Interfaith family survey
InterfaithFamily.com wants to know what interfaith families are doing for Passover and Easter.The two holidays will coincide this year. The eight-day Jewish holiday of Passover, begins at sundown April 8. The Christian holiday of Easter is on April 12.
Interfaith families can fill out InterfaithFamily.com’s survey at Passover-Easter Survey by March 3. InterfaithFamily.com offers resources and services for interfaith families exploring Jewish life.
Survey participants will be eligible to win a $250 American Express giftcard.
The winner of the drawing will be announced March 17. InterfaithFamily.com will announce the results of the survey in late March. 
For more Passover and Easter resources, check out othe Web site’s Passover and Easter Resource Page.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Catholic League gives Comedy Central a lump of coal
Comedy Central re-broadcast actor Denis Leary’s 2005 Christmas special and this has raised the ire of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.
The special also is set to air Christmas Day.
However, the Catholic League is asking its members and associates to e-mail Doug Herzog, the president of Comedy Central, to ask that he cancel the special’s Christmas showing — and any future showings.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue said Comedy Central’s repeated airing of the 2005 special is proof that there is still a “War on Christmas.
“They are well aware that this special is offensive — indeed mocking Catholicism is the goal — and they repeatedly re-air it, particularly on Christmas, the maximize the offense,” Donohue said in a recent news release.
Leary’s holiday special includes a skit about lesbian nuns, among other things. But his monologue, in which he scoffs at Christians’ belief in the virgin birth of Christ, is apparently deemed the most offensive by Donohue.
Read more about the issue on the Catholic League’s Web site at www.catholicleague.org.
(PHOTO: Actor Denis Leary)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Finding room at the inn
The Rev. George Back and his book “Christmas Joy: Let Heaven and Nature Sing” came into my life at just the right time.
If you’ve ever had something happen that you can’t quite define as coincidence, you will understand what I am saying.
Due to an upcoming assignment and the very premise of Christmas, I had been thinking of Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary and their search for shelter thousands of years ago.
The phrase that kept ringing in my mind as I have heard the story told through songs and oration, “Is there room in the inn?”
One particular day, it struck me personally, that Christ asks on a daily basis “is there room” in one’s heart for Him?
Then I picked up Dean Back’s book and it opened to the page that included the following essay:
“Baby Jesus as Spiritual Guide”
The Gospel of Luke tells the story about how Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus into the temple when he was eight days old. Many old people like Simeon and Anna came to the temple in order to spend their final days in the presence of God, then to die and be buried in that holy place.
When Jesus was brought as a baby into the temple, old Simeon and old Anna immediately saw what their souls yearned for. They had come to the holy polace to complete their lives, and in looking at this newborn, they saw fulfillment of life.
“Now let your servant depart in peace,” proclaimed Simeon.
What he meant was, “I have seen God’s presence in this baby and now I am ready to be born from above.”
Birth and death, breathing in and breathing out, beginning and end, new and old — all these counterparts belong to one spiritual stream of divine grace.
The treasure of a pilgrim’s soul lies in the immensity of its immaturity. Within this immaturity lies the possibility for freedom, growth and development.
Babies rejoice in spiritual incompleteness; they don’t worry about their weakness and incompetence. A baby enjoys being merely a baby.
Likewise, we should let our souls rejoice that we have so far to grow.
When Mary realizes that she is pregnant with God she sings the first Christmas carol. It is the song of one who is mired deep in a poverty of spirit, but who then recognizes the immense possibility of God alive within her. Like Anna and Simeon who came to die but see abundance of life, Mary sees the glory of god springing forth from the depths of her humility. So it is that Mary sings the words we now call “The Magnificat”:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he regards the lowliness of his handmaiden (Luke 1:46-47).
The spiritual pilgrim will see in the baby a helpful guide. Babies live by grace, not by competence. They ask for food from the center of their hunger.
