FAITH HOUSE Manhattan

What People are Saying About Faith House

"I hope to continue to come and have great faith experiences
from this group in later weeks!!!" ~Jeremy Stenger

"Faith House is a unique encounter every time.
I love the warm, inclusive atmosphere." ~Khabir John McGeehan 

"Pretty hip group if you ask me."~ Michael M. Soldati

"In a world where religious differences are too often a source of divisiveness, hostility, and even violence, Faith House is a welcome breath of fresh air and a much-needed blessing - a place where we can celebrate spiritual diversity and learn from one another's faith paths. Regardless of your faith - or lack thereof - you will be greeted with open hearts and open minds at Faith House.
I LOVE THIS GROUP!" ~ Jill Sophia 

 Selection from Meetup Group Reviews

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

 

15 Endorsements from the Faith House Community

Faith House is the down-to-earth, practical and personal embodiment of what the so-called theological experts hold up as the ideal of interreligious dialogue: a place where people can explore the diversity of religions while cherishing the real differences of religions. ~ Paul Knitter, Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture at Union Theological Seminary

Experiencing my neighbor's faith has inspired me to deepen my own. ~ Russell Chin

As a member of a minority faith, I often feel isolated. Faith House feels like a teacher whose class you never want to miss, a welcoming community. ~ Valerie H.F.

Faith House is the only organization I know of that celebrates and shares the tenets of a variety of spiritual paths with all who come through the doors.  Their programs educate, stimulate, entertain, and delight. Like a pebble in a pond, they create ever-growing circles of understanding and acceptance in these strife-filled times. ~ Marcia Kelly, Author of Sanctuaries: A Guide to Lodgings in Monasteries, Abbeys, and Retreats and 100 Graces: Mealtime Blessings

Faith House means that people of all faiths have a spiritual home to encounter each other, inspire each other, and join hands to heal the world together. ~ Rabbi Justus N. Baird, Director, Center for Multifaith Education, Auburn Theological Seminary, NY

In the short time since its founding as a creative, courageous experiment in delight for deep differences, Faith House Manhattan has become a respected model for the enterprise of broadening interreligious understanding.  ~ Lucinda Mosher, Christian ethicist in the Anglican tradition who works as a consultant, educator, and author on interreligious matters

Faith House is the rare place Rumi writes about:

"Out beyond ideas of right and wrong there is a field...Let's meet there"
Faith House is the redemption of the religious idea by life.
Faith House is catching.
Faith House is the modern Tent of Abraham: open and welcoming to all.
Faith House is where the different paths converge in people! ~ John Khabir McGheehan

I come to Faith House because it gives me the opportunity to learn and experience the faith and religion of others without feeling like an outsider. ~ Mairim Pina

As someone who has been "multifaith savy" - and even a multifaith professional - I wondered what Faith House would have to offer me.  I find that the Living Rooms are aptly named - a place to come and be without pretense or need to defend positions. A place for honest and comfortable learning and sharing of faith. ~ Ula Barrack

I come to Faith House to hear and listen to new ideas and meet intelligent people.  Faith House has become part of new source or you can say a fountain of knowledge refreshing my old thoughts about my religion and compromising them with other religions ideas.  It is very valuable to the city for the volunteering they do and we get to know and learn from each other how to do the good thing for our community.  All my love and support.  ~ Ali Mansour

Faith House has come at an opportune time in my spiritual journey. I look forward to every event. It gives me a better understanding of different faiths and their practices, which I believe is important in a diverse community. ~ Miguel Angelo Colmenares

Faith House has made me realize that my fear of other religions is totally unfounded, and in fact utterly stupid. ~ Sam McCash

A beloved story from the Christian scriptures teaches that to "love my neighbor" I first must discover who s/he is, beyond easy definitions.  Faith House opens a living room where neighbors we would never meet sit and eat, each one teaching, and all hearts open.  Thank you to all the staff and planners. ~ Rev. Stephen H. Phelps

A shared hope that in coming together we preserve our unique selves, multiply our possibilities, and by gazing deeply into the Other, nurture the divinity within oneself. ~ Rathi Raja, President of Arsha Vedanta Center of Long Island and the Executive Director of Young Indian Culture Group

Where the world of faith is a house with windows and doors that open, offering sight and access to different beliefs, there Faith House Manhattan offers the light to experience interreligious beauty.~ Fabian Munz

