Double Rainbow over Lourdes on Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 2020.
Our prayers go out to the entire world, for those who are sick, for those who have died, for those who care for the sick, for those who mourn, for leaders making tough decisions, for communities devastated by loss. May we be united in service, and in compassion.
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Letter from Assistant Dean of Students, Paul Kircher |
Dear JST Community,
I hope that you all have been finding some time for rest and renewal during this week of Spring Break. May we all continue to provide support to each other as we listen and sense how God is accompanying us in facing the many challenges of COVID-19 in our school community and in our world. We are grateful to the students who have initiated the 8 p.m. evening prayer services Sunday through Thursday. I attended Lectio Divina on Thursday and truly felt the presence of the Spirit in our prayer together. I invite you to attend this coming week if you are able.
In this issue of the Magis, please see the resources that we are suggesting in this period of shelter-in-place, and let us know if you have additional recommendations or invitations. You may e-mail Mary Beth Lamb at melamb@scu.edu by noon each Wednesday.
This Tuesday evening, March 31, at 6:45 p.m., I invite you to gather virtually for reflection together on what we are learning as a school community during this time of COVID-19. We will consider what God may be revealing to us, and what we are learning about ministry in a time of crisis. I will send out the zoom link. If you have ideas for this gathering, please e-mail me at pkircher@scu.edu
In prayer and in solidarity with all those who are suffering,
Paul
| Liturgy NewsDue to the shelter in place directive, Gesù Chapel at JST is not open for Mass or for prayer. The entire Diocese of Oakland has suspended public Masses, though some churches remain open for private prayer. We list below some online resources. If you find something that you think would be beneficial for the community, please send the link to Mary Beth Lamb, melamb@scu.edu.
A group of JST students is continuing to plan evening prayer gatherings via zoom, from 8:00-8:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. If you are interested in helping to lead a session in the coming weeks, please email Sebastian Budinich at sbudinich@scu.edu. Contact Sebasian for the zoom link, which will also be sent out via e-mail. Please join with your microphones muted at the beginning.
Here are some audio-visual online resources that we recommend:
NEW: Virtual retreats for Holy Week by Liturgy Training Publications with limited registration. If interested, sign up early!
NEW: Online Liturgy of the Word with Future Church on Sunday and Wednesday afternoons, 4:00 p.m. It includes praying together, listening to the readings, viewing the weekly preaching from Catholic Women Preach, and breaking out into small groups to respond to a question based on the readings or preaching. (please note that each Wednesday will be a "repeat" of the previous Sunday).
NEW: Daily Mass online offers livestreams of Mass all around the world which you can log on to at the specific time of the Mass.
NEW: Catholic Current from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops lists various online sources for livestream and recorded Mass and other prayer resources.
Pray as you go daily video prayer from the Jesuits in Britain.
Text only online resources:
NEW: Complimentary Online Access to Give Us This Day
NEW: Pax Christi has a webpage that lists prayer, study and action resources. These include a shared movie night on Wednesdays. For April 1, the movie of the week is Cesar Chavez.
A Heart Renewed JST's daily email with readings, reflections and prayers
Complimentary Online Access to Magnificat
Complimentary Online Access to Sunday Liturgies from Living with Christ
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JST Announcements
- JST updates on COVID-19 can be found here. This page links also to the SCU and GTU updates.
- If you are a JST student and would like to lead or participate in a faith-sharing or prayer group virtually with other students, please e-mail pkircher@scu.edu.
- If you are a JST student experiencing food insecurity because of the shelter-in-place order, please request assistance by registering with the SCU Bronco Pantry and indicate that you are from JST.
- If you are a JST student experiencing financial need as a result of COVID-19, please see the SCU Financial Aid page for information on the SCU Emergency Fund and submit the request at this link.
- Here are some virtual resources for mental health if you feel you need such support during this time.
- SilverCloud: This is a clinically proven online mental health platform, offering programs that help with building resilience, managing anxiety or depression, and coping with stress and sleep issues. Through August 2020, Silver Cloud is available to all JST-SCU students. To sign up, please visit gsh.silvercloudhealth.com/signup/ and choose “Santa Clara University” from the drop-down menu to get started. To confirm your eligibility, you will need to use your school-issued scu.edu e-mail address. This service is confidential and your e-mail address will not be used outside of the SilverCloud platform.
- BetterHelp: BetterHelp provides professional counseling by licensed therapists 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via phone, video-conferencing, text, or chat. If you are on the SCU student health insurance plan with UnitedHealthcare StudentResources, this service is provided to you free of charge; you may get started by accessing this link. If you are not on the SCU student health insurance, this service is available for $40-70/week by setting up a paid account at this link.
