Date: April 1st 2009

April 2009

April and Spring bring us several significant holidays. Baha'is will observe the holiest part of the year, commemorating the 12 days that Baha'u'llah spent near Baghdad in 1863 in the garden of Ridvan ("Paradise"). It was here that he revealed his mission for the first time. The first, ninth, and twelfth days of Ridvan are observed as holidays. Pesach or Passover began as a spring harvest festival, but now is a time for Jews not only to remember and celebrate the Exodus— the biblical liberation from Egypt— but to celebrate freedom of all kinds. Passover lasts eight days, with a special meal called a seder on the first and second nights. Baisaki is the New Year celebration among Sikhs. It also commemorates the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and the establishing of the Khalsa brotherhood by Guru Gobind Singh. Initiates are baptized into the Khalsa on this day.

The holy season of Easter for Christians encompasses eight days, remembering the events of the last week of Jesus's life and the Resurrection. Holy Week includes Palm Sunday (entry into Jerusalem), Maundy Thursday (remembering Jesus' Last Supper with his followers), Good Friday (Jesus' crucifixion), Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday (Resurrection). Different Christian groups celebrate at slightly different times, due to differences in calendars and the extent to which the observance is related to the Jewish Passover.

I hope to see you at the Interfaith breakfast at Jain Center this coming Saturday. See details below.

Send your news! Let the community know about events that are open to the public and are either interfaith or offer an opportunity for others to learn about your faith community. Send information to calendar@interfaithspace.org.

 

 

 

 

April Religious and Cultural Observances

• 3 Rama Navami (Ramayana Reading) (Hindu)
• 5 Palm/Passion Sunday (Christian)
• 6 Founding of the Mormon Church (Latter-Day Saints)
• 7 Mahavira Jayanti (Mahavira’s Birthday), (Jain)
• 9 The Lord's Evening Meal (Jehovah’s Witnesses)
• 9 Maundy Thursday (Roman Catholic), (Protestant)
• 9 Pesach (Passover) (through April 16) (Jewish)
• 9 Hanuman Jayanti (Hindu)
• 10 Good Friday (Christian)
• 11 Lazarus Saturday (Orthodox Christian)
• 12 Easter (Roman Catholic), (Protestant), (Latter-Day Saints)
• 12 Palm Sunday (Orthodox Christian)
• 13 Saka New Year (Buddhist-India, Burma, Laos)
• 14 Baisakhi (Vaisakhi) Creation of Khalsa (Sikh)
• 17 Holy Friday (Orthodox Christian)
• 18 Birth Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (Sikh)
• 19 Easter/Pascha (Orthodox Christian)
• 21 Ridvan (through May 2) (Baha’i)
• 21 Yom HaSho'ah (Jewish)
• 22 Earth Day
• 23 St. George's Day (Roman Catholic), (some Protestant)
• 27 Akshaya-tritiya (Immortal Third) (Jain)
• 29 Ninth Day of Ridvan (Baha’i)
• 29 Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Jewish)
• 30 Ghambar Maidyozarem (through May 4) (Zoroastrian)
• 30 St. James the Great Day (Orthodox Christian)

[Interreligious Calendar events are taken from the Silicon Valley FACES Interfaith Calendar and the Multifaith Action Society Multifath Calendar 2008. See also the Online Interfaith Calendar] NOTE: Jewish Holidays begin at sundown the day before. Buddhist holidays are observed on many different days, according to local tradition.

Upcoming Interfaith Opportunities

"Interfaith Opportunities" focuses on specifically interfaith events; "Take Action" offers opportunities to take action on issues of concern with people from other religious traditions, and "Meet Your Neighbors" includes events that are sponsored by a specific religious group but which are open to the wider community. Items for the calendar can be sent to calendar@interfaithspace.org

Click on highlighted links below for more information-

Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 5:30- 8:30 pm, Berkeley
Thursday, May 21, 5:30- 8:30 pm, San Jose

ING Interfaith Speakers Bureau Training Workshops

ING is currently seeking speaker volunteers who represent the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic and Jewish faiths for the Interfaith Speakers Bureau (IFSB).

