FAITH HOUSE Manhattan

Park51 Fast-a-Thon

*Due to inclement weather, this event has been postponed to Monday, August 29th.*

 

Park51 invites you to help fight hunger and raise awareness by participating in their Fast-A-Thon. People of all faiths are invited to come and fast, while sharing ideas and strengthening diversity.

 

Samir Selmanovic is speaking, St. Francis Xavier is the church that hosts our annual Interfaith Seder, and all of Faith House is invited! 

 

What: Fast-A-Thon and Interfaith Iftar   How: Fast from dawn to dusk - and come for a free dinner that evening!   When: August 28, 2011 - dinner at 7:35pm sharp   Where: 51 Park Place New York, NY 10007  

To RSVP, please fill out a pledge form 

 

August Women's Spirituality Circle

*Due to inclement weather warnings, this event is cancelled 
and will be rescheduled in the near future.*

THIS Saturday, August 27

3-6 pm

Bowie's Apartment in Harlem

 

RSVP for Directions to Ashley Curl   

 

This August stillness that anticipates the start of fall and final days of vacation, is also a time of nesting, creating home, and slowing down.

 

In this lull, we're planning an experience together as an inter-faith, multi-faith, no-faith circle, in which we will look at the spirituality of the domestic. We will search for metaphor and meaning in the rituals we find ourselves in everyday, as we move through the rooms of a NYC apartment and roof-garden, mend a homemade quilt, prepare an herb-infused lemonade, and as always, share our stories.

 

Have you thought of how the ways we move between the rooms of our homes echo the ways we moves through the rooms of our souls? As St. Teresa of Avila, from the Catholic tradition, says in her Interior Castle (circa 1575),

"Now let us return to our beautiful and delightful castle and see how we can enter it. I seem rather to be talking nonsense, for, if this castle is the soul, there can clearly be no question of our entering it. For we ourselves are the castle: and it would be absurd to tell someone to enter a room when he was in it already! But you must understand that there are many ways of "being" in a place. Many souls remain in the outer court of the castle, which is the place occupied by the guards; they are not interested in entering it, and have no idea what there is in that wonderful place, or who dwells in it, or even how many rooms it has. You will have read certain books on prayer which advise the soul to enter within itself: and that is exactly what this means."

 

We look forward to you joining us on Saturday.

 

Image by Beth "stagewhisper" on Flickr

Update on Leah Varsano [Summer Intern, 2009]

Leah Varsano interned for Faith House from June through August 2009. Last week, Leah was featured in the newsletter of Avodah: The Jewish Services Corps! She just completed a year-long commitment with Avodah following her graduation from Vassar College; the program is a year-long service corps the integrates working for social change, Jewish life, and community building. 

Fun fact: Faigy Abdelhak, our current Community Development Administrator, did the program as well!

The newsletter snippet led to a longer interview, and we are thrilled to be sharing her wonderful progress with you here!
Source: http://www.avodah.net/leah-varsano

Leah Varsano is from Northampton, MA and attended Vassar College. As a New Orleans Corps member, she served as the Assistant Neighborhood Coordinator at Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative.

What are your plans for next year?

Next year I will be working as the Resource Center Coordinator at the Freret Neighborhood Center in New Orleans, an AmeriCorps VISTA position. Freret is a neighborhood in New Orleans adjacent to the AVODAHbayit (house) that is experiencing revitalization at a very fast rate. It's an exciting neighborhood to be working in with a lot of very committed, engaged residents. Check out The New Freret to see what I'm talking about.

How has AVODAH influenced your plans?

My placement through AVODAH introduced me to the world of neighborhood revitalization - a topic that is especially potent in New Orleans as the city continues to rebuild. I seem to have become obsessed with this idea of "neighborhood." (As an example of my obsession, here is my AVODAH blog post on neighborhoods.) I'm endlessly thankful that I had such a wonderful opportunity through AVODAH to work as a community organizer. Although I expect that I will continue working as an organizer for the next few years, ultimately I think I'd like to work more on the big picture. I'm considering graduate programs in urban planning that place an emphasis on neighborhood and community development. I can't imagine having landed on this path that I am now so passionate about had it not been for AVODAH and New Orleans.

What is one thing that you learned this past year in AVODAH?

This year, I've been reminded that although I am no longer a full-time student, learning is a never-ending process. In our house this year, we have never lost the opportunity to question, discuss, or debate an issue. For weeks, our house endlessly contemplated food. We are something of foodies, it's true, and there was a period of time in October and November when every house meeting turned toward food. How much food? How much money? Organic vs. cheap? Organic vs. local? Vegetarian vs. vegan vs. pescatarian vs. kosher? It was exhausting, but we all educated each other, and we all learned a lot - about food and our values.

I remember my excitement when, walking across the grocery store parking lot pushing shopping carts laden with (reusable) bags of food, my housemate remarked, "You know, I never really realized how much stuff high fructose corn syrup is in. But wow. It is in a LOT. I'm definitely going to be reading those labels from now on." I felt proud because I remembered doing the research to present to the group about the ethics of corn consumption in the United States, but mostly I felt impressed and humbled by my housemate for being open minded enough to really think about it and come to his own conclusion.

Even though we are approaching the end of AVODAH, we continue to push each other to learn, grow, and think. Whenever I feel like giving up, I'm brought back from complacency by my fellow AVODAHniks' enthusiasm and humility. In the end, the measure of a successful AVODAH year isn't how many of its participants switch to corn-free products. It's how many of us learned something new, thought about social justice, and adjusted our lives or our intentions because of it.

 

Take the 9 Question "Pivot" Survey!

Help us find our "pivot"

"The Pivot [is] the idea that successful startups change directions but stay grounded in what they've learned" ~ Eric Ries We want to know what you, who have supported Faith House with your time, talents and treasure, think could be a "pivot" for Faith House to grow. Where can we shift our focus, communication, programs, etc. to impact our ability to reach people who are looking for a safe space to experience their neighbor's faith?  We need your support in the form of advice, because we cannot see what you see.  Please take a few minutes to answer the questions below and help us find our pivot. Take the survey

Your opinions are valued as you are the reason we exist!   In faith,   Bowie Snodgrass, Samir Selmanovic, and the Board of Directors FAITH HOUSE Manhattan

 

P.S. ~ Tweet the link http://ht.ly/5Vu7D  and/or let us know you took the survey on Twitter [@FaithHouseNOW] & we'll be sure to reply with a tweet of thanks!