The Jewish New Year

By Rabbi Howard Siegel

Source: Houston Chronicle

 

“Fact” is defined as “a thing that is indisputably the case.” One such indisputable fact is Change. Nothing in life stays the same. This is the result of another indisputable fact-Time. Time and Change co-exist in tandem with one another. The passing of time is often measured by change.   A baby is born, learns to walk and talk, grows into adulthood, marries, has children, ages, and dies. Every stage of life is accompanied by changes in fashion, culture, and philosophy. One may argue the only constant in the entire universe is God, and even God changes!

Ever Wonder Where is God?

By Rabbi Howard Siegel

Source: Houston Chronicle

 

In every generation the same question is asked: Where is God? Seldom is there a satisfying answer. We celebrate a birth by proclaiming God’s divine presence, a wedding by crediting God with a “match made in heaven” (even though reportedly 50% fail!), and we comfort mourners with the notion their beloved has been returned to his/her divine maker. So, is God “here” or “there” or “everywhere”? The simple answer is “yes” to all three. Still, I’m left asking, “Where is God” now?

Just Perish: Faith & Social Advocacy

By Felicia Woodard
Source: Girl Learns World

The story of Esther is one of the most popular stories in the bible, especially for young women.  It has been extremely romanticised and even commercialized in movies, Pinterest quotes, & used for every women's conference to motivate women to "receive their breakthrough" & "prepare to meet their king".

SermonSlam shakes up Interfaith Dialogue

By Sonia Zuniga

Source: The Cougar

 

 

Being true to themselves while expressing their beliefs courteously to members of another faith was the challenge six students faced at UH’s first SermonSlam Tuesday in the Student Center Legacy Lounge, part of A.D. Bruce Religion Center’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Lessons of Easter and Passover

By Tim Neeley

April was a commemorative month for two of the major religions of the world. Jews commemorated the event of Passover, while Christians celebrated Easter. But the fact that they coincide in time each year is in no way their only similarity. In fact, both holidays have much in common with each other, and both can be a source of wisdom for the world.

When One of Us is Hurt We All Feel Pain

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: Tikkun Daily

As Passover ends for my Jewish friends, I join them to mourn the attack on the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas. Yes I am a Muslim, and the world doesn’t expect me to sympathize with Jews. But the world is wrong. We have increasingly become divided along religious lines, and Jewish-Muslim relationships have become strained because they have incorrectly become synonymous with the Israel-Palestine issue. This is neither true Islam nor true Judaism.

How are Women's Roles in Faith Changing?

Source: Houston Matters

Women have played key roles in faith-based communities as long as they have existed. In recent years, that leadership has been formalized. More congregations today are led by women. Here in Houston, women are Reverends and Rabbis, hold leadership roles in interfaith organizations. And yet, some sects of some religions still hold to long-standing, traditional gender roles.

We explore the changing roles of women in faith-based communities here in Houston. We consider which religious groups or sects bend the gender divide, how women of faith seek to provide a positive influence within their respective congregations, and how changes in the religious landscape in Houston have helped empower more women to take on more active roles in their community.

Semitic Brothers - Israeli And Palestinian

By Rabbi Howard Siegel

Source: Faith and Reason

 

In 1996, Bill Moyers, then host of the new MSNBC program Insight, convened a group of Jewish and Christian theologians, authors, poets, and philosophers to discuss the Book of Genesis in a television series called Genesis: A Living Conversation.  The result was a 21st century understanding of the ancient underpinnings of monotheism, the belief in the One God.

Breaking Bread in Faith and Love

By Cathy Lynn Grossman 

Source: Religion News Service

 

In the Bible, few dine alone. Small wonder that Christians and Jews see sharing a meal with family, guests and strangers as a form of spiritual nourishment and hospitality — as valuable as the bread passed around the table. Although the holiday season’s family feasts are fast approaching, many say it’s the weekly family meal that matters most across time.

