While we’ve been taking great pains to show you all of the wonderful opportunities for food, culture and learning that take place around Yale and New Haven, now we’d like to turn our sight to our very own Divinity Quad, and talk about what makes the YDS community special. There are many different ways to find your place at YDS. You will no doubt have your own unique experiences finding that place for yourself, but here are some ways to wade in, meet people, find worship experiences and form your own community within our community:
Worship:
Opportunities abound for worship at YDS. The most prominent is Marquand Chapel which holds services every day class is in session (and during BTFO!). This year, the service moves to 11:30am (from its former 10:30am slot) and is followed by a thirty-minute coffee hour. Students serve as Chapel Ministers, working with Marquand Chapel Dean Maggi Dawn and her staff to curate each service through music, scripture, ritual and preaching. Marquand is a place where you can hear faculty, guest ministers and your fellow students preach. In addition to being a mainstay of the spiritual life of the community, Marquand can also provide a moment of respite from the hectic day of classes. I am often compelled into a Marquand service to have a moment to sit in quiet prayer, and I stay because corporate worship is often powerful and moving and breathes life into our community like nothing else. In addition to daily worship, other special services are held in Marquand like the Fall Convocation service, the Advent Service and Commencement worship in May. Nouwen Chapel, located in the basement of the Divinity Library, is used frequently by students throughout the day as a 
quiet prayer and meditation space. Lutheran prayer services are held there on Tuesday evenings. Other groups will periodically hold services there, and some preaching sections have class there too!
quiet prayer and meditation space. Lutheran prayer services are held there on Tuesday evenings. Other groups will periodically hold services there, and some preaching sections have class there too!Berkeley Divinity School, the Episcopal Divinity school on the Quad, holds a weekly Wednesday night community Eucharist and dinner at the Berkeley center, located just off the Quad on St. Ronan St. All students, Berkeley or non-Berkeley, are invited to attend. The same is true of Andover Newton Seminary, our newest partner on the Quad. ANS holds a weekly Thursday community meal with Bible study and then a worship service in Marquand Chapel. All are open the community.
There are many churches in the area that offer worship and community events for our students as well. You will learn more about them during BTFO and during your first few weeks at Yale.
Community Life Committee (CLC):
The CLC is another mainstay of building community at YDS. The committee is made up of faculty, staff and students and they coordinate events throughout the year to bring us together. CLC hosts a lot of meals like lunchtime “Conversations on Community” about issues like wellness and relationships and faith, as well as the popular community dinners where we just get together to eat! CLC also hosts an annual All School Conference in the spring, offering a multitude of events in a concentrated week on a specific theme. This past year’s conference theme was Nourish: Body, Mind and Spiritand featured panel discussions, wellness offerings and more.
Student Government:
YDS Student Government is a body elected by us, and their primary function is to serve as a liaison between students and the administration, “…working with the Dean on issues concerning students and the school as a whole, and publicly addressing issues of concern or interest as they arise through community conversations and other events.” They have an open meeting once per month and all are encouraged to attend and have their voices heard. You will have the opportunity to hear directly from your student leaders during BTFO.
YDS Student Groups:
If you want to get involved in student groups at YDS, you have a lot of options! We will be having a student activities fair during BTFO, where you will get to walk around and talk to different groups, but here is a list of active groups for the fall to whet your appetite. More info will be available for all at BTFO but, if you’re a geeky joiner like me (I’m part of several groups), you’ll be looking at these lists closely!
Annand Program for Spiritual Formation:
Sponsored by Berkeley Divinity School, the Annand Program offers spiritual direction programming that is available for the entire YDS student body. You can sign up for spiritual direction through groups or one-on-one pairings. Annand also offers quiet days, workshops and other small group programs throughout the year.
The Chaplains’ Office and University Church at Yale:
While not technically located on the Quad, the Chaplains’ office and the University Church at Yale (UCY) are also wonderful sources of worship and community life for YDS students. You will have the opportunity to meet the chaplains’ during a coffee hour during BTFO, and UCY offers 10:30am ecumenical services each Sunday in Yale’s magnificent Battell Chapel, located on Old Campus downtown. Many YDS students serve UCY as Student Deacons, members of the Liturgical Ministries Group, singing in the University Choir or participating in their community service programs. They also have been known to hire directly from our ranks! Jenny Peek (M.Div. ’17) is Associate Chaplain and Associate Pastor for UCY.
As with all things BTGO blogging, there are even more options out there than what we are providing here. But we trust that you will discover them as you do your own search for community here at YDS and beyond.