Greetings!
New York City seems to move fast, faster or at hyper-speed. Things slow down a bit in August and occasionally come to a stop in a winter blizzard. This was the rare case last Wednesday, when the City received 10 to 16 inches of snow in about as many hours. For the first time ever, we canceled a Living Room. The Early Christian Communion with Emily Scott and St. Lydia's has been re-scheduled for March 24.
We are looking forward to reconnection and seeing you all next Wednesday and for a fabulous celebration of Purim, a festive Jewish holiday that celebrates how Queen Esther reversed history and saved her people from a massacred in the Persian empire. Read more below! This, like all our events, is for people of all faiths or no faith at all.
This week also brought other cancellations and re-shuffling of future Faith House programs, but we are excited with how everything ended up. Here are the guests and initial plans for our March and early April Living Rooms:
2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 274 5th Ave, Doors at 6 pm, Program at 7 pm
Mar 10, 2010 Myong Haeng Sunim, Korean Buddhist Monk from
Chogyesa Zen Temple of New York
Mar 24, 2010 Early Christian Communion with Emily Scott,
founder of St. Lydia's
April 14, 2010 Sundeep Sonny Singh, from the Sikh Coalition, on
Vaisakhi, Sikhism and Social Justice
Blessings to the Christians beginning Lent today, Ash Wednesday.
Hope to see you all soon!
In faith,
Bowie Snodgrass
Executive Director
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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
New York, NY 10001
With Rabbi Justus Baird
Music led by Barry Merer
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 (named for the villain in the story), 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 |
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Your Religion IS Changing (Probably for the Better)
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Excerpt, Article by Samir Selmanovic
... Religion can be defined as the "spirituality of others" or the
spirituality we hold together. That's why to be spiritual but not
religious can be not only lonely but frighteningly undemanding. To disregard religion is to disregard the discoveries of our spiritual predecessors, close our ears to our spiritual contemporaries, and refuse to deliver our spiritual experience into the future. Religion does all of that and more. Religion organizes our individual spiritual selves into spiritual communities. Religion gives voice to what matters to us, offer stories, histories, communities, group impact, and a long catalogue of teaching, experiences, and practices that have both served us well in the past, or that have miserably failed us.
Click for full article
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