FAITH HOUSE Manhattan

A Sabbath Poem (Franciscan)

   MAY GOD BLESS YOU
   ~ A Franciscan Benediction

   May God bless you with discomfort
   At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
   So that you may live deep within your heart.

   May God bless you with anger
   At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
   So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

   May God bless you with tears
   To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
   So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
   To turn their pain into joy.

   And may God bless you with enough foolishness
   To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
   So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
   To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

(Thank you Jennifer Elwood from London for sending us this poem!)

In Defense of the Faith?

~ by Nathan Brown, Editor, Signs of the Times, Australia/New Zealand

I like to think of myself as a mild-mannered editor by day—something of a Clark Kent, perhaps. But a couple of nights each week I play in a local basketball league. Sadly, I don’t become a Superman character—it’s generally uglier than that. Too often, it seems I’m a bad sport—I spend too much of my time complaining to the referees about the referees. Each week I challenge myself not to say anything to the referees and consider I have had a good game if I just play the game without backchat.

Bit it isn’t easy. We play in a pretty rough league. Players get hurt. In the past season alone, our team injury list included a broken arm, broken ribs and many lesser bruises and scrapes. Some of my team members have jobs that require them to be fit; they can’t afford to be injured or they will be unable to work. With this kind of play being allowed, there is also a greater risk of aggression between the players on the court and push-and-shove late in an unrestrained game has the potential to flare into something uglier—and sometimes does.

And my sense of “justice” is offended when referees allow this kind of play to continue when they have the authority—the whistle—to keep the games cleaner, fairer and safer.

I believe I have a good case when I try to point this out to the referees. I believe that even some of them would agree with my championing the cause of fairness on behalf of my team, if only they would consider my arguments. The problem, of course, is context.

Book: An Emergent Manifesto of Hope

~ by Samir Selmanovic

I love this book not only because of its great content but because it reminds me of the hope my generation of pastors and other leaders have for the future of the Christian church. When I came to the United States and came to know American Christianity, it was editors and contributors to this book that helped me deal with the struggle within me. Emergent Village was not about professional networking, about personal growth, or even about our relationships, as precious as these aspects are. This web of friends is for me, a God’s gift of hope.

I was privileged and somewhat lucky to be asked to be a part of this book. If you are inspired by the Faith House project, I suggest that after reading this book you go and Google some of the contributors and continue learning from them. These authors will take you to the roads you always hoped existed.

“What Can I Do About It?”

~ by Rosemary Poblacion

Watching the television and reading the newspaper about what is going on in the world can make us feel helpless. We find ourselves thinking, “Is this happening on our planet? What can I do? How can I make a difference?”

Faith House will be a place where our disagreements can be acknowledged, our commonalities enjoyed, and our common humanity re-discovered. I believe that supporting this unprecedented effort in building an interfaith life might be the most direct way to make a difference.

Those of you who live driving distance from Redlands, California can join us for an event where you can hear a progress report of the Faith House project, meet people who will be relocating to New York, and find friends who have the same hope.

A Sabbath Poem (Kabir-2)

AN INTELLIGENT RICH PERSON ~ by Kabir (c.1440-1518)
I don't think there is such a thing as an intelligent mega-rich person.
For who with a fine mind can look upon this world and hoard
what can nourish a thousand souls.
(from the Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices
from the East and West, translation Daniel Ladinsky
- Penguin Compass, 2002, on this website)

3000 Miles East

 ~ by Alvin Poblacion (Alvin and Rosemary have decided to move to New York in July 2007. They will commit three years to love the city, to learn about God from those who are different from them, and to help the Faith House project in the process.)

So, how do two simple southern California suburbanites come to a decision to pick up their lives and move 3000 miles to a wild, glorious, and strange place that is New York City? How does anyone decide to move from any place for that matter?

I guess you have to start by weighing the best and the worst about where you are now, against your greatest hopes and fears for the place that is yet a mystery. It is this scale of "this vs. that" that imposes itself on you. Rosemary and I had been struggling with it during the winter months.

It’s not that life here in sunny San Bernardino has been miserable or unfulfilling. It's not that we have been particularly bored or have skeletons in our closet to escape. Actually quite the opposite is true. We have created a home here, often filled with the dear voices of many friends and family. We have steady jobs that have meaning and connections here that ensure future security. We are a couple of simpletons who enjoy hobbies like cycling that have opened up small but wonderful worlds to us. We have desert bike trails that meander in all directions for miles and miles. We are fond of life here. Our love for this place has substance.  

