Upcoming WISDOM Events for the Fall, 2009

Dear WISDOM Subscribers:

I am sending you a SAVE THE DATE e-mail for our upcoming WISDOM events!! Please mark your calendars!!

1) Sunday, September 13th Educational Day about Christianity at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak.

9:30 AM Sunday morning service followed by lunch and panel discussion about similarities and differences among some of the denominations of Christianity.

2) Sunday, October 18TH 5:00 – 9:00 PM “A Taste of WISDOM” International Dinner and Ethnic Heritage Festival at North Congregational Church on 12 Mile Road in Farmington Hills.

I have also included below an article written by the Bahraini Ambassador, who unfortunately had to cancel her trip to Detroit on June 29th. This article was posted on the PeaceXPeace website. I thought you would all enjoy reading it.

Gail

Your Voice from the Frontline

Smiling for Peace from Houda Ezra Nonoo, Bahrain
April 22nd, 2009

Her Excellency Houda Ezra Nonoo is the Ambassador from Bahrain to the USA.

I think I promote peace everywhere I go by smiling at people. It sounds simple, but it's true. Until I was 13 or 14 I wanted to be a veterinarian, but I gave that up to work in the family business. This current job is the height of my ambition. No other job could have so much variety. The best part of it is meeting people I would never have met otherwise, from around the world and around the US. I enjoy hearing what they think, and I enjoy dispelling their misconceptions. The questions are always: "Why aren't you covered? Can you drive? Can you go out alone?" What I tell them is that the Arab world is as diverse as the US. Bahrain, in particular, is an island, so we have always welcomed foreigners, seafaring people from everywhere. Bahraini people are friendly and love to get to know other people. We call it "The Island of 1,000 Smiles." Americans came for the first time in 1893, as missionaries, and started a clinic that is a major hospital now. Our friendship is people to people, not just a military alliance. We have Hindus, Jews, and Bahais as well as Muslims, Christians, and guest workers of many faiths and nations. My own family background is Jewish, and I celebrate the High Holidays. What breaks my peace is seeing every day's news: Sudan, Gaza, floods and earthquakes. In today's world we are all linked, so we know quickly when people are suffering near and far. What concerns me the most, though, is the Middle East, and the Arab-Israeli relationship. We can't allow another generation to go through what we have gone through. The new administration looks hopeful, even though hopes have been raised before, and then nothing. Still, I am hopeful. President Obama is my age. He's there for change. His campaign was about change and hope. It's so very important for people to have hope! Dialogue is important too. It's what we teach our children: Talk it out, don't hit. Don't bully people. He has put out some gestures to Iran, so maybe they will pick it up. Instead of spending money on bombs, I'd like to see it used to get people together, so we understand we are all human beings together. Bahrain is a small island where we all live together in peace. Peace X Peace does that too, by putting women from everywhere together. Patricia's book is such an amazing concept: Palestinian and Israeli women side by side. If governments and NGOs arrange more and more events to bring people together, we will be moving toward peace. Our baby steps will add up, and they will become something great. I think we need many more organizations like Peace X Peace.

Two Upcoming WISDOM events in June, 2009

Dear WISDOM Subscribers,

Please read about two very important events coming up!!

1) This is to let you know that you are all invited to join an Interfaith Book Club that WISDOM is going to participate in jointly with the Troy Interfaith Group. The first book club session will be at the Troy Public Library, 510 West Big Beaver Road, on Monday June 8th at 7:00 PM. Please see attached invitation.

Please register for this book club via email by replying to troy.interfaith@gmail.com and including “Book Club” in the subject. Once you register, you will be sent downloadable information.

This first book club session will deal with Dan Buttry’s books entitled Interfaith Heroes. You can access some of the Interfaith Heroes at
http://www.readthespirit.com/interfaithheroes/

Rev. Charlotte Sommers, the Convener of Troy Interfaith Group and pastor of the congregation at Northminster Presbyterian Church (home of the Community Interfaith Labyrinth) will be leading the book discussion. I will be part of this exciting interfaith book club. I hope to see other WISDOM subscribers there!!



