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! 

A Sabbath Poem (Nordeman)

River God
~ Nicole Nordeman

Rolling River God
Little Stones are smooth
Only once the water passes through
So I am a stone
Rough and grainy still
Trying to reconcile this river's chill

But when I close my eyes
And feel you rushing by
I know that time brings change
And change takes time
And when the sunset comes
My prayer would be just this one
That you might pick me up
And notice that I am
Just a little smoother in your hand

Sometimes raging wild
Sometimes swollen high
Never have I known this river dry
The deepest part of you
Is where I want to stay
And feel the sharpest edges wash away

This poem was used in our Summer Women's Spirituality Circle. Email Jill Minkoff if you are interested in attending future Women's Spirituality Circles. 

A Sabbath Poem (L'Amoreaux)

A Prayer to Protect Water
- By Claudia L'Amoreaux

We call you ocean.

We call you sea, gulf, strait, bight,
bay, lagoon, river, falls, creek,
stream, lake, pond, spring.

We call you rain.

We call you pool, puddle, snowflake,
glacier, dew, mist, cove, channel, inlet,
cascade, brook, tributary, bayou, tarn,

H2O.

We travel your powerful currents
to meet our relations.
We flood our rice fields.
We bathe our children.
We cleanse the dead.
We baptise, we purify, we do ablutions,
We immerse in the mikvah.
We heal with you - Holy Water.

We remember to protect you.
We remember to protect you.
We remember to protect you.
We remember to protect you.

 
This poem was used in our Summer Women's Spirituality Circle.  Photo above of our water-themed altar.  Email Jill Minkoff if you are interested in attending future Women's Spirituality Circles.  

A Sabbath Poem (Mcllhagga)

The Shadow of the Dove
~ Kate Mcllhagga

When dawn’s ribbon of glory around the world returns
and the earth emerges from sleep –

The shadow of the dove is seen
as she flies across moor and city.
Over the warm breast of the earth she skims,
her shadow falling on
the watcher in the tower,
the refugee in the ditch,
the weary soldier at the gate.

The shadow of peace
falls across the all-night sitting of a council,
across the tense negotiators
around a table.
The shadow of hope
is cast across the bars of a hostage cell
filling with momentary light
rooms tense with conflict,
bringing a brief respite,
a sliver of gold across the dark.

She flies untiring
across flooded fields,
across a city divided by hate and fear,
across a town wreathed in smoke.
The shadow of reconciliation,
the dove of peace
with healing in her wings,
is felt and seen and turned towards
as she makes righteousness shine
like the dawn,
the justice of her cause
like the noonday sun.

Holy Spirit of love,
bring healing, bring peace.

from Fifty Great Prayers from the Iona Community

This poem was used in our Summer Women's Spirituality Circle.  Photo above of our water-themed altar.  Email Jill Minkoff if you are interested in attending future Women's Spirituality Circles. 

Welcome to our newest Board Member,Mairim Pina!

Mairim is a long-time active member of our community and was a member of the Kitchen Table before being elected on to the Board of Directors. Using her skills as a graphic designer, Mairim is responsible for many of the graphics on our postcards, website, and the banner you see at the top of every newsletter!  

 

Mairim Pina is a Designer in New York City who considers her self a Christian-Buddhist. She was drawn to Buddhist Dharma through the roots of centering prayer, a contemplative form of prayer she learned at St. Bart's Episcopal church where she attends. "My spiritual journey has been marked by discovery and am glad to be part of a group which provides a venue for it"

Looking Forward! Job Posting, Women's Circle, a Rabbi and Imam at the Wild Goose Festival, more!

 Today is the last day of June and Faith House is full of news! We welcome a new member of our Board of Directors and have have just published a "flashback" from a founding Board member.  Our amazing Community Development Administrator, Faigy Abdelhak, needs to step down at the end of the summer to focus on her studies and we are accepting applications to fill this position until July 20th. Our Women's Spirituality Circle is having its summer gathering on July 9th and art for "Under Abraham's Tent" is due July 17th.   

 

We are also at the end of an important mid-year fund drive. If you have not yet made a donation to Faith House this year, your gift now will mean more than ever. There are many ways to donate listed below. Thank you to all who have contributed already!    

 

Last week, Bowie, Samir, Faith House Advisory Board member Paul Knitter, our friends Rabbi Or Rose and Imam Abdullah Antepli, and other members of the Faith House Community were part of the first Wild Goose Festival. After years of dreams and hard work, the Wild Goose Festival is now on the map of the American religious landscape! Four days of exhilarating experiences, contemplative practices, rigorous thinking, inspiring art, new friendships, and unspeakable fun for everyone have left all of us with a desire for more. Faith House Manhattan successfully curated the interfaith track of the festival, once again extending its impact beyond NYC.    

 

Many new things are brewing and we are thankful for an auspicious start of this summer.  We have grown tremendously in the past year and give thanks for the part Faigy has played - and will continue to play in this growth through this summer.  Please spread the word about our job posting to your own communities and networks!  

 

The hunger for understanding how to practice one's own faith in a world of many religious paths is immense. We saw this at Wild Goose, we experience this in our Manhattan community, and hear it everywhere. Help us meet the needs of this city and world.   

 

Please make your gift today...  

 

ON PAYPAL 

SEND A CHECK written to "Faith House Manhattan"  PO Box 552, New York, NY 10028

 

ONLINE through our Facebook Cause 

 

BUY books or merchandise "Shop in Good Faith"  

 

SPONSOR a Living Room on the topic of your
choice. Email us for more information at
[email protected] 

As our way of saying "Thank You!" we will be giving a digital copy of our compilation, "Faith and Food: The Cookbook," to all donors and to all who give over $300, we will send a copy of 100 Graces: Mealtime Blessings signed by author Marcia Kelly.

 

You can click here to read our latest Newsletter

A Rabbi, Imam, and Knitter at the First Wild Goose

Bowie, Samir, and other Faith House participants
have just returned from the
very first Wild Goose Festival!

 

Read About the Interfaith Events In the News!

 

"Wild Goose Day 3: mingling of faith traditions"    
The National Catholic Reporter

"The Wild Goose Revival for Doubters and Jesus Victims (Like Me)" 
The Huffington Post 

"Progressive Christians Flock to Wild Goose Festival"

The Associated Baptist Press

 

2011 Interfaith Guests

Our interfaith panel at the festival!

 

Imam Abdullah Antepli, Muslim Chaplain at Duke University and Adjunct Faculty of Islamic Studies; Rabbi Or N. Rose, Associate Dean and Director of Interfaith and Social Justice programs at Hebrew College; and Paul Knitter, Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture at Union Theological Seminary

 

2011 Interfaith Events

• "What Does God Whisper to Christians: Models of Living Passionately in a Pluralist World" With Paul Knitter and Samir Selmanovic
• "Kabbalah Beyond the Headlines" Rabbi Or N. Rose 
• "A Conversation with Islam" With Abudullah Antepli
• "Walking More Than One Path: Is Religious Multiple Belonging Possible?" With Paul Knitter 
• "Going Deeper Through Inclusion: Perspectives on Religious Pluralism" With Imam Abdullah Antepli, Rabbi Or Rose, and Paul Knitter. Moderated by Bowie Snodgrass.