Brooklyn Boro

Faith In Brooklyn for Feb. 15

February 15, 2016 By Francesca Norsen Tate, Religion Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The Western Wall as viewed during this reporter’s 2008 trip to Jerusalem’s Old City. Brooklyn Eagle Photo by Francesca N. Tate
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Collaborative Lecture Series Presents ‘Images of Israel

How do different visions and aspirations for Israel inform the way one views the current situation there? This question will be explored in a three-part collaborative lecture series titled “Images of Israel,” with three outstanding Israeli public intellectuals speaking in Brownstone Brooklyn.

The series opens on Feb. 17, with Israeli academic and politician Dr. Ruth Calderon speaking at Congregation Beth Elohim. Dr. Calderon, who holds a Ph.D. in Talmud from Hebrew University, established ALMA, the first “secular Beit Midrash,” in order to acquaint secular Israelis with the richness of classical Jewish texts and culture.

A passionate advocate for religious pluralism, Calderon served in Knesset from 2013 to 2015. She became an overnight YouTube and social media sensation when she used her inaugural Knesset speech to teach Talmud to Knesset members.

“Images of Israel” continues on March 16 with Tal Becker, senior legal and policy adviser to the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs, senior member of several Israeli peace negotiation teams and senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. On April 13, the series concludes with noted author and educator Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer.

Sponsors for “Images of Israel” include the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, UJA Federation of New York and Israel Brooklyn — a coalition of 13 local Jewish synagogues, schools and agencies.

Congregation Beth Elohim is at 274 Garfield Place (Eighth Avenue and Garfield Place) in Park Slope.

To register for the event, visit www.shalomhartman.org/bklyncollaborative and enter the following code: CMS16.

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Grace Church Quiet Day Offers Time-Out For Meditation and Healing

Grace Church-Brooklyn Heights is offering a day of quiet reflection and meditation on Saturday, March 5.

Participants will have the chance to reflect on the nature of healing, practice centering prayer, lectio divina (sacred reading) and guided meditation. They will also practice silence while eating lunch together. The “Quiet Day” will conclude with a healing liturgy by the Rev. Julie Hoplamazian and Judy Burns.

All are welcome. A suggested donation of $20 is needed to cover the cost of lunch, but those who are unable to contribute will not be turned away. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lindsay Boyer at [email protected]. 

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Explore Contemplative Prayer In the Ignatian Tradition

Contemplative prayer workshops will be offered at the Brooklyn Oratory at St. Boniface Church on Sundays, Feb. 21 and March 6.

Parishioner, religious educator and pastoral minister Joseph Pecorella will facilitate these workshops, which invite participants to practice contemplative prayer in the tradition of St. Ignatius Loyola. Using scenes from St. John’s Gospel, participants will place themselves imaginatively into scriptural stories as if they were happening now for spiritual insight and healing. Experienced and novice practitioners of contemplative prayer, as well as interested newcomers, are all welcome.

These contemplative prayer workshops each begin at 1 p.m. in the Oratory’s Aula Maxima (Newman Hall, upstairs). The Brooklyn Oratory is on Duffield Street, just north of Willoughby Street, in MetroTech.

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Mats and Meditation Yoga Series Aims to Nurture Spiritual Journey

St. John’s Episcopal Church in Park Slope is offering a meditation series during the Lenten season called “Mats and Meditation.”

Lent in the Christian calendar is a season to focus on simple living and becoming closer to God. This meditative series, which includes restorative Lenten yoga, aims to provide a sacred place that supports each participant on his or her spiritual journey for the five weeks of Lent. Restorative yoga is focused on the centering of one’s breath and body, and aligning the physical and mental by practicing stillness or gentle movement for extended periods of time.

Instructor Terri Barnett brings a unique combination of fitness experience to students of all levels and promotes best practices for holistic strength, flexibility and healing. She is committed to supporting her students as they deepen their understanding of yoga, and she advocates fitness in the body, mind and spirit. Barnett has developed a unique, playful and creative approach to teaching with a focus on awareness and alignment as well as balance between strength, flexibility and breath. She encourages her students to look beyond the mat to embrace transformation in their daily lives.

This series is geared toward seasoned practitioners as well as newcomers. The class will have a simple basic flow fit for any age. Yoga mats will be provided for those who don’t yet have one. Wearing loose, comfortable clothing is suggested.

“Mats and Meditation” will take place on Saturdays at 4 p.m., from Feb. 20 through March 19, at St. John’s Church, 139 St. John’s Place. Open donations are appreciated.

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Mass Schedules Change at Assumption Church and Brooklyn Oratory

Late in December, the Brooklyn Oratory and Assumption Church entered an agreement whereby the Oratorians would take expand the scope of their ministry by providing pastoral care — including the Mass schedule — at Assumption and for Catholics in the area. The reason was the mandatory retirement of Rev. Edward Doran when he reached age 75 two months ago. Rev. Doran served as administrator for both parishes. The five priests and brother at the Oratory have now expanded their ministry to Assumption Church.  Both congregations remain separate entities.

This addition to their ministry, in addition to their existing work in and beyond the faith communities, has necessitated a change in Mass schedules, effective Feb. 1, for both the Brooklyn Oratory and Assumption.

