Chaplains, Staff, and Spiritual Advisors
We’d love to connect – email us, call us, or drop by!
We are located at 163 Wood St., next to the Admissions Office and in the same building as the Harward Center.
Chaplains and Staff
Rev. Rob Benson
The Rev. Rob Benson will join Bates as the college’s multifaith chaplain, effective Aug. 3, the college announced today. Benson currently serves as the lead pastor at Bar Harbor Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Bar Harbor, Maine.
“I am delighted to welcome the Rev. Rob Benson to the Bates community, and look forward to seeing how he will bring his deep experience in inclusive ministry and spiritual leadership to his work with our Multifaith Chaplaincy,” said Bates President Garry W. Jenkins. “Rob seems to intuitively understand what makes Bates, Bates — our tight-knit community, our commitment to responsible stewardship of the greater world, and our immensely thoughtful, engaged, and talented students.”
As the leader of the Multifaith Chaplaincy — a campus hub for spiritual discovery, community building, and compassionate support — Benson, who uses he/him pronouns, looks forward to welcoming all Bates community members, whether it be to explore spiritual traditions and identities, build community, or interrogate the meaning of purposeful work.
“From the moment I stepped on campus I could sense Bates’ friendly, inclusive vibe, the deep engagement, and the passion for connecting academic learning with the world’s pressing needs,” Benson said. “Bates’ aspiration to be ‘a college for the coming times’ echoes the legacies of the politically engaged faiths of William Stringfellow and Peter Gomes, among many others, which seems crucial for times like these.”
Benson brings nearly 30 years of experience in ministry and chaplaincy to the role. He began his career in hospital chaplaincy, where he developed a multifaith foundational approach to ministry.
In his role at Bar Harbor, Benson co-founded the Mount Desert Island Racial Equity Working Group and the MDI Backpack Program, which serve to foster racial justice and address food security among students on the island. He also finalized the church’s adoption of an “open and affirming covenant,” a commitment to welcome and affirm congregants of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions. Additionally, he volunteers as chaplain with the Bar Harbor Fire Department.
“At Bates it feels like I can be open — with myself and with others — and not have to apologize for wanting to foster equity and pursue justice,” Benson said. “Bates feels like a great ‘fit.’”
A graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., Benson is intimately familiar with and embraces the small liberal arts environment that Bates offers. He previously served as an adjunct professor and spiritual counselor for students across faith traditions at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor and worked as a middle and high school teacher and swim coach.
“I cherish students’ honesty and enthusiasm. Life matters, and we don’t have time to waste on superficiality or irrelevance,” Benson said. “Questions of who we are, what to do and say, how to live together, how to cultivate hope and joy, how to tend the earth — questions of meaning, purpose, justice, and belonging — aren’t just abstract concepts, but pressing, real-life pursuits. I’m inspired by students’ willingness to try new things, challenge outdated systems, and forge together a better world for all.”
Benson previously spent 12 years as an outer island pastor with the Maine Seacoast Mission, serving five remote island communities with pastoral care, interfaith worship opportunities, and multi-generational programming.
Before moving to Maine in 2002, he served as a program and communications associate for the Faith and Politics Institute in Washington, D.C., and a hospice chaplain for Hospice Care of the District of Columbia and Hospice of Northern Virginia. He holds a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School and he completed his clinical pastoral training at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Georgetown University Medical Center.
Benson succeeds the Rev. Dr. Raymond Clothier, who has served as interim multifaith chaplain since the departure of the Rev. Dr. Brittany Longsdorf in December 2024.
“I’m excited to meet students, faculty, and staff, to share the joys and challenges of life, and to explore practices that deepen peace and nurture hope and right action,” Benson said. “And I’m anxiously anticipating the Puddle Jump next winter.”
Spiritual Advisors
Bates College has welcomed the following people as volunteer “Spiritual Advisors.” They serve particular religious communities on our campus. If you are looking to connect with someone from a particular religious tradition, this is a good place to start. If you do not find someone from your religious tradition, please contact the Multifaith Chaplains for assistance.
Rabbi Sruli Dresdner
Jewish
Rabbi Sruli is a native New Yorker who moved to Maine to serve as the spiritual leader of Temple Shalom in Auburn. He is a very musical Rabbi and plays the clarinet, accordion, drums and banjo (some simultaneously) as well as some wackier instruments. He and his wife, Lisa, have been featured on TV and have performed all over the world and at colleges all over the country. Rabbi Sruli is looking forward to working together with the Bates Hillel and he is always up for a good discussion on everything from Philosophy to Papa Pear. He hopes to welcome students to many special events throughout the year that combine scholarship, music, food, and, of course, Shabbat and Holiday celebrations.