Faith House leaders and their invited guests to the series they organize are experts in the religions they practice. Definitely, they know what they are sharing. The interfaith meetings are a way to cultivate respect, inclusiveness, peace, love and compassion for our neighbors. The mission of Faith House is important in these postmodern times marked by individualism and consumerism because it nurtures our communities with a spirituality that promotes peace and social justice. Faith House gatherings are full of creativity and hospitality is at the center of these sessions. ~ Luz Diaz, Religious Education Office, St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, NY

Selected endorsements are included in our "We Can Do It Together!" appeal 

Ways to Donate

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

• GIVE ONLINE through our Fiscal Sponsor
  (Adventist Metro Ministries) Select  "Faith House"

• GIVE ONLINE through our  Facebook Cause

With Squinting Eyes

~ by Samir Selmanovic

We live in the most religiously diverse country in history. We are part of the most inter-connected world population in history. We are part of the great struggle for interdependence.

Last week I attended a conference auspiciously entitled “Educating Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Leaders for Service in a Multi-Religious World: The American Seminary Context” in Boston, hosted by Andover Newton Theological School, Boston Theological Institute, and Hebrew College. To read a short informative overview of the conference written by Joshua Stanton, click HERE.

The conference brought together an extraordinary array of academics and activists. Instead of featuring great speakers, every topic was presented through a conversation among four selected experts. I was invited to be a part of the roundtable discussion about the publications related to inter-religious work (talking about our work at Faith House Manhattan and about my book “It’s Really All About God”).

The pace of the roundtables was grueling, punctuated only by delicious kosher/halal meals prepared by the good folks at Hebrew College and, best of all, growing and energizing conversations among friends and colleagues across our religious boundaries. The event was mainly funded by the discerning and visionary Luce Foundation. Themes included: a national overview of the issues, constructing our religious identities, theologies of multi-faith engagement, inclusive leadership, youth and young adults, leadership in a broken world, pastoral care, publications, funding, needs for more skilled Muslim community leaders in US, plus reflections and awards (so deservedly awarded were Irving Greenberg, Diana Eck, and Paul Knitter). So much humor, so much dreaming, so much insight, so much hope!

One of my highlights was getting to know Leonard Swidler from Temple University in Philadelphia. I met him in the first hour upon arrival to Boston, in a shuttle ride from our hotel to the conference. As we waited for the shuttle, Prof. Paul Knitter (one of Faith House Manhattan advisors and presenters) arrived cheerfully jumping out of his car saying, “Oh, the patriarch is here too!” Prof. Swidler is the editor and founder of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies and one of the grandparents of the modern movement towards global dialogue. He has written over 70 books and 200 articles. As we drove, he spoke with the passion and depth of someone who has spent half a century teaching, writing and consulting everyone from other professors to politicians to peacemakers to governments. “I have a mantra,” he said, “Nobody. Knows everything. About anything.” Which began a two day discussion between us during the breaks. To convey what Prof. Swidler had in mind, you can watch this four minute video of Swidler’s recent address to the Scottish Parliament that explains the “mantra.” 

In addition, here is my short meditation that captures the gist of the conference as I have experienced it  “Our Great Struggle for Interdependence.”

Finally, here are the words of Prof. Swidler: “Dialogue is not just a way to gain more information. Dialogue is a whole new way of thinking! We are painfully leaving behind the Age of Monologue, and are with squinting eyes entering into the Age of Global Dialogue!”

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 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."

Becoming a Modern, Urban, Mystic

~ by Bowie Snodgrass

I bought my copy of Mark Scandrette’s Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus (Jossesy-Bass, 2007) on August 1, 2008.  That date and “Church Basement Roadshow” are scribbled on the front page of the book; underneath it says, "Finished March 2, 2009".  This is book I read slowly and savored for seven months, as I settled into a new apartment in Harlem, a new ministry with Faith House Manhattan, the arc of a historic election, and the maturation of my still-new marriage.

Mark opens up his journey to us and in doing so invites us to delve deeper into our own.  Much of the best of this book shares stories of people (and characters!) Mark has met through his life, ministry, and “experiments.”  The author’s straight-through, authentic, probing,compassionate voice was what kept me coming back.  For the forum of this blog, I’ve selected seven little segments that I underlined over the course of the last seven months to share… pebbles on the path to becoming a modern, urban, mystic.