- For assistance with Moodle,visit the Moodle Help page for students, which includes frequently asked questions and instructions for how to resolve some of the common difficulties that students can face in Moodle. You can also access the help page by logging into Moodle, and clicking "site home" on the left side of your screen.
| Local Community ResourcesThese are local community resources that you might find helpful.
FOOD ASSISTANCE
Alameda County Community Food Bank
Guide to Food Resources in Alameda County
- Food Helpline (for anyone residing in Alameda County, no verification required) for information on food pantries and hot food services near you
- CalFresh (formerly food stamps, for US citizens, legal permanent residents, refugees)
- Meals on Wheels (for seniors who are homebound)
- Senior Brown Bag (for low income seniors over 60 years of age)
United Way Bay Area: Call 2-1-1 to speak with a local trained specialist who can connect you to services providing food, shelter, childcare, legal assistance, and more.
OTHER FORMS OF ASSISTANCE
Alameda County Rapid Response Resources: This pdf gives websites and information on essential help during this time. It indicates relaxation of government and business rules regarding wait times, scheduled payments and other help.
- Apply for CalFresh (formerly food stamps)
- EBMUD and PG&E moratoriums on service disconnection and bill reduction
- Rules for state disability and unemployment insurance for reasons of COVID-19
- Extension of state and federal tax filing deadlines
- AC Transit and BART changes in policy
- Cellular service hardship policies
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Community Offerings |
Lockdown by Richard Hendrick, OFM
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
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So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
(submitted by Mary Beth Lamb) |
Mental Health Tips for Social Distancing
This article suggests 10 practices for mental health while social distancing.
Voices of Santa Clara podcast
The Voices of Santa Clara Podcast, developed and hosted by SCU senior Gavin Cosgrave, released an episode on March 19 featuring Carly Lynch & Victor Lemus from Campus Ministry reflecting on "Embracing the Shelter-in-Place."
https://www.voicesofsantaclara.com/shelter-in-place
Victor and Carly share thoughtful observations and reflections and Gavin discusses briefly some of the things that he is processing right now as a graduating senior.
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JST Events |
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Jesuit Higher Education, State Repression, and Solidarity in Nicaragua
Noon - 1:30 p.m., Benson Memorial Center, Parlor A
Faculty & Staff Reading Group
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Contemplative Hike
1:30 - 4:30 p.m., Gesu Chapel Bell
Join us for our monthly Contemplative Hike! Meet at the chapel bell at 1:30 PM. We plan to be back around 4:30pm. Email Laryn at Lkovalik@scu.edu to organize the carpool.
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JST Weekday Liturgy
5:15 p.m., Gesu Chapel
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SCU Events and Announcements |
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics has posted Ethics Resources regarding COVID-19. As the pandemic wreaks havoc on society, our health care system, and the economy, critical trade-offs must be identified and considered. Ethics Center staff and scholars offer their analysis of many of these challenges in this Ethics Spotlight. https://www.scu.edu/ethics-spotlight/covid-19/
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GTU News and Events |
GTU Emergency Alert System
All GTU students, faculty and staff are urged to sign up for GTU's emergency notification system, called GTU-ALERTS to receive short emergency announcements via text and email. This is particularly important in our current situation as events continue to unfold.
In order to participate in this system, sign up at: https://gtu.omnilert.net/subscriber.php?command=show_signup.
You are encouraged to configure as many email addresses and mobile phone numbers as you regularly monitor in order to have the best coverage in case of emergency. The account expires one year from the date of creation unless you renew it. Renewal is a simple matter of clicking on a link contained in the expiration emails or texts you will receive when your account expiration approaches.
GTU At Home Book Club
On Wednesdays (April 1 - April 29) at 12:30, the SFTS library is hosting an online silent book club, which offers an opportunity to socialize, share what you are reading with others, and spend time reading your own book silently. For zoom info and more info on at home book clubs, see https://www.gtu.edu/events/gtu-home-book-club.
GTU Library Workshops
The GTU Library hosts workshops throughout the semester on Zotero (a free citation management program), Biblical exegesis, finding primary resources, and doing library research from a distance. Click here for the schedule.
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Jewish Perspectives on Spiritual Care, Resilience and Community in an Age of Uncertainty
noon, online event
In this online event, Dr. Deena Aranoff and Dr. Sam Berrin Shonkoff of the Center for Jewish Studies at the GTU will be presenting their perspectives on faith, resilience, culture, and community in this time of uncertainty. You can find both a video reflection and blog from them on our website after noon PST on April 3, 2020.
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A Religion and Art Historian's Perspective on this an Age of Uncertainty
noon, online
In this online event, Dr. Kathryn Barush, presents a religion and art perspective on faith, resilience, culture, and community in this age of uncertainty. You can find both a video reflection and blog from her on our website after noon PST on April 10, 2020.
