Vanessa Zhang ’30
Oct 27, 2026
This year, a new weekly program has been introduced to campus—Soulful Sunday, a series of Sunday activities designed to help students, faculty, staff, and families to nurture their mind, spirit and body.
Each Sunday begins with a guided mindful meditation taking place at the Chapel, followed by a yoga practice led by yoga practitioner Dr. Christina Green in the Zen garden, a peaceful place for relaxation and recovery. In the afternoon, the programming entails a carillon recital by organist and carillonneur Jim Brinson which can be heard across campus. Later in the evening, the music continues, including guest performances by students or the chapel choir, which is led by vocal music teacher Matthew Williamson.
Chaplain Jacob Cherry said the program was designed to offer “a variety of programming which can meet the needs of students who identify as more religious, less religious, or non religious, and so that was really the point it was to meet students where they're at, and developing a multitude of different types of programming for different student needs.”
Students who have attended the program describe their experience as fun and relaxing. Becca Harrison-Yan Hip ’29 said, “After the mindfulness meditation, I went over to yoga, and both of those activities really helped clear my mind. I felt a sense of calm throughout the day and I was almost able to organize myself better.”
For faculty members, Soulful Sunday also provides an opportunity for them to see students beyond the classroom. English department head Michele Poacelli said, “It’s interesting to see who shows up for yoga, to see maybe these people like yoga, I like yoga, that's another sort of way to connect with a student.”
The program was joined by lots of different people, participating in different roles to build and support the initiative. Paris Zhang ’27 who played piano for the program said, “When I was there playing the piano, I saw a lot of people just closing their eyes and absorbing music.”
Green emphasized the importance of having a goal for each practice and said, “I always want us to set an intention at the beginning of our practice, pausing from wherever we came before, and just taking a moment to breathe a little bit deeper and a little bit slower.”
Soulful Sunday has been making positive changes to the campus. Cherry observed, “I've seen students who haven't ever done yoga before, and they go out on a limb, and they do it, and from some students that I've talked to, they felt it really calming.”
Soulful Sunday welcomes anyone that would like to pause and take a break from their academic or working week. Through meditation, yoga, music, and connections with others, Soulful Sunday provides an opportunity for the campus community to participate in a variety of activities to rejuvenate and prepare for a new week.