Center for Spirituality, Religion, and Social Justice (CRSSJ)’s Words of Welcome and Advice

Hello! My name is Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay, and I serve as the dean of religious life and chaplain here at Grinnell College. Congratulations on being admitted to Grinnell! 

One of the things I have the honor of doing here is overseeing the CRSSJ — the Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice.

We do a lot of different things at the CRSSJ. We have regular worship and gathering opportunities for a variety of different religions and spiritual groups, including Juma prayer, Shabbat services, Christian worship, meditation, our earth-based tradition group, our Quaker meeting group, and lots of other groups that gather here on campus. We have a regular lunchtime study series, where we explore interesting topics together. 

We have an amazing physical space, which includes a lounge, Hindu and Muslim prayer rooms, and lots of spaces to gather in community.

We also offer confidential counseling here at the CRSSJ. You can meet with one of our chaplains here, and we’d be happy to meet with you.

You do not need to identify as religious or spiritual to access the services at the CRSSJ; we’re here to support all students.

And something that is really important to know is that just because something might not exist right now at Grinnell doesn’t mean that it couldn’t exist. So if at any point you’re like, "Hey I think I want to have this group," or "I want to talk about this," feel free to reach out to me or one of our chaplains here. We’d be really excited to talk with you about that.

Congratulations again on being admitted to Grinnell College, and I’m looking forward to meeting you!