Thursday, April 2, 2009, 4:00- 6:00 pm, San Jose

SVFACES OPEN HOUSE:
Exploring the Pyramid of Hate:
The Power to Interrupt Hate and Violence in Our Community

You're invited to join SVFACES for an open house and a workshop presented by Bruce Bramlett, Coordinator for Holocaust Studies and Critical Thinking.

Saturday, April 4, 2009, 9:30 am- 11:30 am

Carry the Vision -
A Season for Nonviolence
Interfaith Community Breakfast

Come share in the vision of a culture of Peace that makes real the dreams we all share.

Sunday, April 5, 2009, 1:15 to 3:30pm, Los Altos

Women's Interfaith Dialogue Encounter

Seeking a safe space for women to experience mutual sharing across our differences of culture, religion and life experience, to be able to tell others about our own traditions and ask questions about other traditions without fearing that we are foolish or giving offense.

Mondays, April 13 & 27; May 11 & 18; June 8 & 22, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
San Francisco

Joseph Campbell Film Series  

Mythos 1: The Shaping of Our Mythic Tradition. Toward the end of his life, Joseph Campbell set out on a lecture tour, drawing together all he had learned about what he called the “one great story” of humanity. This series features the first five of these lectures.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 4:00 – 5:00 pm, San Jose

Santa Clara County
Yom Hashoah Remembrance

Choices in the Time of the Holocaust. Location: Board of Supervisors Chamber, 70 West Hedding Street San Jose.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 7:00pm - 9:00pm, Santa Clara

Islam, the State, and Human Rights:
Refining the Terms of Inquiry

Speaker: Professor Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im of Emory University.

Sunday, May 17, 2009, 3:00 - 5:00 pm, San Jose

Bay Area Satsang

Satsang members commit themselves to developing their spiritual practice within their own religious tradition, to helping remove the barriers of prejudice and ignorance which divide persons from each other, and to building up relationships of compassion and appreciation across frontiers of race, language, culture and religion.

Tuesday evening, May 19, 2009, 6:30pm - 9pm, Palo Alto

Renew Your Life, Community & the World: Effective Leadership in Congregations

RENEW equips people to sustain (or regain) their motivation, energy, creativity and values. exciting workshop for clergy and lay leaders. 

Meet Your Neighbors

Public events sponsored by specific religious groups that seek to help others understand their tradition and concerns more fully.

Wednesdays, October 2008- May 2009, San Jose

The Church—People, History, Theology:
Faith Enrichment Speakers Series

A series of monthly presentations aimed at expanding people’s knowledge and understanding of the whole Catholic Church, especially the Eastern Churches.8 May 2009—The Church:  The Kingdom in the World, the World in the Kingdom.  Panel of Melkite Clergy.

Saturday, April 11, 2009 2:00- 4:00 pm, Santa Clara

Inside Islam: The Story of Creation with Adam
(Peace Be Upon Him)

What does Islam say about the creation of the very first human being? How does Islam relate to the theory of evolution?

Take Action

Events that address issues of public concern with an alliance of people from different religious traditions.

Thursday, April 2, 2009, 4:30 pm, San Jose

Honey & Bitter Herbs: Justice for the Working Poor

This ceremony will include celebration and lamentation on behalf of hotel workers.

Friday, April 24, 2009, 7:00 pm, San Jose

Making the River Movie and Panel:
The Transformation of Jimi Simmon's Life
and His Search For Justice

An official selection of the United Nations Association Film Festival, the film is a dramatic documentary made by Jimi Simmons and Karen Rudolph of the transformation of Jimi's life and his search for justice.

Sunday, April 26, 2009, San Jose

Bay Area CROP Hunger Walk

Please join our pledge walk to raise funds for hunger/disaster relief! No fee to walk and t-shirts for all walkers. One & five mile options.

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And more...

News and Notes from Interfaith Space is an occasional blog with information and commentary on issues related to interfaith relations in the South Bay, the Nation, and around the world.

You can find News and Notes by going to the Interfaith Space website (www.interfaithspace.org) and clicking on "Notes," or simply going to www.revdak.com/wordpress/. I invite you to add your comments or responses; together we can create an online "dialogue on dialogue"!

Help us share your good news! If you know of interfaith opportunities that are coming up- please let us know so they can be included on the Interfaith Space Calendar. Send information to calendar@interfaithspace.org.