What is spirituality?
Each student, faculty, and staff member at the Boston University School of Theology will answer that question with a slightly different nuance or emphasis. You are invited to bring your own definition and spiritual practices into our learning community. At the School of Theology, we seek to encourage your spirit in the midst of the academic environment. Our common spiritual discipline is study, pursued in dialogue with our personal practices, traditions, and experiences, and in the context of our corporate practices of worship and music, retreats and Sabbath, fellowship and service.
Here you will find space, support, and formative experiences with which to nurture your relationship with God, spirituality, the community, and creation. “Spiritual Life” for us encompasses everything we do, including scholarship and teaching, worship, research, service, and community building. At the same time, the School is intentional about cultivating practices that enhance the human relationship with the Holy such as worship opportunities, interfaith observances, prayer, community events, retreats, trips, and spiritual direction.
We have a myriad of initiatives through which students explore spirituality:
Prayer
- Episcopal Daily Office and Eucharist
- Ecumenical prayer
- Prayer in response to current events
Worship
- Wednesday worship service at Marsh Chapel
- Weekly Eucharist
- Seasonal liturgical observances
Interfaith
- Interfaith houses of worship walking tour and visits
- Buddhist meditation group
Spiritual Offerings
- Meditation
- Labyrinth walks for personal reflection
- Tea and conversation in fellowship
- Storytelling lunch series
- Annual spring retreat
- Reading retreats
Student-Led Initiatives
- Nature retreats
- Bible study
- Yoga
- Culturally religious observances
- Vigils
- Art practices
- Activism: fundraising for relief efforts, immigration awareness events, vigils and marches, ecological justice initiatives
Spiritual Life Office
Welcome to the School of Theology Spiritual Life Office. This is a place where you are encouraged to explore a variety of spiritual practices, discovering those that speak most clearly to your head and heart. This is a community of welcoming friends, eager to listen and give witness, to learn from one another, and to discern the presence of God in our lives. This is a place for you. Welcome!
Rev. Charlene Zuill
Rev. Charlene Zuill, Director of Spiritual Life, is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. She completed her MDiv degree at Candler School of Theology and her DMin at Wesley Theological Seminary in the Campus Ministry Track. Charlene previously served fifteen years as the Director and Campus Minister at the Wesley Foundation at the University of Hawaii Manoa in Honolulu, Hawaii. She also completed a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Residence in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Compton, CA. Charlene’s spiritual practices include walking, reading, listening to music, and spiritual companioning with a cadre of wonderful, spirit-filled friends she has met on her journey. She is energized when she is able to give someone else strength for their journey as she has received. Charlene believes that “a majority of folks experience spiritual life within community. If we work together we’ll collectively meet not only our individual goals but also our communal goals, which hopefully is bringing in the Kingdom of God and bringing about a more just society.” Charlene brings a wealth of experience, an exuberance for the work, and a strong commitment to the spiritual growth of our community. Stop by her office to get acquainted and explore opportunities for spiritual growth. No appointments needed!
