Youth Group at First Congregational Church

Someone in a radio show mentioned the online movie, "Overview."

Here it is, 19 minutes of ....wow. http://vimeo.com/55073825

See also the trailer for their movie now in development about life on earth as one, [3 min.], http://vimeo.com/60234866

2.16.2013

comparing translations of Bible verses

Among modern English translations, many experts prefer the study-bible versions (extra footnotes, background details, etc) of either the NIV (new int'l version) or the NRSV (new revised standard version). Other very recent eBook or online publications based on the most recent research are the Lexham (online) and the Holman Christian Standard Bible (free at amazon.com). Of course Eugene Peterson's conversational translatio, The Message, has lots of merits, too.

www.biblegateway.com allows you to type a book, chapter, verse and click the "parallel" button to show how the verse reads in as many different (English) translations as you like; a very powerful and convenient tool when wading into these waters!

These verses show some examples of simultaneous look-up for several different Bibles.
Besides English versions of the Bible to compare, other languages are there, too; for example the Hawai'ian pidgin version of "God is love" from 1 John 4:16:

Numba 1 From John 4:16

Hawai‘i Pidgin (HWP)

¹⁶We know an trus dat God get love an aloha fo us guys.
Da way God stay, he everytime get love an aloha fo everybody. Whoeva get love an aloha, dey stay tight wit God, an God stay tight wit dem too.

Hawai‘i Pidgin (HWP)

1.19.2013

Shabbat for the trees

The command given to God's peoples to be stewards of the land and seas lives on in modern times:

jrichman ATjr.co.il

Tu B'Shvat, the New Year for Trees, falls on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shvat, January 26 this year (5773 / 2013).
This Jewish mini-holiday is of major importance to our appreciation of Nature and our relationship to it.
It is customary to plant trees and partake of the fruits of the land of Israel to mark the occasion. This year, Tu B'Shvat falls on Shabbat,
therefore, many of the holiday activities this year will take place on Thursday, January 24.

The Jewish Trivia Quiz: Tu B'Shvat, http://www.jewish-trivia.com

Which fruit is used to make wine ?
When did Kabbalists originate the Tu B'shvat Seder ?
How many glasses of wine are drunk at the Tu B'Shvat seder ?
What branch of a tree did the dove bring back after the flood ?
How many days does the Hebrew month of Shvat have ?
What is associated with both Chanukah and Tu B'Shvat ?
In Israel, what happens to trees starting on the 15th of Shvat ?
Since 1901, how many trees has the Jewish National Fund planted in Israel ?
According to the Torah, which fruits did the spies bring to the children of Israel in the wilderness ?
<< examples from the multiple choice Flash quiz >>

45 Cool Tu B'Shvat Videos, http://www.jr.co.il/videos/tu-bshvat-videos.htm
To learn more about Tu B'Shvat, I posted on my website 48 links about Tu B'Shvat, ranging from history and customs to graphics and
recipes. http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdaytu.htm

Shabbat Shalom,

12.13.2012

parables are still a fun way to learn

[via education technology newletter from NextVistaLearning.org ]

Into parables? If so, you might enjoy the project that high school theology teacher Christian Clifford did with his students on creating media pieces which express their take on Biblical stories.

The first link is an example of a video one of his students put together as part of the last piece of the project, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh05Bzu44A0

and the second is his instructions to the class on how the activity works, https://docs.google.com/a/serrahs.com/document/d/1kUju6sgLi2yTm64ocLFX4j9rj04NVGf3eJ4E1s5d4sk/edit

shortcut: http://goo.gl/h0C2L

12.05.2012

visual context - photos of Israel's National Trail

Many glimpses of landscape, people, textures and light.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/int/pool/

11.21.2012

pizzas 2012 November

The congregation, and friends/family outside support the next year's summer youth experiences at ASP (Appalachia Service Project) and the NAPF (National Association for Pilgrim Fellowship).

Just about 60 pies rolled off the assembly line on Saturday night.

8.08.2012

practicing Hebrew - what does it sound & taste like?

