On Monday Oct. 16, Bates students, faculty and staff filed down the candle-lined aisle and into the pews of Gomes Chapel to grieve and offer condolences for the lives lost in Israel and Palestine.

The “Vigil for Peace,” hosted by the Multifaith Chaplaincy, served as “a space for all people on campus to grieve those who have died in Israel and Palestine and offer prayers and intentions for peace,” according to an email sent on Monday by the chaplaincy.

Associate Multifaith Chaplain, Raymond Clothier welcomed Bates community members to the chapel and outlined the proceedings for the forty-five-minute event: an opening reading followed by candle-lighting and prayer/intention writing, concluding with a closing reading.

“We grieve together, and we write pleadings for peace,” Clothier said after setting the intention for the space. Clothier then welcomed Office of Intercultural Education Program Coordinator, Mana Abdi, to give the opening reading, an excerpt from chapter 94 of the Quran.

Following the reading, Clothier welcomed attendees to the front of the chapel to light a candle and to write a prayer or intention that would be included in a paper peace chain.

In silence, attendees were seen lining up to light candles, sitting on the steps of the altar to write their prayers and intentions and hugging each other in support. 

Multifaith partner, Phoebe Stern ’24, thanked attendees for their presence and support. She and other members of the Jewish Student Union (JSU) then delivered The Mourner’s Kaddish in Hebrew as the closing reading. Following this reading, Clothier read the English translation, which prays for “abundant peace from heaven, and life.”