NSO 2022!

Dear Class of 2026 and transfers -

On behalf of the Office for Religious and Spiritual Life, we are delighted to welcome you to the Farm! The Office for Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) is here to support your well-being and growth throughout your time at Stanford University. We accompany all students, religious and non-religious, as they seek to answer life’s most pressing question: “Who are you, and who do you want to become for the sake of the world?” Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey, we are here for you! We hope you will find a home with us at ORSL. We are excited and honored to accompany you on the journey ahead!

And from your two community coordinators for NSO week, Sabrina Deriche and Sean Cameron, we would like to congratulate you again and welcome you to the Stanford family. We’re excited to get to know all of you through the course of NSO week. We’re organizing events to help you get acquainted with all that ORSL has to offer (more info down below)! They’ll help to orient you and introduce you to the wonderful people and resources ORSL provides. We are students like you, so we’re hoping to be able to help each other learn, grow, and seek our own answers to the questions we all have about the world around us and our place in it.

Connecting at New Student Orientation (NSO)  

We invite you to participate in the NSO events hosted by our office: 

Community Welcome and Open House Wednesday 9/21 12:30-3 pm, Old Union: Join us outside Old Union and in the Circle (on the 3rd Floor of Old Union) to celebrate the beginning of your Stanford experience! Come meet ORSL student leaders, chaplains, and staff and learn how we can support you this year. We’ll have ice cream, swag, and lots of smiling faces, we hope to see you there!

Contemplative Walk Friday 9/23 3:00-4:30 pm, Outside Windhover Contemplative Center : Join us at Windhover Contemplative Center Labyrinth for delicious snacks and a spacious contemplative walk. This event will be led by current students and ORSL staff as a means to connect, cultivate mindfulness practices, and an opportunity to explore ORSL spaces as places of spiritual refuge. We’ll have opportunities for short, medium, and longer walk lengths that are meant accessible for all bodies and abilities.

Finding Space to Connect and Reflect 

For the fall quarter, the Office for Religious and Spiritual Life offers an array of virtual and in person gatherings and opportunities to connect with other students. To connect to our online platform please visit our website and explore! We also welcome you to our three unique physical locations on the Stanford campus. Each of these spaces will be open as COVID regulations allow. Please check our website. We hope you will come to find space and a home in these places as well.  

• The Center for Inter-Religious Community, Learning and Experiences (CIRCLE) is located on the third floor of the Old Union. It offers an interfaith sanctuary, meeting rooms, a lounge area and library, as well as offices and prayer/meditation rooms for many of our Stanford Associated Religions groups.  
• Memorial Church —or "MemChu," as it is affectionately called—stands at the center of the campus, and is home to many diverse worship experiences, concerts, and events.  
• Windhover is a beautiful contemplation center on campus, designed to inspire and promote personal renewal and quiet reflection throughout the day for Stanford students, faculty, and staff. The facility also incorporates an outdoor labyrinth which is available 24 hours day and night. 
• There are two other resources that may also be of interest to you that are not run by our office but may meet your religious and spiritual needs: The Markaz is a center for those who are interested, academically and otherwise, in the peoples and cultures of the Muslim world. Hillel at Stanford is a place for experiencing and learning about Jewish traditions, practice, culture, values, and community.  

Discovering Communities of Belonging 

Stanford Associated Religions (SAR) is an affiliation of the 30 religious and spiritual student groups. While student groups provide communities of belonging for particular religious traditions, together they are dedicated to interfaith understanding, and protecting the religious freedom, human dignity, conscience, and personal spiritual welfare of all members of the university. If you would like more information about any of our student religious organizations, please consider joining our community welcome or this year’s student activities fair. We encourage you to explore any number of groups that may interest you. 

Fostering Your Spiritual Well-Being

We care about your spiritual wellbeing and have many resources available to students throughout the academic year. Some of the many resources available through our office are courses such as Meeting the Moment (WELL/LIFE 105), Spiritual Wellbeing and Religious Encounter (LEAD 106), offer free guided meditation and yoga each week, and offer 1:1 spiritual care.

If you have questions about what your journey might look like at Stanford, do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can find the full directory of ORSL staff and chaplains by clicking here. Feel free to drop by the Circle in Old Union to chat or attend our office hours, and we’re looking forward to seeing you for our NSO events!

Religious Observances During NSO

RELIGIOUS & SPIRITUAL OBSERVANCES

Stanford University supports students, faculty, and staff in celebrating religious holidays and observances of significance to them. NSO and residential staff are aware that religious commitments may influence attendance at some events. For more information, please visit www.orsl.stanford.edu.

• JEWISH
  • Shabbat Service and Dinner 
    • Friday, Sept. 23, 6:00 p.m. • Hillel @ Stanford
  • Welcome Shabbat Service and Dinner Traditional/Orthodox
    • Friday, Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m. • Chabad at Stanford, 1289 College Ave.
  • Rosh Hashanah Services 
    • Erev Rosh Hashanah Dinner and Service, Sunday, September 25 • Hillel Rosh Hashanah Service, Monday, September 26, 8:30am-11:15am • Frost Amphitheater 
    • Chabad Rosh Hashanah Services Monday, September 26 and Tuesday, September 27 • CIRCLE, Old Union, 3rd Floor 
• ISLAMIC
  • Jumu’ah Prayer 
    • Friday, Sept. 23, 1:20 p.m. • CIRCLE Sanctuary, Old Union, 3rd Floor
• CHRISTIAN
  • University Public Worship (Ecumenical Protestant Christian/Multifaith) 
    • Sunday, Sept. 25, 11:00 a.m. • Memorial Church
  • Roman Catholic Mass 
    • Monday-Friday, 12:20 p.m. • Memorial Church
    • Sunday, Sept. 25, 9:00 a.m., 4:30 p.m., 9 pm • Memorial Church
    • Monday-Friday Confessions 1pm-2pm • CIRCLE, Old Union, Room 304
  • Episcopal Lutheran Prayer Service  
    • Thursday, Sept. 22, 12:10 p.m. • Memorial Church, Side Chapel
  • Evangelical & Non-Denominational Worship & Prayer Gathering 
    • Friday, Sept. 23, 7:00 p.m. • Memorial Church
• Buddhist
  • Buddhist Meditation (Zen)
    • Saturday September 24, 10 am  • Outside Windhover Contemplative Center