Sharon Interfaith Thanksgiving Service is scheduled for Sunday evening, November 18, from 7:00 PM to 8:00 pm.
The service will be held at Temple Sinai, 25 Canton Street, Sharon, MA.
Details to follow.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Thursday, December 14, 2006
December holidays .. Interfaith observances
The Center for Jewish Christian relations at Merrimac College offers the following notes on the seasonal celebrations significant for Jews, Christians and Muslems.
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Each of the three Abrahamic faiths will observe holidays in the month of December this year. For Christians, it will be the birth of Jesus in Christmas; for Jews, it will be a military victory against great odds in Hanukkah; and for Muslims, it will be commemorating the trials of Abraham and his family in the Hajj.
The celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, confessed by Christians to be the Christ, is part of a progress, in the Christian story, from Annunciation to Resurrection, in which Christians are invited to celebrate and to respond to the defining feature of their spiritual path: the great Jewish affirmation of incarnation - that the Divine, the Holy One, is intimately engaged with the creatures who have emerged from Divine Love. Christmas is immediately preceded by the holy season of Advent, a time of waiting in hope for what the Christian heart desires: to be reborn in Jesus Christ, like Jesus Christ, loving and compassionate. It is followed immediately by the celebration of the feast of the Holy Family, a reminder of family solidarity amidst suffering.
Hanukkah has seemingly taken on greater importance in this country, due to the close proximity of Christmas, yet it is a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar. It celebrates the end of a three-year battle in which a small army of Jews was able to defeat a much larger and better equipped Greco-Syrian army to regain their religious freedom and their temple in the year 165 BCE (Before the Common Era). The temple was cleansed and the Ner Tamid (Eternal Light) rekindled, as legend has it, with oil that miraculously lasted for eight days, enabling the Jews to finally celebrate the fall harvest festival know as Sukkot. This year the first night of Hanukkah will be Friday, December 15th.
Islam has two major religious celebrations. The first occurs after the completion of Ramadan, and is known as Eid ul-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast). The second major Islamic celebration takes place during the time of the Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca). This week-long event occurs two months and ten days after Ramadan ends, during the Islamic month of DhulHijjah, and its culmination is a holiday known as Eid al Adha (Festival of Sacrifice). The Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, commemorating the trials of Abraham and his family in Makkah, which included Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in response to God's command. This year the first night of the Hajj will be Thursday, December 28th, and Eid al Adha will be celebrated starting Saturday evening, December 30th.
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" ...
Each of the three Abrahamic faiths will observe holidays in the month of December this year. For Christians, it will be the birth of Jesus in Christmas; for Jews, it will be a military victory against great odds in Hanukkah; and for Muslims, it will be commemorating the trials of Abraham and his family in the Hajj.
The celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, confessed by Christians to be the Christ, is part of a progress, in the Christian story, from Annunciation to Resurrection, in which Christians are invited to celebrate and to respond to the defining feature of their spiritual path: the great Jewish affirmation of incarnation - that the Divine, the Holy One, is intimately engaged with the creatures who have emerged from Divine Love. Christmas is immediately preceded by the holy season of Advent, a time of waiting in hope for what the Christian heart desires: to be reborn in Jesus Christ, like Jesus Christ, loving and compassionate. It is followed immediately by the celebration of the feast of the Holy Family, a reminder of family solidarity amidst suffering.
Hanukkah has seemingly taken on greater importance in this country, due to the close proximity of Christmas, yet it is a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar. It celebrates the end of a three-year battle in which a small army of Jews was able to defeat a much larger and better equipped Greco-Syrian army to regain their religious freedom and their temple in the year 165 BCE (Before the Common Era). The temple was cleansed and the Ner Tamid (Eternal Light) rekindled, as legend has it, with oil that miraculously lasted for eight days, enabling the Jews to finally celebrate the fall harvest festival know as Sukkot. This year the first night of Hanukkah will be Friday, December 15th.
Islam has two major religious celebrations. The first occurs after the completion of Ramadan, and is known as Eid ul-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast). The second major Islamic celebration takes place during the time of the Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca). This week-long event occurs two months and ten days after Ramadan ends, during the Islamic month of DhulHijjah, and its culmination is a holiday known as Eid al Adha (Festival of Sacrifice). The Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, commemorating the trials of Abraham and his family in Makkah, which included Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in response to God's command. This year the first night of the Hajj will be Thursday, December 28th, and Eid al Adha will be celebrated starting Saturday evening, December 30th.
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Our Support for Our Colleague
The Sharon Clergy Association is saddened by the recent charges brought against our colleague Imam Masood of the Islamic Center of New England. Imam Masood is a valued colleague in our clergy association and a valued religious leader in the Sharon community. He has reached out with the hand of friendship to help create an atmosphere of understanding amongst the religious communities and has helped all of us to appreciate the need for peaceful and mutual dialogue. We have known him as a man of dignity, spirit, and caring concern for the welfare of others and of the community. We also know of his devotion to his family and we reach out to them with love and concern at this difficult time.
In addition we recognize how difficult a moment this is for the Islamic Center of New England. We pray that this experience will not destroy your faith in the goodness of the community or the potential in America for true harmony and peace. Moments such as this reinforce our collective need to be there for each other and to continue the process of understanding that has typified the Sharon community.
Issued Nov. 20, 2006
The Clergy
In addition we recognize how difficult a moment this is for the Islamic Center of New England. We pray that this experience will not destroy your faith in the goodness of the community or the potential in America for true harmony and peace. Moments such as this reinforce our collective need to be there for each other and to continue the process of understanding that has typified the Sharon community.
Issued Nov. 20, 2006
The Clergy
Who We are
As members of the Sharon Clergy (Leaders of the various houses of Worship in the town of Sharon, Massachusetts), we are going to be posting on a regular basis items of interest to our community and to relate to topical issues.
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