The school acquired Woodward Chapel in 2010.
At Taft you will find a wide range of religions and philosophical views represented among the student population. Our goal is help students from a variety of traditions find spiritual strength and community support in the religious and spiritual programs that are being offered.
We view education as both an intellectual and a spiritual endeavor. All expressions of faith are celebrated and respected as we look for common moral, ethical, and spiritual ground in the world’s treasure house of great religions.
In the Taft community, we believe that a sound, broad-based liberal arts education has at its core the quest for meaning and purpose. Our understanding is that no one spiritual group or religious tradition is in sole possession of the Truth. With this in mind, we covenant with one another to pursue Truth through religion, science, art, music, athletics, and in every other human inquiry.
Today’s world is replete with rich opportunities for all of us to evolve as global citizens so that we can live mindfully in this world with consideration and concern for others. We believe that educating the whole person encourages and challenges us to take seriously the values and moral codes that we have inherited through our many diverse cultural and religious traditions.
—Chaplain Robert Ganung
The School Chaplain brings to the community an understanding and celebration of the world’s various religious faiths. Each year two graduate students from Yale Divinity School work closely with the chaplain in the classroom and with various religious clubs. Rabbi Eric Polokoff, from B’Nai Israel in Southbury is the associate chaplain at Taft assisting the Jewish Student Organization. The chaplain also takes Muslim students to the United Muslim Mosque in Waterbury bi-monthly. During the fall and winter months interested students gather for meditation in the Taft Living Room before relaxing with a cup of tea or hot chocolate. This warm setting invites students from all religious and nonreligious backgrounds to come together in a mindful way to exchange spiritual ideas and values in a friendly and inclusive atmosphere.
The offerings of the Global Service and Scholarship Department promote spiritual, moral, and ethical discourse among students. On Tuesday and Thursday of each week, the entire school gathers for Morning Meeting in Bingham Auditorium—a time for reflection by students, faculty, the headmaster, chaplain, or outside speakers. The Paduano Lecture Series invites distinguished speakers to offer lectures in the field of philosophy and ethics. Grounded in Taft’s mission to educate the whole person, the school provides many opportunities on campus—both formal and informal—to nurture spiritual life.
In 2003 Taft purchased a Torah with the assistance of Rabbi Eric Polokoff and the generous support of Mr. Edgar Bronfman. The nearly 20- year-old scroll was believed to have been brought to the Sephardic community of Tashkent, now Uzbekistan, by European Jews fleeing the Nazis. This acquisition marked the beginning of Taft’s Sacred Text Collection. The next gift to the school was an original King’s James Bible printed in the early sixteen hundreds. In the fall of this 2007, two Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang monastery in the southern Indian state of Karnataka presented the school with a replica of one of the earliest mandalas in the Buddhist tradition. Taft’s most recent addition to this remarkable collection is an exquisitely calligraphed pocket-sized copy of the Qu’ran from Saudi Arabia which dates back to the late 19th century. This well-preserve sacred text more than likely made several pilgrimages to Mecca inspiring the faithful with Allah’s words as they traveled to the holy city. We are grateful to U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mr. Ford Fraker, for this remarkable gift.
This is only the beginning. In the future we plan to collect and display at Taft sacred texts from other world religious traditions as we celebrate the wisdom bequeathed to us from the many great cultures and civilizations in history. (If you would like to offer a sacred gift to The Taft School that represents deep meaning and value in your religious/cultural tradition please speak to the chaplain.)
Lessons & Carols 2010
Rick Doyle
Opportunities Include:
- Monthly Candlelight Vespers
- Gospel Vespers ( periodic)
- Morning Meeting
- Jewish Student Organization
- Monthly Shabbat Dinners
- Buddhist Meditation Group
- Weekly Sunday Worship Service
- Monthly Communion
- Yoga/Meditation
- Bible Study
- FOCUS (Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools)
- Coffee Houses
- Transportation to local places of worship
Worship Services in the Area:
Christian
Baptist
Southbury Baptist Church
114 Roxbury Rd (Rte 67), Southbury
203-264-2407
Sunday Service at 10:30 a.m.
Church School at 9:30 a.m.
Congregational
First Congregational Church
40 Deforest Street, Watertown
860-274-6737
Sunday Services at 8:30 and 10 a.m.
Church School at 10 a.m.
Episcopal
Woodward Chapel - Christ Church
25 The Green, Watertown
860-274-1910
Sunday Holy Eucharist at 10 a.m.
St. John’s Episcopal Church
16 Church Street, Waterbury
203-754-3116
Sunday 8 and 10:15 AM
Lutheran
Our Savior Lutheran Church
505 South Main Street, Thomaston
860-274-8534
Sunday Worship at 10:15 a.m.
Methodist
United Methodist Church
305 Main Street, Watertown
860-274-4067
Sunday Worship at 10:30 a.m.
Nondenominational
Calvary Chapel Southbury
134 Main Street South
Southbury, CT 06488
203-267-5441
Tuesday Prayer 7:30 p.m.
Thursday Midweek and Teen Services 7 p.m.
Sunday Service at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Orthodox
Christ the Savior (OCA)
1070 Roxbury Rd, Southbury
Saturday vespers, 6:00 PM
Sunday service, 9:30 A.M
Pentecostal
Pentecostal Assembly Church
39 Crown Street, Waterbury
Sunday Service: 11 a.m.; Taft Pick-up 9:15 am
Roman Catholic
St. John’s Church
574 Main Street, Watertown
860-274-8836
Saturday Mass at 5 p.m.
Sunday Masses 7 and 10 a.m., 12 and 5 p.m.
Jewish
Orthodox
B’Nai Shalom Synagogue
135 Roseland Avenue, Waterbury
203-754-4159
Conservative
Beth El Synagogue
444 Main St North, Southbury
203-264-4500
Friday at 8 p.m.
Shabbat mornings at 9:30 a.m.
Reform
B’Nai Israel
444 Main St North, Southbury
203-267-3394
Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Muslim
United Muslim Mosque
132 Propsect Street
Waterbury, CT 06710
203-756-6365
Friday at 1 p.m.
Meditation
Woodbury Yoga Center
203-263-2254 *
122 West Side Road, Woodbury
* Call for a schedule of classes offered
**Transportation to places of worship outside of Watertown will be provided by the Chaplain’s Office upon request.
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