UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Garaventa Center

A Visio Divina to Experience Remotely

The chance to engage contemplatively with a sacred image from UP’s Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible and the Scripture passage it illuminates—Visio Divina—lends itself reasonably well to the remote experiences of this semester. Visio Divina means “sacred seeing,” and is a venerable form of individual prayer that requires only our presence and attention.

This link to Isaiah’s Messianic Predictions leads you into a 15-minute guided meditation that can be undertaken at your desk or wherever you are comfortable. Bookmark it and re-visit this as often as you would like during the Advent season.

Sundance Film Festival – Windrider Forum 2021

University of Portland community members will have a unique opportunity this coming January to participate in the Windrider Forum at the Sundance Film Festival from the comfort of your own home.  The Windrider Forum is an immersive experience alongside the viewing of Sundance films that provides an encounter with the filmmakers to honor their craft, listen to their stories, and find thoughtful, spiritual themes in their work.

Participants will be provided access to 7 Sundance Films curated by the Windrider team, along with the Windrider events during Sundance (January 29 – Feb 1) and further Windrider programing that will be available throughout the spring semester (January 7 – May 28, 2021).   Through a partnership sponsored by the Garaventa Center and Campus Ministry, UP students, faculty and staff have access to this opportunity at the reduced rate of $150.

If you are interested in this opportunity please contact Fr. Jim Gallagher, C.S.C. (gallaghe@up.edu) or Karen Eifler (eifler@up.edu).

Person to Person Connections Winner: Andrew Weingarten

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!

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.

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.

Grace in a Struggling World: Short Films for Our Times

Films can be powerful occasions of the Grace that sustains us in difficult times, according to Fr. Jim Gallagher, C.S.C., Campus Ministry. Join us for an evening showing of two Sundance featured short films along with interviews with the filmmakers and commentary from ASUP Films director Destiny Kramer and Gregory Pulver, performing and fine arts. Together we will continue to make our way through these turbulent times by raising up images of hope and grace in action. This collaboration of the Garaventa Center, Campus Ministry, and ASUP Films will be premiered on Tuesday, October 27, at 7 p.m., using this link.

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.