FAITH HOUSE Manhattan

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

Flashback to January 2009: Reflection by Bill Ashlock, Founding Board Member

In the course of the recent past, I have found myself inspired and filled with hope. Instead of the usual sources of inspiration, I have caught a clearer glimpse of Hope as I learned about the history and dance for the black Madonna, experienced the renewed feeling of joy that is only found in a caring community, and came face to face with someone that knew the heart of how to dialogue. The sources of inspiration came from places just beyond my imagination. It was a pleasant reminder of how God is often found in the Other.

 

As I walked away changed for the experience, I found myself wondering how others before me dealt with this discovery. Did they even have one? It is interesting to note how one writer captured his experience. The notation was simple, yet filled with an interesting insight. "The congregation in Antioch was blessed with a number of prophet-preachers and teachers: Barnabas, Simon, nicknamed Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, an advisor to the ruler Herod, Saul." (Acts 13.1)

 

We live in a world with unlimited views of God. I was tugged into experiencing and learning from Another. Everyone involved knew that we had differing views. There was no attempt to change my perspective. I found myself saying yes to an invitation to walk with someone. Even in the short time we had together, I found myself walking away with more than before. My view of the God in my life has a greater focus because of their gift. My understanding of God's family, where you and I have great roles to play, increased. My awareness of the Presence that is available to all, heightened.

 

We have many perspectives. We live in a place where we are family. We can learn and help each other. We can respect and honor those who confuse us as well as those that agree with us. The invitation to participate, nurture, and contribute is open to everyone. The unknown is our response; today we can let others touch our lives and in turn make a difference.

 

This post was written for Bill Ashlock's website abcGod.com  after attending a January 2009 Faith House Living Room:

Mother, Prophet, Mystic: Mary In New Testament, Holy Quran, and Beyond: Please join us for a contemplative session where we will learn about and experience the various Marian traditions through the centuries and Abrahamic religions... From pre-Christian concepts to mainline Christian notions, to Holy Quran, we will explore the re-making of Mary through the ages. With international singer/percussionist and dancer, Alessandra Belloni, facilitated by Rabia Gentile. January 24, 2009

Faith House, An Extension of You: Mid-Year Report and Appeal

Faith House is part of a larger movement that is spreading through every continent, every religion, and every home-a movement to learn to live interdependently on our newly small planet, with courage and compassion. It is incredibly easy to retreat from these challenges and slip back into our old ways, to isolate and look out for ourselves alone.

 

How is your journey towards interdependence progressing? Are you (and your family) practicing the presence of the other in your life? Do you have a growing desire to discover the needs and beauty of your new neighbors, new coworkers, new friends? Are you exposing yourself to their unique ways of seeing, thinking, and loving? Does your heart ache when you notice suffering among them or injustice done to them?

 

If so, Faith House Manhattan is an extension of your efforts and your love. Don't give up. We are in this together. This summer marks three full years of our hope and our impact!  We have grown and diversified and are still committed to our mission:

 

"We are an experiential inter-religious community that comes together to deepen our personal and communal journeys..." 

 

This has been at the heart of our growth this year. We have been learning the value of a "practice" of experiencing our neighbor's faith in community, attending programs together, deepening friendships across faiths, building trust, always surprised by the infinite varieties of religious life and spirituality, thus making us all better understand, question, and appreciate our own.

 

Our Kitchen Table team gathers monthly in Samir's apartment around a literal kitchen table to share our "faith stories," soup and salad, reflections on past events and future plans, and dreams of how to better connect with people like you. Members of the Kitchen Table and Board of Directors went on a weekend-long retreat in March, which included Friday night Shabbat, Muslim and Christian text meditations, clean up of the local road, deep conversations, time to simply be together, and a fun talent show. Two members of the Kitchen Table will be starting seminary in the fall and we are excited that you and the Faith House community in New York have been part of their journey!

 

"...share ritual life and devotional space..."

 

Our Living Rooms continue to be safe spaces to experience each other's religious observances, ranging from Ash Wednesday with Transmission, an emerging house church; a Tu BeShevat Seder with Yitzhak Buxbaum, celebrating the fruits from the tree of life; and a session on Interfaith Love with Rabbi Burt Siegel, who has been marrying interfaith couples for 40 years!

 

More than 250 people attended our 3rd Annual Interfaith Seder with Rabbi David Ingber of Romemu at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church. We also launched a new Women's Spirituality Circle led by Jill Minkoff and Ashley Curl. This group had a winter and spring gathering, with a summer one planned for July 9.

 

"and foster a commitment to social justice and healing the world."

 

Two of our recent Living Rooms were focused on justice and healing, one around an Ethical Kosher Seal, which struggles to ensure workers' rights and ethical practices in the Kosher food industry, and another called "Uprising: Perspectives and Prayers for Egypt" organized by Frank Fredericks of World Faith with a panel of native Egyptians. 

 

The 10th Anniversary of 9/11 is coming up and we are collaborating with other interfaith groups to prepare for this commemoration that will deeply affect our city. In May, Samir Co-Chaired the 9th Annual City Wide Interfaith Teach-In on Approaching the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.

 

Next Steps

 

This June, our final Living Room was be led by Chris Stedman, Interfaith & Community Service Fellow for the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University called "(F)a(i)theist: How One Atheist Learned to Overcome the Religious-Secular Divide, and Why Atheists and the Religious Must Work Together." Soon, Bowie and Samir head to North Carolina, where they are organizing the interfaith track for the first Wild Goose Festival!

 

This summer, Faigy will be hard at work building a new website for Faith House, while Bowie will be preparing the fall calendar and working on grant proposals.  

 

Nothing good in the world comes without perseverance. Through our birth, growth, and each new season, we come to you with gratitude for your vision, your actions, and your tangible support of this extraordinary co-laboratory we have created with you.

 

We want to be a powerful extension of your aspirations. Because we want to make an impact, we have cut down on every single expenditure we possibly can and are now operating lean, but strong. As we finish our 3rd year, please help us raise $30,000 by June 30th so we can together continue to participate at the growing edge of the revolution of interdependence that is sweeping over the world. We cannot do it without your help today.

 

With gratitude for your willingness to make an impact with us,  

 

Samir Selmanovic, Founder                                                                       

Bowie Snodgrass, Executive Director  

 

P.S. - To make this fundraising effort more fun, we have managed a little something for all contributors! Everyone who gives during the month of June will receive a PDF of our "Food and Faith: The Cookbook!" and all who give $300 or more will receive a copy of a small jewel of a book, 100 Graces: Mealtime Blessings signed by the author and a Faith House supporter, Marcia Kelly.    

 

 

Click above to give online with a Credit Card 

or send a check to "Faith House Manhattan"  

P.O. Box 552, New York, NY 10028

Saturday afternoons and Sanctuaries of Newness. Women's Spirituality Circle, April 2, 2011

~ by Ashely Curl

This new group met for a first gathering in the winter, a second in the spring, and will meet once more on Saturday, July 9th, from 3-6 pm for a summer gathering.  Email Jill Minkoff if you are interested in attending in July or the autumn.

On April 2nd, six women of multiple spiritual paths and backgrounds found their way to my apartment, a small space in a courtyard building in South Slope, Brooklyn.

We gathered in furniture around an empty coffee table decorated with jars of daffodils, symbols of the season which was so apparent on that day, spring. Each women brought something to my home from there own: One woman brought her baby, one, rocks to be “charged up,” one a Bible. There was an old journal from early spiritual exploration, a story, a jar of dirt… all symbolizing journey and path: sacred milestones in each of our lives and momentos from a time of journeying as a woman.  

This gathering had a different spirit from the last. Appropriate, I think, because it was comprised of different people, and the shape, sight, and smell of the gathering was affected and changed based on the experiences and needs of the women present. The afternoon felt sundrenched, lazy, and homey – women eating, chatting, connecting with each other, relating, understanding, passing on bits of wisdom and just listening… to decisions being made, frustrations and questions being had.

We began our time introducing ourselves to the group in the way of some aboriginal peoples of Australia, where I had spent some time – “from where we have come” – this having multiple meanings for the women gathered: from immigrant experiences, genealogical lineages, specific sojourns, pilgrimage, spiritual heritage and geographical location.

What became apparent, in the sharing, meditation, conversations, and silence, was an incredible diversity of human experience and recognition of transitions that each of us face and wrestle with in the context of our spiritual and religious realities – be they the past, present, or hoped-for-future spaces. New marriages, new children, new solitudes, new callings, new loves, new jobs, new communities and practices… 

And a new community of women who are learning and practicing and experimenting what it looks like, and smells like, and feels like, to learn, grow, and practice together… not regardless of spiritual background, but out of the backgrounds that have spiritually formed us and create us into the women that we find ourselves to be.

As my home emptied, I felt a sense of rejuvenation and expectancy as I looked at the daffodils that were left and thought of those that had left with these community women.

And I was thankful.

Women's Spirituality Circle, February 5, 2011

~ by Ashely Curl

This new group met for a first gathering in the winter, a second in the spring, and will meet once more on Saturday, July 9th, from 3-6 pm for a summer gathering.  Email Jill Minkoff if you are interested in attending in July or the autumn.

We were five.

Like a fist, like points on a star, like fingers and toes.

Like the senses: touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell.

The expanse of Jill’s apartment view in the Bronx laid our whole city before us: beginning in day, fading into dusk, and ending in night… as the three hour time frame we had allotted for the first “interfaith, multifaith, and no faith” women’s spirituality circle began, settled, and ended on an incredibly sacred afternoon.

As we came together with cups of tea and things to “nosh,” we spoke of how we could usher in the divine in our midst and gathered incense, candles, plants, stones, fruit – all together to be gathered in the center of us: a makeshift altar-of-sorts.

In the naming and the building we were creating our safe, sacred space, and I felt the anticipation of learning and growing and getting to know the “sacred things” that each woman brought to add to our common table. Full of meaning, women brought a necklace, music created, a stone of hope, a jar of lava rocks, an art piece created at a time of another women’s circle.

Wide-eyed and questioning, there was a sense of earthy divinity in the way that each person “tread lightly” upon the experience of gathering as a whole and each other’s lives. Silence, sharing, ritual, laughter, singing, eyes closed, open, and downcast, amidst the smells of incense and herbal tea … there was a combined sense of solemnity, relief, and gratitude that pervaded the entire gathering.

We entered into, stayed inside, and came out of, a sacred process of engaging – together. Having anticipated this experience for many months with my friend Jill, I found myself overwhelmed with emotion and exceeded expectations for the vulnerability, power, and tenderness that I felt imparted to me as a result of each woman present.

I even more now than before, anticipate what will evolve…

(F)a(i)theist: How One Atheist Learned to Overcome the Religious-Secular Divide, and Why Atheists and the Religious Must Work Together

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

Intersections, 274 5th Ave

Btwn 29th and 30th Sts

With Chris Stedman,
Interfaith and Community Service Fellow
for the Humanist Chaplaincy at
Harvard University  

 

Co-Sponsored by the Center for Inquiry, NYC 

 

"Looking at the shouting match in our culture, between the forces of aggressive atheism (The End of Faith, God is not Great) and the armies of belligerent belief (James Dobson, Pat Robertson), it looks like the widest part of the faith divide is between religion and secularism." ~ Eboo Patel

 

Ten years into the 21^st century, there is still significant division between the religious and nonreligious in American civic life.  In this Living Room, Chris Stedman, a young "humanist interfaith activist" and accomplished author, speaker and organizer, will identify ways the religious and secular might better understand one another in order to work together.  Chris will share his passion to catalyze a movement in which religious and secular folks not only co-exist peacefully but collaborate around shared values - and engage us all in a small service project to put our words to work. 

