WISDOM is happy to make the following announcements:
1) Monday, September 24th through Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at 7:15 PM at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, a showing of the documentary “Zeitouna: Refusing to be Enemies”. The movie profiles the twelve women of an Ann Arbor dialogue group called Zeitouna ("olive tree" in Arabic) and documents their developing relationship over a four-year period. Six of the Zeitouna women are of Arab descent and six are of Jewish descent. Some are native born and some are immigrants. What they all have in common is their humanity and their desire to bridge the gulf that has developed between their two communities. They chose the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the focus of the group and use the dialogue process as a means of personal transformation leading to socio-political transformation.The film includes personal narratives and dialogue footage from the group's spring 2006 "Journey of Peace" trip to Palestine/Israel.
2) The International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, located in the Pivnick Center for Humanistic Judaism at The Birmingham Temple 28611 West 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills, is sponsoring a colloquium entitled “Jews and the Muslim World: Solving the Puzzle.”
Friday, October 19th at 8:00 PM - Keynote by Fawaz A. Gerges, Sarah Lawrence College
Saturday, October 20th at 9:30 AM – “Islam: Then and Now” by Jacob Lassner, Northwestern University
Saturday, October 20th at 11:00 AM – “Jews in the Muslim World” by Jane Gerber, Columbia University
Saturday, October 20th at 1:30 PM – “Zionism and the Muslim World” by Derek Penslar, the University of Toronto
Saturday, October 20th at 3:00 PM – “Antisemitism and the Muslim World” by Yehuda Bauer, Hebrew University
Sunday, October 21st at 9:30 AM “What Can Be Done? The Muslim Response” by Amir Hussain, Loyola Marymount University
Sunday, October 21st at 10:30 AM “What Can Be Done? The Jewish Response by Yehuda Bauer, Hebrew University
For more information and registration call 248-476-9532 or go to this website to see the entire brochure: http://www.iishj.org/images/CLQM07.pdf
3) November 13th, Tuesday, The Faith Club authors are coming to the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center Book Fair at 7:00 PM. WISDOM is one of the organizations sponsoring them. We are still waiting for specifics on the authors’ travel schedule to Detroit. We hope you will join us at the Center for this exciting event!!
4) Gail Katz, on behalf of WISDOM, was interviewed by Kartemquin Films on September 5th for a documentary that they are making about the religious pluralism of the Metro Detroit area, and the interfaith efforts taking place around town.
5) An interfaith women’s group, called “The Museum Group”, had a showing of the documentary “The Power of Good: the Nicholas Winton Story,” about what one British man did during World War II to save the lives of Jewish children living in Prague from the Nazis, at the Farmington Library on Sunday, September 16th. This might be a great documentary for a WISDOM event in the future. Gail talked about WISDOM to this group, and encouraged them to register on our WISDOM website and get involved with WISDOM activities as well.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
Happy and Healthy Holidays to our Jewish and Muslim Sisters
We at WISDOM would like to wish everyone of the Jewish and Muslim faiths happy and health holidays.
Rosh Hashanah, the first Jewish holiday of the year, begins at sundown on Wednesday, September 12th and ends at sundown on Friday, September 14th. Rosh Hashanah literally means “head of the year” and is New Year’s Day for the Jewish people. Rosh Hashanah commemorates the day when God created Adam and Eve. At this time God judges everyone and weighs their good deeds, or mitzvot, next to their sins. Thus, Rosh Hashanah is also called the Day of Judgment. If you have a superabundance of good deeds, you will immediately be inscribed in God’s Book of Life and Blessing. If you have way too many sins, and you are wicked, you will be inscribed in the Book for Death and Misfortune. Most people, however, are not in either of these extremes. So God gives people an extra ten days to improve their lives by committing to the Ten Commandments, and by asking their fellow human beings for forgiveness for hurtful words that may have been said, or hurtful acts that may have been committed during the year. Jews are supposed to be mindful of making peace and reconciliation.
These ten days of repentance end on Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown on Friday, September 21st and ends at sundown on Saturday, September 22nd. This repentance must be accompanied by a commitment to change. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, the day when God’s written decree for each Jewish person for the coming year is about to be sealed. This day is supposed to be spent fasting, in prayer and meditation, in confession of sin, and in reconciliation with God and with his/her fellow man and woman.
For the Muslims, Ramadan begins on Thursday, September 13th and continues for 30 days until Friday the 12th of October. During Ramadan, which is the name of both a month of the year and a period of religious observance, adults embark on a rigidly observed period of abstention, reflection, and purification. Between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan, adult Muslims do not smoke, eat, drink or have sex. They are encouraged to read the Koran from beginning to end during the holy month, which celebrates the first revelation of the Islamic scriptures to Mohammad. Ramadan is devoted to acts of charity and forgiveness, similar to the Jewish holy days. Ramadan is rooted in God’s merciful nature, and its success depends upon the Muslims’ sincere desire to repent before others, and to engage in acts of kindness and charity. This month-long sacrifice leads Muslims to a greater intimacy with God and helps them purify earthly desires.
