The Office of Spiritual Life supports students of every tradition through chapel services, retreat weekends, mission trips, and one-on-one mentorship with our Chaplain, Rev. Dr. Theo M. Banks. Tuesday morning chapel is voluntary and open to all — Christian or not, religious or not, doubting or believing — and has been a fixture of AB life for over 80 years.
AB is rooted in the American Baptist tradition, but our students come from every Christian denomination as well as Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and unaffiliated backgrounds. Our policy is plain: faith is welcomed; questioning is welcomed; coercion is not.
Recognized faith and interfaith student organizations at AB.
Weekly worship Thursdays at 7 PM. Small groups, retreat weekends, summer mission trips. Largest faith group on campus.
Wednesday Bible studies; annual Urbana mission conference; leadership-development tracks.
Sunday Mass at St. Andrew's parish in Philippi (10:30 AM); weekly student dinners and Lenten programming.
Weekly Shabbat dinners in the Whitescarver kitchen; Passover seder; Hanukkah celebration; periodic study with the Chabad of WV.
Monthly facilitated conversations between Christian and Muslim students. Founded 2023; supported by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Tuesday large group worship; small Bible-study communities; annual spring conference.
Weekly meetings open to all athletes; Battler-team chaplains; service projects.
Monthly meeting; periodic retreats with St. Tikhon's seminary; partnership with St. George Antiochian Orthodox of Charleston.
Weekly Institute class; service projects; partnership with Morgantown LDS Institute.
Weekly silent meditation Wednesday at 6:30 AM; periodic retreats.
Discussion-based group for atheist, agnostic, humanist, and questioning students.
Twelve elected students who shape chapel programming, mission trips, and small-group discipleship.
The Office of Spiritual Life is led by Rev. Dr. Theo M. Banks, who has served as AB's Chaplain and Professor of Theology since 2018. The Chaplain offers pastoral counseling, prayer, premarital counseling, grief support, vocational discernment, and a long, slow conversation about whatever needs talking about — all free, all confidential, and all open to students of every faith or no faith at all.
The office is located in Whitescarver Hall (the chaplain's door is the second on the left as you enter the chapel hallway). Walk-ins are welcome Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM. Appointments can be scheduled by emailing [email protected] or calling (304) 457-6285.
The Chaplain is supported by an Associate Chaplain (currently a part-time Catholic priest who serves three regional schools), a part-time Jewish chaplain (Rabbi Daniella Kohn, who visits monthly from Pittsburgh), and a rotating group of student Spiritual Life Interns.