Sister Jacinta Coscia
Catholic
Sister Jacinta was born in a small town in Connecticut. After graduating college and teaching for five years in a public elementary school, she met the Franciscan Sisters of Eucharist and gradually came to the realization that God was calling her to be a nun. She never thought she’d leave Connecticut, but as some people say, “Join the convent and see the world.” This is how it happened for her. She’s been missioned to Houston, Texas; Rome, Italy; Silver Spring, Maryland; Portland, Oregon; Durham, North Carolina and now she has the privilege of living in Lewiston, Maine. She loves to meet people from other cultures so her two favorite locations were Houston, Texas and Rome, Italy. She’s loved getting to know some of the Bates students over the past year as the Sisters have offered rides to Mass. She looks forward to meeting many more this year. She is currently working on her Doctor of Ministry degree remotely from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. which gives her empathy for students. She’s very excited about building up the Catholic Community at Bates.
Deacon Frank Daggett
Catholic
Deacon Frank became involved with college ministry while earning his Master of Pastoral Theology degree from Saint Joseph’s College, where he received the Spirit of Mercy Award and the Xavieran Award for Service. He and his wife Barbara have served in a broad array of church ministries and community service as they lived around the USA and Canada during his career as a naval officer and after settling down in Maine. Ecumenical and multifaith engagement are both essential and mutually enriching and, Frank believes, can be an effective model for collaboration in the public sphere as well, especially in seeking solutions to problems of poverty, violence, and injustice. Volunteering with interfaith groups such as Habitat for Humanity has taken him to New York, Appalachia, Guatemala, and Haiti. Frank enjoys sailing, outdoor activities, listening to many kinds of music, and is especially active in environmental stewardship, writing and working with Catholic Charities Maine in Parish Social Ministry.
Venerable Tenzin Dasel
Buddhist
Venerable Tenzin Dasel is a teacher and meditation instructor at Tashi Gatsel Ling in Maine, USA. She graduated from Bates College in 1988, Bangor Theological Seminary in 2006, and received monastic ordination with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2017. She founded the Maine Mindfulness Project in 2008 and has served as a retreat teacher at the Thosamling Institute and Nunnery in 2017 and as a meditation leader at the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women in Hong Kong in 2017 and Australia in 2019. She is active as a retreat leader, speaker, and moderator in the International Network of Engaged Buddhists and currently serves on the Female Sangha Leadership Committee. Ven. Dasel has taught in many venues including the Parliament of World Religions in 2015 and 2018 and continues this work as a Dharma Teacher.
Rev. Debbie Rogers Duval
Christian
Reverend Debbie Rogers Duval (she/her/hers) is the pastor of High Street Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Auburn, Maine. Debbie has been active in ministering to the unhoused, those who are experiencing trauma and those facing food insecurity. She is a graduate of Andover Newton Theological School where she also earned certificates in pastoral care and interfaith studies. She is a lifelong learner who enjoys movies, camping, hiking, cycling, reading, and spending time with friends and family.
Michael Fitzpatrick
Christian
A missionary with Cru Lifelines Maine through the missions program of the Olivet Community Church of Evansville, Indiana.
Rev. Sarah Gillespie
Unitarian Universalist
Rev. Sarah Gillespie is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and board-certified healthcare chaplain. She works at Androscoggin Home Healthcare & Hospice and tends to the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families from a wide spectrum of faiths, including the non-religious. She grew up in New Jersey has lived, studied, and worked in DC, Boston, and western NY before finally planting roots in Lewiston (just down the street from Bates). She lives with her spouse, Adam, and their growing toddler, Luke. You’ll see them walking around the puddle or sometimes grabbing a meal at Commons. She looks forward to engaging UU students and spiritual seekers in conversations around religion, reason, meaning-making and the theology of baseball.
Mark Jones
Christian
Mark Jones is a Chrisitan minister who centers his call to ministry on athletes through his work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Mark received his Bachelor of Arts from St.Joseph’s College in Standish in 2000 and was commissioned as a minister at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Topsham in 2018. He felt the call to ministry in 2012 after several years in TV news and manufacturing. While Mark is passionate about serving and encouraging athletes and coaches at Bates, he is equally excited to serve and encourage any who need it. Mark lives in Richmond with his wife, Denise, three children, his old cat and young dog (a real house full).
Alyssa McKay
Christian
Alyssa McKay (Bates Class of 2015) has a relentless and deep love for Lewiston and especially the families of The Tree Streets. As the Program Manager at The Root Cellar- Lewiston, Alyssa sees every moment as an opportunity to teach, encourage, challenge, and lift up those around her. This skill has cultivated something beautiful – a thriving, diverse, and interdependent community of neighbors, growing and learning together. Alyssa has created numerous programs at the Root Cellar that have involved thousands of teens in mentoring, English language learning, and work experience leading to employment. She has also drawn the neighborhood together through cottage industry and food sharing. She also ministers to a growing community of people from all over the world as a member of Redemption Hill Community Church. At work, in personal time, or through her church, she has structured her life seeking to follow the simple command: “to love your neighbor as yourself.”