Greetings!
The five Living Room Gatherings coming up this season are not a random assortment of interesting topics, but rather a thoughtful series about "Embracing the Other." We will explore the phenomenology of embrace between us and 'the other' through personal stories, experiences, discussions, and art.
Don't miss the first Living Room of our third year this Wednesday, September 22, and hear bout the experience of a regular religious community embracing their LGBT contingency. There is more to this story than you think!
The gatherings this season are as follows:
Sept 22 "LGBT = Let's Get Beyond Tolerance: An ordinary religious community breaks through the barrier to love" with Rev. Stephen Phelps
Oct 13 "Samhain: A Season of Harvest, a Circle of Remembrance" with Temple of the Spiral Path
Oct 27 "Bible, Interrupted: Can the oldest tool for transmission of sacred scriptures serve as a bridge between religions?" with Amichai Lau-Lavie, Founder and Executive Director of Storahtelling
Nov 10 "Interbeing: Experience the Heart of Islam" with Khabir McGeehan, Juliet rabia Gentile and the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order
Dec 8 Creating Sacred Objects (Title and Hosts TBA)
To successfully
create social change and move us towards interdependence, community organizations must be sustainable over
the long-term. So remember to Make a Difference this September by supporting our work at this critical juncture. We need to reach our $18K goal by the end of September and are not able to do this without you.
We have a donor who has pledged a matching dollar for every dollar we raise after $10k, so we need $4k in new contributions to finish the campaign. Here is our ticker. For each dollar you send, the ticker will leap two! Contribute now.
You can also sponsor one of our Living Room gatherings this fall with a donation of $250 or $500 (Living Room sponsorships will also be matched!). See Sponsorship details in sidebar below. Click HERE for giving options.
Thank you for taking this journey with us by sustaining us as we help build interdependent and welcoming communities.
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LIVING ROOM GATHERING
LGBT = Let's Get Beyond Tolerance:
An ordinary religious community breaks through the barrier to love
(c) Hal Weiner 917.957.8244  | 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
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LIVING ROOM GATHERING
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!
This October, the Temple of the Spiral path will lead us in a celebration 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, people gather the last fruits of the growing season and pause to reflect on all what has been reaped during the light half of the year. The veil between the worlds is said to be thinnest at this time and so Wiccans take comfort in the closeness of the spirits of Nature, Gods and Goddesses, and especially our Ancestors as we all 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, they 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 their work; however, they are not limited by these influences and anchor their tradition within the rich tapestry of the Western Mystery Tradition.
RSVPs welcome, but not required, on Facebook or Meetup
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Sponsor a
Living Room
|  | Sponsor a Living Room event for a donation of $500 or Co-Sponsor by giving $250. You can see our full list of upcoming Living Rooms online or can suggest a topic you would like to sponsor in the future.
Individuals and organizations are welcome to sponsor, and have the options of dedicating their sponsorship in someone's honor. Sponsors will also be included in all our Living Rooms emails and listings and will receive signed copies of Samir Selmanovic's book It's Really All About God.
To find out more, Email us or visit our Donations page.
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