1… there is more than a little irony in the fact that we sat passively in a regal sanctuary listening to messages based on the adventures of a homeless bearded prophet who wandered the cities and countryside caring for the poor and healing the sick and inviting people to follow his example.  How exactly were we seeking his kingdom by gathering like this?  For me these environments functioned like museums displaying spiritual realities as exotic specimens in a cabinet of curiosities… The context conveyed more about the dogmas of tradition and region than the revolutionary life of the master.  (Page 25)

2 Pilgrims always have a lot to talk about.  There are stories to tell, advice to exchange, and plans to make about the best way to reach the next vista.  Revolutions are often planned in cafes and begin with talks among friends.  Great social and spiritual movements germinate when a few isolated people find one other, share deeply, and dream out loud about a different and better future.  Through generative friendship a collective voice becomes stronger, and what was once timidly whispered in private emerges to become the topic of public discourse and reform.  Dialogue creates resonance that fosters grass-roots energy and initiative.  Conversation at its best is never just talk; it is the means by which we kindle imagination and gain the courage to take action together.  (Page 47)

3 … a quest for continuity: between what we have been taught about God and what we may have yet to learn; and between what we say we believe and how we actually live.  By examining our windows to God and by learning to embrace all of life as a gift and sacred trust, we take steps to navigate making a life in the Way of Jesus. (Page 103)

4 Jesus was a mystic in the sense that he lived in conscious awareness of the transcendent reality of God.  Everything we admire about the life of Jesus – his compassion, wise teaching, mighty acts, and sacrifice – were funded by the private disciplines of his inner life – how he learned to be tuned into the presence and power of God’s song. He demonstrated that the transforming power of God’s kingdom is accessed through receptivity, mindful surrender, study simplicity, silence, and solitude.  Through the example of his life, we are invited to follow the path of a mystic.  (Page 207)

5 My good friend Darren Prince, who is part of an urban order among the poor, is fond of saying, “The spiritual life is more about subtraction than addition. Most of us don’t need anything more added to our lives to be fulfilled. It is more likely that what we really need is to subtract from our schedules and possessions to have more space for God and people.” The quest for simplicity and contentment, rather than being legislated by rules, can be guided by a question: “How can I manage my life to be the most free to hear the voice of love?” You will find the best rhythm of simplicity through careful experimentation. (Page 215)

6 “Mark, my impression is that you are more Buddhist than Christian.” “What do you mean?”  I asked. “Well, your spirituality seems so much about awareness and practice – embracing all of life as sacred.  Those aren’t things I associate with Christianity.” (Page 237)

7 I want to experience the goodness that money cannot buy, resisting internal and external forces that pressure me toward greater security, control, and conformity.  I will remember that life is ultimately about risk and adventure and that we die a certain death when we resign ourselves to propriety and convention.  I will affirm, perhaps only in symbolic gesture, the spirit of the wandering Messiah-prophet, spreading the propaganda of hope, like soul graffiti, on the canvas of Earth and eternity.  (Page 245)

Cute and Sad

~ by Samir Selmanovic

Recently I got one of the regular mailing I receive from Tanenbaum Center, a vocal proponent of the Golden Rule. Enclosed was a card that would shake any believer who still lives with an illusion that the heart of his/her religion is in its center.  It has moved to the edges, where one's religion touches the world and the other.

A Jew's Prayer for the Children of Gaza

This past Friday, I (Samir) went to welcome Sabbath and worship with our Jewish brothers and sisters of Romemu community on the Upper West Side. It was four hours of singing, dancing, food, tears, laughter, hugging, wisdom and compassion. Here is a prayer by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman of Kol HaNeshama, Jerusalem, that we prayed together. You might want to read it in your churches, mosques, or synagogues. Imagine, you can have Christians reading a Jewish prayer for Muslims. God will hear.

If there has ever been a place forsaken, Gaza is that place.

Lord who is the creator of all children, hear our prayer this accursed day. God whom we call Blessed, turn your face to these, the children of Gaza, that they may know your blessings, and your shelter, that they may know light and warmth, where there is now only blackness and smoke, and a cold which cuts and clenches the skin.

Almighty who makes exceptions, which we call miracles, make an exception of the children of Gaza. Shield them from us and from their own. Spare them. Heal them. Let them stand in safety. Deliver them from hunger and horror and fury and grief. Deliver them from us, and from their own.

Restore to them their stolen childhoods, their birthright, which is a taste of heaven.