2) You are also invited to an event at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center event featuring Her Excellency Ambassador Houda Ezra Nonoo, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States, the first Jewish ambassador from an Arab nation!! This event is sponsored by the Institute for Retired Professionals (IRP), and the Seminars for Adult Jewish Enrichment (SAJE), and co-sponsored by WISDOM among other organizations.

The event will be about “Women’s Rights: A View of Life in Bahrain.”

Houda Ezra Nonoo is ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States. Appointed in 2008, she is the country’s first non-Muslim ambassador, the first Jew to be appointed by any Arab country as ambassador to the United States and only the third Bahraini woman ever named ambassador to any nation. Ambassador Nonoo was born in 1964 in Bahrain, a close U.S. ally whose Jewish community of about 50 dates to Talmudic times. Descended from Iraqi merchants, Ambassador Nonoo received her MBA from the International University of Europe in Waterford, UK. In 2006, the King of Bahrain, Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah, appointed Nonoo to the Shura (consultative) Council, in the upper chamber of parliament, where she served on the Committee for Finance and Economic Affairs. Ambassador Nonoo is one of the founding members of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society and has worked to improve conditions in factories, as well as raise awareness about the rights of women, children and domestic workers. She is married and has two teenage sons.

Advance registration and payment are requested by Thursday, June 18, 2009. Cost is $10.00 in advance and $12.00 at the door. Please fill out the response form below with payment or call 248-432-5692 to charge by phone. For questions or more information about this event, please contact Sharon Levine, IRP director, at 248-967-4030 ext. 2018 or slevine@jccdet.org


Number of attendees: ___________________ Total enclosed ___________________________

Name(s): ______________________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________________

City: ____________________________State: _______________________ Zip: ______________

Phone: _________________________________ Email: ________________________________

Method of payment: (please circle) Check (enclosed) Visa Mastercard

Name on card ___________________________________________________________________

Card number: ____________________________________________________________________

Signature: ______________________________________________________________________

Please make checks payable to JCC of Metropolitan Detroit
Kindly RSVP by June 18, 2009. Return response card with payment to:

Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
Attn: IRP/SAJE
6600 West Maple Road
West Bloomfield, MI 48322

It would be so wonderful to have a WISDOM presence at this event. I will definitely be there as WISDOM president, and I hope that you will join me.

Gail

WISDOM Annual Dinner and Installation Ceremony, May 2009

Dear WISDOM Subscribers:

On Thursday evening, May 7, 2009 the WISDOM Board of Directors held their Second Annual Dinner and Installation Ceremony at the Peking House in Royal Oak. What a wonderful evening!! The food was outstanding, and the warmth and friendship in the room was priceless.

Gail Katz, WISDOM President, welcomed everyone, and the Rev. Sharon Buttry gave a blessing over the meal. Following a dinner of vegetarian choices, Chinese chicken and peapods and beef, Professor Charles Mabee, Director of the Religious Studies Program at Oakland University and the MDIV Program at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary, gave a presentation entitled "Inter-Religious Dialogue in Metro-Detroit."

Following his presentation the following board members were installed with a beautiful candle ceremony:

Executive Board

Gail Katz (Co-Founder) - President
Shahina Begg (Co-Founder) - Vice President
Patricia Harris (Co-Founder) - Vice President
Paula Drewek - Secretary
Bhavna Mehta - Treasurer

General Board

Sharon Buttry
Ellen Ehrlich
Fran Hildebrandt
Claudine Kafi
Padma Kuppa
Rehana Qureshi
Gigi Salka
Sheri Schiff
Elaine Schonberger
Betty Sheehan
Supreet Singh
Noelle Sutherland
Anjali Vale

Advisory Board

Beth Applebaum
Marsha Foster Boyd
Brenda Rosenberg
Freda Sampson
Judy Satterthwaite

Gail Katz then gave a review of WISDOM's accomplishments since the first annual dinner in May of 2008 and the evening closed with a beautiful interfaith prayer delivered by the WISDOM Program Committee Chair Judy Satterthwaite.