 

Chris Stedman is the Interfaith and Community Service Fellow for the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University and the Managing Director of State of Formation, a new initiative at the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue. Chris received an MA in Religion from Meadville Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago, for which he was awarded the Billings Prize for Most Outstanding Scholastic Achievement. A graduate of Augsburg College with a summa cum laude B.A. in Religion, Chris is the founder and author of the blog NonProphet Status. He is a popular writer for The Huffington Post Religion, the youngest panelist for The Washington Post On Faith, and his writing has also appeared in venues such as The Journal of College and Character, Tikkun Daily, The New Humanism, and more.  

 

Previously a Content Developer and Adjunct Trainer for the Interfaith Youth Core, Chris is a secular humanist working to foster positive and productive dialogue between faith communities and the nonreligious. In 2011, the University of Oregon Alliance of Happy Atheists recognized Chris' work with their first annual Happy Heathen! Award. He is currently writing a book on this work and on his experiences for Beacon Press and speaks on it regularly both by invitation and as a member of the Center for Inquiry Speakers Bureau and Secular Student Alliance Speakers Bureau. Chris also serves on the Leadership Team of the Common Ground Campaign, a coalition of young people standing up in response to the recent wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric and violence violence in the U.S., on the Board of Directors of World Faith, and as an advisor to the Foundation Beyond Belief's Challenge the Gap initiative. Portland, Oregon's GLBT newspaper Just Out called his work "brilliant" and labeled him an "emerging... vibrant and youthful queer voice for the secular humanist movement."

 

Find this event on Facebook. RSVP on EventBrite  

 

This Living Room event is Co-Sponsored by the Center for Inquiry, NYC, whose mission is to "foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values."  

Visit our Donate page to learn about Sponsoring or Co-Sponsoring an event.

LIVING ROOM Cooking with Consciousness: A Hindu Perspective on a Vegetarian Diet

Wednesday,  May 25, 2011

   

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

 

Intersections, 274 5th Ave

Btwn 29th and 30th Sts

 

With Gadadhara Pandit Dasa

Hindu Monk & Chaplain at Columbia University and NYU

 

"Vegetarian food leaves a deep impression on our nature. If the whole world adopts vegetarianism, it can change the destiny of humankind." ~ Albert Einstein

 

When Pandit started as Hindu Chaplain at Columbia eight years ago, he helped launch a Bhakti Yoga club and teach a vegetarian cooking class. In a relatively short time, regular attendance at the weekly cooking classes grew to over 100 students per session. As students became fans of the vegetarian feasts, their curiosity about the traditions and philosophy of India also increased.

 

Faith House invites you all to an evening of meditation, chanting, teaching, conversation and of course cooking and eating with Pandit.  Learn about the connections between the Hindu tradition, vegetarianism, and mindfulness.  Plus you'll learn to cook a dish or two and then have a chance to try them!

 

Gadadhara Pandit Dasa was born in Kanpur, India in 1972, grew up in L.A. and abroad, and moved to New York City in 1995. Desiring further progress in his spiritual life, Pandit spent six months in Mumbai, India receiving monastic training, after which he decided to continue his commitment to monastic life at the ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Ashram in New York, where he has been residing since. He became a disciple of the Vaisnava tradition in 2001, a monotheistic tradition with its roots in ancient India, and received his brahminical (priestly) initiation, in 2002.

 

In 2001, Pandit began his campus ministry efforts in colleges in the New York area, including Queens College, SUNY Albany, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and most recently Columbia University where he now focuses most of his efforts. As a chaplain with the United Campus Ministry at Columbia, he provides representation for the Hindu community and participates in interfaith dialogues on campus. In October 2008, he became New York University's Hindu Chaplain.

 

In the Fall of 2003, Pandit taught an accredited course on the Bhagavad Gita at SUNY Albany. At the same time, he was accepted as a "visiting scholar" at the Center for the Study of Science and Religion (CSSR) at Columbia University.

 

RSVPs welcome on EventBrite. Check out the event on Facebook.

3rd Interfaith Seder Tweets & Photos

Live Tweets from the 3rd Annual Interfaith Seder on Sunday, April 17th by @SamirSelmanovic with Photos by Sean McGinn.  Check out full photo set. 

Exploring meaning of freedom at 3rd Faith House Passover Seder at progressive St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic church, more than 200 of us!

To dance or to cry? Jews know music and will keep us tonight in this dilemma of life until we burst into both!

Rabbi David Ingber evokes the meaning of Palm Sunday and affirms Rebbe Jesus as a holy teacher of freedom.

  Biblical concept of hope where humans must act to have freedom has been supplanted by passive notion of optimism.

We are born with gift off freedom inside of us. When world oppresses us there is a way back to who we are: 15 Passover steps back to freedom

Time is not cyclical but open. Future is unknown and dependent on human action. Freedom starts with freedom of time.

Close your eyes, imagine you are in total and cold dark. You are going to pieces, there is no hope. You are a slave.

On your lips there is salt from tears of your enslavement. We dip green leaves into salty water recognizing that new shoots of life do come.

  Hebrew word for bread is the same word for brokenness. Hasidic masters say that we cannot live without either of them.

We won't be fooled by movements which free only some of us & in which our so-called "freedom" rests upon enslavement or embitterment of others

Slaves just say 'it is what it is.' The most insidious form of slavery is when we stop asking questions.

Questions are beginning of freedom, like 'why are rich getting richer and poor getting poorer,'

Hebrew word Egypt means ‘narrow place.’ In Jewish mystical tradition narrow place of throat is a holder of bondage. Speech brings redemption.

  Two women saving baby Moses by subverting the edict is the 1st historical record of civil disobedience. From then on human story shifts from might to right

“God help us dream new paths to freedom so that the next sea-opening is not also a drowning, so that our singing is never again their wailing”

Wow, the whole crowd of Jews, Christians, Muslims is bursting into singing, clapping with raised hands singing Dayenu (Enough)!

Breaking of Matzah bread is like breaking the tablets of the law. No absolute can withstand, all are idols. No religion or system has arrived

Here is a pic, 250 of us singing at the end of Passover Seder on Palm Sunday! Heavenly.  yfrog.com/h7yuiylj

Rabbi David finishes with quoting St Augustine, freedom of finding ones rest in who we are made for and with New Testament and Rumi. G'night

The Ethical Kosher Seal: An Evening with Ari Hart of Uri L'Tzedek

Wednesday,  May 11, 2011

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Ari Hart, Co-Founder of Uri L'Tzedek

Join us for an evening with text studies, eating rituals, and a rousing discussion of food ethics as it relates to food certification. In this Living Room, Ari Hart, a co-founder of Uri L’Tzedek, will delve into the inspiration behind Uri L'Tzedek's formation in 2007. This journey begins with the charges against kosher agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa, eventually leading to a particular organizational focus on food justice.

The abuse and exploitation of workers in fields, kitchens, and slaughterhouses across North America where kosher food is prepared alarmed Ari and his colleagues. These injustices needed to be addressed by the Jewish community as consumers of kosher food. Thus, in May 2009, Uri L’Tzedek launched the Tav HaYosher, an ethical seal for kosher restaurants that ensures workers’ rights. As of March 2011, over seventy-five kosher eating establishments throughout North America have been awarded the Tav HaYosher, securing the rights of close to a thousand workers.

Uri L’Tzedek is an Orthodox social justice organization guided by Torah values and dedicated to combating suffering and oppression. Through community-based education, leadership development, and action, Uri L’Tzedek creates discourse, inspires leaders, and empowers the Jewish community towards creating a more just world. In the last three years, Uri L’Tzedek has directly reached over 15,000 individuals in the 175 programs that it has sponsored or co-sponsored nationwide. This number includes programming at over thirty universities, impacting an estimated third of all American Orthodox university students.

For a full list of food establishments certified by the Tav HaYosher, click here.
Find this event on Facebook and MeetUp. RSVP on EventBrite,

LIVING ROOM Interfaith Love with Rabbi Burt Siegel

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Rabbi Burt Siegel

Interfaith romances and mixed marriages used to range from rare to forbidden, but have becoming increasingly accepted and even commonplace in 21st century New York City.  Rabbi Burt Siegel of the Shul of New York will share his reflections and experiences from four decades as a Rabbi working with interfaith couples.  This Living Room will also include a panel discussion with couples in committed interfaith relationships with and the opportunity for full and small group discussions.

We invite you all to bring chocolates or other romantic treats to share after the Living Room, less than one week before the secular American holiday of Valentine's Day.

Rabbi Burt Aaron Siegel is founder and spiritual leader of The Shul of New York. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Rabbi Burt received his Rabbinic Ordination and the award for the highest academic standing, as well as a Masters Degree in Judaic Studies, at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion. He began his Rabbinic Career at the Riverdale Temple, where he was a Rabbi for ten years. He continued his work as a Rabbi at The New Synagogue in New York and was Interim Rabbi at The Village Temple for one year.

In addition to his traditional Rabbinic activities, Rabbi Burt is also a trained psychotherapist. He has worked for a number of years as a therapist and he uses his expertise to counsel many different individuals and groups. He leads meditation, spiritual guidance, and healing meditation groups, including weekly sessions at Gilda's Club, a support community for cancer patients. In addition Rabbi Burt is a certified Kundalini yoga teacher.

RSVPs welcome, but not required, at Eventbrite

Cold Commute, Warm Event

By Ben Schnell

I heard about Faith House from the book Its Really All About God by Samir Selmanovic. I had to check it out. There was only two problems. The first was that its a bit of a commute from Portland Maine, where I live, to New York City, just for one evening. The second problem is that I had just sold my car and was getting around on a small Honda Scooter.

But then it hit me, driving on a scooter that only goes 35 miles an hour from Portland Maine to New York city, just for one event that would only last for a couple hours... what an adventure! So I put on long johns, 2 pairs of pants, 3 coats, and set off. I could only go half way in one day, so I couchsurfed in Amherst Massachusetts on the way down, and made it to New York on the second day.

The ride was very cold but the event was very warm. It was a holiday craft event. I met Samir, and many others from different faith backgrounds. Several people shared about the different kinds of crafts their families would do together around the holidays. I learned about Hanukkah, Islamic prayer beads, and Eastern Orthodox Icons. It was informative, but more than that, it was warm and social.

With so much religiously motivated violence in the world today, people getting together in a living room setting to celebrate each other's faith, now thats worth seeing, even if it means a long, chilly commute!

Sidewalk Salat

The opening of a chapter I wrote about the first year of Faith House for the recently released book Discovering the Spirit in the City, Edited by Andrew Walker and Aaron Kennedy (Continuum 2010)

Experience Your Neighbor's Faith: Faith House Manhattan

By Bowie Snodgrass

SIDEWALK SALAT

My husband, George, and I were rushing between errands on a Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan. Walking and talking and carrying heavy loads, we turned onto a broad empty street and became present to calm spaciousness. A Halal food cart at the corner had no person standing guard, but coming closer, we noticed a man on the sidewalk. We could only see his bent back. His knees and forehead touched a small blue carpet, he was prostrate in prayer, facing Mecca from Manhattan.

We slowed down and slipped by in silence, aware of prayer in the air and feeling blessed by his practice of faith. In the past, I might have felt awkward or concerned about intruding. Instead, I opened my soul for a minute to remember that “Glory be to God, the Most High” and that people were praying all over the city.

I remember a college professor writing down the Five Pillars of Islam on a blackboard during a Religious Studies class, telling us that one pillar was Salat, the prayers practiced five times a day by observant Muslims. But I never grasped the prayerfulness, the inherent value of religious veneration, of doing Salat until I was invited to try one myself at Faith House.

Our second year began with a Ramadan Iftar, the meal where Muslims break their daily sun-up-to-sun-down fast during the month of Ramadan (another Pillar of Islam).  Mujadid, a Sufi dervish, invited everyone to perform Salat. Some watched, but almost fifty people – Mulims, Jews, Christians, agnostics and others – arranged themselves into five rows. Mujadid translated the words that would be chanted in Arabic into English and invited non-Muslims to participate in the body movements. You are welcome, he said, to pray to Jesus or Moses or simply be present to the moment. 

That invitation to try Salat, to experience it with my body and offer prayers to God and Jesus alongside my Muslim friends, opened my heart. There was no attempt to convert me to Islam, but I was converted in that instant to the profound beauty and humility of Salat, of submitting before God with my forehead upon the ground, this faith practice of my neighbors.

There is urgency in Faith House’s mission to be: “an experiential inter-religious community that comes together to deepen our personal and communal journeys, share ritual life and devotional space, and foster a commitment to social justice and healing the world.” Samir Selmanovic, who founded Faith House, says we can’t wait for the 2–3 billion Christians and Muslims in the world to become secular to have world peace. Faith House calls us to “dig further into our texts, traditions, and practices to help us experience, understand and actually learn to need one another.” 

... with the following sections                                                    

TRYING ON TAGLINES 

LIVING ROOM 

FAITH TIME

GOD IN SPACE 

LENT: A CASE STUDY 

OUT INTO THE CITY

 

Bible, Interrupted with Amichai Lau-Lavie PODCAST & Photos

For those who live further away, for those who live nearer but could not make it, and for those who came and who simply want to hear it all over again, we are delighted to present our Living Room with Amichai Lau Lavie virtually!

On October 27, 2010, Amichai, Founder and Executive Director of Storahtelling, guided the group through an in-depth biblical text study titled "Bible, Interrupted: Can the oldest tool for transmission of sacred scriptures serve as a bridge between religions?" 2,500 years ago, in front of Jerusalem's Water Gate, the Bible was first presented as a publicly performed sacred narrative. Amichai led an exploration of this historic moment through text study and conversation, examining the radical implications of this ancient ritual for today's global search for meaningful ways of making our sacred legacies relevant, accessible, engaging and transformational. Listen in!

To listen to the podcast, click here: 

Bible, Interrupted with Amichai Lau Lavie PODCAST 

 

 

 

 

 

 
To see more photos from the evening, visit our Facebook album. 

Samhain: A Season of Harvest, A Circle of Remembrance RECAP

For those of you who couldn't join us for our Living Room on October 13, 2010 titled "Samhain: A Season of Harvest, a Circle of Remembrance," we hope you enjoy this transcript of our evening! During our Living Room with the Temple of the Spiral path, they led us in a celebration of Samhain, a sacred time of remembrance and harvest, one of the Eight Holidays known to modern Neo-Pagan witches as the Wheel of the Year.

Modern neo-Pagans orient their practices around a celebration of cycles of nature, both lunar and solar. The old Irish festival of Samhain, which evolved into the modern celebration of Halloween, is a festival of endings, beginnings, and in-gatherings. It is believed that the immanent world, and especially our ancestors, are closest to us at this time and last fruits of the harvest must be taken in to ensure survival, be it literal or spiritual. After casting the circle, we built sacred space by acknowledging the four directions and elements, singing:

 “Air in my Breath, Fire in my Heart, Water in my Blood, Earth in my Bones” ~ By Javelin

During Samhain, in particular, and in this rite, we acknowled those who have passed beyond the veil - ancestors of blood as well as those of spirit. We then invite and acknowledge nature spirits, divine guides known as the Sidhe (or Fey folk), and the presence of God and Goddess (in this case, Cailleach, the Scottish Hag of Winter, and Cernunnos, the Lord of Animals) to bear witness.  

Participants were encouraged to reflect on all that they had harvested in the light half of the year and mindful of what they were thankful for. Witches honor death as a necessary part of the cycle of life - our own fragility as well as the fragility of all that we value is part of this cycle.  So during the core work of the ritual, we tranferred energetically and meditatively our individual thankfulness to a handful of bird seeds which were then put into a basket and eventually scattered in the wild as an offering to nature.

 “Free the Heart, Let it go, what you Reap is what you Sew” 
~ By the Crow Women

The Symbolic Great Rite - “There is no greater magic than that of love” - was used to bless the juice and pumpkin bread which was brought to the ritual.  The wording expressing the centrality of fertility and polarity.

The circle is the supreme symbol of the earth mother and of the endless cycle of the seasons, which is embodied in the following closing song that we also sang as a group to close our ritual:

“We are a Circle, within a Circle, with no beginning and Never Ending”  ~ By unknown

----

For anyone wanting to learn more about pagan communities in New York City, the following websites and e-lists are great for perusing: 

[email protected]

www.nyc-ppp.org and the Meetup.com Group for NYC Pagan Pride

www.adf.org  An Draicht Fein, or “Our Own Druidry”-

www.witchvox.com  listings for open pagan events, particularly for Wiccans but other groups as well,across the world and in each of the fifty states.. A website that has been in operation for well over 15 years and is packed with much information.

www.cog.org  (Covenant of the Goddess) A National Organization of Cooperating Wiccan covens, the oldest in the country, which was founded in the 1970’s in order to secure legal rights for Wiccan clergy and increase cooperation amongst the diverse Wiccan community.

...and many more!

 

LIVING ROOM Light, Color & the Sacred: Holiday Craft Night

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Andy Padre, the Metrocard Man

 

 

This Faith House gathering is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Lora Padre by Andy Padre, Russell Chin and friends

During the busy holiday season, come to a light evening with fun, music, food and crafts led by Andy Padre, the Metrocard Man. Hear stories from people of different faiths about the beautiful sacred objects they are crafting. And of course, enjoy the hands-on craft you can hang in your window to capture the beauty of light in these short, dark days. With wax paper, crayons, and some heat we will make representations of various sacred objects that act much like stained-glass ornaments.  

Andy Padre was raised in Seattle, WA and attended the Advertising Art program at Seattle Central Community College. In 1996 he moved to New York to study at the Art Students League where he took classes in portraiture and still life and worked in a variety of mediums. In the summer of 2006 Andy was unemployed and nearing the end of a stressful co-op purchase when he discovered Metrocards, a bright, cheerful and cheap medium. He first covered his bike in Metrocards which was well received by the public and frequently commented on and photographed. Andy now regularly participates in the Halloween, Easter and Mermaid Day Parades in New York and recently completed his 10th parade, the 2010 Halloween Parade. Metrocard parade costume themes include: a 22 person Metrocard Wedding, the Wizard of Oz, and the Village People's Y.M.T.A. Andy's creations have been featured in the New York Times, New York Post, AM New York, NY Daily News, and the Huffington Post.

RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook and MeetUp.

LIVING ROOM Bible, Interrupted: Can the oldest tool for transmission of sacred scriptures serve as a bridge between religions?

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Amichai Lau-Lavie, Founder and Executive Director of Storahtelling 

2,500 years ago, in front of Jerusalem's Water Gate, the Bible was first presented as a publicly performed sacred narrative. Amichai Lau-Lavie, Judaic scholar, performance artist and the founder and director of the NY based Storahtelling Company, leads an exploration of this historic moment through text study and conversation, examining  the radical implications of this ancient ritual for today's global search for meaningful ways of making our sacred legacies relevant, accessible, engaging and transformational. 

Amichai is an Israeli-born teacher of Judaic Literature, described as 'one of the most interesting thinkers in the Jewish world' by the NY Jewish Week. Amichai studied at various yeshivot, including the Shalom Hartman Institute and the Elul Center in Jerusalem. Between 1992 and 1996 he directed the summer programs at Melitz: the Jewish Zionist Centers in Jerusalem, focusing on the integration of Jewish education via the arts. His theatrical experience as a writer and performer includes the Theatre Company Jerusalem, The Acco Theatre Group in Israel and the Avodah Dance Ensemble in the U.S. Between 1997-2000 he served as Artist-in-Residence at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in New York City.

Amichai was a Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel Leadership Institute in Israel (2008-2009) and is a consultant to the Reboot Network, a member of the Synagogue 3000 Leadership Network, serves on the Advisory Council for the Six Points Fellowship, the Advisory Board for Faithhouse Manhattan, and the Board of Directors of Nehirim.

RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook and MeetUp. 

LIVING ROOM Samhain: A Season of Harvest, a Circle of Remembrance

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Temple of the Spiral Path

This Fall we will be exploring how to cross boundaries into new spaces and meet "the other." In the US, Wiccans have been an example of a "minority" religion, often met with misunderstanding and at times with hostility. We want to learn about and from them and are welcoming them to Faith House!

The Temple of the Spiral path will lead us in a celebration the of Samhain (pronounced Sow-en, from the Irish for “Summer’s end”) a sacred time of remembrance and harvest, one of the Eight  Holidays known to modern Neo-Pagan witches as the Wheel of the Year. At Samhain, we gather the last fruits of the growing season and pause to reflect on all we have reaped during the light half of the year.  The veil between the worlds is said to be thinnest at this time and so we take comfort in the closeness of the spirits of Nature, our Gods and Goddesses, and especially our Ancestors as we face the changing season and shorter days.

The Temple of the Spiral Path represents the family of covens practicing the Shadowfolk Tradition of Witchcraft, which was founded in 1995, and includes Strangers’ Gate, Shadowfolk, and North Wyldewood Covens. For fifteen years we have produced a series of open and public Wheel of the Year rituals, as well as study groups and workshops exploring many aspects of Wicca.  A special focus on the bardic arts and Celtic and Norse contributions to modern Witchcraft inform our work; however, we are not limited by these influences and anchor our tradition within the rich tapestry of the Western Mystery Tradition.

RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook or Meetup

LIVING ROOM - LGBT = Let’s Get Beyond Tolerance: An ordinary religious community breaks through the barrier to love

Wednesday, Sept 22, 2010

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Rev. Stephen Phelps

In our first Living Room this fall, Stephen Phelps will tell the story of how a small town congregation he pastored in upstate New York developed into a spiritual community through ministry and fellowship with once-unseen and feared lesbian and gay members of the area.  In small groups, Steve will then guide our reflection on the experience of being “other,” asking us to tether our visions of a horizon far beyond tolerance to action steps.

Raised in the Hudson Valley, Stephen Phelps worked on nationally recognized commun­ity-development projects before entering seminary. He has served as pastor to Presbyterian congregations since 1986. Though a willing servant and leader in the mainline church, his work has been most yeasty at the edges of traditional religious space, which he approaches as a kind of dialogue with all comers on the question, "What really matters?" Contemplative practice, prison ministries, community development, and interfaith dialogue have given particular shape to his commitment to personal and social transformations. Rev. Phelps moved to New York City early in 2009 to engage more fully with his vision of multi-faith and multicultural spiritual communities.  He has taken an active role with Faith House and teaches in New York Theological Seminary’s Master’s Program at Sing Sing Prison while serving as interim senior pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn.

RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook or Meetup

Photo (c) Hal Weiner  917.957.8244

Living Room Gatherings Fall 2010, Mark Your Calendars!

Our Fall 2010 Living Room season will return on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month, running from September 22 through December 8th, with a Thanksgiving break on the 4th Wednesday in November. 

Photo: Nelson Costa Jr.



Intersections

274 Fifth Ave, between 29th and 30th 


September 22
October 13

October 27

November 10

December 8



Doors at 6 PM, Program at 7 PM

All programs free and open to the public. Donations welcome.

LIVING ROOM The Heart of the Heart: Spiritual Storytelling - with Carole Forman

June 23, 2010

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Carole Forman

What is at the heart of a spiritual story?  What makes it move us, and what in us is moved? Why do we love stories and why do we learn best through stories?  How does a spiritual story answer questions of the heart - even those unexpressed.  On this evening, Master Spiritual Storyteller Carole Forman will tell stories from many religions and spiritual traditions and then we will together explore what delights us, what ignites us, and why.  We too will tell stories and then try on the telling of stories not our own.  Come to ponder, participate, and play.  Bring your heart, your voice, and your storytelling spirit.