Remind us, O Lord, of the child Ishmael, who is the father of all the children of Gaza. How the child Ishmael was without water and left for dead in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba, so robbed of all hope, that his own mother could not bear to watch his life drain away.

Be that Lord, the God of our kinsman Ishmael, who heard his cry and sent His angel to comfort his mother Hagar.

Be that Lord, who was with Ishmael that day, and all the days after. Be that God, the All-Merciful, who opened Hagar's eyes that day, and showed her the well of water, that she could give the boy Ishmael to drink, and save his life.

Allah, whose name we call Elohim, who gives life, who knows the value and the fragility of every life, send these children your angels. Save them, the children of this place, Gaza the most beautiful, and Gaza the damned.

In this day, when the trepidation and rage and mourning that is called war, seizes our hearts and patches them in scars, we call to you, the Lord whose name is Peace:

Bless these children, and keep them from harm.

Turn Your face toward them, O Lord. Show them, as if for the first time, light and kindness, and overwhelming graciousness.

Look up at them, O Lord. Let them see your face.

And, as if for the first time, grant them peace.

Live Words: One Body

Only when we see ourselves in our true human context, as members of a race which is intended to be one organism and 'one body,' will we begin to understand the positive importance not only of the successes but of the failures and accidents in our lives. My successes are not my own. The way to them was prepared by others. The fruit of my labors is not my own: for I am preparing the way for the achievements of another. Nor are my failures my own. They may spring from failure of another, but they are also compensated for by another's achievement. Therefore the meaning of my life is not to be looked for merely in the sum total of my own achievements. It is seen only in the complete integration of my achievements and failures with the achievements and failures of my own generation, and society, and time.             
   
                                                    ~ Thomas Merton

From a Novel "Life of Pi"

~ by Samir Selmanovic

I have been reading Life of Pi, a novel by Yann Martel that deserves all the praise it has been getting since it came out in 2001. I could not resist sharing this passage with you, even at the risk of doing so without checking whether I need a permission from the publisher. 

Main character, boy named Piscine Patel, grew up with his non-religious and pragmatic parents in India. Without their knowledge he developed a relationship with the local spiritual leaders and became a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu. The problem was that the priest, the imam, and the pandit did not know about the other two. Until Piscine's father invited all three of them for a meeting in Patel home (p. 66):

    My parents, the priest and the pandit looked incredulous.
    The pandit spoke. “You’re both wrong. He’s a good Hindu boy. I see him all the time at the temple coming for darshan and performing puja.”
    My parents, the imam and the priest looked astounded.
    “There is no mistake,” said the priest. “I know this boy. He is Piscine Molitor Patel and he’s a Christian.”
    “I know him too, and I tell you he’s a Muslim,” asserted the imam.
    “Nonsense!” cried the pandit. “Piscine was born  a Hindu, lives a Hindu and will die a Hindu!”
    The three wise men stared at each other, breathless and disbelieving.
    Lord, avert their eyes from me, I whispered in my soul.
    All eyes fell upon me.
    “Piscine, can this be true?” asked the imam earnestly. “Hindus and Christians are idolaters. They have many gods.”
    “And Muslims have many wives,” responded the pandit.
    The priest looked askance at both of them. “Piscine,” he nearly whispered, “there is salvation only in Jesus.”
    “Balderdash! Christians know nothing about religion,” said the pandit.
    “They strayed long ago from God’s path,” said the imam.
    “Where’s God in your religion?” snapped the priest. “You don’t have a single miracle to show for it. What kind of religion is that, without miracles?”
    “It isn’t a circus with dead people jumping out of tombs all the time, that’s what! We Muslims stick to the essential miracle of existence. Birds flying, rain falling, crops growing—these are miracles enough for us.”
    “Feathers and rain are all very nice, but we like to know that God is truly with us.”

Live Words: Thanksgiving is Never Over

"Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living. It is all we can offer in return for the mystery by which we live. Who is worthy to be present at the constant unfolding of time? Amidst the meditation of mountains, the humility of flowers—wiser than all alphabets—clouds that die constantly for the sake of God’s glory, we are hating, hunting, hurting. Suddenly we feel ashamed of our clashes and complaints in the face of the tacit glory in nature. It is embarrassing to live! Only one response can maintain us: gratefulness for witnessing the wonder, for the gift of unearned right to serve, to adore, and to fulfill. It is gratefulness which makes the soul great."
                                           ~ by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel