Campus Wide Events

Annual Memorial Service and Tree Planting

Pouring water on a tree planted in memory of faculty and staff who died in the previous year.

After Convocation, on the Historic Quad, we remember faculty, staff, and students who have died during the previous year.

Candles & Carols

This beloved annual service includes readings offered by students, faculty and staff , and performances from the student acapella groups, the Bates College Choir, and musicians from the Bates community.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Spoken Word Festival

Sunday, January 19, 2025, 7:00pm, Peter J. Gomes Chapel

The second annual MLK Day Spoken Word festival brings together powerful poetry and soulful song around the theme, “Bending Toward Justice: Peace and Non-Violence”. Featured artists for the evening are acclaimed poet and Co-Executive Director of Maine Inside Out, Joseph Jackson, and beloved singer Kenya Hall who Rolling Stone described as a “soul powerhouse”.

Alumni Memorial Service

Sunday, June 8, 2025, 10:00am, Peter J. Gomes Chapel

Single Candle with Peter J. Gomes Chapel in the background.

Every year, the Multifaith Chaplaincy collaborates with the Office of Advancement to offer an Alumni Memorial Service during Reunion. We gather in the Peter J. Gomes Chapel to celebrate, remember, and give thanks for the lives of alumni who have died during the year and the friendships formed at Bates that continue to be present in our lives.

Veterans Day Observance

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” -Arthur Ashe

The Multifaith Chaplaincy offers an annual service of gratitude and reflection on Veteran’s Day. People of any spiritual or secular tradition, veterans, and friends and family of veterans, are welcome to attend the service.