Carole Forman is a Baal Misaper Ruchani, which in Hebrew means a Master Spiritual Storyteller, a title she earned in the two-year Jewish Spirit Maggid Training Program.  She was and continues to be an actor (on Broadway once) and singer.  Carole has moved communities at synagogues, churches, retreat centers, and theaters around the USA and Canada with both Jewish and diversity programs.  She has been called "an absolute master at her craft" (Jacqueline Rose, Public Library, Lake Oswego, OR) who brings to her listeners "the delight of vivid theater"  (Hassan Suhrawardi Gebel, Secretariat of the Sufi Order). She created a full-length piece entitled "Between Heaven and Earth" using stories and songs from different spiritual paths which was first presented this March at Orchard House Cafe.  Recently, she played the part of Miriam in a performance of "In the Voices of Our Mothers" performed in a synagogue on Shabbat and a church on Sunday in Woodstock, New York. 

Carole is a long-time teacher of yoga and creative movement.  She is a Guidess at Life Works, Inc. and coaches storytelling privately and through the Maggid Training Program.

RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook or Meetup.com

Anglican Theological Review article by Bowie Snodgrass

This article was written last summer and published in the Winter 2010 issue of the Anglican Theological Review.  It captures my thoughts about Faith House's first year and this community's larger contribution.  Although it was written for an Episcopal (Christian) audience, it makes central use of a text from the Qur'an and would be of interest to anyone in the Faith House and interfaith community. 
* Download formatted PDF of published article, with footnotes

Anglican Theological Review
Winter 2010 • Pages 175-181
Volume 92 • Number 1

“Has the story reached thee, of the honored guests of Abraham?”

Bowie Snodgrass

Has the story reached thee, of the honored guests of Abraham? Behold, they entered his presence, and said: “Peace!” He said, “Peace!” (and thought, “These seem) unusual people.” Then he turned quickly to his household, brought out a fatted calf, And placed it before them . . . he said, “Will ye not eat?” (When they did not eat), He conceived a fear of them. They said, “Fear not,” and they gave him glad tidings of a son endowed with knowledge. But his wife came forward (laughing) aloud: she smote her forehead and said: “A barren old woman!” They said, “Even so has thy Lord spoken: and He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge.”

Holy Qur’an, Surah 51:24–30 
(translated by Hafiz Abdullah Yusuf Ali)

Being a guest in the home or religious space of the “other” can be awkward. The story of the visit of the honored guests to Abraham’s tent (Gen. 18:1–15) reminds us of the awkwardness that can also accompany being a host. In Genesis, Abraham has to hurry about after offering food to the strangers, asking Sarah to make bread and the servant to hurriedly prepare a tender calf. In Surah 51 of the Qur’an, Abraham becomes fearful when the guests do not eat the slain calf. In both stories, the hostess, Sarah, laughs aloud when the guests foretell that she will bear a son.

In interfaith relations, whether we are present as guest, host, or on neutral ground, there is at first a degree of awkwardness. At Faith House Manhattan, “an experiential inter-religious community that comes together to deepen our personal and communal journeys, share ritual life and devotional space, and foster a commitment to social justice and healing the world,” we embrace the gift of encountering God in the other as “holy awkwardness” and an indispensable spiritual discipline of the twenty-first century.

I. Behold, they entered [Abraham’s] presence, and said: “Peace!” He said, “Peace!”
 
“Peace!” was at the center of a twenty-minute presentation Faith House Islamic co-leader Juliet Rabia Gentile and I gave to a group of African-American seminary students at New York Theological Seminary. I began by telling them about Faith House for five minutes. Then Rabia taught us that As-Salaam, “the source of peace,” is one of the ninety-nine sacred names of Allah. As-Salaam Alaykum, “Peace be upon you,” is the traditional Muslim greeting. When Muslims greet each other, she told us, they are invoking the presence of God. Rabia then read us a passage from the Qur’an about God’s peace.  Next, we both led the group in saying “As-Salaam Alaykum” and responding, “Alaykum As-Salaam,” meaning “And upon you peace.” We asked for volunteers to model this and four clergymen in suits came to the front and wished Rabia “As-Salaam Alaykum.” She graciously replied, “Alaykum As-Salaam.” I explained that when one says a word or phrase out loud five times, one absorbs it and can use it confidently, without awkwardness. So we invited the sixty people present to “pass the peace” to five other people in Arabic. Rabia closed our time together by chanting a beautiful selection from the Qur’an in Arabic. A woman present asked why Rabia was allowed to chant the Qur’an; Rabia replied that her Sufi lineage, the Turkish Nur Ashki Jerrahi Order, allows female dervishes with the permission of the Shaykh or Shaykha to chant Qur’an in public. When we do not enter “holy awkwardness” regularly, we are often left with simplistic certainties and generalized views of other people’s faith and practice.

Later, during a period of sharing, an older woman told me that she was thankful that she had learned “how to greet a Muslim.” In a tenderly awkward moment, a man shared with me that he had once visited a masjid and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit there. I felt our Faith House demonstration had succeeded in creating a safe, shared space in community for people to enter into the religious sphere of the other, knowing God is there too.

II. And [Abraham] thought, “These seem unusual people.”

Faith House is not literally a house, but rather a community of “people of all faiths and no faith at all.” We rent space twice a month to host our Living Room Gatherings, with attendance ranging from twenty to sixty-five people, where we share holy days, learn other people’s spiritual practices, and address current cultural and societal issues.

Living Room Gatherings create a safe space where we can experience another person’s or community’s ritual life and devotional space, where we can learn not only about the other but also about our own tradition through the eyes of the other, and where new friendships can begin and thrive. Our “living room” ethos means that you are never asked to leave who you are at the door, and are welcomed into a comfortable space where common courtesy creates “room” for us to delve deeper into our shared reality of “living” together in a world of many faiths.

On our website, there is a link to a full list of all our Living Room Gatherings, with descriptions and some titles linked to full programs of what we have done. Examples of Christian Living Rooms I have led for this group include: “St. Francis: Becoming Instruments of Peace,” “Advent: Season of Waiting,” “Lent: 40 Days for Learning to Let Go,” a service for Holy Saturday, and a ritualized reading of the Song of Songs. We also practice being guests once a month by going on a group field trip, where we step out of our comfort zones and enter diverse spiritual spaces in the city, visiting religious services, lectures, rituals, concerts, and other events. Most of our field trips so far have been to visit communities involved with Faith House, such as the Progressive Muslim Meetup; a Jewish Renewal congregation called Romemu; and the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order. When my husband and I had our marriage blessed in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on January 3, 2009, we invited the entire Faith House community for a celebratory field trip. Faith House also sets up opportunities for people in our community to engage in social justice,  such as participating in a Habitat for Humanity build last winter. Faith House has an active online presence through our website (www. faithhousemanhattan.org), Facebook, Meetup.com, and flickr.  And Faith House also builds relationships with other faith and interfaith communities in the city.

III. Then he turned quickly to his household, brought out a fatted calf, And placed it before them . . . he said, “Will ye not eat?” (When they did not eat), He conceived a fear of them. They said, “Fear not,” and they gave him glad tidings of a son endowed with knowledge.

In the Genesis account of this story, the three guests eat what Abraham sets before them (18:8), but in the Qur’an account, Abraham is disturbed to the point of fear when his guests will not eat. When I was a child, my parents insisted that we try three bites of everything served to us. “There will be times in your life and places you will go,” they said, “when people will serve you food you don’t want to eat, but if you eat their food, they will trust you and let you into their hearts.” This advice has served me well, but what about Jewish people who keep kosher, or Muslims who are halal, or Hindu vegetarians, or people with allergies? How is it different for them to be hosts and guests? How do we find a way forward when we are afraid to offend?

LIVING ROOM Seeing Ourselves Through the Eyes of the Other - with Peter Rollins

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Peter Rollins

Music Isaac Everett

It is natural for us to look at other people's beliefs and practices in light of our own and judge them accordingly. By doing this we stand over and above the other. But is it possible for us to create a space in which we turn this approach on its head. Placing ourselves beneath the beliefs and practices of another so as to come to a better understanding of ourselves? Join us as Peter explores the theory and practice of this idea through a sustained reflection upon a group he formed called the Evangelism Project (in which people go to listen to a variety of faith communities in order to be evangelised).



Peter Rollins has been praised as one of the most provocative and thoughtful theologians of our day. An author, lecturer and storyteller, he is renowned for his dynamic and winsome speaking. Rollins is also the founder of Ikon, a faith group that has gained an international reputation for blending live music, visual imagery, soundscapes, theater, ritual and reflection to create what they call 'transformance art.’ Rollins received his PhD in Post-Structural thought from Queen’s College, Belfast. He is currently a research associate with the Irish School of Ecumenics at Trinity College in Dublin and is the author of the groundbreaking book How (Not) to Speak of God. His most recent work is entitled The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales.

Isaac Everett is a musician, songwriter, and liturgist.  He is the author of The Emergent Psalter, a commentary and setting of the psalms for intimate worship, and has released two albums, available on Proost, iTunes, and Rhapsody.  He is one of the founders of Transmission, a Christian community in New York and is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary. 

RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook or Meetup.com

LIVING ROOM Music's Lessons for Mystics: Three songs and a talk on secular transcendence by Austin Dacey

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Austin Dacey

Co-Sponsored by the
Center for Inqiury, NYC

The experience of the transcendent is often taken as the hallmark of religion. Or is it the hallmark of the human? Must meaningful transcendence of self proceed upwards to touch the divine, or is it better directed outwards to touch truth, beauty, and other persons? In this presentation, secularist philosopher (and amateur musician) Austin Dacey examines music as a model of non-religious, "horizontal" transcendence. Discussing his activities on behalf of censored musicians from around the world, and performing samples from his study of traditional Irish singing, he explores his own favored modes of self-transcendence that keep both feet on the earth.

Austin Dacey is a writer and human rights activist based in New York City. He is the author of The Secular Conscience, and his writings have been published by the New York Times, Washington Post, Dissent, and USA Today. A philosopher by training, he has taught most recently at Marymount Manhattan College. He serves as an adviser to Freemuse: The World Forum on Music and Censorship. In March 2010 he launched The Impossible Music Sessions, a concert series featuring the artists who cannot appear and the music they are not free to make. He is still seeking a percussionist for his new band, The Free Reed Faction.

RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook or Meetup.com

This Living Room event is Co-Sponsored by the Center for Inquiry, NYC, whose mission is to "foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values." 

Visit our Donate page to learn more about Sponsoring or Co-Sponsoring a future Faith House event.

Sabeeha Rehman Talk & Program "Salat: The Beauty of Prayer in Islam"

Our April 28, 2010 Living Room was led by Sabeeha Rehman and her husband, Khalid.  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. Below Sabeeha's talk is the program that followed it.  Our full event was 90 minutes.

Photo, left to right: Samir Selmanovic, Khalid Rehman, Sabeeha Rehman, Bowie Snodgrass

SALAT: THE BEAUTY OF PRAYER IN ISLAM

~ Sabeeha Rehman (opening talk, 20 minutes)

Once upon a time, I was a little girl, growing up in a far-off land, in a newborn nation- Pakistan.  I went to a Catholic school and we began the day with the Lords prayer.  That was my introduction to prayer. 

History
In my formative years, I got my schooling in Islam 101 from my grandparents.  I would stand on the prayer rug with them, I had my little scarf, which I would wrap around, and I prayed, essentially by watching and observation.  I did not know what my grandparents were silently reciting, but at that tender age, I felt the awe of prayer.  I knew that this was a time to be still, to be good, and knew that in these moments, I had to be respectful.

The Pillar of Islam
Prayer is one of the 5 pillars of Islam; we refer to it as salat.   Muslims are ordained to pray 5 times a day.  And the ritual of prayer has to be performed precisely, with standard movements.  Why 5 times a day?  Why not more?  Why not less?  And why the precise movements?  There is a tradition that explains that.

Around the year 621, the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH) made a night journey to the heavens with the Archangel Gabriel.  As he ascended through the heavens, he spoke with earlier prophets – Abraham, Moses, Jesus  - and at different heavens, he observed the angels in a perpetual movement of glorification of God.  He observed them in different postures.  At one level, they were standing; at another level, they were sitting; and at the highest level, they were prostrating.  The Prophet, PBUH, adopted these movements for the prayer.

