CRSL Newsletter

Thurs., December 4, 2025

Winter Concert at the Vespers Hour: An Evolving Event



Not all of you know that Smith offers a winter concert and reading which has come to be called Advent, or Christmas “Vespers.” Vespers is the Latin word for “evening,” signifying, in monastic contexts, the prayer of the eight prayer times, which falls at dusk. This event, a collaboration between the Music Department and the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, and supported by the President's Office, is well attended and beloved by the local wider Northampton community and many Smith alums as well. 

Smith has been holding this event since 1918 at the beginning of what in the Gregorian calendar is the “Advent” season, the days before the birth of Jesus, considered a pivotal event in the Christian story. Smith's event was built on a “service of Nine Lessons and Carols,” biblical readings and music which originated at the University of Cambridge in England and is held in many collegiate settings. While Christmas is a significant holiday in the western world, from time immemorial people across all cultures, countries and religions in the Northern Hemisphere have celebrated around the winter solstice that the darkest days of the year will soon be behind us. The roots of many winter holidays, including Pagan timekeeping in accordance with the seasons as well, reference to the Julian, Hebrew, Islamic/Lunar calendars; the dark is where germination and new life begin. Some of these holidays include Hanukkah (Judaism), Diwali (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism), Yule (Norse paganism), Dongzhi (Chinese culture), and Soyal (Hopi). Most have rituals involving bringing light into darkness, even if they have become aligned in the religious tradition with the worship of a deity or with a historical event.

Most among us have not been taught that many of these holidays that celebrate light overcoming dark symbolize good over evil, and have radical social implications. For example, the origins of Christmas are often subsumed by commercialization, but what is actually a story about social justice and radical love, has become domesticated and, some say, “whitewashed,” as Jesus was a brown-skinned Jewish carpenter who went against the oppressive norms of society, contrary to how he is usually portrayed all over the world. So, (as in recent years) we will also integrate themes of light and dark and how they are inherently connected to justice, as in Howard Thurman’s notion of the

Luminous Darkness.

This year we are so excited to announce that we will broaden our event to reflect the beautiful diversity of the Smith community. Rather than focusing exclusively on the Christian commemoration of light and dark, we will draw upon art and poetry which express the human hopes across cultures signified and symbolized in the light's return. Talented musicians from the Smith community spend the fall preparing the musical pieces, which are always moving and deeply inspiring for the audience. 

So if you have not attended this event in the past, we warmly welcome you to attend and be in community with others, generating hope in John M. Green Hall as we all grapple with the darkness in our world and look toward the light.

https://www.smith.edu/news-events/events/winter-concert-vespers-hour-finding-light-darkness

Presented by the Office of the President, the Department of Music and

the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.

Winter Concert

at the Vespers Hour

Come together in spirit to explore what the solstice season has to teach us in words and music.

Sunday, December 7, 2025

at 4:00 pm

John M. Greene Hall

60 Elm Street, Northampton, MA

Featuring the Smith College Glee Club, Chamber Singers and Vespers Orchestra, under the direction of Jonathan Hirsh and Hanif Lawrence; the Handbell Choir, conducted by Anita Anderson Cooper; and an appearance from the Campus School Chorus, Kathy Marks-Uber, director. The program will be led by The Rev. Matilda Rose Cantwell, director of Religious and Spiritual Life, with readings by the Smith College community. Free, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible. The program will be livestreamed.

Some faith and wisdom teachers tell us that the dark time of year are the most spiritually fruitful, for they draw us within. The winter solstice, just a few days away, is when the sun is farthest from the celestial equator, and we experience the longest night, and shortest day, of the year. “Solstice” derives from the Latin words “sol” (sun) and “sistere” (to stand still). The sun stays at its lowest point in the sky, with its noontime elevation remaining the same for a few days, and then - it reverses. Just as the days have become most alarmingly short, we are given a reminder that this seemingly persistent darkness does not have the final word.

Almost every spiritual tradition in the Northern Hemisphere draws our attention to this celestial event wherein we stand between darkness and light, bringing to mind a passage from Hebrew Scripture, Psalm 138, vs 12: Even the darkness hides nothing from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike…

As we come to the final stretch of the semester, maybe exhausted, maybe in turmoil, maybe relieved and excited for what is to come—whatever it is — may we mimic the motion of the earth, pausing to reverse her direction and change her angle. May we, like the sun, stop for a moment and face the expanse of darkness, for it is in the darkness that we dream, it is in the darkness that the promise of the return of the light is revealed.



Matilda and the CRSL staff

Newman Catholic Club First Year Experience Mass

We've been enjoying bringing to you slices of life from the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. This picture features the Newman Catholic Club. Since September, the Newman Catholic Club has been celebrating Mass two to three times per month in the Helen Hills Hills Chapel with Fr. Val Nworah, director of the UMass Amherst Newman Association. Earlier in the semester, the Newman Catholic Club hosted a First Year Experience Mass and Fellowship to welcome students back to campus, with a focus on first year students. Smithies attended the Newman Association Fall Retreat in October and in November, a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in New York. The club's busy schedule continues as students plan a joint Christmas party with members of the Smith Christian Fellowship.