Thanks to all of the WISDOM Board members who have given of their time, their energy, their creativity and their financial resources to help make WISDOM the lively vital organization that we have become!!

Here's to a productive 2009-2010 year.

Enjoy the photos of the evening below.

Peace, Gail

WISDOM Honors the Rev. Sharon Buttry

WISDOM honored the Rev. Sharon Buttry at the Birmingham Bloomfield Race Relations and Diversity Task Force Tenth Annual Diversity Champion Honor Roll on April 30, 2009.

Sharon lives in Hamtramck and serves as outreach director at Acts 29 Fellowship, a Christian mission dedicated to meeting the critical needs of neighbors of 26 different language groups. "My neighborhood is a United Nations: next door is Yemen, Libya and Poland; the smell of good cooking fills the air as I walk home each night."

Since moving to Michigan in 1996, Sharon has made many interfaith friends through the Hamtramck "Call to Prayer" ballot question and as a WISDOM Board member. Sharon and her husband Dan have facilitated workshops in conflict transformation in Poland, Thailand, Italy, India and Ethiopia.

Sharon has been an incredible asset to WISDOM. She facilitated our WISDOM retreat last January, and served a secretary on the Executive Board.

Thank you Sharon for all that you have done for WISDOM!!

Please enjoy the photos below.

WISDOM Membership Celebration

Dear WISDOM Supporters:


On Sunday, March 29, 2009 WISDOM hosted their first Membership Celebration. About 40 women came together - WISDOM Board members, non-board members, and potential members - came to the Mulberry Square Condominium Clubhouse in Bloomfield Hills for appetizers and desserts. We shared our stories, auctioned off WISDOM tee-shirts and flowers, and had a marvelous time despite the rain and snow that battered the clubhouse windows outside. We offer a big thank you to everyone who brought treats and took the time to meet and greet each other. Thank you to our WISDOM members, and to all the people who joined WISDOM at this member celebration. We welcome all of you to WISDOM, and we hope to see you active on a WISDOM committee soon. Please take a few moments to look at the pictures below.


Gail Katz
WISDOM President

WISDOM event - Stewards of the Earth on April 26

Come one, Come all. . .
Women, Men, Children and Teens!

Join WISDOM for a Celebration of Earth Day and help us be
“STEWARDS OF THE EARTH”

SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2009
10:30 AM – 3:00 PM

At the E.L.JOHNSON NATURE CENTER
3325 FRANKLIN ROAD, BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI 48302
248-341-6485

At this INTERFAITH ECOLOGICAL INITIATIVE
We will:
. Learn together from Natural Resources Educator, Dan Badgley
. Work together to help groom trails and restore habitat
. Eat together and have fun as friends and families

Bring your own picnic lunch and something to share (for 5)
Beverages provided by WISDOM
Bring work gloves, protective clothing, hat,
Insect repellent, sun screen.

All ages
Are encouraged to attend!!
Please see registration forms
Permission slips/waiver forms

AN ADULT MUST ACCOMPANY EACH GROUP OF YOUTH
(NO MORE THAN 10 YOUTH PER ADULT)

QUESTIONS?
CONTACT GAIL KATZ 248-978-6664
JUDY SATTERTHWAITE 248-495-2866

WISDOM
STEWARDS OF THE EARTH
E.L.JOHNSON NATURE CENTER
SUNDAY, APRIL 26TH, 2009
Registration Form


10:30 AM – REGISTRATION

11:00 AM – TALK BY NATURE CENTER MANAGER DAN BADGLEY

11:20 AM – 2:00 PM OUTDOOR ECO-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES

1. SPREADING MULCH ON THE NATURE TRAILS
2. CUTTING DOWN AND ROOTING OUT
INVASIVE WEEDS

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM “GETTING TO KNOW YOU LUNCH”

NAME OF CONTACT ______________________________________________

NAME OF ORGANIZATION _________________________________________

EMAIL ADDRESS _________________________________________________

CELL PHONE __________________ HOME/OFFICE PHONE ______________

FAITH TRADITION (optional) _______________________________________

How many people are in your group? ________________________________

What are the ages of the youth (if any) that are coming with you? ________

Please send the registration form to WISDOM, P.O. Box 525, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303 as soon as possible to reserve your place.

