What is it that youth want at church? I am asking a number of my kids this question so if you have a response, let me know. Maybe a better way to ask this question is: why do you come to church? If the answer is because your parents say you have to then answer this: what makes it "not so bad?" I want to do more of what you like and less of what is a drag. I also want to try and get some grant money to expand our programming. What DO YOU think would work?
Also, just a quick thought for tonight: I realized, as I sat in one of my classes this week that God is Enough. I worry about money, I worry about peace in the world, I worry about the safety of those I love...but really I needn't worry....for God is Enough. Just a thought.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
The Last Jew in Afghanistan
This AFP article was on Yahoo today. What would it be like to be the only person in Buffalo to worship at the Cathedral? This article was written by by Beatrice Khadige, she writes from Kabul in Afghanistan:
Zebulon Simentov, the last Jew in Afghanistan, is once again marking the Jewish holy day of fasting in solitude, in a deserted synagogue in the capital of a devoutly Islamic nation.
"I have everything I need for the 24 hours of praying and fasting," Simentov tells AFP before the start of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, at sunset on Friday.
Around two decades ago, there were still about 20 Afghan Jewish families living in Kabul, although all were from Herat -- the largest city in northwestern Afghanistan near the border with Iran.
Through the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, the subsequent civil war and the Taliban's 1996-2001 regime, all went to Israel or moved to neighbouring former Soviet republics -- undoing a Jewish presence built up from the seventh century.
Only Simentov has been left behind, becoming by default the guardian of Kabul's empty synagogue.
The room where he receives visitors was once a prayer room for women. On the wall are pictures of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the late ultra-orthodox Lubavitch rabbi, Menahem Scheerson.
Adjoining this room is the bare-walled "small synagogue" for men, where he prefers to pray.
Simentov, approaching 50, dislikes the "big synagogue" across the corridor -- another large and dirty room in which stands only a platform traditionally reserved for the rabbi.
A cupboard built into the wall faces Jerusalem. Its doors are open and it has been stripped of its treasure, a scroll of the Torah.
The precious document was stolen by a Taliban during the rule of the Islamist movement which was driven from government six years ago by a coalition led by the United States.
The man "wanted to sell it, thinking it was valuable," Simentov says in Dari, one of the main languages in Afghanistan. He says he reads Hebrew perfectly but prefers not to speak it.
"Today that Taliban is jailed at Guantanamo Bay and I am waiting for him to be freed so I can ask him to return the Tables of the Law," says Simentov, who wears a Jewish cap called a kippa, but is otherwise dressed like an Afghan.
Simentov is alone. His wife and two children are in Israel, which he says he has not visited since 1998.
"I have been the only Jew in Afghanistan for two years," he says. Ishaq Levin, the synagogue's former guardian, died from illness two years ago aged around 80.
Simentov says it is not easy to practise his religion alone.
But he has obtained special permission from a rabbi in Tashkent, capital of neighbouring Uzbekistan and home to 15,000 Jews, to slaughter his own meat in the kosher way that can normally only be done by a special rabbi.
Otherwise this former carpet salesman appears perfectly integrated into Kabul, where he is well-known by people who live around the synagogue, and warmly greeted when he is outside.
Jews have lived in several regions of Afghanistan and legends abound about their presence.
One says the Pashtuns, one of the main ethnic groups in Afghanistan, descended from a tribe from Israel. Another says the name Afghanistan comes from Afghana, grandson of King Saul -- the first king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel.
Zebulon Simentov, the last Jew in Afghanistan, is once again marking the Jewish holy day of fasting in solitude, in a deserted synagogue in the capital of a devoutly Islamic nation.
"I have everything I need for the 24 hours of praying and fasting," Simentov tells AFP before the start of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, at sunset on Friday.
Around two decades ago, there were still about 20 Afghan Jewish families living in Kabul, although all were from Herat -- the largest city in northwestern Afghanistan near the border with Iran.
Through the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, the subsequent civil war and the Taliban's 1996-2001 regime, all went to Israel or moved to neighbouring former Soviet republics -- undoing a Jewish presence built up from the seventh century.
Only Simentov has been left behind, becoming by default the guardian of Kabul's empty synagogue.
The room where he receives visitors was once a prayer room for women. On the wall are pictures of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the late ultra-orthodox Lubavitch rabbi, Menahem Scheerson.
Adjoining this room is the bare-walled "small synagogue" for men, where he prefers to pray.
Simentov, approaching 50, dislikes the "big synagogue" across the corridor -- another large and dirty room in which stands only a platform traditionally reserved for the rabbi.
A cupboard built into the wall faces Jerusalem. Its doors are open and it has been stripped of its treasure, a scroll of the Torah.
