Meet the Chaplains
Jewish Chaplain Marc Bragin
Chaplain Rachel Kessler
Marc Bragin
Jewish Chaplain | Director of Spiritual & Religious Life | Director of Hillel
Marc Bragin began his chaplaincy at Kenyon College in 2006, coming from Colgate University where he was the Jewish chaplain. Prior to working on a college campus, Marc was an attorney in Connecticut and New York for several years after completing his JD at Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. For his undergrad work, Marc attended Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH, where he earned a BS in management and a BA in sociology.
Marc lived in Jerusalem, Israel, and studied at the Reform Jewish seminary Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion. After returning from Israel, Marc attended Hebrew College in Boston where he earned an MA in Jewish studies with a concentration on the history of Jewish liturgy.
In his spare time, Marc enjoys cooking, traveling and spending time with his two Tibetan Terriers, Gracie and Tallulah.
Contact Marc at 740-427-5228 or braginm@kenyon.edu.
Rachel Kessler
Chaplain | Priest-in-charge of Harcourt Parish
Rachel Kessler graduated from Kenyon College in 2004, majoring in English and philosophy. After college, Rachel moved to Toronto, Ontario, where she earned her Master's of Divinity from Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, in 2011. Rachel was ordained a deacon in 2011 and a priest in 2012 within the Anglican Church of Canada. She was appointed priest-in-charge of Harcourt Parish and chaplain at Kenyon College in the fall of 2015.
Before attending seminary, Rachel earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the Centre for Medieval Studies in the University of Toronto, specializing in Old English and Anglo-Latin literature. In her free time, Rachel enjoys baking, books and movies, obscure board games and hanging out with her border collie/lab/beagle mix Bilbo.
Contact Rachel at kesslerr@kenyon.edu.