The participants from each organization/family must complete individual permission slips/liability Waiver & Release Forms (See forms below!!) to participate in the WISDOM event. There is a separate form for adults and youth.

These forms must be mailed to WISDOM, P.O. Box 525, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303 by April 15th

Questions? Contact Gail Katz, WISDOM President, 248-978-6664





ADULT
Liability Waiver & Release Form
STEWARDS OF THE EARTH
E.L.JOHNSON NATURE CENTER
BLOOMFIELD HILLS
APRIL 26, 2009
11:30 AM – 3:00 PM

Name of participant_________________________________________________________________

Religious Institution/Faith Tradition ______________________________________________

Home phone _______________________Cell Phone _________________________________

E-mail ______________________________________________________________________


Liability Waiver and Release Form

On this 26th day of April, 2009, intending to be legally bound hereby, the undersigned agrees and does hereby release from liability and to indemnify and hold harmless WISDOM (Women’s Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in MetroDetroit). This release is for any and all liability for personal injuries (including death) and property losses or damage occasioned by, or in connection with any activity or accommodations for this event. The undersigned further agrees to abide by all the rules and regulations promulgated by WISDOM and the E.L. Johnson Nature Center.

_____________________________________ ____________________________
(Signature of participant) (Date)


( Phone numbers in case of any emergency















YOUTH (Under 18)
Liability Waiver & Release Form
STEWARDS OF THE EARTH
E.L.JOHNSON NATURE CENTER
BLOOMFIELD HILLS
APRIL 26, 2009

Name of participant_________________________________________________________________

Advisor/Teacher/Parent Responsible ______________________________________

Advisor/Teacher/Parent phone number ____________________________________


Liability Waiver and Release Form

On this 26th day of April, 2009, intending to be legally bound hereby, the undersigned agrees and does hereby release from liability and to indemnify and hold harmless WISDOM (Women’s Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in MetroDetroit. This release is for any and all liability for personal injuries (including death) and property losses or damage occasioned by, or in connection with any activity or accommodations for this event. The undersigned further agrees to abide by all the rules and regulations promulgated by WISDOM and the E.L. Johnson Nature Center.

Please do not bring electronic devices, i.e. IPODS, Handheld video games, Play stations, etc. Cell phones should be used only for emergencies during this event.


I give my permission for my child to participate in this community service project.

_____________________________________ ____________________________
(Signature of parent/guardian) (Date)


(Parent/guardian’s home phone, cell phone, emergency contact)

______________________________ ____________________________________
Parent’s e-mail Youth e-mail

A Muslim Holiday and a Jewish Holiday

Dear WISDOM Subscribers:

Below is an article in today’s Detroit News about the commemoration of the birth of the prophet Muhammad which will occur this Saturday evening, March 7th, and why many Muslims feel this celebration is especially important this year.

Following this article is another one from this week’s Jewish News about the Jewish holiday of Purim which occurs Monday, March 9th at sundown.

We wish all of our Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters very happy and peaceful holidays!!