Mormon Articles of Faith Part 1

By Ramona Siddoway

In 1842, John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat, asked Joseph Smith to provide information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, explaining the basic beliefs and principles of this newly reorganized religion. In addition to sending information about the history of the church as well as an overview of his own personal religious experiences, Joseph Smith included a summary list of thirteen items or basic points of belief. These points were called “the faith of the Latter-day Saints” and later became known as the Articles of Faith.

To The Place Where the Streams Flow

By Rabbi Laura Sheinkopf

I spent my high school years at a New England boarding school called Northfield Mt. Hermon where I recently returned for my 25^th reunion.  Yes, it did make me feel old.  But it also made feel lucky – lucky to have attended such a beautiful and enlightened school.  Truthfully my landing in 9^th grade was more like a crash landing.  I was thoroughly consumed by my own adolescent drama when I came for my interview.  It was the morning after a heavy snowfall and I was sleeping in back of the car.  I woke up just as the campus came into view.  It looked like a postcard – impossibly picturesque, a cluster of buildings that included a big stone chapel and bold red barn huddled together on a blanket of thick new snow.  I fell in love with it instantly.  It looked like a place where there might be a place for me – whoever that turned out to be.  

Friends of Iman Interfaith Iftaar

Source: Episcopal News Service

 

Christ Church Cathedral in Houston hosted an interfaith Iftaar on July 11, presented by the Friends of Iman, a group of young adults who organize education and interfaith activities in memory of Iman Haq, a young Muslim woman who died two years ago at the age of 20. An Iftaar is a traditional Islamic dinner observed during the month of Ramadan, when the community gathers together to break their daylong fast as the sun goes down.

 

I Became a Mother on Mother's Day

By Rabbi Laura Sheinkopf
 

I became a mother on a stormy Mother’s Day in the year 2000.  My labor may have been induced by an infection and accompanying fever.  And what a labor it was! The sun rose and set. Nurses came and went. By the time my son was born, I barely knew my name, let alone the day. But it was Mother’s Day, and everyone made quite a fuss about that. In my post-partum haze, I thought it was strange, if sweet, to focus on this seemingly superfluous detail. Nothing could have made me any happier or more relieved than I already was. In the hours just after my son was born, my thoughts centered on physical wellbeing, not the larger meaning of the moment.

Temple Beth Torah To Receive Community of Respect Award

 

For the fifth consecutive year, Temple Beth Torah (TBT) is receiving an award on March 22 designating the Humble synagogue as a “Community of Respect.” This is an award given annually by the Anti-Defamation League to organizations that strive to share learning in respectful ways. Several activities qualified TBT for this honor. Among the highlights of interfaith activities was the participation by several of temple members in the Kingwood community’s interfaith March of Remembrance, in which second generation Holocaust survivors and temple members Hy Penn and Simon Wellner were keynote speakers.

Gratitude versus Thanksgiving

By Kristen Adams

Turkey dinners being cooked in haste. Weary travelers stuck at airports. Moms crafting plans for  the best Black Friday sales. That's what the American thanksgiving has become. But this thanksgiving, I'm not content to just eat dinner and say polite thank yous. I want more. I want to feel real gratitude.

Fasting Isn't Just For Islam

By Saadia Faruqi

The month of Ramadan is upon me, and so far it's been going well. Yes, most days I'm tired and hungry and a bit snappy with my kids. But overwhelmingly the feeling is one of happiness - the feeling that comes with being grateful for a wonderful opportunity. During my interfaith work I'm asked by several people every year why I and other Muslims fast so completely - no food or drink for the entire day every day for a whole month has got to take its toll, they think. My response: not really.

 

Is Religious Freedom Really Just a Dream?

By Saadia Faruqi

Source: Houston Chronicle Spirited Chat

When our founding fathers, driven by religious persecution to a new continent, drafted the constitution, it was obvious they had in mind the religious and civil freedoms of every generation that lived after them. And for a while, as long as the country was unified in religious practice, tolerance was not that difficult to achieve. But with every new wave of immigrants entering the United States, the variety of religious thought and tradition has expanded.