Manhattan, on the other hand, represents the great unknown to us, a mysterious jungle filled with great potential for pain. In many ways New York City means letting go of what we feel we have control of here in the comfort of home and reaching for something hazy in the distance. You might say that we are up for an unforeseen adventure, that we are a little reckless and perhaps too naive. By all accounts, you would probably be right. But we also have a hope that New York holds for us promise. There is abundance of culture, history, art, and ideas that stimulate our curiosity. We look forward to concerts and movies in Central Park interesting people that will guide us and challenge us, and food--lots and lots of good food.  

Then there is the hope of Faith House, a foggy dream shared by many weary yet hopeful travelers who seek a new kind of faith and a more holistic community that aims to bring people together. This dream has been articulated by our dear friend, Samir, and shared among us and many others. Our role in this adventure is still not clear to us, but God will provide the answers in right time. 

There are times when the gravity of it all comes crashing down on us like a cold wave, and we are sure that we’re in over our heads! Still, we feel up to the adventure. Even if all we end up doing is being there with our dear friends, growing with them, and encouraging them--reminding them that they are not losing their mind, that we too hope, and that we too dream the same dream. Somehow, for now, that seems enough for us to make this first step and go. 

We invite you, our friends, our family, and those of you who are following this project from a distance to support Faith House and make a step closer towards healing of the world. 

Symposia Bookstore: A Report from the City

~ by Cornel Rusu, director of Symposia Bookstore, an innovative leader and a community organizer from New York

Like many other churches, the small Hoboken Faith Community Fellowship had a hard time finding what to offer its local community besides preaching. A food pantry or a clothes distribution program, typical in traditional churches, seemed irrelevant in a community with households averaging $70,000 income per year and lots of single, young professionals working in New York’s financial district.

Thus the idea of a bookstore was born, a place for books on faith and spiritual journeys, a place for meetings, conversations and workshops, a place for friendship and personal growth. In 2001 the church opened a bookstore (the only one besides Barnes & Noble) and hired a community director to manage it.

Hoboken Faith Bookstore had an extremely short life. It was a big surprise to see the store die several months after it’s birth. And not because the church lost interest or ran out of money, but because people had no interest in what the church was so generously offering through its store. The Hoboken community proved to be not only young and rich, but also secular and, like many other communities, resistant to anything coming from organized religion.

However, the church did not shake the dust off its feet and move away, nor did it stand on the pavement handing our pamphlets insisting on being noticed, but engaged in a “two-way dialogue” with the local community. The church asked questions, pondered the answers and ended up resurrecting the store. It is still a bookstore, but one that is visited, loved, and supported by the local community. The church began to learn from the community.

Today the Symposia Community Bookstore is a growing community project with its own legal not-for-profit status, is fueled by the same passion for service and fully sponsored by the local community through book donations. The store is a neutral place where everybody feels at home and can enjoy the large variety of events and programs offered. It is a place for rest and action, a place to give and receive, a place where dialogue and diversity are cherished.

It is no surprise that the conversation groups are by far the most enjoyed events. People long for a safe place where they can come together to talk and to listen to their fellow humans organizing themselves to help the town. Symposia has been hosting conversation groups every week for the last five years in Hoboken and for two years in West Village Manhattan. The attendance goes from 10 to 20 people per event and events are very diverse. Attendees in the beginning of a meeting vote on the conversation topic and one person takes the role of facilitator. Hundreds of subjects have been discussed over the years, including human relationship to technology, politics, health, spirituality, religion, cooking, traveling, movies and culture.

The store is also a place for art seekers. The walls are covered with art produced by local artists and by children attending local schools. Writers, filmmakers and musicians regularly visit the store to take part in book-signing events, open mics, and independent film screenings.

Every morning the store opens for its youngest customers and entertains them with puppet shows and music filled with lessons about our relationship to each other and environment. In yet another attempt to foster awareness, communication and dialogue, the Italian language is taught in an attractive, entertaining way. Currently the store offers eight shows per week attracting around 100 to 120 toddlers and their parents or caregivers.