Even without memorizing or understanding everything in this short scenes, one can mimic the voices to get a feeling of what the language is like. The same producer has diverse learning materials beyond these videos, too:

http://www.in-hebrew.co.il/videos/ [all topics covered]

http://youtu.be/ptYmF6tMRws [proverb: The world stands on three legs: Torah, kind words, good deeds]

5.15.2012

Jerusalem Day

via prolific multimedia author, Jacob R, in Israel:

Jerusalem Day is celebrated on the 28th of the Hebrew month of Iyar. This year (5772 / 2012) the day falls on Sunday, May 20.

The Jewish Trivia Quiz, http://www.jewish-trivia.com has over 100 multiple choice questions about Jerusalem.

Who built the first temple ?
How many people were involved in constructing the first temple ?
What are the colors of the Jerusalem Beitar soccer team ?
Which animal is on the emblem of the Municipality of Jerusalem ?
What three Jewish holidays is Jerusalem the focal point ?
How long ago was Jerusalem established ?
On what mountain was King David buried ?
How high is Jerusalem above sea level ?
What is the name of the famous art school in Jerusalem ?
What is the length of the wall surrounding the old city ?
When was Hebrew University established ?
Which group defended Jerusalem in 1948 ?
How many open gates does the old city of Jerusalem have ?
What is the name of the largest shopping mall in Jerusalem ?
Who was the first mayor of Jerusalem ?
What was Jerusalem called in the days of Abraham our patriarch ?

The above questions are examples from the multiple choice Flash quiz. There are two levels of questions and two timer
settings. Adults and children will find The Jewish Trivia Quiz entertaining and educational.

To learn more about Jerusalem, I posted on my website 222 links, ranging from history and tourism to photographs and stamps.

The web address is http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/i-jer.htm

I also posted links to 49 Youtube videos about Jerusalem at http://www.jr.co.il/videos/jerusalem-videos.htm

5.12.2012

NAPF 2012. Plains Indian Lives, Livelihood and Legacies today

For most NAPF participants there is so much in common, and also so little in common to the life goals and the family histories of the 2012 hosts in South Dakota.

To help make sense of the events and ideas important today and before, here are several ways to build a little background to the Lakota and related Plains people (Dakota and Nakota).

I offer these as an expert on culture and society, but with very little experience of Plains history and lives. My professional life is linked to East Asia, but with help from colleagues and the Internet, I can suggest these source for starters. Please use the comment feature to add others.

- G P Witteveen at First Congregational Church of St. Johns, Michigan

<>Overview of these 500 years since Chris Columbus started the intersection of Old and New Worlds

-Charles Mann's book, 1493, tells all that unfolded ecologically and socially starting *after* Columbus (follow up to his book, 1491, about life before)

<>Visual introduction

-The maps.google.com "street view" lets you move and rotate the view as if you are there. Here is Rapid City, SD (click the yellow man on the zoom bar) to begin with

-"geo tag" at flickr.com lets you see pictures pinned to a map spot: RC, SD [pin your own pics to flickr maps]

-The searchbox for keywords "rapid city sd" at flickr.com shows lots (push 'view slideshow' at top right)

<>Movies (see also netflix and http://imdb.com for more titles linked from these gems)

-Smoke Signals, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_Signals_(film)

-No More Smoke Signals, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1339133/

-Incident at Oglala, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incident_at_Oglala

-Dances with Wolves is also a very good movie if for no other reason than it seems to take the Lakota seriously and presents the "Wild West" with at least some modicum of sympathy for their plight. (Notwithstanding, my good friend...'s reference to the movie as Lawrence of South Dakota [too much about white guy]).

-[short) Cowtipping: The Militant Indian Waiter. Funny and packs a powerful punch --even if a few white folk "aren't amused" because they see themselves in the "wrong" role in this short movie.

-Tricksters, Redskins, and Puppy Stew. The subtile is something like "the healing power of Native humor." Again, very funny, but humour with a point.

