Service & Justice
SERVICE: As a core value of Chestnut Hill College, service provides a basis of learning and growth. Service to the dear neighbor is the genesis of transformative experiences; all those involved benefit and are changed as a result. Campus Ministry offers a variety of service opportunities to expand the horizons of participants, while facilitating reflection that can create a commitment to service for life. Campus Ministry creates intentional relationships with community partners, allowing students to delve deeper into the lives of those they serve while also considering their own role and identity in the world.
JUSTICE: Are you passionate about social justice? Campus Ministry provides students with leadership development opportunities on and off campus where you can integrate advocacy and action into your life. In the fall semester, we participate in the Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice -- a leadership summit and advocacy training conference rooted in the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching with a specific focus on compassionate immigration reform and climate justice.
Service Opportunities for Students, Staff & Faculty
Campus Ministry at Chestnut Hill College focuses on the growth and development of the whole person in relationship to God, self, and others. Offering opportunities for all to engage both heart and mind, Campus Ministry seeks to give students a groundwork to discover who they are and who they’re becoming through service, spirituality, and community building. Campus Ministry empowers students to create community, rooted in faith that is integrated into their daily life through experience, discernment, and the promotion of justice.
Campus Ministry is a community where people of all faith traditions are welcome. “Loving all neighbors without distinction,” Campus Ministry creates a home for all without regard for race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Instagram: @chccampusministry
Spring 2023:
Weekly Community & Reflection Opportunities for Students, Staff & Faculty:
Bible Study, 2:00pm on Mondays with Father Bob Mulligan, SJ337
Mass & Lunch on Tuesdays, 11:45am in the Carlino Chapel, 12:20 in the Cafeteria
Release: Women's Empowerment Group with Jackie: Thursdays at 11:00am, SJ337
Tattoos on the Heart: Storytelling & Community Group with Frank: Thursdays at 2:00pm, SJ337
Mass on Thursdays, 11:45am in the Carlino Chapel
Faculty & Staff Community & Reflection:
State of the Heart Small Group Reflections
Wednesdays, 12:30-1:00pm with S. Michelle Lesher, SSJ, SJ339
Thursdays, 8:30-9:00am with Jackie, SJ339
Upcoming Events:
Senior Retreat - April TBD
Spirituality & Retreats
Retreats are a great opportunity for reflection and renewal, and are an encouraging time to taste and see the goodness of God in our own lives and the beauty of the world around us. Students of all faiths, backgrounds, and religious experience are welcome.
With a variety of unique retreat experiences, beautiful settings, and a gifted team of mentors and student leaders, Campus Ministry offers numerous retreats throughout the year, both on and off campus. These retreats focus on a variety of themes and aspects of the spiritual journey, with the ability to meet all participants where they are. Past retreat experiences include Ignite (first year students), Retreat in Everyday Life (open to students, faculty, and staff), and the Senior Retreat.
Our team is also eager to partner with groups on campus. If your athletic team, residential community, or class is interested going on retreat, please reach out to Anna, Director of Campus Ministry (ryan-bendera@chc.edu), to begin the conversation.
Prayer and Worship
Community Prayers
On a regular basis, Campus Ministry intentionally gathers the entire campus community for prayer in a space where all are welcome. The richness of diversity is honored, articulated, and given voice in these experiences. Fostering community on a deeper level, students, staff, faculty, and contract service workers come together as equals in prayer in this public witness to the core beliefs of Chestnut Hill College.
Interfaith Prayer Service
The Interfaith Prayer Service is an annual celebration of the mosaic beauty of Chestnut Hill College. Gathering personal reflections from all corners of the campus community, this prayer service give voice the distinctive gift each member of our community brings and shares. The essence of love and community that grounds Chestnut Hill College is emphasized, embodying the active and inclusive love at the college’s core.
Note: The College also has an Interfaith Prayer Room that is open at all times. The room is located in SJH 140, which is the last room on the left in the Music Corridor behind the Rotunda.
Prayer for Peace & Non-Violence
Recognizing our place in the global community, Chestnut Hill College joins with this community in praying for peace and non-violence each year. The prayer is a pilgrimage around campus- beginning in the Rotunda, proceeding to the Peace Pole, and visiting the Garden of Forgiveness. Members of the campus community join their voices in prayer at each location, sharing in the cry for unity and peace in our world, country, city, campus, and our own hearts. Graduate and undergraduate students are invited to share personal reflections on the theme of Peace and Nonviolence.
Catholic Liturgy
As a community of faith, Chestnut Hill College honors the faith traditions of all its members and strives to provide opportunities to worship and celebrate together on a regular basis.
Rooted in the Roman Catholic faith, the Chestnut Hill College Campus Community celebrates Mass on Tuesdays and Thursday in the Carlino Chapel, and joins our larger Catholic community at Our Mother of Consolation Parish for Sunday liturgies.