The precious document was stolen by a Taliban during the rule of the Islamist movement which was driven from government six years ago by a coalition led by the United States.
The man "wanted to sell it, thinking it was valuable," Simentov says in Dari, one of the main languages in Afghanistan. He says he reads Hebrew perfectly but prefers not to speak it.
"Today that Taliban is jailed at Guantanamo Bay and I am waiting for him to be freed so I can ask him to return the Tables of the Law," says Simentov, who wears a Jewish cap called a kippa, but is otherwise dressed like an Afghan.
Simentov is alone. His wife and two children are in Israel, which he says he has not visited since 1998.
"I have been the only Jew in Afghanistan for two years," he says. Ishaq Levin, the synagogue's former guardian, died from illness two years ago aged around 80.
Simentov says it is not easy to practise his religion alone.
But he has obtained special permission from a rabbi in Tashkent, capital of neighbouring Uzbekistan and home to 15,000 Jews, to slaughter his own meat in the kosher way that can normally only be done by a special rabbi.
Otherwise this former carpet salesman appears perfectly integrated into Kabul, where he is well-known by people who live around the synagogue, and warmly greeted when he is outside.
Jews have lived in several regions of Afghanistan and legends abound about their presence.
One says the Pashtuns, one of the main ethnic groups in Afghanistan, descended from a tribe from Israel. Another says the name Afghanistan comes from Afghana, grandson of King Saul -- the first king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Walking for a Cure
Even adults need mentors, and I have several who are helping me through this process toward becoming a priest. Of course here at the Cathedral I have Mother Liza and Father Paul, but I also have other priests and deacons (even some bishops!) who support me by sharing their wisdom. One such man is Bill Wipfler who is an associate priest at St. Matthias in East Aurora, NY. Bill's wife Pauline has Alzheimer's disease. She no longer recognizes Bill or any of their children. She cannot feed herself, as this disease has ravaged her mind and now her body. On September 29 I will participate in the Memory Walk to raise money for research in hopes of finding a cure. If you are interested in contributing , walking with me and/or in learning more about the organization, go to www.alz.org/wny
Thanks!
Thanks!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Welcome and Patience
Hello all,
This is my first time doing a blog so be patient! As the Coordinator for Children and Youth Education at the Episcopal Cathedral in Buffalo, New York, I wanted to communicate with the youth at the Cathedral and beyond about issues of life in general and, more specifically, faith. I have added some links so you can get to know a little more about our Cathedral, our Diocese and the national church---explore. I will also post some sermons and summaries of discussions we have in the Youth Group and in Sunday School. First some definitions--the Sunday School program we use at St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo is Godly Play. This Montessori based curriculum is for children from pre-K through 5th grade. I often refer to them as the Godly Players. Our youth follow the Journey to Adulthood model and they are referred to as J2Aers. Sometimes I just refer to the kids and youth of the church as "my kids." Because, that is how I think of them---they are my kids, they are our kids--the kids at the Cathedral are the kids Of the Cathedral.
I love our kids.
I am a third year seminarian at Bexley Hall Episcopal Seminary in Rochester, NY. I am set to graduate in May of '08 and am on the ordination track. Currently I am a Candidate for Holy Orders which means that the next step in this process is to interviewed and evaluated for ordination. My interviews will be in mid-October. My goal, God and the people consenting, is to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. Some of those experiences will find their way into this blog, too.
This is my first time doing a blog so be patient! As the Coordinator for Children and Youth Education at the Episcopal Cathedral in Buffalo, New York, I wanted to communicate with the youth at the Cathedral and beyond about issues of life in general and, more specifically, faith. I have added some links so you can get to know a little more about our Cathedral, our Diocese and the national church---explore. I will also post some sermons and summaries of discussions we have in the Youth Group and in Sunday School. First some definitions--the Sunday School program we use at St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo is Godly Play. This Montessori based curriculum is for children from pre-K through 5th grade. I often refer to them as the Godly Players. Our youth follow the Journey to Adulthood model and they are referred to as J2Aers. Sometimes I just refer to the kids and youth of the church as "my kids." Because, that is how I think of them---they are my kids, they are our kids--the kids at the Cathedral are the kids Of the Cathedral.
I love our kids.
I am a third year seminarian at Bexley Hall Episcopal Seminary in Rochester, NY. I am set to graduate in May of '08 and am on the ordination track. Currently I am a Candidate for Holy Orders which means that the next step in this process is to interviewed and evaluated for ordination. My interviews will be in mid-October. My goal, God and the people consenting, is to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. Some of those experiences will find their way into this blog, too.
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