At Youtube "lakota" gives 15,500 videos: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lakota&oq=lakota&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_l=youtube.3..0l10.1181.2174.0.2341.6.6.0.0.0.0.96.423.6.6.0...0.0.quCLzIp8a0g

At Vimeo "lakota" gives 467 videos: http://vimeo.com/search/videos/search:lakota/st/4d86b62b

<>Books

-Historian and tribal member Jos. Marshall III (author website) recorded his book Crazyhorse in a book-on-CD to combine oral history of his people with the document-based history of other (mainly non-Indian) observers.

-Welcome from Joseph Marshall III: Cante wasteya nape ciyuzapelo. I take your hand in friendship. This is a common Lakota greeting. The literal meaning is with a good heart I take your hand. <>Read on...

-Huffington Post (article) Lakota Wisdom: Why Native American Truths Can Heal the World. <>Read article

-related books

-Novelist Gerald Robert Vizenor (GV/wikipedia; GV/amazon; official) richly tells the important difference between "victimry" and "survivance" (his words) as life experience that often affect outlook on and off reservations.

<>Web-based projects

-Language, Our Mother Tongues.org has Lakota segments here, http://ourmothertongues.org/language/Lakota/6

The homepage of all the languages is http://ourmothertongues.org/Home.aspx

-Indianz.com (blog-site)

-Indian Country Today, "traditional" newspaper approach to stories

<>Photos

-NMAI (National Museum of the American Indian) exhibits showing some prominent parts of the permanent display: treaties, guns/swords accumulated across the generations of conflicts (pdf set of pictures).

=-=-= Suggested background to non-Indian intersections with diverse nations

"disclaimer": My opposition to monotheistic religions is NOT to be taken "personally." I know many, many very good and good-hearted Christians (and I was raised as one). But, my discourse is NOT directed at individuals, not even one denomination over another, but it is directed at the underlying "ideology" of the "organization" segment of "organized religion." At the root of all of it, in my opinion is the line out of Genesis --"be fruitful and multiply and go forward and subdue the earth." While it is obviously important for each individual to find their own path in life, if the individual is searching for that path and still blinded by the false ideology that resticts that search to something that is "supernatural," the choices available to the individual are severly restricted, essentially because the entire "social system" is flawed, as it is based on exploitation of other human beings and the planet itself (it's that "subdue the earth" stuff tht gets me). That is, the individual is not the problem, the "system" is. Therefore, if we're to correct the problems the world finds itself facing, while enlisting the individual in the stuggle is is necessary, it is not sufficient --the system must be changed.

One example, perhaps. In Capitalism, everything is done for "individual" profit. In Monotheistic religions, the goal is "individual" salvation. And so on down the line. For the rest of us, "community" is the most important thing --and "community" includes everything in the Natural world (the "individual" means very little in the Big Scheme of Things).

_______________________________________________

QUESTION: Because of sheer ignorance, I'd like to gather a few recommended things to read or websites to visit so that the young people coming together in June (between 100-200, I am guessing) will have some understanding of prominent themes and experiences for individual lives and community, shared memory.

_______________________________________________

REPLY (to be read with the disclaimer, above)

...I do not want to offend you, so please do not take offense at what I'm putting into this reply --it is simply me being brutally honest.

I'm going to assume that the Church group you mention is Christian, and that they're going to SD to truly be helpful to those in the Native Community. But, from my very narrow and prejudiced perspective, the "helpful Christian" is the one, and most damaging, "interaction" that any Native person has ever encountered throughout all of written history.

I'm sorry, but this "mandate" was used by Columbus --and every other "explorer"-- to inflict genocide on Native people around the world. And, in today's world, I assume that these well-intentioned people haven't the slightest idea that their ideology and predecessors essentially killed off these once proud, independent, and prosperous people (the Plains Indians were hit especially hard through the deliberate, genocidal slaughter of the buffalo).

And I use the term "well-intentioned" deliberately. There's no doubt that your daughter and the hundreds of others who will be in SD this summer haven't the slightest idea about the genocide that the people they will be interacting with have suffered for the past 500 years.

In fact, I suspect that many of the Native people of SD haven't a clue either. This is not to lay blame on anyone, or to put a huge "guilt trip" on them, but it is the reality of the situation that we all face today, and have faced for centuries.

Here's my not-very-nice summary: The "invention" of the monotheistic, patriarchal, vengeful God is the biggest disaster that has befallen the human race in its 2 million year history.

