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Cornell University

How Can We Serve You?

The Office of Spirituality and Meaning-Making (OSMM) is located in Anabel Taylor Hall, the first building you pass after leaving Ho Plaza and heading toward Collegetown.

In Anabel Taylor Hall you will find many who are committed to serving your spiritual, ethical, and religious needs. We are administrators, campus ministers, and support personnel who provide religious services, service opportunities, interfaith programming, conversation, and community connections. We have numerous spaces available for meditation, reflection, prayer, and programming. The Chapel in Anabel Taylor is an intimate place for services, quiet meditation, and programming. The rest of the building includes meeting rooms, an auditorium, and offices for many of our religious life affiliates.

In addition to serving as the home of OSMM, Anabel Taylor Hall also houses Cornell United Religious Work and the Center for Transformative Action, including several of it's affiliated projects: Durland Alternatives Library, the Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations and Anabel's Grocery!Sage Chapel — the iconic building located near Olin and Uris Libraries — is the venue for religious services, important public presentations, concerts, weddings, memorials and quiet meditation.

Find Your Religious Community

Everyone sees the world in a unique way. That worldview informs many of the choices and decisions we make. The prism through which we view the world can be identified as religious, or philosophical, or an eclectic combination of both.

When Cornell United Religious Work (CURW) was founded in 1929 most people adhered to some form of religious tradition. Originally, CURW was comprised of Christian and Jewish leaders who served the needs of students, faculty, and staff.

In the intervening years the CURW campus ministry team has grown to over 40 qualified religious & spiritual leaders who represent the major religious traditions. Each one provides programs and services open to all Cornell students, faculty, administrators, and staff. Take a look at the groups that are listed on our website. One of them might share your insight and perspective. If yours is not represented, we would be happy to help you find that community in the larger Ithaca area or guide you in bringing that perspective here to Cornell. If you have questions, please reach out to Associate Dean of Students Joel Harter, PhD.

Reserve Space

Priorities Regarding the Use of Anabel Taylor Hall

CURW and CTA groups take precedence over all others. Within these groupings, the following priorities shall apply:

CURW and CTA Groups

  • Religious services should take precedence over all other events.
  • Religious festival (e.g. High Holy Days, religious days of obligation) observance should take precedence over all other events. These reservations must be submitted with the complete semester reservations. If they are submitted late, they will not take precedence over all other events.
  • Regularly scheduled events normally take precedence over special events. (Subject to negotiated exceptions.) This could not be a hard and fast rule, in view of the importance of the occasional very special event.
  • Events directly sponsored by member groups of CURW or CTA take precedence over events sponsored by groups associated with member groups.
  • Meetings involving students and University personnel should take precedence over children’s programs and basically non-University activities.
  • The most reasonable use of room in relation to numbers involved and to differing types of meetings should be made. 

Priorities for Non-Building Groups

  • Music Department
  • Law School Classes
  • “Human Development” programs sponsored by registered student groups or University departments.
  • Academic (credit) University courses.
  • Individual events or short-term series sponsored by registered student groups or University departments.
  • Non-University groups (the public), only if sponsored by a University group.

Non-CURW member groups wishing to use space in Anabel Taylor Hall must request a reservation a minimum of ten (10) working days before the event using the University scheduling system. CURW member groups may reserve the space up to one year in advance. Other groups may reserve the space up to two months preceding the semester in which the event takes place.

Reserving Rooms in ATH & Sage Chapel

Scheduling Procedure

Information describing rooms, capacity, and rates for use of Anabel Taylor Hall (ATH) is available through the Scheduling@Cornell website. Please contact the Scheduling@Cornell team with any questions or concerns related to reserving spaces in ATH.
Please Note: You are not allowed to use candles in any of these facilities unless you have a fire permit approval from the fire department.

