Photojournalist to speak in Bates spiritual series

Portland photojournalist Jim Daniels will discuss Witnessing Spirit: A Photojournalist’s View at 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 27, in Skelton Lounge of Chase Hall on the Bates campus. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Now a freelance photographer, Daniels worked for more than 20 years as a photojournalist for major New England newspapers. Hungering to cover “things that matter,” he documented for four years the life of a Maine woman living with AIDS and found his life changed as a result. He is currently completing a book about Maryknoll missionaries accompanying and serving the poor in remote locations around the world.

Using his photography, Daniels’ presentation will focus on how he developed a deepened respect for the poor and marginalized by what he began to see through the lens of his camera.

Sponsored by the Office of the Chaplain at Bates, the Spiritual Journeys lecture series features speakers from a variety of traditions who tell the stories of their spiritual awakening and development. Speakers are invited to explore how they experience a sense of the holy in their everyday lives, how their perspectives and disciplines have shaped that sacred experience and how they understand religion as a resource or an obstacle to the life of the soul. Speakers may also address the political and social consequences of their spirituality.

Next and last in the Spiritual Journeys series will be Laura Cluff, staff member of the Cambridge Zen Center and spiritual adviser at Wellesley College, discussing “My Life, The Big Mistake: The Long Journey Out of Perfectionism,” at 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 1, in Skelton Lounge of Chase Hall on the Bates campus.