It's quite literally impossible to undo the damage that has been done, both to people and to the planet, that has been spawned by this ideology.

I know I'm rambling, here, but I can't help myself --if we, as human beings, don't immediately start treating each other and this planet as if we were all "Traditional Indians," then we as a species are doomed, And it may be too late, already. And the first, very uncomfortable step in that process is that we (all of us) have to completely disregard the "supernatural" and fully embrace the "natural." It can't be explained in an email, sorry to say.

But, back to your question --if I had only two hours, what would I do? Well, given that they'll be in Rapid City, I'd show them the video "Incident at Oglala," surrounding the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge reservation (Leonard Peltier is in prison for those murders) --much of the video is set in Rapid City, and the courthouse where Leonard's two co-defendants were tried --and acquitted-- of the same two murders.

The video is horribly "political," but so am I. Where the issue of "Christian" religion may be addressed in the video is everything that happened on Pine Ridge --and other places, too, I might add-- was essentially a war between the "Traditionals" and the "Progressives" --and the political here mirrors the 'spiritual" (for many of us there's little difference).

I'm sorry that I'm being so polemical about this, but, as I said, I truly believe that its a matter of life and death (but not "spiritual" "supernatural" death --but real-world physical death).

I hope I haven't offended you, but, I do see a sense of urgency on all of this.

Phil Bellfy, White Earth Anishnaabe

Michigan State University, American Indian Studies Program, WRAC Department

Co-director of the Center for the Study of Indigenous Border Issues, http://www.csibi.org

Editor, Indigenous Policy Journal, http://www.indigenouspolicy.org

Anishnaabeg Joint Commission University Liaison

Member of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College Board of Regents

3.20.2012

fund-raiser assistance 3.17

Several youth and parents worked to produce a boiled dinner for St. Patrick's Day up at Alma for a little girl in need of all sort of medical equipment. Drawing on the several food events we have conducted, we took this one on. About 200 people paid for dinner of corned beef, cabbbage, along with extras: potato, carrot and onion.

3.13.2012

New Testament in chronological order

The books are arranged traditionally according to page length. So here is the best guess for the sequence in which they were authored (click picture for full size).

http://narrowpathhosting.com/index.php/Blog/Bible/Chonological-Order-of-the-New-Testament.html is the source for this detail and the table, but it comes from

http://www.gfcto.com/2007/02/new_testament_books_in_chronol.php

Slightly adapted from Robert H. Gundry, A Survey of the New Testament, 3rded. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 480-481. This chart has been modified some according to my own reading.

Quoting the source webpage: This chart does not give dates as certainties. It is for your personal use and benefit only. Many of the dates listed above are based on a series of conclusions, which are in turn based on partial data. Many scholars, even within conservative, Evangelical circles disagree with the precise ordering given above. This area of discussion is one where charity, grace, and humility are called for above all.

2.28.2012

visit to neighboring Catholic Church

Only a couple of sleepy heads from our youth group went across the way at 10 a.m. to join in the Sunday morning mass during the first Sunday in the season of Lent. Hopefully their impressions will supplement these:

-Very busy: lots of people streaming in just before the start time.

-Many familiar faces from school, work and other settings around town.

-Very structured by Order of Service and supplemental guides (cards words to be recited; responsive reading)

-Impression of many rules about who is authorized to do each part of the mass; how and when.

So far much of this would be the same in other varieties of church, including the coordinated standing, sitting, kneeling.

What is much different to the Congregational Way is at the level of organizational structure and governance: that the many layers of authority and hierarchy constitute the Catholic church. And to someone accustomed to that perhaps such structures bind and give comfort of one's place in the overall body of Christ worldwide, but to someone not used to the many structures, this would seem to complicate the space that separates a person from the Trinity.

In sum, the vast history and the (human-made) grandeur are inspiring, but one imagines that some study and time is needed to encounter the Holy Spirit within the patterns and relationships of this large institution of great inertia that has proven capable of carrying people of all walks of life into the Word of God.

