Greetings!
Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and NYC is becoming greener by the day - both through environmental measures and springtime blooming.
This Sunday, we will gather in Union Square for "NYC Grows" to learn how we can each support growing things in NYC - through our own gardening and urban farming or the products we buy. This is a public festival; email Bara if you want to meet up to explore it with our group.
Our next two Living Rooms are hosted by amazing New York City Muslims. Sabeeha Rehman from the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) will be leading us to a deeper understanding of salat, the prostrations Muslims perform five times a day on April 28th.
Then returning to the theme of our planet Earth, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, an accomplished environmental activist and community organizer, will be guiding us through an evening of what Islam teaches about protecting the planet on May 12th.
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SERVE TOGETHER
NYC Grows - Green Festival Outing
 THIS Sunday, April 25, 2010
1:30 - 3:30 PM
Union Square
We will meet at the corner of
14th & University Place at 1:30
Our April Serve Together is going to be a little different than usual.
Instead of participating in a one day hands on activity, we will be
attending a fair where we can gain information that will help us
contribute to the earth throughout the Spring.
In celebration
of Earth Day, which is a few days earlier, we will be heading to NYC Grows, an outdoor fair in Union Square with information about
gardening, urban farming, organic cooking and sustainable living. The
event is family friendly and includes demonstrations, workshops,
eco-friendly products, local produce, etc.
We will spend
time exploring the fair together and also spend time sharing our own
experiences (and future goals) with urban gardening, local cooking and
more. Don't worry if you have no previous experience with these things.
It's a great opportunity for everyone to come together, enjoy being
outside, and pick up a few ideas for Spring.
Please
RSVP to Bara at bara4987@gmail.com, so we know to wait for you to
arrive. Hope to see you there. It should be a wonderful
afternoon. ~ Bara
RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebookor Meetup
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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 Rehmanis 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.
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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.
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 Justiceand 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.
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Sponsor a Faith House Living Room
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Sponsor one of our Living Room gatherings with a donation of $500 or be a Co-Sponsor by giving $250. Sponsor an upcoming Living Room or suggest a topic you would like to sponsor in the future. For full info, visit our new Donate page online. |
May & June
Living Rooms
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May 26
Austin Dacey, Author of The Secular Conscience
June 9
Peter Rollins,
Founder of Ikon and author of How (Not) to Speak of God
June 23
Carole Forman on Spiritual Storytelling
More information on Upcoming Living Room Gatherings
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DEVOTIONAL ART "Grain Life in Abundance"
by Deborah Risa Mrantz
|  | Above: Detail from larger diptych.
ARE YOU AN ARTIST?
Please email usif you would like to share your devotional art with the Faith House
community. |
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