Angel Gabriel then took the prophet, PBUH, in the presence of God.  God instructed Prophet Muhammad, PBUH,  that Muslims must pray fifty times a day. Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, took that instruction, and departed.  On his way back, he met Prophet Moses, PBUH, who told him,
“Your people will never be able to do it.  Go back and ask for a reduction”
Prophet Muhammad, PBUH went back and asked for a reduction.
God reduced the number of prayers.
Prophet Moses, PBUH asked him to go back, and ask for a further reduction.
Prophet Muhammad, PBUH went back and forth until God reduced the number of prayers to 5 times day, and instructed Prophet Muhammad, PBUH that this was His final number.
So it was decreed; so it was done.
Thank you, Prophet Moses!

What Are The Times for the 5 prayers?
The compulsory 5 prayers are offered at 5 different times of the day:
The morning prayer, at dawn; 2. noon; 3. Mid-afternoon;  4. sunset;  and 5. Nightfall.

The prayer times shift every day, with the earth’s rotation and as seasons change.  Morning prayer is at 6 am in the winter months, and at 3 am in the summer months; night prayer is at 5pm in the winter months and at 9 pm in the summer months.
This synchronization of prayer with the rising and setting of the sun puts one in touch with the cosmos and with nature.  It keeps us alert to the universe of God and keeps us in touch with it.
It also makes us cognizant of the fact that always, someone, somewhere in the world, is praying, because somewhere in the world, it is the time for morning prayer, at another place, it is time for noon prayer, and so on.  At any given time, a Muslim in our world, is asking for mercy and forgiveness, and asking God for blessings on the progeny of Prophet Abraham.

One can offer compulsory prayer anywhere, in the privacy of one’s home, out in a public park, on a street corner, or in a mosque.  One can pray in solitude, or in congregation.  If you are sick, you can sit and pray; if you are traveling, you can shorten your prayer, if you forget, you can offer make-up prayer. 

Newsletter: Our First 19 MonthsLeaders, Programs & a Pregnancy

Faith House launched on September 27, 2008, nineteen months ago. The world has changed since - with a new president, the financial crisis, recession, and now a season of renewed hope. The need for Interfaith initiatives is in the news and public consciousness more every month while Faith House has grown from an idea to a young organization making an impact in New York City and beyond.

This newsletter is an update on what's been happening and the community of leaders at Faith House. The people and events that have shaped Faith House have increased inter-religious understanding, empathy, and connections, meeting needs in our communities.

Please read on, give us your feedback, and share your ideas with us!

PROGRAMMING

Faith House's primary contribution is planning events to "experience your neighbor's faith."  Since our launch in September 2008, we have hosted 40 Living Room events, with five more scheduled this season, plus 10 Field Trips and 10 Serve Together opportunities.  Together we have built real bridges of religious literacy, compassion and a network ready for action. 



Habitat for Humanity (Serve Together), 2nd Annual Interfaith Seder (Special Event), Salat (Living Room), Chogyesa Zen Temple (Field Trip), Queen Esther (Purim Living Room), Holy Family (Immigration Advocacy Serve Together), Islamic Day of Dignity (Serve Together)

We have also facilitated Interfaith Prayers for Peace at Storahtelling's Yom Kippur services and two Interfaith Seders hosted by St. Francis Xavier Church and led by Romemu's Rabbi David Ingber (50 people attended the first year and 150 the second!).

Visit our website and eNewsletter archive to check out all we've done.Email Bowie Snodgrass [email protected] with what you've liked best and what you would like to see in our next year. 

LEADERSHIP

Faith House Manhattan has grown to have a community of leaders including our Board of Directors, "Kitchen Table" team of volunteers, and many local religious leaders who have served on our Advisory Council and as Living Room guest hosts.  Faith House's leadership has been supported by a hard-working staff and visionary donors. 

Our mission statement says "We are an experiential inter-religious community that comes together to deepen our personal and communal journeys, share ritual life and devotional space, and foster a commitment to social justice and healing the world."  The Faith House Community is all the people mentioned above, everyone who has attended our events, and the 3,000+ of you reading this newsletter.

Community of Leaders

Our Living Rooms events have been led by a diverse range of guest hosts: Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Zoastrian, Lakotan, Buddist, Atheist and leaders in the Interfaith Movement, young adults and wise elders. Check out the long list of Living Room Hosts and Musicians on our Leadership page.



Sundeep Sonny Singh, Amichai Lau-Lavie, Emily Scott, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Paul Knitter, Rathi Raja, Myong Haeng Sunim & Marcia Kannry

To nurture the community and assist with hospitality at our events, we started the "Kitchen Table" team this fall.  Andy Padre, the chair of this team, also raised money for Faith House by creating and selling his original MetroCard Art at the Easter Parade this year!. 

Many members of our Advisory Council have been guest hosts at our Living Rooms, invaluable mentors, and friends. We want to grow this community of leaders this year.  Do you know local religious leaders who would be excited about getting involved with Faith House?   

Perhaps our most momentous step forward as a community this year came in the formation of our founding Board of Directors, who met in November to sign our by-laws for incorporation as a non-profit in New York State, review our budget, and begin work on fundraising. The Board met again in March and will meet twice more this year. 

Become or nominate a Faith House volunteer leader!

Email Samir Selmanovic [email protected] to:

• Learn more about the "Kitchen Table" team of volunteers who nurture community growth and hospitality
• Nominate a religious leader in the New York City area to join our Advisory Council.  Please include their contact information and basic biographical information. 
• Learn more about becoming a member of our Board of Directors; we will send you the Guidelines and set up a time to discuss this possibility over the phone or in person. 

Staff Transitions & a Pregnancy!

Faith House has been blessed with hard-working staff who deeply believe in the vision of Faith House.

In March 2009, Bowie Snodgrass became the Executive Director of Faith House and is now 20 weeks pregnant with her first child!  Her primary focus for this spring and summer is getting Faith House ready for its third year and her maternity leave. 

From June through August 2009, Leah Varsano was in invaluable summer intern, helping us prepare for our second year.  Bara Levitt has been our Social Justice Intern during this academic year, organizing our monthly Serve Together events and supporting Faith House in many other ways.  Congratulations to Leah and Bara who are both graduating from college this year! 

In January 2010, our founding Islamic Co-Leader, Juliet rabia Gentile, ended her tenure with Faith House after blessing us with amazing programs and helping to shape the ethos of Faith House. 

Samir Selmanovic also transitioned into a new title this year: "Founder and President of the Board."  He is still integrally connected to all aspects of our present work, vision, and operations.



Bara Levitt, Leah Varsano, Juliet rabia Gentile, Samir Selmanovic

Thank You Donors!

None of this would be possible without our Donors!  Thank you again to everyone who has supported Faith House since we began, our 2009 Donors, and all who have given generously in 2010!

COMMUNICATIONS

Our website and eNewsletters got a new look this fall thanks to Mairim Pina.  We send out Weekly UPDATES with information about our upcoming events to people in the New York City area and periodic NEWSLETTERS to people all over the country and globe. 

3,000 people on our email lists and 287 in our Facebook Group.  Since January 1, 2010, we have had 6,300 unique visitors to our website from 6 continents and 117 countries/territories. 

Samir Selmanovic's book published in September 2009, It's Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian, is helping to spread the larger idea of interdependence among faiths and the work happening at Faith House. 

Finally, we've been getting some media mentions!  Check out our appearances In the Media and keep your eyes out for more to come. 

The world can change for the better. It is people like you who believe in the power of ideas, relationships, and acts of service. Let us all dream, serve, persevere, and celebrate what we can do together.

With love from New York City,

Faith House Manhattan community of communities

LIVING ROOM Green Deen:What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Ibrahim Abdul-Matin

From childhood, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin was taught that “the Earth is a Mosque,” leading him to his belief that the planet is a sacred place where prayer and worship happen and therefore, we are responsible for protecting every aspect of it. You are invited to an interactive evening with the author of “Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet,” Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. The evening will include his story of becoming an environmental justice activist and organizer, discussion of Islamic scriptural passages that describe a faith-based mandate to protect the planet, role plays and story telling on how faith relates to waste, water, watts (energy), and food.

Bio:
Ibrahim Abdul-Matin is the author of “Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet,” coming to you in Fall 2010 by Berrett-Koehler publishers. He is currently a Senior Policy Advisor in the New York City Mayor’s Office on issues of long term planning and sustainability. Most recently, Ibrahim was a consultant for Green City Force, a green jobs training program for young people of color living in economically depressed neighborhoods of Brooklyn. He is also a member of the Interfaith Leaders for Environmental Justice and frequently represents the environmental viewpoint on faith-based panels. His interest in environmental justice began as Director of Youth Programs with the Prospect Park Alliance where he was instrumental in establishing the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment, a charter school by New Visions. His skill working with youth led him to Outward Bound - an organization dedicated to developing young people’s self esteem and appreciation for the Earth.

In 2007, Ibrahim was accepted into the National Urban Fellows program, completing a Masters in Public Administration from Baruch College and a fellowship with SchoolNet where he learned vital product marketing skills. He then joined Green For All to organize the “National Day of Action” resulting in the inclusion of green jobs and environmental policy in the Obama campaign platform. In college, Ibrahim was an all-star linebacker, Political Science major, and finalist for the prestigious NCAA scholar-athlete award in 1998. Today, he is the sports contributor on WNYC’s nationally syndicated news show, “The Takeaway.” He continues to intersect sports, politics, and the environment on his blog, Brooklyn Bedouin.

 
RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook or Meetup.com

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

LIVING ROOM The Sikh Revolution: A Vaisakhi Dialogue on Sikhism and Social Justice

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

6 PM Doors, 7 PM Program

Intersections
274 Fifth Avenue
Between 29th and 30th Streets

With Sundeep "Sonny" Singh

On April 14, 1699, a day that’s today honored as one of the biggest Sikh holidays, Guru Gobind Singh (the tenth Sikh guru), along with thousands of other Sikhs, created the Khalsa, a collective body of armed revolutionaries, warrior-saints, whose mission it was to overthrow tyranny in all its forms. Marking the 311th anniversary of the creation of the Khalsa and the codification of Sikh identity, this Living Room will explore the revolutionary foundation of Sikhism and provide an opportunity to discuss the modern day relevance of Sikh philosophy and poetry-scripture.

Facilitated by musician and activist Sonny Singh of the Sikh Coalition, we will celebrate Vaisakhi 2010 by discussing the Sikh approach to social justice through learning about Sikh history and philosophy and through singing and discussing the meaning of a shabad (Sikh devotional verse) together. Sonny will lead the shabad on the harmonium, accompanied by Nisha Mistry on the dholak.

Bio:
Sundeep "Sonny" Singh is a musician, activist, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. He has been involved in movements for social and economic justice since he was in high school, and has worked as a Community Organizer at the Sikh Coalition since 2008. Sonny also plays trumpet and sings in the bhangra brass band Red Baraat and is a freelance trumpet and dhol player. Since moving to NYC in 2003, he has worked in the labor movement for the union UNITE HERE, was a Community Organizer at the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP), and is a member of the Left Turn Magazine collective.

Sonny received his M.Ed. in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2003, where he studied and practiced the art of popular education, using education as a tool for transformation and liberation. Sonny grew up in Charlotte, NC and Phoenix, AZ.

RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook or Meetup

Samir's Tweets From Faith House Passover Seder 2010

Faith House 2nd Annual Interfaith Seder took place on March 28 at St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan for 150 people and was led by Rabbi David Ingber from Romemu Congregation.  I wrote these tweets during the event, they were all sent out "live" and are comprised of the teachings of Rabbi David, thoughts of people present, and my own impressions. Enjoy! (My Twitter account is @SamirSelmanovic)

~     ~     ~

Pesach Sameach, Happy Passover to all of my Jewish friends! Your legacy of freedom loving has blessed the entire world.

Faith House Manhattan Passover Seder for multi-faith crowd is beginning, with singing of niggun, a wordless song of longing...