During weekends, the store is usually run by local not-for-profit organizations that fundraise for their programs, taking away all the money earned that day through the sale of the books. The homeless shelter, the library, the Catholic charities, groups from the Methodist church, clubs of students from the Stevens Institute of Technology and other community groups regularly take advantage of this opportunity.

The community in turn supports the store through book donations and volunteers. Thousands of volumes have passed through the store every month for the last five years and hundreds of hours of work has been donated by volunteers. This validates the ancient truth that in giving we receive. The more we give to the community, the more they respond, making this venture a force for good in the town.

There are a number of non-profit ventures in New York City that are looking for the ways to connect with each other across the boundaries of religions and ideologies. We in Symposia are looking forward to Faith House that has the same values of creating a common space where bridge building, gracious human interaction and community organizing can take place. The city and the world is better for it.

A Sabbath Poem (Hasidic)

      AN OLD HASIDIC POEM

      Take special care to guard your
         tongue before the morning prayer.
      Even greeting your fellow, we are told,
         can be harmful at that hour.
      A person who wakes up in the morning is
         like a new creation.
      Begin you day with unkind words,
         or even trivial matters--
         even though you may latter turn to prayer,
         you have not been true to your Creation.
      All of your words each day
         are related to one another.
      All of them are rooted
         in the first words that you speak.

A Letter to the Three Friends I Wish I Had

Dear Sam, Hamed, and Jo:

How I wish I had met each of you and that we had become lifelong friends.  Sam, you could have explained the depth of your Jewish faith to me and helped me understand my God better.  Hamed, you could have taught me to understand the beauty and justice inherent in Islam.  Jo, you could have been my agnostic friend, teaching me to ask honest and difficult questions, showing me how doubt and faith are closely linked together.  But we never met.  We lived separate lives.

Now we’re in our ’70s, arthritis and shortness of breath are making their presence felt whenever we see a flight of stairs—and look for an elevator!  Mortality is hovering on the horizon of our lives with increasing intensity.  And I’m reflecting often about “what might have been,” and my grandchildren.

When we left university, we intended to change the world.  I believed that my calling to be a pastor would give me endless opportunities.  It did.  But growing my church absorbed all my energy and enthusiasm.  Looking back, I confess to being more concerned about the affirmation of my church leaders than fulfilling the dream!  I had hoped to leave my small corner of the world in a much better place than I found it.  However, as my church grew, the community around us got worse.  And I did nothing of significance to bridge the gaping chasms between our congregation and people of other Faiths, or no faith at all.  The three of you may have done the same, absorbed in your businesses, religions, and other important goals.

For me, rejoicing in past successes is now overshadowed by my sorrow over past neglect.  My belief in an imminent Second Coming of Christ blinded me to my responsibility to care for God’s creation. My belief in the “chosenness” of my church made me smug, and that closed any real dialogue with others of different convictions or philosophies. If only I had stopped and thought more about what really matters; if only you had stopped and done the same!  Instead of living three parallel lives, we could have learned more about the treasures each one of us has been carrying. I am convinced now that with your help, I would follow Christ better!  All of our lives would have been much richer.

It’s all “What might have been.” 

I’m growing old, and have some time on my hands, so I’m taking a belated new turn in what little is left of the road ahead.  I’m committing to be a better listener.  Not to argue, but to learn, not to seek to demolish another’s beliefs, but to discover their strengths and how they could enrich my life. I want to get beyond the tempting tidbits of conversation that will flow from the next two years of presidential politics, and instead to seek out those with spiritual lives different from mine and to learn from them—especially from Jews, Muslims, and agnostics.  We are fellow travelers on the same difficult road for our world of deteriorating climate, challenges of globalization, dishonesty in politics, and rigidity in religion.  I must hear the things that people from these different persuasions want to tell me.   I want to walk this new path seeking mutual understanding, not domination; building, not tearing down; and working for the good of the wonderful creation God gave us all.

Most importantly (the main reason that prompted this note) I want to model this sense of inclusiveness to my son and daughter in the hope that at least in our family, there’ll be a new interest in the uniqueness and convictions among our recent growing circle of friends outside our church.  The facts are, the four of us are leaving the world in a much bigger mess than we found it.  In the years I have left, I’m doing something about it, and I hope that you three, whoever you are and wherever you are, will hear me through this open letter on the Faith House website.

