FEB 6, 2025 | NEWS | By James Mitchell
The smell of sage permeated through the walls of the Interfaith House on a recent Friday as Debby Howell, the elder in residence, waved a red eagle feather, cleansing and blessing the house with an Indigenous Lakota tradition.
“I was just asking Creator to take care of this space and all who enter,” Howell said.
Now located in a standalone former fraternity house on East Campus, the Interfaith House opened in August but received 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. key-card access for all students at the beginning of 2025. Howell blessed the Interfaith House’s opening party on Jan. 31.
“We’ve been trying to get to East Campus for about six years,” said lead Chaplain Kate Holbook.
The Interfaith House has existed on campus for around 20 years.
According to Holbrook, it started as a half-residential house in around 2005 at the house that is now the Sustainability Office.
That location was “kind of challenging,” Holbrook said, adding that “the students living upstairs wouldn’t necessarily clean up.”
The Interfaith House moved to Dale Street in 2018, which according to Holbrook, limited student access because of its location.
For Holbrook, this latest house is an improvement in almost every aspect.
“This is the first location that really has the space that students need,” she said.
There will reportedly be four different spiritual communities regularly using the space, including the Interfaith and Spirituality Council, a group that explores interfaith engagement.
One enclosed and dimly lit room in the house, coined “the nest,” is dedicated as a quiet spiritual and grieving space for students, according to the Chaplain’s office.
“I think at college it is sometimes hard to find places to be alone or that are quiet,” Holbrook said. “And my hope is that sometimes this space will be bursting with life, and other times it will be more quiet. That’s why we’ve been exploring creating that place called the nest.”
To the coziness point, Isabelle Rosewater ‘28, a CC Jewish community member, said she appreciated the house’s homey feel.
“I think it’s a very cozy space,” Rosewater said. “It’s very good that we have that spot on campus where people can feel connected to one another and come together for all of these various celebrations for whatever they believe in.”
The Chaplain’s office said it is open to student feedback on how students may want the space to be used and decorated.
Apart from the house itself, the separation from the architecture of Shove Chapel was notable to Camila Espinosa ‘25, a Spiral Fellow intern for the Chaplain’s office.
“I feel like the intention in creating the house is creating a home,” Espinosa said. “The chapel can feel that way for some, and we have tried to make it a welcoming space for all people. And even then, people have different connotations and associations with churches. This space feels like a space where everyone is welcome.”