UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Garaventa Center

ReadUP Conversation With Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Available Until April 15

The culmination of this year’s Read UP series on How To Be An Anti-Racist was a wide-ranging conversation between author Dr. Kendi and the UP community, deftly facilitated by student Grace Adams and Dr. Eduardo Contreras on March 31. Their questions and Dr. Kendi’s responses were recorded in this 1 hour video now available for viewing, which will be available for just two weeks on the ReadUP website (link will be removed April 16). DVDs of the conversation are also available for checkout from Clark Library, and will remain a permanent part of the collection there.

Weekly Moment of Beauty With “The Saint John’s Bible”: Life in Community

Here is a glimpse of illuminator Aidan Hart’s rendering of early Christian community described in the Book of Acts. At first glance, it looks like a typical icon, but if you look more closely as this 2-minute video allows you to do, Hart’s image of who belongs at the divine table goes way beyond the usual suspects. The music is provided by Rebekah Hanson, of the UP music faculty.

For more information contact Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, at eifler@up.edu.

“The Resurrection” from The Saint John’s Bible

This week we offer you a seasonal glimpse into The Saint John’s Bible’s “The Resurrection” illumination as a chance for Visio Divina. In this 15-minute experience of “sacred seeing,” you’ll be guided to sit, breathe and BE as you are taken through a scripture passage and Donald Jackson’s image of Mary of Magdala greeting the Risen Christ.

Visio Divina With The Saint John’s Bible: The Crucifixion

As the Church enters its Holy Week, you’re invited to take some time—about 15 minutes—wherever you are, to enter imaginatively into the illumination of The Crucifixion from The Saint John’s Bible and hear the story of Jesus’s path to the death that would set the world free. This is Visio Divina—sacred seeing—an ancient form of contemplative prayer that requires only your presence. Allow yourself some quiet space to relax into gentle music, sacred words and lustrous image in this guided video experience.

The Saint John’s Bible: Time With Suffering Servant

As Lent draws to a close and Easter nears, the weekly glimpses into The Saint John’s Bible will be longer than usual—about 15 minutes each—and will offer viewers a chance to engage in Visio Divina (“sacred seeing”), a venerable form of guided contemplative prayer that requires only your quiet presence. This week, behold the image and hear the text of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant.

Laudato Sí and a Global Family, March 30

All are invited to join the Garaventa Center online on Tuesday, March 30 at 5 p.m. as they host Christie Klimas, DePaul University environmental scientist, for a live Zoom webinar that is free and open to the public. Klimas will focus on the Amazon rainforest to illustrate how our individual and collective actions impact our global economy and ecology. Through her research, Klimas works toward ecologically sustainable resource management that recognizes the role of citizen stakeholders. Access the webinar on March 30 at this link.

For more info: up.edu/garaventa/events or garaventa@up.edu.

Register Now for Wednesday Conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

ReadUP 2021 will conclude this week with the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers Series hosting Dr. Ibram X. Kendi as he engages the community in a dynamic conversation on Wednesday, March 31 at 5:15 p.m. via live Zoom webinar. Remember, you must register in advance, though the event is free and open to all. The Zoom webinar link will be emailed to all who pre-register. Dr. Kendi will address questions submitted by UP community members before the event on this form. Questions submitted by 5 p.m. today, Monday March 29, will be generously curated by staff in the Office of International Education, Diversity and Inclusion, with the goal of hearing from as many people as possible. Questions received after that time will be considered as time permits.

For more information on this year’s ReadUP events and resources, please go to up.edu/readup or contact garaventa@up.edu.

A Catholic Look at the Crises of Neoliberal Economics, March 23

If you find something horrifying about politicians suggesting that people just get out and shop and dine during the pandemic—even if it means their grandparents might die from COVID-19 and that is just the regrettable cost of reviving the economy—you have just faced a crisis of neoliberal economics. Want to know more? Join the webinar “A Catholic Look at the Crises of Neoliberal Economics” hosted by the Garaventa Center at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23. Theologian Matt Eggemeier of the College of the Holy Cross will use the lens of Catholic Social Teaching to unpack social problems such as racism and ecological disaster ushered in by neoliberal economics. His talk is free and open to all, and will be available at this Zoom link: https://uportland.zoom.us/j/97310481492. 

For more info, please go to up.edu/garaventa/events or contact garaventa@up.edu.

Moment of (Sobering) Beauty: Ezekiel’s Valley of the Dry Bones

This week’s glimpse into The Saint John’s Bible is artist Donald Jackson’s re-imagining of the Valley of Dry Bones in the prophet Ezekiel’s vision. Notice the allusions to extermination of the planet (abandoned cars, oil spills) and its people (genocides in the Shoah and Rwanda). Musician Tyler Lawrence ’24, provides the haunting soundtrack.