTS candidate at Harvard Divinity School and a resident at the Center for the Study of World Religions presented on "Audible War: Musics of Syrians at Home & in Exile."

Farah, who herself witnessed war back in her home country Lebanon, began by sharing her...

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Sara Klingenstein, PhD candidate in the Committee on the Study of Religion

The Way of Tea

March 2, 2016

"If asked the nature of chanoyu, say it's the sound of windblown pines in a painting." Sen Sotan (1578-1658)

On Wednesday, March 2, Sara Klingenstein, a PhD candidate in the Committee on the Study of Religion, presented on chanoyu, commonly known as Japanese tea ceremony.

A full chanoyu gathering consists of the highly formalized preparation and consumption of matcha (powdered green tea) and a meal.  The gestures in chanoyu are the same basic gestures as occur in everyday life, wrought to a high level of precision and awareness: simply...

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Abhishek Raman, MDiv candidate

The Three-legged Chair: College, Church, and Capital

February 10, 2016

On Wednesday, February 10, Abhishek Raman, an MDiv candidate at Harvard Divinity School presented on the history of Harvard University's first endowed professorship, the Hollis Professor of Divinity.

At the time of his death, Thomas Hollis was the greatest benefactor that Harvard College had ever known. His gifts amounted to nearly 5,000 sterling pounds, an extraordinary sum and nearly a quarter of the value of the entire Harvard endowment. He established the Hollis Professor of Divinity in...

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