FAITH HOUSE Manhattan

Interdependent Here and Now

Religion comes to the news in cycles. Just when we think we are beyond religious intolerance, we witness another conflict, another act of exclusion, another burst of violence, and the pretense is torn away. Next year will have its measure of these disappointments and at times tragedies. They will be inevitable until we realize and take seriously the interdependent nature of our life together and structure our lives accordingly. Faith House exists to fill this need here and now.  We want to help people experience and thus know "the other," which is the most potent factor of all.

The year we launched Faith House, 2008, was a year of dreaming. We envisioned individuals and communities in a dynamic relationship with their 'other.' We knew how encountering the vitality and beauty within 'the other' possesses the power to make us aware of our own limits, in a healthy way, as well as enrich our own faith. Dreams have power and an urban laboratory of interdependence was born.

 

While we dreamed, the economy crashed. So the following year 2009 turned out to be a year of consolidation. Like a child who needs to bump into objects in order to learn to walk, we had our measure of obstacles. We organized and re-organized, we tried this, and that, and the other, and like every community, we had to learn to be patient and forgiving, both to others and to ourselves. And we have not only survived and learned our limits, but have begun to actually walk the talk and develop a network of people who want to participate in our interdependent future.

 

This year, 2010, was a year of building our capacity. We had to give attention to the nuts and bolts of our dream: effective communication, efficient administration, online presence, database management, and the like. Our main challenge this year has been the fact that this space "in between faiths" is not owned by anyone and therefore has no institutional or systemic support available. Faith exists at this "in between" and we realize that we depend on visionaries like you, people thinking ahead and willing to act and support the future now. 

 

This coming year, 2011, we are ready to make a bigger impact and grow. While staying lean and agile, we want to risk more with the issues we discuss, people we include, and challenges that we put before ourselves. For example, we want to begin offering pastoral care for interfaith families and women's spiritual groups, expand our advocacy for religious freedom, forge vibrant relationships between different communities, and provide more support for causes that combat poverty, war, and environmental degradation. We want to help people celebrate the richness of human diversity through concerts, forums, and our third annual Passover Seder for an inter-religious audience. And we want to do all of this while simultaneously continuing what we do best and what makes the difference: helping people experience 'the other.'

 

Many people run away or are indifferent to these difficult issues, but the fact that you are reading this letter sets you apart as a person who is willing to face the grim reality, and hope. With your help there is so much that can be done! Can you believe with us? 

 

Another kind of world is not only possible, but is on her way.  If you have been curiously following what we do or perhaps cheering us from the sidelines, now is the time to become a part of our extended community and help us make an impact and grow in the coming year. We operate independently of any political party, religious organization, or institution.  That's why every bit of support from a person like you is crucial.  When you contribute, you can be sure that you have connected real people together and made this world a better place. Thank you for contributing right now. 

LIVING ROOM Salat: The Beauty of Prayer in Islam

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

Intersections, 274 5th Ave
Btwn 29th and 30th Sts

With Sabeeha Rehman
Five times a day, Muslims around the world turn towards Mecca and perform Salat - the ritual of prayer to God. Men, women, and children - they pray in mosques, they pray in public places, and they pray in the privacy of their homes; they pray in congregations, and they pray in solitude; they pray at dawn, and they pray at dusk. Throughout the centuries and across the globe, the ritual of prayer has remained constant and uniform. What is the genesis of prayer in Islam? What does the performance of prayer signify? Join us with our host, Sabeeha Rehman, and through her lens, visualize the beauty of salat, listen to the voice of recital, and experience the ritual of prayer.

Sabeeha Rehman is the Director of Interfaith Programs at the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), and is a member of the Shura Council of the Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE), a program of ASMA.
 
RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook or Meetup.com

An Urban Laboratory of Interdependence

Dear Friends of Faith House, In times past, strong cities were walled. Our religions developed in similar contexts of defensiveness, isolation and conflict.  The times have changed.  Today, bridges, airports, roads, cell phones and the internet help cities survive and thrive on a connected planet. Religion, one of the most potent forces to mobilize human hearts and communities, has yet to catch up in our newly interdependent world.   The world is hurt not only by the actions of religious extremist minorities but by the religious ignorance and indifference of the majority. Tolerance and appreciation between religions is simply not enough. We all must dig further into our texts, traditions, and practices to  help us experience, understand and actually learn to need one another.   Nothing happens alone.  The promises our religions make - to  love our neighbor, empower the poor, pursue justice, and care for the planet - cannot be fulfilled when our groups act alone. To fulfill the promises of our own religions, we need each other. That's why we have Faith House. This is a unique organization.  Hearts and minds change through experience, community, and sustained action. While most interfaith work happens as dialogue, Faith House provides a space where people can experience "the other" and form long-lasting relationships in a sustained "community of communities."   Faith House is an experiential urban laboratory.  Instead of believing in the self-sufficiency of our religions, we serve the city and the world with fresh ideas and expressions of interdependence, exploring possibilities for passionate belief in a pluralist world, insisting that new practices can be discovered, discussed, developed, and spread.