... "We give thanks for the liberation of days gone by. And we pray for all who are still bound." ...

... First commandment to Jews was about the moon. Freedom and redemption comes first from reclaiming TIME ...

... this is Festival of Freedom, we wash each others hands to give up what we clutch, and then raise them with gratitude ...

... consider where your hands have been last year, what you used them for to gain, letting others wash is an act of trust ...

... Passover is not about passing over but about passing thru, we are blessing bitter herb, a symbol of renewal, new birth ...

... We dip herb into salty water, a symbol of our tears, then we eat it ...

... matzo is unleavened bread, is not puffed up, our soul does not need additives, faith is simple, "unless you are a child ..." ...

... matzo is broken as each of us is broken, Rabbi says "we can see Christ in all places" (so gracious, to mention Christ, made me tear up) …

... In Hebrew Land of Egypt, Mitzraim, means 'constricted place' where regime does not allow you to ask questions, no asking 'Why?'...

… what are other subversive questions we need to air in this constricted place (here, everyone speaks up) ...

... we tend to deny we are captives, we play wise, we play dejected, and we play naive, but we have hard time facing our bondage ...

... story in 7 short chapters: security, otherness, burning, mandate, escape, mourning, liberation ...

... modern days Pharaohs: consumption, prejudice, corporate thugs, resentment, indifference, military self-perpetuation, entitlement, apathy..

... little known: four fifths of Jewish people stayed and died in Egypt, we don't want to make steps to freedom ...

... big part of Passover is grieving for Egyptian people as one's own family, grieving that suffering is a part of our stories of freedom ...

... the thing that scares you the most has a secret of your life and a key, that's why blood went to the doorposts ...

... by blessing the bread we bless every thing and every one that gives us sustenance ...

... we are eating bitter and sweeter together between matzo bread, life is a bitter-sweet sandwich ...

... Let the freedom ring!

All photos by Carlos Martín

LIVING ROOM Sharing the Meal: Early Christian Communion in a Modern Manhattan Community

Wednesday, March 24, 2009
* rescheduled from Feb 10th

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Emily Scott & St. Lydia's

In the earliest days of the Christian Church, Jesus' followers gathered for worship in domestic settings, blessing and breaking bread, sharing food and fellowship, and singing and praying together.  Worship took place in the context of the meal that was shared: a ritual that eventually evolved into the Eucharist.  

Experience this early Christian Communion as practiced by a modern community.  Emily Scott, pastoral minister at St. Lydia's in the East Village will speak about early Christian worship, and give the Faith House community a taste of how the congregation of St. Lydia's lives into this ancient ritual. Simple songs will be sung, scripture explored, and prayers offered in the context of "dinner church."

PLEASE BRING fresh cut fruit or veggies, olives, cheese or dips

Emily M D Scott is the founder and pastoral minister of St. Lydia's, a new congregation in Manhattan that meets weekly to share a sacred meal. Emily is a liturgist and musician with a particular interest in how worship might allow diverse groups of people to pray and praise God together.  She currently serves as Director of Family Music Ministries at the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York. From 2007-2009, she served as the Director of Worship at The Riverside Church in New York City. She attended Yale Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music, where she earned her Masters of Divinity.

Emily is the New Music Project Coordinator at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco.  Begun in 2005, the New Music Project is an association of church musicians and clergy from around the country dedicated to promoting "paperless" music - music that can be taught and sung by without written music - in a congregational setting.  As part of this project, Emily oversaw the publication of a new hymnal released by Church Publishing, Music by Heart: paperless songs for evening worship.

RSVPs welcome, but not required on Facebook or Meetup

PODCAST Tiokasin Ghosthorse on "Indigenous Peoples & Inclusive Politics"

On Wednesday, February 25th, Tiokasin Ghosthorse led a Faith House Living Room called "Indigenous Peoples & Inclusive Politics," including music, a talk, questions, and a meal.  Below is a 19-minute portion of his talk.  

Tiokasin PODCAST

Check out also, @SamirSelmanovic's report from this talk in nine tweets

2nd Annual Interfaith Seder With Rabbi David Ingber at St. Francis Xavier Church

Sunday, March 28, 2010

6:30 - 9 PM

Hurtado Hall
St. Francis Xavier Church
55 West 15th Street
Between 5th and 6th Avenues

Voluntary donations welcome

The Passover Seder is a ritualized meal commemorating the Exodus. This annual journey from slavery and bondage to freedom was also the setting of Jesus' Last Supper. This Seder is hosted by St. Francis Xavier Church, Faith House Manhattan, & Romemu for people of all faiths and no faith at all.  

RSVP required by Wednesday, March 24 to [email protected] or [email protected]

Program for Faith House Purim Event

Below is the program we used for our interfaith Purim gathering.  Feel free to read through it online at home or adapt it for your local community.   

Purim!  How Queen Esther Reversed History
February 24, 2010 

Led by Rabbi Justus Baird
Music by Barry Merer

Welcome & Introduction – Bowie (5 min)

Opening Purim Song "Chag Purim", Traditional Folk – Barry leads (3 min)

Hebrew chanting, selection from Esther – Justus (2 min)


Context for Esther, Purim, how it relates to the world today – Justus (7-10 min)
  This section included an interactive "movie trailer" for the Book of Esther, humor, questions to the group, some historical context, and items in the text to listen for...

Blessings before text in Hebrew and English – Justus (3 min)

(1) Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu al mikra megilah.

Blessed is the Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, who makes us holy through mitzvot and commands us to read the Scroll (of Esther).



(2) Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, sheh-asah nisim lavoteinu v'imoteinu bayamim hahem baz'man hazeh.



Blessed is the Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, who performed wonders for our ancestors in those days at this season.



(3) Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, sheh-hechiyanu, v'kiyamanu, v'higianu laz'man hazeh.



Blessed is the Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, who sustains us and enables us to reach this season.

Reading of Book of Esther, JPS English Translation – (40-45 min)


Chapter 1                  Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb
Chapter 2                  Bara Levitt
Chapter 3; 4:1-11      Barry Merer
Chapter 4:12-5:8       Samir Selmanovic w/ ACTING by Ena & Leta Selmanovic
Chapter 5:9-14; 6      Patrick Paglen
Chapter 7                  John Khabir McGeehan

Chapter 8                  Mairim Pina
Chapter 9; 10 (edited)  Rabbi Justus Baird

Song “La Y’huim” – led by Barry
Text from Book of Esther 8:16, music composed my Noam Katz in 2005

Sharing in small groups – Bowie (5 min)


Full group discussion – Bowie & Justus (5 min)


Mischloah manot/matanot l'evyonim tradition & collection of uncut fresh fruit – Bara (5 min)


Closing words & Blessing – Justus (3 min)


Closing Song “A Wicked, Wicked Man”, Traditional English Folk Melody – led by Barry (4 min)

Pass out hamantaschen!

Acknowledgments, Donations Basket & Announcements – Bowie & Bara (5 min)

LIVING ROOM What is Buddha? An Evening of Practice with an American Zen Monk

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Doors 6 PM, Program 7 PM

Intersections
274 Fifth Ave
Between 29th and 30th Streets

Each morning in the Manhattan Chogyesa temple begins with prostrations, chanting and sitting. This Living Room evening will include a guided practice through these three Buddhist practices, all exploring a single question: what is Buddha? Myong Haeng Sunim will lead the evening in the Korean Zen tradition, with readings and teachings on Buddhism. Sunim, a self-proclaimed hippy monk, will also share his personal journey from Virginia, through thirteen years in Korea (one in a vow of silence), to Vice Abbot of a temple on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Myong Haeng Sunim is an American Zen Buddhist monk who grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He graduated from Cornell University in 1992 with a degree in Classics, and went to Korea in 1993 as an English teacher. In 1995 he entered Hwa Gye Sa temple in Seoul, and became a student of the renowned Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn Sunim. In 1997, he became a monk in the traditional Korean monastic system, and practiced at many different temples throughout Korea until 2007. He is currently Vice Abbot of Manhattan Chogyesa temple on West 96th Street.

RSVPs welcome, but not required on Facebook or Meetup

LIVING ROOM Purim!How Queen Esther Reversed History

Wednesday, February 24, 2009

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Rabbi Justus Baird

Come celebrate Purim with a traditional reading of the Book of Esther, the only book in the Bible that does not mention G-d, where a beautiful Jewish woman becomes Queen of Persia and saves her people from the plot of the wicked Haman to massacre all Jews in the empire.  This megillah, scroll or book, is read with wild cheering and booing from all in attendance. We will also hear portions chanted in the traditional Hebrew.  

This carnival-like celebration will include hamantaschen cookies, songs and blessings.  We will prepare a matanot l'evyonim, a package for the poor, a commandment for this holiday. Please bring hamantaschen to share and/or UNCUT fresh fruit for the fruit basket we will present to a local Kosher soup kitchen.  

Rabbi Justus N. Baird has served as the Director of the Center for Multifaith Education at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City since 2007.  He oversees the seminary's multifaith programming which strives to prepare religious leaders for a religiously diverse world.  In addition to his work at Auburn, he founded an alternative Hebrew school program in NJ called Yerusha.

He has taught, preached in, and consulted with seminaries, churches, synagogues, mosques, and interfaith organizations.  He teaches the Multifaith Seminar in the Multifaith Doctor of Ministry Program (a partnership between Auburn and New York Theological Seminary).  Raised in Texas, Rabbi Baird lives in Princeton, NJ, with his wife Rabbi Julie Roth (Director of the Center for Jewish Life at Princeton University) and their two sons.

Image: "Queen Esther Revealing Her True Identity" by Lilian Broca

RSVPs welcome, but not required on Facebook or Meetup

Tonight's Living Room Canceled due to Blizzard

For the first time ever, we are canceling tonight's Living Room due to the Blizzard Warning in effect until 6 am tomorrow morning.  We don't know how bad the snow will be this evening and don't want anyone getting hurt coming to or going home in the dark. 

Emily Scott and St. Lydia's will come back to lead the planned program on Early Christian Communion on Wednesday, March 24th, the week before the Christian Palm Sunday and Holy Week begin. 

In two weeks, we're looking forward to seeing you all and celebrating "Purim! How Queen Esther Reversed History" with Rabbi Justus Baird, with a full reading of the Book of Esther (the only book in the Bible that does not mention G-d), cheering, booing, singing, chanting, hamantaschen cookies, and the preparation of mishloah manot, a traditional package prepared for the poor.  Please bring non-perishable food to donate!

Below are three Sabbath Poems about blizzards and snow.  Enjoy!

Stay warm and safe,
Bowie, Samir, and Bara

LIVING ROOM Your Ethical Legacy: Different Faiths, Shared Values

Wednesday
January 27, 2009

6 pm Doors
7 pm Program

Intersections
274 5th Ave
Btwn 29th and 30th Sts
New York, NY 10001

With Joshua Stanton

"Ethical Wills" are not written by a lawyer and have nothing to do with your material possessions. Instead, they are your ethical legacies, detailing the values and experiences you would like to pass on to your family and closest friends. Learn about how these "love letters to your families" evolved from an ancient Jewish tradition into one present in all three Abrahamic religions -- and experience what it is like to record one yourself.

Joshua Stanton, a rabbinical student, co-Editor of the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, and co-Director of Lessons of a Lifetime: The Ethical Will Project, will talk about his efforts to record the values of others through ethical wills and the remarkable potential these documents have to bridge generational, religious, and cultural divides.

Painting of Jacob Blessings His Twelve Sons (Genesis 49) by Harry Anderson

LIVING ROOM God Our Stranger: Why our faith, devotion & practice can't thrive without "the other"

Wednesday, January 13, 2009

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

Intersections, 274 5th Ave
Btwn 29th and 30th Sts
New York, NY 10001

With Samir Selmanovic

Through the media, in our workplaces, and even in our families, the stranger has come close. Now, the other is not “out there.” They have moved into our physical, intellectual and emotional neighborhoods. We are confronted not only with a new view of those we used to consider “outsiders,” but with a new view of ourselves. We will explore the reasons why the stranger has an exulted status in ancient religious writings. Is it simply because religion teaches us virtue, or do the reasons go much deeper? And what does that have to do with our daily lives in the city?  This will be a mid-week evening of respite with texts, a talk by author Samir Selmanovic, discussion, and music.

