Chaplain to the College and Protestant Chaplain Reverend Valerie Bailey will leave the College this month. After her departure, Bailey will begin a position as priest-in-charge at two churches in the Lehigh Valley region of her native Pennsylvania. Her last day at the College will be Oct. 10, although she will return to take part in several events following her departure.
The career move represents a sort of homecoming, Bailey explained. “As much as I love Massachusetts, I love where I came from … I’m very excited that [the Lehigh Valley] is kind of facing a lot of what’s happening in the national and global scene,” she said.
“It’s fun being in the Purple Bubble, but I’m really excited about the opportunity to be partnering with people in the [Lehigh Valley] community and the people in the church supporting people during these times,” Bailey continued.
Bailey began her tenure at the College in 2018. Her work involved organizing Episcopal- and Protestant-specific activities at the College as well as coordinating interfaith programming and outreach in the Town. During her tenure, she navigated student-led institutional reconstruction, the COVID-19 pandemic, and COVID-19’s aftermath, Bailey said in an interview with the Record.
At the start of her tenure, Bailey said the College was experiencing what she called a “free speech crisis.” “There was a lot of unhappiness,” she said. “I would walk up to students who were walking and weeping and [ask], ‘What’s going on?’”
Later, despite pandemic-related restrictions, Bailey continued to organize community events. “There was an interfaith discussion about honey,” she said. “And [the students] left honey packages, like those really neat sticks, in the entrance to Thompson so you can go pick it up and then bring it to the meeting.” Bailey said that the role of the religious and spiritual groups on campus changed following COVID. “Before the coronavirus [pandemic], holding space generally meant food [and] talking — it was just festive,” she explained. “[After,] holding space became more a need to process things.”
As Chaplain to the College, Bailey has served the entire student body — regardless of faith — and helped to restructure the Interfaith Council, a group of students dedicated to collaboration within the broader religious community. This past spring, she helped host an Interfaith Council Summit.
Reflecting on her tenure at the College, Bailey emphasized her partnership with her fellow chaplains and other campus offices. “Working with all the partner offices … has been really good, and especially when there’s a crisis on campus, not only the Chaplains’ Office comes together, but all of the student-facing offices,” she said.
Bailey also noted that student interactions are a highlight of her job. “I will … miss the students,” she said. “It’s been a pleasure supporting the students … to be that sounding board. You never know what is an important conversation, you might not figure that out for years, but it’s been wonderful being a part of all of that.”
