Scott Center for Spiritual and Religious Life staff, left to right:
Gus Jordan, Director
Laurie Jordan, Chaplain
Ellen McKay, Program Coordinator
Rabbi Ira Schiffer, Associate Chaplain
The Chaplain's Office at Middlebury College exists as an expression of the College's longstanding commitment to the education of the whole person. For over two centuries Middlebury College has strived to be a place where a student's intellectual, spiritual, and moral character can grow and flourish. This is the meaning of the College's motto, Scientia et Virtus, knowledge and virtue.
With a geographically and culturally diverse student body, our campus is home to a rich spectrum of the earth's religious traditions. We seek opportunities for fruitful interfaith dialogue and foster respect for the religious beliefs and practices of the people who make up the Middlebury community. We offer our support to many different student religious organizations and connect people to a variety of nearby faith communities.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Chaplain and the Chaplain's office includes the following challenges:
to help create a campus atmosphere that is open to spiritual development, personal religious disciplines, and fruitful interfaith dialogue that is respectful of the religious beliefs and practices of the people who make up the Middlebury community.
to provide a supportive environment for a rich spectrum of the earth's religious traditions to flourish on campus in part by acting as a support and advocate for student groups and local faith communities.
to represent and carry on the College's engagement with the Christian tradition which shaped its formative years. This includes such activities as offering weekly ecumenical chapel services, other worship opportunities, Bible study, and ceremonial duties.
to provide pastoral care and support for the College community including confidential counseling, pastoral visitation, and when called for preparing and presiding over weddings, funerals and other liturgical functions.
to support and challenge students as they deal with the moral and spiritual issues that face all of us as human beings. These include clarifying a system of values, learning to maintain personal integrity when those values are tested, dealing with mortality and the death of a loved one, finding meaning in the face of tragedy, and working through the intricacies of interpersonal conflict and commitment.
to develop positive relationships with alumni, faculty, staff, and townspeople.
Interfaith Calendar and Middlebury College's Religious Holidays Policy