2.05.2012

superbowlsubs 2012 x250

Fewer sandwiches than in some years, but a well-practiced crew to speed the process from 6:30 to 10:30 on the eve of the sporting event.
This year marks maybe the 39th or 40th year of making this fundraiser work!

1.19.2012

try Hebrew sound/feeling (proverbs/sayings)

a new "learn Hebrew" video about Jewish Proverbs and Sayings, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76mKL7bRKaM

12.06.2011

youth-led worship service

a great morning in November

10.03.2011

visit to the Bharatiya Temple

10 of us made the visit on a glorious Sunday afternoon and were hosted by S. Karve to learn a little about the traditions of Hinduism (that is the label by outsiders; in the language of the faithful it is Sanataya Dharma - not sure of spelling in English, "everlasting religion"). The photo shows the group; the video clip includes the music coming from the adjoining hall where about 35-40 congregants were singing.

9.29.2011

early October visit to mid-Michigan Bharatiya Hindu Temple

The homepage for the Temple is at http://lansingtemple.org/

The nine days of festivities comprise the Navratri, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navratri
Much of the celebration involves dance, too, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garba_(dance)

Here is a professional garba dance sequence, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjUSk93Dmqk
Basic garba lesson (the main instructions are in English) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBUwRvtdjUo

9.21.2011

glimpse of the Jewish year - Rosh Hashana coming up

Here is a set of Youtube videos explaining, celebrating, documenting this happy annual celebration that includes blowing the ram's horn (shofar) and dipping the new harvest of apples into the golden sweetness of honey. The first two movies include a music video by the Fountainheads, then a dance video by gymnastic breakdancing young guys dressed in black and white. What Would rabbi Jesus Do? Celebrating the year 5772 seems like a long way from 33 A.D.

Rosh Hashana Cool Videos, http://www.jr.co.il/videos/rosh-hashana-videos.htm
The list has 131 cool Rosh HaShana videos.There is something for everyone

8.30.2011

planning for 2011-2012 school year

get-together late August

Hindu conversations (Interfaith Voices, August 30, 2011)

The Hindu Divine: One God, Many Faces

Most Hindus believe there is only one true god, Brahman. But this supreme spirit takes many shapes; millions, in fact. There's Durga, the warrior goddess with many arms; Ganesha, the god of good fortune with the head of an elephant; and Kali, the blue goddess of time who wears a garland of human heads - just to name a few. This week we listen back to our March interview on the brilliant Hindu pantheon. FULL STORY, http://interfaithradio.org/node/1771

V.V. Raman, professor emeritus of physics and humanities at the Rochester Institute of Technology

8.24.2011

on radio: St. Paul was not a Christian; Jews & Jesus; Sampling Religions

recently heard on public radio:

=-=-=-= Interfaith Voices, Listen to our full interview

Jews, Jesus and the Stain of Deicide

In early March, the Pope published a book renouncing the idea that the Jewish people are responsible for the death of Christ. Though the story has been officially rejected by the Catholic Church since the 1960s, it never quite went away. Much of the myth derives from one line in the Gospel of Matthew, attributed to the Jewish crowd at the trial of Jesus: "Let his blood be on us and on our children." For those who read the Bible literally, it casts a stain of deicide — of killing a god — on Jews for all eternity.
To explore the roots of this story, and its consequences, we turn to James Carroll. He's one of the world's leading scholars on anti-Semitism and he has written the definitive book on the topic. Our story first aired in March 2011.
>>> James Carroll, author of "Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History" and "Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World"

Paul the Jew

Begins at 22 min 30 sec

Many people trace the roots of anti-Semitism back to a single moment: St. Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. That's when, according to traditional teachings, Paul rejected his Judaism for the new, improved version: Christianity. Bible scholar Pamela Eisenbaum says this interpretation of Paul is not only wrong, it's dangerous. She spoke to Laura Kwerel in October 2009.

>>> Pamela Eisenbaum, author of "Paul Was Not a Christian: The Original Message of a Misunderstood Apostle"

Project Conversion: Muslim Edition

Begins at 31 min 36 sec

Becoming an honorary Muslim - during Ramadan no less - was a hard at first. No food and drink during a heat wave in his hometown of North Carolina. Praying fives times a day. And growing out a beard - despite the objections of his wife- to follow the example of Muhammad. But he also experienced a profound, radically different understanding of what it means to be Muslim in America.