The journey to a better world seems daunting.  What can we really accomplish until we are no more?  Much, I’m beginning to think. We can leave a legacy in words, in resources, in prayer.  I would like to spend the rest of my days blowing the wind into the backs of those who can use such a legacy to further the dream. A quote from Mother Theresa has greatly encouraged me.  She said something like this:  few of us can do great deeds, but we can all do small deeds with great love.  If I had even one “old” friend from the other great Faiths, I would say to them, “Please accept the ‘changing’ me, so together we can yet make our small worlds better by listening, by acting for the sake of those who come after us, and for the good of the world we will soon leave behind.”

Roy

+ Roy Naden is an author and Professor Emeritus (Andrews University, MI) who lives, gardens, and writes in Seattle, WA +

Webmaster's Note:
Our journey to new world will be difficult or impossible without the help of our elders, people who raised us, taught us, loved us.
  Maybe this is a good time to share with some of them your views about the future? Maybe their wisdom can guide you?  Maybe their blessing can strengthen you?  Or maybe their fear and apathy can embolden you?
  Either way, we suggest you forward this letter to them and start a conversation.
And then keep us posted!

Seeking Good in Good News

~ by James Mills, a husband, father, member of the Emergent Village coordinating group, and pastor of a newly forming community of faith called Straight Street Commons in Colorado, blogging as Ecclesial Dreamer

Almost two thousand years ago, a man was breaking out of his cocoon of faith in pursuit of a more excellent way. He is remembered by many as an Apostle and Evangelist for the Christian faith. But certainly Paul would not have thought of himself as a Christian in the same way we think of Christianity today. Equally lamentable is the fact that the Good News Paul proclaimed has become so transformed into a narrow reflection of what it once was that it leads many who encounter it in its current form to ask, “What's so good about it?”

As a pastoral steward who stands in the Christian tradition I have not always been comfortable with that question. I find that one of the most challenging obstacles to answering this query is that many in my own tradition have taken ownership of faith in such a way that insights from other traditions have been completely excluded from the process. While the entrance of Jesus Christ into human history was originally proclaimed by heavenly host to be “good news for all people,” some have attempted to make it applicable only to a select few. Some have mistakenly come to believe that faith as a communal way of life can only be experienced within our carefully controlled belief systems. In the process we not only expect all people to become like us, but we fail to open ourselves to the redemptive influence of those who are not like us.

When we close ourselves to the other it affects all of our senses. We refuse to acknowledge the diverse scents and flavors found in other cultures and as a result we cannot honestly “taste and see that God is good.” We lose our ability to see the good in those who our own faith tells us are image bearers of God. We reach but fail to touch (or, even worse, to be touched). Thinking we are the only melody of faith, we no longer hear the harmonious voice of the Holy. To those who are seeking Good News it is painfully obvious that something has gone tragically wrong. It is easy to understand why many feel alone or believe that such a community of Good News in our moment of history is seemingly impossible.

Through my involvement with the coordinating group of Emergent Village I have met people who give me reason to hope for my community in Parker, Colorado. People like Samir Selmanovic and communities like Faith House Manhattan are creating spaces for people to seek Good News together. These people take the call to be ambassadors of reconciliation seriously and remind us that it is not good for independent subsections of mankind to make the journey alone.

As we dream together I am beginning to welcome the question, “What’s so good about the Good News?” This change of heart did not come about because I have the answer, but because I am confident that when we ask this question together we discover things we cannot find on our own. Most times, even as you are seeking Good News for your own journey, others discover that you have plenty of your own to contribute. If you have not yet found a place to share it with others, I encourage you to start right here, right now. Leave a comment on the Faith House website and join in the task of exploring, creating, and learning with a community who needs you as much as you need them. I know they will be happy to participate in your conversation. Together you will discover Good News and might come to share these hope filled words of Vaclav Havel:

“We must not be afraid to dream the seemingly impossible
if we want the seemingly impossible to become a reality.”

A Sabbath Poem (Hafiz-2)

         DON'T SURRENDER YOUR LONELINESS SO QUICKLY
          ~ Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz (c. 1320-1389)

         Don’t surrender your loneliness
         So quickly.
         Let it cut more deep.

         Let it ferment and season you
         As few human
         Or even divine ingredients can.

         Something missing in my heart tonight
         Has made my eyes so soft,
         My voice
         So tender,

         My need of God
         Absolutely
         Clear.

(from Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy
Lives, by Wayne Muller, Bantam Books, 1999, on this website)