Rosh Hashanah, the first Jewish holiday of the year, begins at sundown on Wednesday, September 12th and ends at sundown on Friday, September 14th. Rosh Hashanah literally means “head of the year” and is New Year’s Day for the Jewish people. Rosh Hashanah commemorates the day when God created Adam and Eve. At this time God judges everyone and weighs their good deeds, or mitzvot, next to their sins. Thus, Rosh Hashanah is also called the Day of Judgment. If you have a superabundance of good deeds, you will immediately be inscribed in God’s Book of Life and Blessing. If you have way too many sins, and you are wicked, you will be inscribed in the Book for Death and Misfortune. Most people, however, are not in either of these extremes. So God gives people an extra ten days to improve their lives by committing to the Ten Commandments, and by asking their fellow human beings for forgiveness for hurtful words that may have been said, or hurtful acts that may have been committed during the year. Jews are supposed to be mindful of making peace and reconciliation.
These ten days of repentance end on Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown on Friday, September 21st and ends at sundown on Saturday, September 22nd. This repentance must be accompanied by a commitment to change. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, the day when God’s written decree for each Jewish person for the coming year is about to be sealed. This day is supposed to be spent fasting, in prayer and meditation, in confession of sin, and in reconciliation with God and with his/her fellow man and woman.
For the Muslims, Ramadan begins on Thursday, September 13th and continues for 30 days until Friday the 12th of October. During Ramadan, which is the name of both a month of the year and a period of religious observance, adults embark on a rigidly observed period of abstention, reflection, and purification. Between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan, adult Muslims do not smoke, eat, drink or have sex. They are encouraged to read the Koran from beginning to end during the holy month, which celebrates the first revelation of the Islamic scriptures to Mohammad. Ramadan is devoted to acts of charity and forgiveness, similar to the Jewish holy days. Ramadan is rooted in God’s merciful nature, and its success depends upon the Muslims’ sincere desire to repent before others, and to engage in acts of kindness and charity. This month-long sacrifice leads Muslims to a greater intimacy with God and helps them purify earthly desires.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
WISDOM SEPTEMBER, 2007 UPDATE
WISDOM is proud to announce that we are in the process of becoming a non-profit organization (501c3). We are working with WISDOM Steering Committee member and attorney Beth Applebaum to complete the necessary paperwork. We now also have an active steering committee, and we will eventually form a Board, complete with officers, a monthly meeting, and minutes. We hope to have a celebration when we have gained our non-profit status.
WISDOM upcoming events are as follows:
1) September 28th and September 29th, Gail Katz and Trish Harris will be attending the Radcliffe Institute’s seminar entitled “Women’s Interfaith Initiatives After 9/11” at Harvard University, where they will make a PowerPoint Presentation about WISDOM. The other groups that will be presenting are The Faith Club (http://www.thefaithclub.org/), Spiritual and Religious Alliance for Hope (SARAH) (http://www.sarah4hope.org/ ), Women Transcending Boundaries (WTB) (http://www.wtb.org/), and Daughters of Abraham (http://www.daughtersofabraham.info/). In addition to these major presentations, we will also hear short presentations from the Muslim Women’s League, the San Francisco Zen Center and Turning Wheel, the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual, the Interfaith Alliance, and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Some of the questions for discussion are:
Why was the organization formed? How was it formed?
What is its intended purpose/mission?
What are its demographics? (religious, cultural, racial, socio-economic, etc.)
Is it self-descriptively feminist or womanist? Why or why not?
What are the organization’s current and projected plans/programs?
What is the organization’s impact on the local community?
How is it (or not) redefining women’s religious leadership, the interfaith movement, the women’s movement and local government?
How does the organization evaluate its effectiveness?
Trish and Gail will have a report on the outcome of this seminar that will be distributed by e-mail and put on the blog some time in October.
Gail and Trish’s powerpoint presentation about WISDOM can be accessed on the WISDOM website at http://www.interfaithwisdom.org/ if you go to the “About us” link on the home page, and look towards the end of WISDOM’s mission statement.
2) Tuesday, November 13th, – sponsorship of The Faith Club at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center Book Fair at 7:00 PM. Other details still need to be worked out with the agent of The Faith Club authors.
3) Sunday, January 20th - We are looking into the possibility of showing the documentary "White Rainbow" which deals with the plight of widows in India. This would fit into the general topic of building interfaith efforts to stop violence and discrimination against women. The documentary should be out in November. Another excellent movie that deals with this topic is “Water” directed by Deepa Mehta. A must see!!