>>> Andrew Bowen, creator of Project Conversion

8.21.2011

summer service led by youth

Weaving in Old Testament "all stars" (Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rehab) with personal reflections and connections from the Arizona NAPF in June.

Video clip is from the run-through just before the 8:30 a.m. summer early service.

7.05.2011

back from AZ (napf host 2011)

from Sedona - just ahead of the NAPF

Our six youth along with our leader made the trip there and back safely.
This collage captures some of the highlights. (click for full size view)

The final hurrah at the NAPF - next year S.Dakota!

6.23.2011

bound for NAPF 2011 in Arizona

The day was cloudy with a little drizzle at 5 a.m. when the 5 young women and their leader gathered in the church parking lot for the drive to Detroit and flight SW. They left a little ahead of the week of service, praise and learning so that they could see one of the planet's wonders, The Grand Canyon. Hopefully we'll have a few pictures to show in a few days.

5.24.2011

Mother's Day Breakfast 2011

scenes from early May

2.11.2011

Bible quiz (Jewish viewpoint)

via the EdTech electronic list today:

1,174 new questions added to the online Bible Quiz at: http://www.bible-quiz.co.il

The new questions are about:
Yehoshua (Joshua), Shoftim (Judges), Shmuel I (Samuel I),
Shmuel II (Samuel II), Melachim I (Kings I), Melachim II (Kings II)

The, free, online Bible Quiz contains 4,327 multiple choice questions about the 5 books of Moses and 6 books of Prophets.
Choose a chapter and timer setting, then the fun begins.
The quiz, randomly, selects questions from its database, thus no two quizes are alike. There is, also, a database browser for reviewing and printing the questions with the correct answers. Adults, as well as children will find the quiz entertaining and very educational.

2.09.2011

the Submarine Sandwich sub-building 2011

This year was Superbowl 45 and the sub-sandwich fundraiser started around Superbowl 11. So there is a lot of continuity in this!

sub sale 2011 - The Movie

12.05.2010

help to set up & serve "2010 Christmas" for baby pantry

Many of the young people from our church, along with volunteers from the high school's Goodwins Club helped again this year.

12.01.2010

Community Thanksgiving Dinner 2010

November 25, 2010 event in which many of our youth took part.

10.06.2010

glimpse of pilgrim trial via Netherlands to N. America

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/netherlands/leiden-vrouwekerk
tells a little about the remains of a 14th century church where pilgrims and other religious minorities found refuge in 1600: map, photo and links

10.03.2010

ready for community Thanksgiving

information and sign-up page passed out in the pre-service announcement time Oct. 2.

10.02.2010

many pizzas in September

Our group more than doubled with the coming school year. The first fund-raiser for ASP and NAPF was the popular Pizza Project.

9.05.2010

talk/write, This I Believe (sets of essays by theme)

http://thisibelieve.org/themes/ is the page of listings grouped in two ways: alphabeticaly AND shown by number of actual essays (subjects with lots of writing are depicted in LARGE letters). On reflection, and based on the website testimonials, too, this resource is not only useful to young people in search of life's direction and shape, but whole churches read, talk about and sometimes compose their own Statements of Personal Belief, either to submit online or to keep privately.

Gather your thoughts of how to sample this very rich and deep source,

7.27.2010

Jewish American Experience

from part 3 of 3 in the PBS.org series, The Jewish Americans:

a) The Hebrew Hammer [reworking of tradition by youth today; pop-culture]
A young Mordechai Jefferson Carver, who will grow up to become the Hebrew Hammer. At school, Mordechai is tormented by his fellow students and his ...

b) Rapper M.Miller a.k.a. MATISYAHU [praising God with reggae beat]
Matisyahu - King Without A Crown

7.13.2010

celebrating 150 years with summer fun

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100711/CLINTON01/7110373/1172/CLINTON#
Here is the article as a screenshot.

annual meeting hosted in Anchorage, Alaska

late June 2010 predeparture; see also http://napfccsj.blogspot.com/

5.23.2010

Dessert

Spaghetti super

Sp

Spag

5.07.2010

Jerusalem resources

212 links, ranging from history and tourism to photographs and stamps.
http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/i-jer.htm

Jerusalem Day is celebrated on the 28th of the Hebrew month
of Iyar. This year (5770 / 2010) the day falls on Wednesday,
May 12th.