Jesus teaches his followers to pray to his Father in heaven, who knows how to give good gifts to us. In Gospel parables he urges us to pester God — like the persistent widow who nags the dishonest judge, or like the host who annoys his neighbor in order to provide hospitality for a guest.
Do not attempt to speak to God from a posture of confidence in your worthiness, but from your spiritual, intellectual and emotional neediness.
Like Anna and Simeon, seek God in your dying. Like Mary, the unmarried-yet-expectant mother, seek God from your humiliation.
Like a baby, cry deeply from an empty stomach, to be filled with the presence of God.
——-
Dean Back’s book is available at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral bookstore and Full Circle Bookstore in 50 Penn Place.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Sukkot begins at sundown
The Jewish festival of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles, begins at sundown today.
The seven-day festival gets its name from the huts or “sukkahs” that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land.
Jewish congregations in Oklahoma celebrate along with Jews across the world, God’s faithfulness to the Israelites. As they build sukkahs at their synagogues and temples, the structures serve as reminders that the Lord is still faithful today. In the 2005 photograph pictured at left are members of Temple B’nai Israel in Oklahoma City enjoying the sukkah built on temple grounds.
Many Jewish people also build sukkahs at their homes and eat and sleep in them over the course of the festival.
Meanwhile, Sukkot serves as a reminder to congregations of their agricultural roots and the harvest. People often hang papier-mache vegetables from the sukkah’s ceiling to signify that God blessed the Israelites with a harvest of food they needed to survive.
The sukkahs made by the Israelites were made of branches and were easy to assemble, take apart and carry. Jewish leaders said the sukkah’s shelter is always temporary — symbolizing that God provides His people with all they need as they seek His more permanent blessings of the Promised Land.
Each sukkah will include important symbols – branches of palm, willow and myrtle and the citron fruit, also called etrog. 
A branch of a palm woven together represents the desert or southern part of Israel. A branch with leaves of the myrtle tree represents the northern part of Israel and the , branches of the willow tree represent the eastern part of Israel. The fourth symbol is the citron fruit, or etrog (pictured at right in a recent AP photograph taken in Jerusalem).
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement
Today is the first day of Yom Kippur, which began at sundown Wednesday.
It is the Day of Atonement in the Jewish community, a day of fasting, prayer and repentance.
In addition to fasting, I learned several years ago that Jewish congregations revisit the book of Jonah on Yom Kippur.
The story of the reluctant prophet Jonah and his unsuccessful attempt to flee from God and God’s assignment is meaningful, bringing up themes of hope, repentence, forgiveness and responsibility.
Yom Kippur is a time to ask God’s foregiveness and to ask the forgiveness of those one has wronged. It is also a time to forgive others.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Oct. 5 Faith Bookshelf
I’m calling this posting “Faith Bookshelf” and it is the first in a regular Sunday blog series. I get numerous books from publishers all over the country and this is a way to highlight some of them.
Sometimes I might share a few lines about recently released books or perhaps offer a short list of those books focusing on a particular theme.
Today’s books center around the theme of Judaism, appropriate since the Jewish faith community is celebrating the High Holy Days:
“Hope, Not Fear: A Path to Jewish Renaissance”by Edgar M. Bronfman and Beth Zasloff (St. Martin’s Press, released Sept. 16, $24.95).
This book is a passionate plea to the Jewish community, urging members to celebrate the joy in their culture and religion. Further, it urges Jews to recognize their responsibility to help heal a broken world.
“Who by Fire,”by Diana Spechler (Harper Perennial, released Sept. 23, $14.95).
“Who by Fire” is an emotional portrayal of a family struggle to find the role of faith in their lives. The product of four years of writing and research, the book perfectly captures the conundrums of religious fundamentalism in modern life and introduces Diana Spechler as an enormously gifted writer.
“Checkpoints” by Marilyn Levy (Jewish Publication Society, released Sept. 12, $14).
