which professor of religious studies at East Carolina University?
There are no rules for chanting. You don’t have to be musical. You don’t have to belong to a certain faith. You don’t have to sit with your legs crossed or keep your eyes open or closed. You just have to give up two things: Looking good and being right. At least that’s what Greenville City Councilman Calvin Mercer says. By day, Mercer heads East Carolina University’s religious studies department. The chanting is only one portion of a larger monastic project. Intended to give students a sense of life as a monk or ascetic, it requires minimal Internet and cell phone usage, eating additive-free food, no alcohol or sexual activity, truth telling and acts of kindness. Wednesday night, however, Mercer provided students with examples of chanting and meditation. Eight participants sat in a circle, many on pillows, and echoed Greek and Hebrew phrases for nearly half an hour at varying speeds and volumes. “Eee-Ay-Sous.” “Ag-Ga-Peh.” “Ad-Do-Nai.” That was followed by a more common guided meditati
Natalie Jurgen Issue date: 10/16/08 Section: News Mary Nyangweso Wangila, Ph.D., has recently joined the faculty at the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences at ECU as the first recipient of the J. Woolard and Helen Peel Distinguished Professorship in Religious Studies. “I feel tremendously honored,” said Wangila. “What fascinates me about the position are the values that it embodies–values of diversity [and] social justice.” “Values which I have embraced in my teaching and research, and values that I hope to continue to promote in the classroom, and the university in an effort to make a difference in our communities.” Established in 2007 by Dr. Jesse R. Peel, the professorship honors Peel’s parents J. Woolard and Helen K. Peel of Everetts, NC. J. Woolard Peel, who passed away in 1984, was a graduate of N.C. State. Helen K. Peel, who passed away in 2005, attended Louisburg College. “I had the privilege of meeting Jesse Peel,” Wangila said. “I was most impressed by the kind of pe
Mercer heads East Carolina University’s religious studies department. The chanting is only one portion of a larger monastic project. Intended to give students a sense of life as a monk or ascetic, it requires minimal Internet and cell phone usage, eating additive-free food, no alcohol or sexual activity, truth telling and acts of kindness. Sources: You don’t have to be musical. You don’t have to belong to a certain faith. You don’t have to sit with your legs crossed or keep your eyes open or closed.
There are no rules for chanting. You don’t have to be musical. You don’t have to belong to a certain faith. You don’t have to sit with your legs crossed or keep your eyes open or closed. You just have to give up two things: Looking good and being right. At least that’s what Greenville City Councilman Calvin Mercer says. By day, Mercer heads East Carolina University’s religious studies department. The chanting is only one portion of a larger monastic project. Intended to give students a sense of life as a monk or ascetic, it requires minimal Internet and cell phone usage, eating additive-free food, no alcohol or sexual activity, truth telling and acts of kindness. Wednesday night, however, Mercer provided students with examples of chanting and meditation. Eight participants sat in a circle, many on pillows, and echoed Greek and Hebrew phrases for nearly half an hour at varying speeds and volumes. “Eee-Ay-Sous.” “Ag-Ga-Peh.” “Ad-Do-Nai.” That was followed by a more common guided meditati
Natalie Jurgen Issue date: 10/16/08 Section: News Mary Nyangweso Wangila, Ph.D., has recently joined the faculty at the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences at ECU as the first recipient of the J. Woolard and Helen Peel Distinguished Professorship in Religious Studies. “I feel tremendously honored,” said Wangila. “What fascinates me about the position are the values that it embodies–values of diversity [and] social justice.” “Values which I have embraced in my teaching and research, and values that I hope to continue to promote in the classroom, and the university in an effort to make a difference in our communities.” Established in 2007 by Dr. Jesse R. Peel, the professorship honors Peel’s parents J. Woolard and Helen K. Peel of Everetts, NC. J. Woolard Peel, who passed away in 1984, was a graduate of N.C. State. Helen K. Peel, who passed away in 2005, attended Louisburg College. “I had the privilege of meeting Jesse Peel,” Wangila said. “I was most impressed by the kind of pe