-see also
The Jewish Trivia Quiz, http://www.jewish-trivia.com
has over 100 multiple choice questions about Jerusalem.

4.26.2010

on the radio - good discussions; authors

Pilgrims And Progress: 3,000 Years Of Christianity
April 25, 2010 Diarmaid MacCulloch is the author of a new book that chronicles the complete history of the followers of Jesus Christ, starting a millennium before Jesus' birth.
[National Public Radio, Weekend/Sunday morning]

and

Is There an Interfaith God?
http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/04/is-there-an-interfaith-god

We’ve heard the mantra so often that it can seem like obvious truth: all religious paths lead, ultimately, to one God — to one great universal.
Since the 1960s — and even before that — it’s been the great message and hope of open-minded believers seeking peace and unity.
But my guest today says “no.” God, says scholar of religion Stephen Prothero, is not one. All paths do not lead to the same “cosmic mountaintop.”
And if we pretend otherwise, Prothero says, we may be stuck with the opposite of peace and understanding. --- So, who’s right?

4.09.2010

welcoming the Sabbath

Visit to MSU Hillel to see the student life center and take part in the Shabbat worship service, followed by "Italian Shabbat" of matso soup, tossed salad, spaghetti with meat balls and then apple kugel for dessert. Since the post-Passover numbers were lower than usual among the campus community, the usual Reformed and Conservative services were combined, but mostly followed in Hebrew.

Several impressions:

-People have worshipped along these lines for maybe 5,000 years

-Here is an ancient way to praise God; but here also is a modern way to praise God

-One's mortal goals include to obey, love and get closer to God's will, be a good person as well to one's fellows

-So many facets of events the last many generations have been connected to Judaism

-Much strife stems from forgetting the basic fact that all 3 Abrahamic religions worship the same God.

-The sense of belonging and the work of being God's people is palpable and meaningful.

4.07.2010

visit to the Islamic Center of Greater Lansing, April 2

I was impressed by the atmosphere and tone of the worship: Obey God. As the sheikh said, we only need to do what is right to make the world a better place. There are so many temptions, and distractions from the basic message: Obey God's will, not our own. It would be neat to invite their teens to our worship to gather impressions about how we appear to engage God by comparison - God is love vs. God is all-terrible yet all-merciful.

3.25.2010

Hebrew learning

http://www.hebrew-language.com

The Hebrew Language website is a collection of free Internet resources to learn Hebrew.

If you search on the word "Hebrew" in Google, you will get over 90 million results. I spent many hours compiling the Hebrew
Language website but I did not go through all 90 million sites. If you find a site that has good content and it is free, please
send me the site address and I will consider adding it. Please do not send me sites that have more ads than content.

Jacob Richman, jrichman ATjr.co.il

3.23.2010

radio stories, The Really Big Questions

http://www.trbq.org/ has lots of interesting conversations; many of which intersect with how we live, or the literally meaning "religion" (re-ligare, as in ligament or ligature: the things that bind us and give shape and meaning to our lives)

The show for March 22, 2010 -Can Science Explain Why We Believe [evolutionary or chemical basis for religion?]

http://www.trbq.org/components/com_podcast/media/CanScienceExplainWhyWeBelieve.mp3

2.22.2010

big questions

from the personal essay series from 2004-2009 (a repeat of the challenge to write statements of personal belief they did in the 1950s - from famous and not-famous people both)

Special Feature: A Look into the Cosmos

Gazing at a sky full of stars can lead one to ponder the nature of life and the origins of the universe. By making a study of the heavens, these essayists also found inspiration for their beliefs. Click the links below to learn what they discovered.

Science Nourishes the Mind and the Soul

We Are All Stardust

Why Are We Here?

The Power of Mysteries