Samir Selmanovic, Ph.D., author of It's Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian, is founder and Christian co-leader of Faith House Manhattan. Samir is also the director of a Christian community in New York City called Citylights and serves on the Interfaith Relations commission of the National Council of Churches and speaks nationally and internationally.

Nine Tweets from the Presentation by Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Nov 25)

Today, Friday, marks the first Native American Heritage Day, as signed into law in June by President Obama. Did you know that?

On November 25, our Living Room hosted Tiokasin Ghosthorse, from the Cheyenne River Lakota (Sioux) Nation of South Dakota, "First Voices Indigenous Radio" Producer and Host, a storyteller, poet, university lecturer, scholar, essayist, cultural interpreter, and a peace and human rights activist. Find out more about Tiokasin and our event HERE.

To contribute to this first Native American Heritage day in a small personal way, I decided to put together this post with nine morsels of Native American wisdom I have send out on my Twitter account @SamirSelmanovic, during the talking part of his presentation. These are not exact quotes of his words, but pretty close, I trust. I find each of them to be a door to new way of thinking about us, our community, and our land.

Nine tweets report from Tiokasin Ghosthorse (by @SamirSelmanovic):

1. "Everything around us is there to care for us. To learn to appreciate is the meaning of life."

2. "It does not matter who was here first. What matters is to learn to live in one world."

3. "Science is merely 4 thousand years old. Wisdom is older."

4. "Why bomb the moon? What is wrong with water on earth?"

5. "Indigenous people don't have brain. Our head is integrated with our heart, whole being. Rational means separated/decapitated."

6. "Lakota language does not have words for belief, death, I, or me. If you would learn my language, you would break free."

7. "4 countries + US do not recognize indigenous people as human beings. Recognition would force USA to honor the treaties."

8. "We do not have concept of ownership. We are not souls dwelling in a body. We are bodies dwelling in the Soul. We all belong."

9. "One word, the deepest one, to teach you as I finish: Relative. Einstein pondered this one. WE ARE ALL RELATIVES." The End

LIVING ROOM Deconstructed Pre-Christmas Rummage Sale 12/9

Wednesday, December 9

7 to 9 PM
Drop by for 10 minutes
or stay the whole time!

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

"Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 
~ Jesus (Luke 18:22)
 
Looking for good deals for Christmas? 

Come rummage through piles of clothes, books, household items and lots of miscellany.  No cover charge.  Most items are pay as you can; some items will be available for auction.  Antiques and original "Metrocard Man" items for sale too.  Proceeds to support Faith House Manhattan's 2010 operating expenses.  Bring your loose change!  All coins will be given to the Salvation Army.  
 
Jesus had a lot to say about money and the stuff we hang on to.  He praised the widow who gave her last pennies to the temple.  He told us to render unto God that which is God's. He reminds us of how God clothes the lilies of the field, even Solomon in all his splendor was not clothed so well.
 
We'll also have holiday snacks, skits, crafts for kids, and interactive stations where you can rummage through piles of sacred texts and take those you like, write down your own thoughts about stuff, give change for the Salvation Army, ring a bell for others to donate, and more.  Plus time to spend time with the wonderful interfaith community of Faith House people. 

RSVPs welcome, but not required, to [email protected], on Facebook or Meetup.

DE-CLUTTERING Donations for Rummage Sale

This year, give away possessions that clutter your life.  Things you don't use, or have outgrown, or have become baggage.  Not trash, but treasures you are ready to part with. Email Bowie if you would like to donate clothes, household items, books, art, etc. or if you would like to come to a "sorting party" on from 5-8 pm on Sunday, November 29th.  You can also bring donations to the 11/25 Living Room or on December 9, from 6-7 PM. "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven... a time to keep, and a time to throw away"  Ecclesiastes 3:1,6

Photos from Yardsale Bloodbath Blog

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.

LIVING ROOM Indigenous Peoples & Inclusive Politics with Tiokasin Ghosthorse

Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009

6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Tiokasin Ghosthorse: Tiokasin Tasunke Wanagi "Ghosthorse Spirit Coming In" Oyate Tokaheya Wicakiye "He Places Nations First"

On the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving Day, all are invited to a vegetarian family meal and Living Room program hosted by Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Host and Producer of "First Voices Indigenous Radio," a Lakota thinker, activist, and musician.
 
Politics for the Lakota is spiritual and not separate from the rest of life. Indigenous peoples are after an inclusive politics and an inclusive world. There is no word for "exclusion" in Lakota and there is no word for "me" or "I".  The responsibility of living within this worldview is far-reaching, from the beginnings of Life itself.  This way of knowing and of being must be learned by all who walk with Mother Earth.
 
"There can be no peace on earth, unless there is peace with earth. Humankind will cease to exist if Indigenous Peoples become extinct. If you kill off a species, you remove a balance from that chain of being and things start to collapse.  Let me take it one step further and say, there are three hundred and fifty million Indigenous peoples left out of 7 Billion. We live on seventy percent of the pristine land because we resisted and because we cared for it as it cares for us. And now they want that land. We are the roots. If the indigenous peoples go, there goes the rest of the earth" ~ Tiokasin Ghosthorse
 
Tiokasin Ghosthorse, from the Cheyenne River Lakota (Sioux) Nation of South Dakota, is "First Voices Indigenous Radio" Producer and Host.  Tiokasin is a storyteller, poet, university lecturer, scholar, essayist, cultural interpreter, and a peace and human rights activist. 
 
Tiokasin has a long history in Indigenous rights activism and advocacy on Turtle Island (North America) and overseas.  As a teenager, he spoke at the United Nations in Geneva.  He is also a survivor of the "Reign of Terror" from 1972 to 1976 on the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation, and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Boarding and Church Missionary School systems designed to "kill the Indian and save the man."
 
Tiokasin Ghosthorse is also a master musician, and a teacher. He is one of the great exponents of the  Lakota flute, and plays traditional and contemporary music.  He performs worldwide and has been featured at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at the United Nations.

Bring a beverage, dessert, salad, or vegetarian dish to share.  

RSVPs welcome, but not required, to [email protected], on our Facebook Event or Meetup Event. 

LIVING ROOM Speaking the Unspoken, Naming the Unnamed: Israel & Palestine Dialogue

Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009
6 pm Doors, 7 pm Program

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

With Marcia Kannry, The Dialogue Project & other guests

Come explore how we can create an opportunity, a space where we can risk to speak the unspoken about our connections, histories, and the wounds of Israel and Palestine.  We will cultivate a place where we learn how to listen, actively and generously.  We will address the needs all humans have to be seen and acknowledged.  We will share stories, surface differences, and have a difficult conversation around the hot words of home and homeland, justice and peace.  Chanting, niggun, poetry, and prayer will begin and end the dialogue.

Marcia Kannry, Founder of The Dialogue Project, with other Palestinian Americans and Israelis will create a dialogue circle with all of us.  Learn more about The Dialogue Project

RSVPs welcome, but not required, on our Facebook Event or Meetup Event.  Vegetarian snacks to share also welcome!   

PODCAST Paul Knitter on "Walking More Than One Path: Is Religious Multiple-Belonging Possible?"

Faith House Living Room, October 14, 2009

With Prof Paul Knitter and Robert Kennedy, Roshi and S. J.

Follow the program online at home or feel free to adapt it for your local community.   

Welcome and Introductions (5 min)

Opening poem (read by one of Paul Knitter's students) (3 min)

"My Neighbor"


I am glad you made my neighbor different from me;

a different colored skin, a different shaped face;

a different response to you.

I need my neighbor to teach me about you;

he knows all the things I don’t know.



        By Monica Furlong, in 1000 World Prayers, Marcus
        Braybrooke, ed. Hampshire, UK: Obooks, 2003, p.296.

Presentation by Paul Knitter (20 min)

"Walking More Than One Path: Is Religious Multiple-Beloning Possible?"

Click to Listen to PODCAST of
Paul Knitter on Walking more than one path

Discussion (20 min, facilitated by Bowie Snodgrass)

A. Clarifying questions for Knitter

B.  In small groups of 3-4, discuss:

"What do you think are effective ways to understand
and learn from another religious tradition?"

C.  Share an insight you heard from your neighbor with whole group

D.  Open sharing in whole group

Present and practice Zazen, silent sitting in the Buddhist Tradition (20 min)

Led by Robert Kennedy Roshi, S.J., (Jesuit priest and Zen teacher)

Community Sharing If time, invite people to share insights with group (5 min)

Close with 2-3 Koans (read by pre-selected participants)

A monk asked Fuketsu:
`Without speaking, without silence,
how can you express the truth?'
Fuketsu observed:
`I always remember spring-time in southern China.
The birds sing among innumerable kinds of fragrant flowers.'

    From The Gateless Gate

A monk asked Tozan,
"When cold and heat come, how should one avoid them?"
Tozan said,
"Why not go to a place where there is neither cold nor heat?"
The monk said, 
"What kind of place is it where there is neither cold nor heat?"
Tozan said, 
"When it is cold, the cold kills you;
when it is hot, the heat kills you." 

From The Blue Cliff Record                        

Final Announcements (10 min)

Paul F. Knitter, the Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a leading theologian of religious pluralism and interreligious dialogue.  Knitter is author of more than a dozen books, most recently, Without Buddha I Could Not Be A Christian.  Knitter's journey into interfaith dialogue began in 1964 when he was a seminarian in Rome and experienced the Second Vatican Council firsthand, at a time when the Roman Catholic Church declared its new attitude towards other religions.

Yom Kippur at Faith House:An Awakening & Prayers

G'mar Chatimah Tovah

Last Wednesday, September 23, 2009, the Faith House Living Room gathering focused on “How to Enter the Holy of Holies: Preparing for Yom Kippur”, led by Amichai Lau-Lavie, Storahtelling Artists Shira Kline and Elana Bell, and Jill Minkoff. (image from High Holidays 5770)

Below is a powerful refection written by a Christian participant on her subway ride home after the gathering and prayers led by Jill Minkoff as part of the event. 

AN AWAKENING
~ by Penny Elsley

Last Wednesday night I entered the Faith House Living Room gathering “How to Enter the Holy of Holies: Preparing for Yom Kippur” somewhat asleep to the gift of this moment in my life.  As I heard these words – “The bold invitation of these days (leading up to Yom Kippur) is to go inside...to enter the inner life” – I was immediately awoken from my slumber, just like in the ancient days when people were awoken from their slumber by the blowing of the Shofar

I am walking in a space where I do not know what the future holds and I have been too busy “making” something happen to make room to receive the gift of this uncertainty.

We just need to make room.  A lot of room. And the “living Room” experience of Faith House Manhattan was my awakening.  I realized that in fact the deepest wells of life are dug in the times when we are forced to make room. When we are vulnerable, times when we can only rely on our neighbor, when we do not and cannot know what awaits us around the next corner, these are the moments to be treasured.

In this moment I am anxious and scared and disappointed...yet there is a surprising joy, for there has been a re-connection somewhere within me. Everything is noticeable right now. Maybe its because I need help...not just to find a job or to get a visa, but help finding my way. And so I am receptive, hanging off every word of every conversation...listening for that which resonates with me, with my dreams and my passions...where are the clues?...the signposts?...the hooks on which to hang my coat?

I seek because I need.  I thirst because I feel something.  I long because I am at the threshold...again.  And the gift of all this, the richness of this liminal space, is that we realize in a very concrete way that we cannot survive without the other...and so the gloriousness of this design becomes apparent. The prayers, the encouragement, the wisdom and insights shared...all in the hope of offering me comfort...do indeed comfort... because they create a depth of space for trust, an emptiness for the new to arrive, for faith to be faith.

