Andrew Weingarten, Director of Residence Life, is the latest winner of a Starbucks gift card. His name was pulled from the basket of those who have let the Garaventa Center know of personal connections they have made with UP colleagues, either in 3-D or online, as we all look for ways to keep a sense of community alive and well here. If you’d like to be included in the next raffle, please email Karen Eifler (eifler@up.edu) with your name and just the number of connections you have made—no other details needed!
Garaventa Center
Archives & Appreciation from the Garaventa Center
Video recordings of all Fall 2020 Garaventa Center lectures are now available for viewing on our website using this link, including such thought-provoking topics as “What We Can Learn about Cancel Culture from the Index of Forbidden Books,” “Mother Teresa: A Case Study in Christian Mental Health Stigma,” and more.
We’d also like to take this opportunity to say we are soooo grateful to everyone in our campus community for sticking with us during this autumn’s tectonic shift to online programming. As much as we missed seeing people in person—and we DID!—we were gratified by the expansion of our audience across many time zones, and noted that all our webinars took on extra life as people shared the links with their friends afterwards.
Visit up.edu/garaventa for a preview of events planned for this spring to help ignite your sacramental imagination!
Moment of Beauty From The Saint John’s Bible: Messianic Predictions
Spend 90 seconds with this illumination of the names of the Messiah foretold by the prophet Isaiah, rendered by artist Thomas Ingmire. He is the same one who calligraphed “The Ten Commandments,” which was highlighted earlier this year. If your curiosity gets piqued by these weekly glimpses into UP’s Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible, a benefaction from Allen and Kathleen Lund, contact Karen Eifler in the Garaventa Center, eifler@up.edu.
Psalms Frontispiece From “The Saint John’s Bible”
This week’s moment of quiet beauty is the opening of the Book of Psalms. Fun fact: the squiggly lines in various hues are voiceprints of different groups praying; Benedictine monks, Jews, Native Americans, Muslims, Taoists, Buddhists, Hindus, and Greek Orthodox. Each form of prayer—an essential human urge—has a distinct shape, producing this lustrous tapestry of humans reaching out to the Divine in joy, pain, confusion, contrition, and awe. UP’s Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible is a gift from Allen and Kathleen Lund. Questions about these glimpses of the illuminations can be directed to Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, at eifler@up.edu.
Cancel Culture and the Index of Forbidden Books: This Wednesday, Nov. 11
The Garaventa Center welcomes everyone to an online Beckman Humor Project event on Wednesday, November 11, at 5 p.m.: “What We Can Learn About ‘Cancel Culture’ from the Index of Forbidden Books (Really!).” Here’s the Zoom Webinar link to join the live event, which is free and open to all.
The Index of Forbidden Books may seem like a relic of pre-Vatican-II Catholicism that we were wise to leave behind. Una Cadegan, University of Dayton professor of history, will take a closer look at its history, and at the habits of mind it reflected, to shed light on the thought and art (and the thinkers and artists) of our own day.
Cadegan’s talk is part of the Beckman Humor Project. For more information, visit up.edu/beckmanhumor/events or email garaventa@up.edu.
This Week’s Peek at The Saint John’s Bible: Joshua Anthology
Spend 90 seconds taking in the Joshua Anthology in this brief video of the illumination. It’s a different rendering for those of us who perhaps grew up singing “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho…and the walls came-a tumbling down.” Do you see the Ten Commandments used as battle flags in this imagining?. One of the artistic team’s favorite strategies was to combine elements from other illuminations in their art, linking the ideas in this way.
Person to Person Weekly Winner: Lisa Reed!
Congratulations to Lisa Reed, associate dean in the Pamplin School of Business, on being this week’s recipient of a Starbucks gift card after a random drawing from names of UP staff and faculty who have been trying to cultivate and nurture human relationships during these days of so much enforced solitude. An anonymous donor has provided funds for these cards, to encourage community building when it’s really hard. To enter, send a quick email to Karen Eifler in the Garaventa Center (eifler@up.edu) with the number of human contacts you have made—no other details! For each, your name is entered in a weekly raffle. The more contacts you make, the more chances you have to win.
A Moment of Beauty: Esther
This week’s 90 seconds of quiet beauty from The Saint John’s Bible takes us to Esther. Illuminator Donald Jackson strove to convey Esther’s dual identities as steadfast Jewish woman and queen of Babylon, as well as ongoing violence in the Middle East. There is also a nod to the work of Gustav Klimt. If these weekly glimpses into one of UP’s great treasures arouse questions, feel free to contact Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, at eifler@up.edu.
Weekly Moment of Beauty From The Saint John’s Bible
Enjoy this 90-second film of the illumination of The Ten Commandments from UP’s Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible. Fun fact: the artist, Thomas Ingmire, is something of an anarchist, so tackling one of humanity’s best-known sets of rules was a wonderful challenge for him! Video is at this link.
Person to Person Connections This Week
Joy Hunt, a member of the School of Education faculty, is the most recent person to have their name pulled from the raffle basket after reporting on making some Person to Person connections. She’ll enjoy a Starbucks gift card, as well as the satisfaction of nourishing the human relationships that make UP a special place. To enter the Person to Person raffle and help build toward the goal of 100 personal connections this semester, just drop Karen Eifler an email (eifler@up.edu) with the number of personal contacts you’ve made (no details necessary–we’re on the Honor System here), and that number of raffle tickets will go into the basket for next week’s drawing. An anonymous donor with a deep affinity for human connections has funded this endeavor for the Garaventa Center.