Tzedek Tirdof (meaning [justice] justice you will pursue) is a student-run Jewish organization focused on liberation as a core value of Jewish identity. We meet weekly for Shabbat and Havdalah rituals, and provide a space for community-building and discussion. We welcome students looking to be part of a Jewish space that centers Palestinian liberation and diasporic Jewish culture. Going forward, we will pursue meaningful engagement with the Western Massachusetts Jewish community through religious and cultural events. If you are interested, please fill out the following form so we can contact you with more information: https://forms.gle/g67bXF2ZUeByXXEB6

How the Light Comes

by Jan Richardson 



I cannot tell you how the light comes. What I know is that it is more ancient than imagining. That it travels across an astounding expanse to reach us.



That it loves searching out

what is hidden, what is lost,

what is forgotten or in peril, or in pain.

That it has a fondness for the body,

for finding its way toward flesh,

for tracing the edges of form,

for shining forth through the eye,

the hand, the heart.

I cannot tell you how the light comes,

but that it does. That it will.

That it works its way into the deepest dark

that enfolds you, though it may seem

long ages in coming or arrive in a shape

you did not foresee.

And so may we this day

turn ourselves toward it.

May we lift our faces to let it find us.

May we bend our bodies

to follow the arc it makes.

May we open and open more

and open still

to the blessed light

that comes.

Soup Salad and Soul 

Fridays, 12:15 p.m.

Helen Hills Hills Chapel

Bodman Lounge



Enjoy a delicious vegetarian soup, salad and desserts (made by student cooks) and take part in reflective, student-led discussions on spirituality, life and more! All religious, spiritual, non-religious and non-spiritual backgrounds are welcome! To enter, use the accessible door located in the rear of the Chapel. You will need your One Card for access. For details on food and other general accessibility questions, email crsl@smith.edu.

 Join Us for Jummah!

Hampshire Mosque in Hadley

Fridays at 12:30 pm

The CRSL invites students to Jummah at the Hampshire Mosque in Hadley. The group will meet in front of the Helen Hills Hills Chapel at 12:25 pm. The van will leave campus by 12:30 pm and return to campus no later than 2:30 pm. Feel free to bring a prayer rug and please remember to complete your ablution beforehand. There are extra prayer rugs in the Blue Room in the Chapel, if you need to borrow one! Sponsored by the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. Please RSVP by emailing crsl@smith.edu.

Celebrate Shabbat with SCJC

Services Fridays at 5:30 pm

Followed by dinner - come for either or both!

At the "K," the Kosher Kitchen attached to Jordan House. All are welcome!

Mindful Mondays

Campus Center 205

12:15 - 1:00 pm



If you are looking for a place to make connections and practice tools for awareness and self-acceptance, come join Mindful Mondays! With light meditation, embodiment practice and discussion, we make space that encourages healing and community. All levels of experience are welcome. Led by Matilda Rose Cantwell with several visiting facilitators. Lunch is included. Sponsored by the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. Contact mcantwel@smith.edu with questions. Scan for calendar schedule.

CRSL, SCJC, and Tzedek Tirdof invite you to our

Hanukkah Party

December 14, 2025

6 - 8 pm

Sanctuary, Helen Hills Hills Chapel

Candles, Catering by Yosi's Kitchen, Klezmer and Dance Leading

Use above QR Code to RSVP

Cozy Crafts Study Break

Helen Hills Hills Chapel

Dec. 15, 2 - 4 pm



Hot Chocolate Bar, Collages, Garlands, Papercut Snowflakes. All are welcome.

Sponsored by Smith College Center for Religious and Spiritual Life

Excerpts from “Luminous Darkness,” by Kelle Brown, from Starry Black Night: A Womanist Advent Devotional

It is dark and getting darker. Times are as challenging as they have ever been. As we wait and walk through Advent together, let us wrestle with the myths and metaphors that work to keep us locked in whiteness, and away from the gifts buried in the luminous darkness. Keep awake.

When God made the heavens and the earth, the light was not born as a correction to the darkness. The light was spoken into existence out of blackness, and there is no inherent evil attributed to the dark. The vast and nurturing embrace of blackness birthed the light. I contend that the dark is where God begins God’s work with and in us. It is but the inside of the chalice where the sacrament of communion with God occurs.

In 1965, Howard Thurman wrote a book entitled The Luminous Darkness. A prolific writer, mystic, theologian, and pastor, Dr. Thurman reframed the definition of “darkness.” In addition to his assertion that segregation, as a result of the maintenance of white supremacy, was sinful, he came to terms with the darkness of his own skin in the light of a society who vilified and dismissed him for his skin’s hue. Thurman found beauty where many could not, as he did under the canopy of his favorite tree in the darkness of the night. His Black skin was no trap, no burden—but a conduit to the welcome wisdom that God is also God in the dark. Black lives have always mattered.

As we stand in the darkness of Advent, stand in the liminal space that is the longing and waiting for the new thing God in covenant has promised, we are called to welcome the darkness. This includes creating new myths of healing and wholeness that can admit blackness is beautiful. 

I am utterly convinced that God is up to something in the pitch black nights of our lives, in the womb of our own souls and being. There is something gossamer and brilliant about the night in God, and in the promises that only come in the dark. We are being born! Read more at (justiceunbound.org)  

Center for Religious and Spiritual Life

Helen Hills Hills Chapel

123-125 Elm Street

Northampton, Massachusetts 01063

Contact: kalston@smith.edu www.smith.edu/religiouslife