Contact EHS:

Email: askehs@cornell.edu 

Phone: 607 255 8200 

Available Spaces in Anabel Taylor Hall & Sage Chapel

ROOM NAME ROOM# LOCATION CAPACITY
Room 314 ATH 314 3rd floor 25
Auditorium ATH 230 2nd floor 380
The Chapel ATH 112 1st floor 150 chairs
The Founders Room ATH 114 1st floor 49
The Edwards Room ATH G14 Ground floor 49
The "unnamed" Room ATH B27 Basement 49
The One World Room ATH B21 Basement 196-299
Sage Chapel SGC 101 Sage Chapel 650
  • Room 314, is a small room with tables grouped in the center and chairs surrounding the tables. This is the only available configuration for this space. The tables should not be moved. There is a white board in this space that you may use. There are no phone connections in this room.
  • The Auditorium has a small, basic sound system. We can offer up to 3 wired microphones for your use. We have no connections for your computer or other devices into the sound system. There is a large projection screen that comes down on the stage but we do not have a projector for your use. Typically these can be rented from the library. There is also a baby grand piano on the stage. There are 299 movable chairs available for seating.
  • The Chapel has a total of 120 available chairs. It too has its own, old sound system with no connections for your computer or other devices to go directly through the system. We can offer up to two wireless microphones for this space. In the chapel is an upright Steinway piano.
  • The Founders Room is one of the most popular rooms in the building. This room has a baby grand piano. The large wooden table and other furniture should not be moved from their current locations.
  • The Edwards Room is an open room with no set-up and 49 available chairs. There is a white board in this space and two tables.
  • The One World Room is a large open room, ½ carpet and ½ tiled flooring. It has a baby grand piano and its own sound system for which we can provide one wired microphone. The room also has no set-up (aside from the piano and large wooden table which should not be moved); there are a variety of tables and approximately 250 chairs available for use in this space.
  • Sage Chapel is reservable. It is suitable for weddings, memorials, baptisms, lectures, film screenings and some concerts. The charge for use of this space varies. 

Audio/Video Equipment

Above equipment is available for Anabel Taylor Hall reservations only. No equipment is available for take-out to other locations. For information about additional audio-visual, sound and lighting equipment, contact: Cornell Productions, Bailey Hall, email productions@cornell.edu.
  • Piano, Upright (Chapel only)
  • Sound System, House (One World Room, Auditorium, Chapel)
  • Projection Screen, fixed (Auditorium only)
  • Piano, Baby Grand (Founders Room, Auditorium, One World Room only)
  • Projection Screen(s), portable
  • Extension Cords
  • Microphones, wireless (Chapel only)
  • Microphones, corded (Auditorium, One World Room only)
  • Microphone Stands
  • White Board, portable 

Service of Remembrance

 

The Office of Spirituality and Meaning-Making plans an annual Service of Remembrance to honor and remember departed members of the Cornell community. If you have questions about this annual event, please contact osmm@cornell.edu.

Sage Chapel and Anabel Taylor Hall Chapel are available to family/friends of deceased alumni who would like hold a service of remembrance on campus; however, our office is unable to provide any support for these services. To learn more or to inquire about a reservation, please contact the Scheduling@Cornell team at conferences@cornell.edu

Weddings

Congratulations on your engagement and your decision to celebrate your marriage on the Cornell campus. Sage Chapel and the chapel in Anabel Taylor Hall are both suitable venues for your marriage. Wedding bookings are managed through Scheduling@CornellFor 2022 wedding reservations and beyond, please contact weddings@cornell.edu or 607-253-8368.

Faculty, administrators, staff, trustees and their children as well as students and alumni/ae are eligible to celebrate their marriage at Cornell. Only Saturday weddings can be scheduled in our chapels. Each scheduled wedding includes a predetermined Friday night rehearsal.Each couple provides its own officiant, rehearsal coordinator, and music.

Permission to use the organ in either chapel is reserved to the University organist, Annette Richards, Ph.D., who can be reached at annette.richards@cornell.edu or (607) 255-7102.

A wedding license must be procured in New York State. The wedding officiant must be credentialed in the State of New York. Find complete information here.

Please check with the local or regional denomination's governing organization (ex., original diocese) to understand the policies and procedures to ensure your wedding is recognized by the denomination or faith.

Contacts

Office of Spirituality and Meaning-Making and Cornell United Religious Work: osmm@cornell.edu or curw@cornell.edu or 607-255-6002

Wedding Services: weddings@cornell.edu

Annette Richards, Ph.D. University Organist: annette.richards@cornell.edu or 607-255-7102

David Yearsley, Ph.D. Assistant University Organist: dgy2@cornell.edu or 607-255-9024