The regular 7:30 a.m. daily Mass at St. Boniface has been discontinued, except as announced for Holy Days. The 5.30 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass at St. Boniface has also been discontinued.

The regular 8 a.m. Saturday Mass at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be now offered on First Saturday of the month. (In Catholic tradition, First Fridays and First Saturdays are special days of prayer and blessings.)

Masses at St. Boniface (190 Duffield St., Downtown/MetroTech) will be as follows, until the summer schedule begins in June:

  • Monday to Friday: 12:10 p.m. (with Confessions being heard before 12:10 p.m. Mass on Wednesdays and Fridays);

  • Sunday: Mass at 9 a.m. (with organ and cantor), 11:15 a.m. (Oratory Choir), 6 p.m. (with solo cantor).

Masses at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (55 Cranberry St., Brooklyn Heights):

  • Monday to Friday: 8 a.m.; First Saturdays: 8 a.m.

  • Saturday Vigil: 5 PM (with organ and cantor); Sunday: 10 AM (with organ and cantor)

“The Oratorians have been warmly received by the parishioners at Assumption and we’re getting a sense of what it’s like to be involved in two parishes. It makes for a busy schedule for us all but is going well so far,” reported Fr. Joel Warden, CO, last week in an email to the Brooklyn Eagle.

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Glenn Mohr Chorale Brings Beloved Concert to Gravesend Parish

Concerts with The Glenn Mohr Chorale become occasions of ministry and transformation. The Chorale next performs in Brooklyn on Sunday, Feb. 28 (the third Sunday in Lent) at a parish in Gravesend.

The Glenn Mohr Chorale will present “It Is Finished” at Sts. Simon and Jude Church. This repertoire has been described as “deeply moving yet finally triumphant.”

“It Is Finished” brings close the days leading to the Crucifixion, through the characters of Pontius Pilate, Joseph of Arimathea, Dismas the Good Thief, Veronica and Judas Iscariot.

Perhaps the Chorale’s most popular presentation, “It Is Finished” has been brought to dozens of parishes in the tri-state area, judging from the emotional, heartfelt reactions by the congregations. Some of the Chorale’s signature songs, like “Even from the Cross” and “No Greater Love,” are included and can be found on the recording “City on the Hill.”

Glenn Mohr Productions is a spiritually motivated group active in the creation of original music and theatrical presentations. Under the direction of its founder, Glenn Mohr, the Chorale has steadily enlarged its repertoire to include a number of important works presenting sacred scripture enhanced by traditional and contemporary music, dance and drama.

“The Glenn Mohr Chorale is a group of singers and actors who, through the years, have become a family … united in faith and friendship,” states the ensemble’s website. “It has been our mission to touch hearts and celebrate spirit by bringing the great stories of our faith to life in prayerful, spiritually uplifting and yes, entertaining ways.”

The ensemble has brought its productions to churches from Brooklyn to Boston. It has performed at the great Basilicas of Rome and had the chance to meet and sing for St. Pope John Paul II (who was canonized in April 2014). It has also performed on the stage of Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.

The free concert at Sts. Simon and St. Jude Church will begin at 3 p.m. The church is at 185 Van Sicklen St. (corner of Avenue T) in Gravesend.

For bookings and further information, call 516-488-0600.

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Milestones in Faith

St. Joseph’s in Prospect Heights Marks 3 Years as a Co-Cathedral

St. Joseph’s in Prospect Heights marks three years as Brooklyn’s Co-Cathedral.

Pope Benedict XVI elevated the church, the sanctuary of which is surrounded by high-rise developments in the area and seats 1,500 people, to co-cathedral status in February 2013. It was one of his last actions before stepping down as pontiff. It also made Brooklyn among those special dioceses that have two cathedrals. The larger of the two sanctuaries, St. Joseph’s serves as the venue for ordinations and other standing-room-only events.

The late archbishop of New York, John Hughes, established St. Joseph’s Church in 1850, three years before the Diocese of Brooklyn was founded. Established to serve the immense immigration population, the parish was named after St. Joseph, the patron of the universal church. St. Joseph protects and guides those as he did with his adoptive son, Jesus, and is also the patron saint of families, fathers, expectant mothers, travelers, immigrants, craftsmen and engineers.

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Corrections and Amplifications

A Feb. 8 article on a presentation made about International Holocaust Remembrance Day omitted a key fact about this dark period of history. The Brooklyn Eagle had covered Eugene Marlow’s presentation of a video and talk about Kristallnacht and his family’s escape from Nazi persecution and their survival.

However, in the writing process, a key sentence was deleted, and the Eagle regrets this omission. The article should have mentioned that almost 2 million Polish persons were killed, as well as those from other ethnic groups. In addition to the almost 6 million Jews who died were Soviet prisoners of war and Serbs.

However, the Final Solution was even wider in scope than commonly taught, as the Nazis sought to exterminate all peoples whom they believed to be inferior — that is, everyone but the Nazis.

This is one of the points that the article intended to bring out: that the Nazis considered as worthless everyone who was not in line with their ideology and vision for a perfect race. That included, but was not limited to, homosexuals, blacks and the disabled. World War II was fought to prevent further domination and genocide.

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