Gail


Muslims honor birth of prophet
Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News

As Muslims commemorate the birth of the prophet Muhammad beginning Saturday at dusk, some say that remembering the events of the prophet's life and the guidance revealed by the Quran are especially important this year, after some pointed attacks on the reputation of the man they believe to be God's messenger and the perfect human being. Mawlid An-Nabi, the prophet's birthday, is remembered by Sunni Muslims on the 12th day of the third lunar month, and by the Shi'a on the 17th day. In Metro Detroit, many Sunnis will mark it Saturday, and many Shi'a during the following week or next weekend. He was born in about 570. "What we do is to read the Quran and the history of the prophet," said Akil Fahd, of the Tijani Zawiya, a Muslim center on the east side. "The thing that makes it more important this year than in other years is the attacks on the prophet and his character. "It is more important this year to remember him for what he has done as opposed to the attacks that have been thrust upon him." Many Muslims in Metro Detroit were distressed last year when DVDs of the movie "Obsession," which they say slandered Muhammad and Islam, were delivered to homes throughout Metro Detroit. They also expressed indignation about local radio broadcasts by a Coptic priest who accused the prophet of unnatural acts, and by the Dutch film "Fitna," which interspersed readings from sacred Islamic texts with scenes of violence. "Fortunately, in many ways, these attacks ended up helping us in the end because Muslims and non-Muslims were forced to take a look at the life of Muhammad and to see that these movies were unfair portraits of the prophet and Islam," said Mohamed Abbass, who worships at the American Islamic Community Center in Madison Heights. "It's allowed us to have a constructive dialogue. "But, this year, Muslims have found that they need to connect with their prophet, because sadly we have to sort of defend our faith," Abbass said.


PURIM AT A GLANCE

(Information taken from an article by Elizabeth Applebaum in this week’s Jewish News)

Purim beings the 14th day of the Jewish month of Adar, which this year corresponds to sundown, Monday, Mar 9, until sundown, Tuesday, March 10. This holiday commemorates how Queen Esther and Mordechai thwarted the plans of the evil Haman to kill all the Jews during the reign of King Ahaseurus of ancient Persia (4th century BCE). The name Purim means “lots” (objects, such as dice, used in making a choice by chance). It refers to the lots cast by Haman to determine the month in which to exterminate the Jews (Esther 3:7; 9:26).
The main event of Purim is the public reading of Megilat Ester, the Book of Esther (or Scroll of Esther) commonly known as the Megillah (which in Hebrew means “scroll”). The day before Purim is Ta’anit Ester, the Fast of Esther. This fast beings in the morning (Monday, 6:43 AM Detroit time) and ends at sundown (8:01 PM), although Jews do not eat until after the evening prayer service, when Purim actually begins. In synagogues, the Megillah is read during the evening service. Some hold additional readings after the service. The Megillah also is read in the synagogue the next morning (Tuesday).
Jews will attend both the evening and the morning readings of the Megillah. Every mention of evil Haman’s name during the reading is accompanied by booing and hissing or the use of noise makers. One of the main themes of Purim is that things are not as they seem: the beautiful Queen Esther of Persia is actually the Jewish girl, Hadassah; loyal palace guards are scheming insurrectionists; the great conqueror, King Ahaseurus, is a drunken lecher; the capable administrator, Haman, is a genocidal maniac; events seem to happen by themselves, but all is determined by God. In accordance with this theme, children and adults hide their true identities by dressing up in costumes for the holiday celebration. Because the Jews survived this planned massacre, Purim is a festival of joy and a time of fun. Carnivals, skits, practical jokes and silliness are all part of the day.

In addition Jews observe three practices on Purim:

1) Gifts of food are sent to fellow Jews – the gifts consist of food ready to eat or that can be enjoyed with minimal preparation

2) Generous contributions of money are given to the poor. The rabbis teach that donations to the poor should form the bulk of the Purim expense

3) A festive meal is to be eaten. On Purim, one is to include more wine or liquor with the meal, than usual, enough to make things lively, but not to become drunk. The meal should begin during the daytime, but if it extends into the evening when Purim is over, that’s OK.

On Purim, unlike other holidays, work is permitted, fires may be kindled, electricity turned on, cars driven, money handled, etc.

The most traditional food for Purim by Eastern European Jews is the Hamentoshen – or cookies with three sides (and a fruit filling) to symbolize the three sided hat that the villain Hamen wore!! You can even buy them at Costco!!

(at least the one in Bloomfield Hills!! Gail)