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Community Events and Resources |
The Metropolitan Opera is offering nightly Met Opera streams from their archives. This weekend features works by Wagner. Next week includes Poulenc's exquisite Dialogues des Carmelites. The broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT and continues until 6:30 p.m. the next day. Met Opera Streams
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Radical Kinship with Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, founder of Homeboy Industries
online, 6:00p.m.
In light of COVID-19, the Ignatian Solidarity Network is hosting virtual Solidarity on Tap on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. Enjoy fellowship and hear powerful justice reflections from the network--from a screen near you. Join us with your beverage of choice in hand, for a conversation about Radical Kinship with Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, founder of Homeboy Industries. If you have a question for Fr. Greg, submit it here.
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Virtual Way of the Cross for Economic and Ecological Justice
9:00am-11:00am
Based on the Economic Way of the Cross, written by the Religious Working Group on the World Bank/IMF, the Way of the Cross for Economic and Ecological Justice provides a prayerful way to walk the steps of Jesus in this time of financial and ecological crisis. This year, it will be a virtual event.
Each station symbolizes institutional roots of this suffering in government, in transnational corporations, in international financial institutions, in trade agreements, macroeconomic policies and financial transactions that give shape to economic activity around the world.
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Job Announcements and More |
Commonweal Internship Summer 2020
Each semester, Commonweal offers internships to up-and-coming young writers, journalists, theologians, marketers, and critics. They are currently welcoming applications for the summer of 2020.Interns have the opportunity to explore Commonweal’s editorial, marketing, development, and digital work, depending on interest and background. Responsibilities include:
- Writing original content for Commonweal's website or print magazine
- Assisting with website curation and research, including art and archival collection
- Preparing content for publication using an online content management system (CMS).
- Assisting in editorial planning and production of The Commonweal Podcast.
- Creating and planning content for social media.
Start and end dates are flexible, with modest stipends offered to help defray living and commuting expenses. Summer interns must be available full time. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and at least two samples of original writing to interns@commonwealmagazine.org.
For more information, see the website at: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/interns. Applications are due March 31.
Church Mutual Religious Scholar Scholarship for 2020-21
For the fourth year in a row, CM CARES will award up to $250,000 in scholarships to deserving graduate-level religious scholars. Fifty scholarship winners will each receive a $5,000 award that may be used to pay for tuition, fees, books or other costs of attending school during the 2020-21 academic year. Students of all faiths are encouraged to apply.
For more information, click here. To apply, click here. Deadline to register is April 8.
Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship for Women Discerning Priestly Vocation
Scholarship applications are open to women and non-binary persons enrolled or accepted into an undergraduate or graduate studies program. To be eligible the candidate must be enrolled or participate in at least one class or significant volunteer ministry of comparable scope that they believe would forward the discernment of their call to a life in ordained ministry. This scholarship is primarily directed to women and non-binary people who wish to be ordained Catholic Priests (including Ecumenical Catholic and Roman Catholic Women Priests). Secondarily it is open to those who are seeking priestly ordination in other denominations. For more information, click here. To apply, click here.
Applications are accepted until April 29, 2020 and awardees will be notified in June 2020.
Call for Papers: EcoTheo Review
The EcoTheo Review is a quarterly journal dedicated to enlivening conversations and commitments around ecology, spirituality, and art. They are always open to submissions of poetry, prose, and visual art that explore questions of nature and spirituality, from within and outside all religious traditions. They are delighted by innovative, original, thoughtful art that reflects the values of curiosity, justice, and community. They also welcome reviews of contemporary poetry and prose that engage themes of ecology and/or theology. They look forward to reading and seeing your work! Please visit www.ecotheo.org for submission guidelines.
Call for Papers, Society for the Phenomenology of Religious Experience
The Conference on Religious Experience and the Crisis of Secular Reason, September 16-18, 2020 at the University of Vienna, is looking for abstracts. Please submit papers of no more than 600 words, formatted for anonymous review, to congressvienna2020@sophere.org before May 30, 2020. You can also enclose a full paper; submissions with ready papers will be given a priority. Enclose your biographic information in the body of email. Notifications of acceptance will be emailed by June 15, 2020. For more information, click here.
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The Renewal Program celebrated Josephine Nakiberu's birthday with a surprise zoom party, March 25. Photo by Ellen Jewett. |
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To submit items for publication in this newsletter, please send to jstmagis@scu.edu by noon on Wednesday of the week you want it published. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to submit photos of events for the photo of the week.
Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University Assistant Dean of Students 1735 Le Roy Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709 Phone: 510-549-5029 jstmagis@scu.edu |
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