Our late-spring newsletter is a reflection on spring: spring holidays, the spring semester at Smith, and the deeper rhythms of transition, change, and growth. Dive in to learn more about what we’ve been up to the past few months and what we’re looking ahead towards, as well as some interfaith education about spring holidays and rituals.
Smith’s New Director of Religious & Spiritual Life and College Chaplain
Julianne D. Ohotnicky, Associate Dean of the College/Dean of Students
The Reverend Matilda Rose Cantwell has assumed the position of Director of Religious & Spiritual Life and College Chaplain at Smith College. She served as the interim director at the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life for the last year and as the senior fellow for interfaith initiatives for three years prior to that.
Collaborations Shape CRSL’s Spring Semester
Kim Alston, CRSL Program Coordinator
The spring semester was a whirlwind of spirited activity. Many collaborative ventures stretched our intellect, consciousness, and empathy.
Rituals and Transitions: Spring at the Center for Religious & Spiritual Life
Matilda Cantwell, Director of CRSL and College Chaplain
Our website highlights several recent perspectives on the season and how the holidays in different religious traditions incorporate spring. I have always found it to be so profound how the religious traditions; celebrating their own stories and events; are so often in line with the rhythms of the natural world.
The Glowing Influence of the Spring Equinox
Emmett Wald, CRSL Program Assistant
The spring equinox, which fell on March 20 this year, is considered the first day of spring, and is recognized as a holiday across many religions and cultures. The spring and fall equinoxes mark important moments in our orbit of the sun, when the Earth’s tilt presents the Northern and Southern hemispheres equally to the Sun.
Spring’s Promise: A Witch’s Perspective
Ariana Alexsandra Collins, Wiccan High Priestess and Program Coordinator in the Jandon Center
Spring is the promise of release; of cleansing; of birth waters bearing down on the valley, washing winter into the Atlantic, heralding new life and new beginnings.
A Bright Future for the Smith College Jewish Community
Rhonda Shapiro-Rieser, Interfaith Spiritual Advisor
Jewish student life at Smith is in a phase of growth and vibrancy. In the two years since the group officially changed its name from Smith Hillel to the Smith College Jewish Community (SCJC), the organization has grown exponentially.