This is a different kind of emptiness, the kind we were created to thrive on.  At a time when I am tempted to despair, instead I feel immense gratitude and hope.  In the “living room” of Faith House, I was uplifted by companions on the journey. Being emptied and stripped of some of the false self, I have awoken to the promise of this time where there is every possibility and no possibility, coexisting. Perhaps I have arrived at the intended destination?

YOM KIPPUR PRAYERS

~ Led by Jill Minkoff at Faith House Living Room, September 23, 2009
from Gates of Repentance, by Joshua Goldman

Who among us is righteous
Enough to say: ‘I have not sinned?’
Born of love to love,
We grow weary,
Heavy with regret,
Sorry for ourselves,
And afraid to know
What might have been.

We have sinned against You, O God, and against each other.

Look now to the cities:
See the broken streets,
Poor and decayed,
And all afraid.
See them and ask:
What have we done?

Help us to turn, O God;
Help us to find forgiveness.

Living Room Gathering - Seeding the Heart, Harvesting Intentions

"Seeding the Heart, Harvesting Intentions"

Faith House Living Room, July 25, 2009

Facilitators: Rabia Gentile, Islamic Co-Leader, and Leah Varsano, Summer Intern

Follow the program online at home or feel free to adapt it for your local community.   

I. OPENING   

Gathering Music Vivaldi’s “Summer” Concerto #2 in G-Minor (Recording)

Greeting (Leah Varsano, Summer Intern)  

Readings (Volunteers from the community)  

“Your Seed Pouch” ~Hafiz (Persian, 1320-1389)

Lanterns 

Hang from the night sky 

So that your eye might draw 

One more image of love upon your silk canvas 

Before sleep. 



Words from Him have reached you 

And tilled a golden field inside. 



When all your desires are distilled 

You will cast just two votes: 



To love more, 

And be happy. 



Take the sounds from the mouth-flute of Hafiz 

And mix them into your seed pouch. 



And when the Moon says, 

"It is time to

Plant,"

Why not dance, 

Dance and 

Sing?  

“The Seed of God” ~ Meister Eckhart (German, 1260-1329)
(see today’s Sabbath Poem, above)

II. LEARNING PORTION  

Rabia spoke about
• Seeding the heart in Sufi Islam
• Acknowledging the divinity of the Earth
• Taking responsibility & cultivating gratitude  

Rabia led a meditation with people holding seeds

III.    EXPERIENTIAL PORTION   

Whole community was invited to make “seed bombs”
(There are many simple ways to do this, search for some ideas online!)   

Leah spoke about Jewish traditions related to Harvest

Bless the “seed bombs” and community sharing
Ask participants to share a story of seeds/planting/gardening/the earth/activism  

IV.   CLOSING  

Final Poem

“Ripened fruit” ~Rumi (Persian, 1207-1273)


Do you remember how you came into existence? 

You may not remember 

because you arrived a little drunk. 

Let me give you a hint: 

Let go of your mind and then be mindful. 

Close your ears and listen!



It is difficult to speak to your unripeness. 

You may still be in your springtime, 

unaware that autumn exists. 

This world is a tree to which we cling
we, the half-ripe fruit upon it.



The immature fruit clings tightly to the branch 

because, not yet ripe, it's unfit for the palace.

When fruits become ripe, sweet, and juicy,

then, biting their lips,

they loosen their hold. 



When the mouth has been sweetened by felicity,

the kingdom of the world loses its appeal.

To be tightly attached to the world is immaturity. 

As long as you're an embryo, 

all you think about is sipping blood. 



There's more to be said, 

but let the Holy Spirit tell it. 

You may even tell it to your own ear. 

Neither I, nor some other "I," needs to tell you, 

you who are also I.

Just as when you fall asleep, 

you leave the presence of yourself 

to enter another presence of yourself. 

You hear something from yourself 

and imagine that someone else 

has secretly spoken to you in a dream. 

But you are not a single "you," 

my friend you are the wide sky and the deep sea. 

Your awesome "You," which is nine hundredfold,

is where a hundred of your you's will drown.   

Closing Announcements (Leah)

Living Room Gathering - Song of Songs: A Ritualized Reading of the Sexiest Book in the Bible

Last Saturday evening (June 13, 2009) the Faith House Living Room gathering was focused around an exquisite little treasure of literature integral to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and all people who love Love. Check out the pics. Over the years, our director Bowie Snodgrass has become an expert in this piece of literature and has developed an amazingly simple way to experience the seductiveness of God. Here is the outline that she has created and we utilized, which includes the entire text of the book. I hope you will catch another opportunity to hear Bowie leading this ritual. The second best would be to do it yourself in your synagogue, church, mosque, local library, or with friends! The story of the Universe is a love story and your own experiences of love with people around you (your lovers, friends, children, parents, neighbors) are all retelling that story of the Universe. To the intoxication! (~ Samir Selmanovic)

PRELUDE – Play music inspired by the Song of Songs while people gather

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION – Bowie Snodgrass (5-10 min)

OPENING TOUCH & SMELL – Pass around Frankincense & Myrrh or Pomegranate scented Lotion for people to put on themselves

BACKGROUND ON SONG OF SONGS – Poet Harry Ellison on importance of Song of Songs in Jewish history and as a source of inspiration for spiritual lovers of God, artists, poets, and in his own life.  (5 min)

MOMENT OF SILENT ANTICIPATION (1 min)

RITUALIZED READING – See script below (20-25 min)

COMMUNITY SHARING – People share around their table or in small groups (10 min) then share with whole group (10 min)

CLOSING – Smell spices (like in a Havdalah service)

POSTLUDE – Play recorded music inspired by the Song of Songs

Approximate Running Time: 1 hour

* * *

The Song of Songs

5 Females
4 Males
1 Royal Messenger (male or female)

Supplies

•    Script with full text of Song of Songs for readers.  Recommended that people listen to readers, rather than read text in a bulletin. We used the JPS Translation, with selections from a translation by Union Theological Seminary professor, David Carr
•    Posters, or projections, or leaflets with activities and verses everyone reads together
•    Scented lotion, preferably with scents from the Song, e.g. Pomegranate or Myrrh
•    Drinks to sip, wine and/or milk & honey and/or pomegranate juice
•    Fruits to eat, fresh or dried, e.g. apples, apricots, grapes, dates
•    Images, e.g. prints of paintings inspired by the Song of Songs; we used images of flowers by Sadie Rosenthal
•    Fragrant spices, e.g. cloves, cardamom
•    NOTE: The place we met did not allow candles or incense.  I recommend adding them somewhere below if allowed. 

SCRIPT

MALE 1:    
The Song of Songs, by Solomon.

FEMALE 1:    
[speaking to male]    

Oh, give me of the kisses of your mouth,
For your love is more delightful than wine.
Your ointments yield a sweet fragrance,
Your name is like finest oil—
That’s why the young women love you.
Draw me after you, let us run!
Bring me, O King, to your chambers.
Let us delight and rejoice in your love,
Savoring it more than wine—
Like new wine they love you!

Living Room Gathering - Moonwalk: A Mythological Perspective

April 25, 2009 | 5 PM at Intersections, 274 5th Avenue

Prelude Music: Cat Stevens “Where Do The Children Play?”

Opening Song: “Dreamer’s Song” by Phil Robinson

Welcome & Family Time

Reading: excerpt from “The Moon Walk – the Outward Journey” by Joseph Campbell (Campbell, Joseph.  Myths to Live By. Arkana, AR: Penguin Compass, 1993.)

Picture: Earthrise – William Anders, 1968

~~~
Context for Reading:
1543 – Heliocentrism! Copernicus advances theory of sun-centric system, displacing Earth
1968 – Earthrise!  William Anders takes photo of Earth rising over moon during Apollo 8
1969 – Moonwalk! Neil Armstrong sets foot on the moon
~~~

The only really adequate public comment on the occasion of the first moon walk that I have found reported in the world press was the exclamation of an Italian poet, Giuseppe Ungaretti, published in the picture magazine Epoca.  In its vivid issue of July 27, 1969, we see a photo of this white-haired old gentleman pointing in rapture to his television screen, and in the caption beneath are his thrilling words: "A different night from all other nights of the world".

For indeed that was "a different night from all other nights of the world"!  Who will ever in his days forget the spell of the incredible hour, July 20, 1969, when our television sets brought directly into our living rooms the image of that strange craft up there and Neil Armstrong's booted foot coming down...?  ..."All humanity," Buckminster Fuller once said..., "is about to be born in an entirely new relationship to the universe."

Living Room Gathering - Between Death and Resurrection: Where Did Jesus Go?

Between Death & Resurrection: Where Did Jesus Go?

Faith House Living Room, April 11, 2009

Follow the program online at home or feel free to adapt it for your local community. 

Welcome & Announcements

1st Silence – 1 Minute

What does the Bible tell us? 
Ephesians 4:4-10
Mark 15: 25, 33-39
1st Speaker –  Reflections from John Snodgrass
2nd Silence – 2 Minutes

What about Christians who follow Jesus’ way and don’t believe in the resurrection?

Reading from an Ikon Service from How (Not) To Speak of God, by Peter Rollins

It has been said that on the day Christ was crucified a group of followers packed their few belongings and set off to find a new home.  They were so distraught that they could not bear to stay in the place where Jesus had been executed.  So they left, never to return, and after travelling thousands of miles, they set up an isolated village far from civilization.  Once settled, they each took an oath to protect the memory of Jesus and live by his teaching.

Then one day, after 300 years of solitude, a small band of Christian missionaries reached the isolated settlement and were amazed to find a community of people living the sacrificial way that Christ had taught, yet who possessed no knowledge of his subsequent resurrection and ascension.  Without hesitation the missionaries called the entire community together and taught them what had occurred after the crucifixion.

That evening, there was a great celebration in the camp.  Yet, as the night progressed, one of the missionaries noticed that the leader of the community was absent.  This bothered the young man and so he set out to look for the community elder, whom he eventually found in a small hut on the fringe of the village, praying and weeping. 

‘Why are you in such sorrow?’ asked the missionary in amazement.  ‘Today is a day for great celebration!’

‘A day for great celebration and great sorrow,’ replied the elder, who was all the while crouching on the floor.  ‘For over 300 years we have followed the ways taught to us by Christ.  We followed his ways faithfully, even though it cost us deeply, and we remained resolute despite the fear that death defeated him and would one day defeat us also.’

The elder slowly got to his feet and looked the missionary compassionately in the face.

‘Each day we have forsaken our very lives for him because we judge him wholly worthy of the sacrifice, wholly worthy of our being.  But now I am concerned that my children and my children’s children may follow him not because of the implicit value he has, but because of the value that he possesses for them.’

With this the elder left the hut and made his way to the celebration, leaving the missionary to his thoughts.  

2nd Speaker – Pastor Samir Selmanovic

3rd Silence – 3 minutes

List of All Living Room Gatherings - Now Online

~ by Bowie Snodgrass

A full list of our past (and a few upcoming) Living Rooms are now posted on our website (see column on the left), including the three previews last summer, fourteen gatherings in 2008, and bi-monthly Living Rooms since the start of 2009. Our Mission, Vision, and Principles say: "At this weekly gathering, we learn from others, share our stories, and organize our community to serve the common good. Together we explore human experience, holy days, spiritual practices, current cultural and societal issues, and the lives of inspirational people from the past and present."

Our regular attendance ranges from 30-45 people per week, of all ages, usually about 1/3 Muslim, 1/3 Christian, and 1/3 people of "all faiths or no faith at all," and all are welcome! Our "living room" ethos means that you are never asked to leave who you are at the door and are welcomed into a comfortable space where common courtesy creates "room" for us to share our treasures, struggles, stories, and traditions in community so we can all delve deeper into our shared reality of "living" together in a wonderful world of many faiths.

Currently, Living Room Gatherings are every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month from 5-6:30 pm in Intersections (274 Fifth Ave, between 29th and 30th St.). Please sign up for the Weekly NYC Update to hear about upcoming Living Rooms and other outings.