The Shalom Center and partner organizations invite you to a virtual “Iftar-Seder,” a gathering to eat and think together about our shared future in America. It will happen, by Zoom, from 7:30 to 9:30 Eastern time (4:30 to 6:30 Pacific) on the evening of Sunday, April 10. The Iftar-Seder is free. We welcome you to join with us, by registering here
After you register, the organizing committee will email you additional information about the event, including a Zoom link and the program outline. Stay tuned for that email as we continue to finalize the program!
Background
This year, we celebrate the Iftar and the Seder together, to celebrate each other and to beckon toward a future in which American Muslims and American Jews can work and pray with each other and with all the world — free of Islamophobia, Antisemitism, and racism; free from threats to democracy as a whole; free from lethal threats to our Mother Earth, our shared and nurturing home; and free to grow beyond our own spiritual “stuck places” as individuals and communities. Those four liberations will be connected in our Iftar-Seder with four cups (of grape juice) that shape a traditional Seder.
We had originally hoped that the COVID-19 virus would have become so minor by April 10 that we could safely eat together in Masjidullah, a mostly African-American Philadelphia mosque with strong outreach and commitment to liberation and justice, and a space for hundreds. (That was where we held the 50th-anniversary Freedom Seder.) But our planning committee felt that the virus is still too dangerous for a meal of hundreds together. So we will gather by Zoom.
We chose to do this because this Spring, the Jewish lunar “moonth” of Nisan — the first of months, according to Torah, and the bearer of the sacred eight-day festival of Pesach, Passover, will be the same moonth as the sacred Muslim “moonth” of Ramadan. In both traditions, there is a strong tradition of a special way of eating during the sacred season. For Muslims, it is a month of fasting to focus on God, made possible by eating a special dinner called Iftar each evening after sunset. For Jews, it is “Fasting” from all foods that contain even a smidgin of leavening — especially ordinary bread –and holding a special meal — the Seder –of symbolic foods and of Telling the story of liberation.
Originally, that was the story of liberation from the “NarrowPlace,” a country most Americans call Egypt where ancient Israelites had been enslaved by ancient Pharaohs.. Since the advent of the Freedom Seder in 1969, the Telling of liberation has broadened to include other struggles for freedom.
This event is being co-organized and sponsored by the following institutions:
– The Shalom Center
– Sisterhood of Salaam-Shalom
– Masjidullah
– CAIR-Philadelphia
– Interfaith Peace Walk
You Can Participate in a Virtual Iftar-Seder
/in Earth & Faith, Featured Articles, NEWS /by adminThe Shalom Center and partner organizations invite you to a virtual “Iftar-Seder,” a gathering to eat and think together about our shared future in America. It will happen, by Zoom, from 7:30 to 9:30 Eastern time (4:30 to 6:30 Pacific) on the evening of Sunday, April 10. The Iftar-Seder is free. We welcome you to join with us, by registering here
After you register, the organizing committee will email you additional information about the event, including a Zoom link and the program outline. Stay tuned for that email as we continue to finalize the program!
Background
This year, we celebrate the Iftar and the Seder together, to celebrate each other and to beckon toward a future in which American Muslims and American Jews can work and pray with each other and with all the world — free of Islamophobia, Antisemitism, and racism; free from threats to democracy as a whole; free from lethal threats to our Mother Earth, our shared and nurturing home; and free to grow beyond our own spiritual “stuck places” as individuals and communities. Those four liberations will be connected in our Iftar-Seder with four cups (of grape juice) that shape a traditional Seder.
We had originally hoped that the COVID-19 virus would have become so minor by April 10 that we could safely eat together in Masjidullah, a mostly African-American Philadelphia mosque with strong outreach and commitment to liberation and justice, and a space for hundreds. (That was where we held the 50th-anniversary Freedom Seder.) But our planning committee felt that the virus is still too dangerous for a meal of hundreds together. So we will gather by Zoom.
We chose to do this because this Spring, the Jewish lunar “moonth” of Nisan — the first of months, according to Torah, and the bearer of the sacred eight-day festival of Pesach, Passover, will be the same moonth as the sacred Muslim “moonth” of Ramadan. In both traditions, there is a strong tradition of a special way of eating during the sacred season. For Muslims, it is a month of fasting to focus on God, made possible by eating a special dinner called Iftar each evening after sunset. For Jews, it is “Fasting” from all foods that contain even a smidgin of leavening — especially ordinary bread –and holding a special meal — the Seder –of symbolic foods and of Telling the story of liberation.
Originally, that was the story of liberation from the “NarrowPlace,” a country most Americans call Egypt where ancient Israelites had been enslaved by ancient Pharaohs.. Since the advent of the Freedom Seder in 1969, the Telling of liberation has broadened to include other struggles for freedom.
This event is being co-organized and sponsored by the following institutions:
– The Shalom Center
– Sisterhood of Salaam-Shalom
– Masjidullah
– CAIR-Philadelphia
– Interfaith Peace Walk
New Documentary Features Youth Movement Demanding Right to Stable Climate
/in Actions, Faithful Citizenship, Featured Articles, Media, NEWS, Young Adults /by adminRegister to host a screening of YOUTH v GOV, a powerful film that follows 21 young Americans suing the world’s most powerful government to protect their constitutional rights to a stable climate.
The national Interfaith Power & Light invites you to screen this award-winning film as part of your celebrations of Faith Climate Action Week and join the community of people of faith preaching, teaching, and acting to heal the climate in 2022!
Register now through April 5 to screen the film for your group for free by streaming during the window of April 11-May 1, either to an in-person or virtual audience.
SAVE THE DATE: April 27, 4:30pm Pacific, IPL will host a webinar with the filmmaker Christi Cooper, and two youth plaintiffs from the film. Check back here for details closer to the date.
REGISTER HERE TO HOST A GROUP SCREENING
(Registration available March 21 through April 5)
BORROW A DVD HERE
Barrelmaker Productions has produced a limited number of dvds for houses of worship who do not have the capacity to stream at their event. They are available to borrow for $10 plus shipping.
Download screening guide
IPL Launches Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign
/in Faithful Citizenship, Featured Articles, NEWS /by adminIs your voter registration is current? Confirm it’s up to date for this important election year.
Mark Your Calendars for these election dates in New Mexico
Primary Election:
June 7, 2022
General Election:
November 8, 2022
As people of faith and conscience, our values call us to ensure that everyone is cared for and to be good stewards of our Sacred Earth. Climate change is destroying our common home, harming our communities, and putting future generations at risk.
For too long, the fossil fuel industry has divided and distracted us with lies while they endanger our climate and pollute our air and water. They exploit our differences trying to divide us. They pick and choose where to dump toxins based on the contents of our wallets and the color of our skin, hoping to avoid accountability for the crisis they created for all of us.
This election is about the values shaping our future. Together, we can express our values of ensuring a livable planet for our children and that all are cared for. We can come together to vote our values and make a difference.
Please confirm your voter registration is current at our online voter portal.
Once you’ve done that, help make sure your faith community is ready to vote by asking them to check their registration or register to vote.
Voting is the central sacrament of our democracy. Join us in ensuring our faith communities are ready to vote and are voting their values this year.