4) Sunday, January 27th from 4:00 – 6:00 PM at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills - The Ninth Annual World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation is planning a Sunday service for interfaith solidarity for World Peace. We would like WISDOM supporters to show up at this event. The focus will be on our youth getting involved in making a difference in our community by working towards world peace. Children of various religious schools in Metro Detroit will be making peace banners and participating in the service. If you have a 3rd through 6th grader and would like your child(ren) to get involved, please contact your child's religious school director and encourage him/her to connect with Gail (gailkatz@comcast.net). Also if your church, synagogue, temple, mosque, gudwara, has a choir, dance group, singing trio, etc that you think might be interested in participating in our interfaith service, please contact Gail as well.
5) Sunday, March 30th WISDOM will be co-sponsoring an Educational Day about Judaism with the Sisterhood of Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park. We will have lunch and interfaith activities in addition to the educational component. More details to follow.
6) Sunday, May 18th, WISDOM will host another Peace Through WISDOM event at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak. If you were unable to connect with a sister circle at our last event, or you were unable to attend our July 8th Peace Through WISDOM event, please mark your calendar for May 18th. If you would like congregants from your place of worship to participate, please help us spread the word next spring!!
7) An Interfaith event that is coming on October 19th, 20th, and 21st to the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism at the Birmingham Temple is “Jews and the Muslim World: Solving the Puzzle.” Six renowned scholars representing the Muslim, Christian and Jewish worlds will explore this theme. Stay tuned for more information.
WISDOM upcoming events are as follows:
1) September 28th and September 29th, Gail Katz and Trish Harris will be attending the Radcliffe Institute’s seminar entitled “Women’s Interfaith Initiatives After 9/11” at Harvard University, where they will make a PowerPoint Presentation about WISDOM. The other groups that will be presenting are The Faith Club (http://www.thefaithclub.org/), Spiritual and Religious Alliance for Hope (SARAH) (http://www.sarah4hope.org/ ), Women Transcending Boundaries (WTB) (http://www.wtb.org/), and Daughters of Abraham (http://www.daughtersofabraham.info/). In addition to these major presentations, we will also hear short presentations from the Muslim Women’s League, the San Francisco Zen Center and Turning Wheel, the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual, the Interfaith Alliance, and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Some of the questions for discussion are:
Why was the organization formed? How was it formed?
What is its intended purpose/mission?
What are its demographics? (religious, cultural, racial, socio-economic, etc.)
Is it self-descriptively feminist or womanist? Why or why not?
What are the organization’s current and projected plans/programs?
What is the organization’s impact on the local community?
How is it (or not) redefining women’s religious leadership, the interfaith movement, the women’s movement and local government?
How does the organization evaluate its effectiveness?
Trish and Gail will have a report on the outcome of this seminar that will be distributed by e-mail and put on the blog some time in October.
Gail and Trish’s powerpoint presentation about WISDOM can be accessed on the WISDOM website at http://www.interfaithwisdom.org/ if you go to the “About us” link on the home page, and look towards the end of WISDOM’s mission statement.
2) Tuesday, November 13th, – sponsorship of The Faith Club at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center Book Fair at 7:00 PM. Other details still need to be worked out with the agent of The Faith Club authors.
3) Sunday, January 20th - We are looking into the possibility of showing the documentary "White Rainbow" which deals with the plight of widows in India. This would fit into the general topic of building interfaith efforts to stop violence and discrimination against women. The documentary should be out in November. Another excellent movie that deals with this topic is “Water” directed by Deepa Mehta. A must see!!
4) Sunday, January 27th from 4:00 – 6:00 PM at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills - The Ninth Annual World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation is planning a Sunday service for interfaith solidarity for World Peace. We would like WISDOM supporters to show up at this event. The focus will be on our youth getting involved in making a difference in our community by working towards world peace. Children of various religious schools in Metro Detroit will be making peace banners and participating in the service. If you have a 3rd through 6th grader and would like your child(ren) to get involved, please contact your child's religious school director and encourage him/her to connect with Gail (gailkatz@comcast.net). Also if your church, synagogue, temple, mosque, gudwara, has a choir, dance group, singing trio, etc that you think might be interested in participating in our interfaith service, please contact Gail as well.
5) Sunday, March 30th WISDOM will be co-sponsoring an Educational Day about Judaism with the Sisterhood of Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park. We will have lunch and interfaith activities in addition to the educational component. More details to follow.
6) Sunday, May 18th, WISDOM will host another Peace Through WISDOM event at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak. If you were unable to connect with a sister circle at our last event, or you were unable to attend our July 8th Peace Through WISDOM event, please mark your calendar for May 18th. If you would like congregants from your place of worship to participate, please help us spread the word next spring!!
7) An Interfaith event that is coming on October 19th, 20th, and 21st to the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism at the Birmingham Temple is “Jews and the Muslim World: Solving the Puzzle.” Six renowned scholars representing the Muslim, Christian and Jewish worlds will explore this theme. Stay tuned for more information.
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