This is a young adult novel that brings to life the realities faced by teenagers in the
Middle East today, as politics and prejudice threaten to tear lives and relationships apart. The friendship between two girls, one Israeli and one Palestinian, is put to the test when a tragic incident befalls the Israeli girl and her family.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Muslims celebrate at Frontier City
Many Oklahoma City area Muslims are enjoying Frontier City today in conjunction with the Eid ul-Fitr holiday which ended Friday.
Eid is the celebration of the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. The three-day Eid holiday began Wednesday with prayers and celebratory gatherings at local mosques.
Saad Mohammed with the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, said he expected Muslims from the metro area to join together for a fun-filled day at the theme park. He said some Muslims from Lawton and other areas of the state also planned to join in the faith celebration.
“The kids will definitely have fun,” he said.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Jewish soldiers get Hebrew Bibles
Chaplains on overseas and domestic bases are distributing a free copy of the Jewish Publication Society’s military edition of the Tanakh, a widely read English translation of the Hebrew Bible.
The distribution comes just in time for the Jewish High Holy Days, which begin with Rosh Hashana at sunset tonight.
The society, in partnership with the Jewish Welfare Board Chaplains Council, produced 10,000 copies of the Bible.
The society said the new military Tanakh, funded by the Everett Foundation, the society and individual donors, contains prayers and blessings, including prayers recited in a time of danger, during illness and for a safe journey on the road, and the traditional blessing over meals.
Unlike the one shown at left, the military edition features a cover with the official camouflage patterns from each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. The society’s news release said the Bibles are compact enough to fit into a military uniform pocket.
“JPS has a long tradition of making the Hebrew Bible accessible to all,” Carol Hupping, the society’s chief operating officer and publishing director.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Christmas in September
It’s not too early to think about Christmas — music that is.
Today my e-mail was full of news about upcoming Christmas-themed releases by contemporary Christian and Gospel recording artists. A couple of the holiday albums will be released in early October, but several will be available next week.
Get out your pen and start making your list just in case you want to grab a few of these when they hit the shelves:
1. “A pureNRG Christmas”is set for release Sept. 23. The compilation from Fervent 
Records’ tween group includes 10 tracks. The CD showcases a variety of Christmas classics done “pureNRG style.”
2. “Tennessee Christmas: A Holiday Collection” by Point of Grace will be released on Oct. 7. This new Christmas album combines songs from their two previous holiday collections, along with a new version of the song “Tennessee Christmas.”
3. “O Holy Night: A Live Christmas Celebration”by David Phelps will be released Sept. 23. The album was recorded live on Phelp’s farm in southern Tennessee.
4. “Home for Christmas”by BarlowGirl is set for 
release Sept. 23. This compilation allows fans to spend the season with sisters Alyssa, Lauren and Rebecca Barlow through 11 songs that include Christmas favorites and original recordings.
5. “And There Was Christmas”by Zomba Gospel Group will be in stores Oct. 28. The compilation of various Gospel artists includes Christmas songs from Kirk Franklin (shown below), Donnie McClurkin, 
Mary Mary, Marvin Sapp and others.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Preparing for Jewish New Year
I knew that Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown Sept. 30 this year.
What I did not know is that the 30 days before the new year are a special time of preparation for the Jewish faith community.
This time period preceding the High Holidays is called Elul. It began on Monday.
For some interesting reading on Elul, check out Jewish musician Craig Taubman’s site Jewels of Elul. It features various writers who contribute a meditation for every day of Elul.
Then there’s an article by Interfaithfamily.com’s Marinell James. Th freelance writer from San Francisco has chosen an intriguing title: “Elul and Spiritual Do-overs.”
For those who would simply like to know more about Elul, go online to the Orthodox Union’s page on the subject: “Elul: A Time to Reflect.”
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
(pictured abov right: Members of the Jewish faith community often eat apples dipped in honey during Rosh Hashana to symbolize their desire for a sweet new year.)
