Rite of Passage

 Take a look at how Youth Alive's Rite of Passage Program has grown!

Youth Alive Rite of Passage program

Shirley Edgerton and Youth Alive dancers presented  the first seed of this program at one of our potluck programs in 2009.
 Women's Interfaith is eager to support this initiative as mentors and in other ways that help this program grow.

    Youth Alive Step, Dance and Drumline

WII Supports the Monterey Meets Ngalla/People to People Project

Monterey Meets Ngalla/ People To People Project

Children from the Ngalla Primary School

CPC (Center for Peace through Culture) has established a Sister City relationship between a small town in the western mountains of Massachusetts and a small African city. Monterey, MA and Ngalla, Cameroon, are working together to strengthen human and financial resources to fight the spread of Malaria and HIV/AIDS. The partnership helps people of both communities to share their history and experiences while promoting greater world prosperity and peace. Here's a report on the joyful opening event in Cameroon.

Harvest Gathering Thursday, November 17

A long-standing tradition of the Women's Interfaith is to gather in the fall of the year to share the blessings of our harvest and to enrich our lives with the power of gratitude.  Please join us as we experience an evening of:   inspiration, connection, ceremony, prayer, and song.

This year we will be focusing on our Spiritual Harvest: gratitude for what has been~what we have received~ what we have learned~ how we have grown~the gifts we have given~ the joy we have known~ the strength we have called upon~ the challenges we have conquered~ the love we are harvesting.

We are living in intense transformational times!  This evening will provide the opportunity to join our hearts and our forces  to call down a Blessing on the Human Family, our Mother Earth and all life. 

Please bring:

   ~ Simple foods that nourish and delight the body

   ~ An object for the gratitude altar that represents the     blessings of your harvest

   ~ A short written paragraph about what you are spiritually harvesting

.

Bio:   Satyena Ananda is a holistic educator and spiritual counselor with thirty eight years background and training in designing and implementing programs and experiences for people of all ages.  Her work focuses in the areas of healing, personal transformation, holistic living , ceremony and spiritual direction. 

  

Satyena Ananda is co-founder and director of Starseed, an interfaith healing sanctuary and holistic retreat center in the northern Berkshires.  Her current focus is on: conscious evolution, feminine spirituality and leadership, earth based healing, conscious co-creation,  spiritual community and the creation and stewardship of sacred space.

'Dia de los Muertes" Celebration Tuesday, October 18

Dia de los Muertos
“Day of the Dead”

Come join Rev. Joni Carron to experience this Mexican tradition of honoring our deceased ancestors. We will discuss the different ingredients and beliefs that make up this colorful, flavorful, and important day in Mexican culture. While experiencing Dia de los Muertos as a group, we will be invited to explore our own beliefs about death and the ways in which we do or do not honor our ancestors.

Please bring a picture of a loved one who has passed over who you would like to honor.  All of the photos will be placed on "la ofrenda," our altar. In keeping with the custom of this ritual, we ask that you prepare the favorite food of your loved one to be shared at our potluck dinner. In preparation for “Day of the Dead” bring stories, anecdotes, a favorite song, poem or prayer of your loved one to share with the group.

BIO:  Reverend Joni Carron is an Interfaith Minister, ordained in 2009 through One Spirit Interfaith Seminary.Her studies over the past ten years have focused on death/dying, end of life care, spiritual pain/ diagnosing spiritual pain, grief/bereavement, and the history and skills of an Anamcara (soul friend) caring for the dying. She is currently pursuing her life’s calling as a hospice chaplain. As a hospice volunteer Joni has assisted many of her friends and family through the transition of death. She has previously worked as a drug and alcohol counselor for nine years, and currently performs weddings, funerals and various spiritual ceremonies as part of her ministry.

"Feeding Body, Mind and Soul" for those in need

September 15, 2011
In keeping with our theme this year, "Feeding Body, Mind and Soul," tonight our Women's Interfaith group raised $130. to send to Mercy Corp to help feed people on the Horn of Africa.

The Horn of Africa is withered by drought – and the people who live there are perilously hungry. More than 12 million people are at risk of starvation. The United Nations has called Somalia the “world’s worst humanitarian disaster.”

People in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya are desperate for food and water. Mercy Corp is on the ground helping more than 860,000 people weather the crisis.

Here is the link to learn how to help:

Mercy Corp 

It is our intention at Women's Interfaith to raise money each month to help nurture those in need both locally and abroad. Simply passing the basket and adding your $5. makes a tremendous difference!  Thank you all.

Thursday, September 15 


Feeding Body Mind and Soul:

"The High Holy Days~
Cleansing the Soul as a Path Toward Peace"

                             

The Jewish calendar reflects not only the physical passage of the seasons but also the journey of the soul through each year. In this program we will discover the Jewish practice of Cheshbon Hanefesh- to take an accounting of the soul.

Rabbi Kaya Stern-Kaufman will guide us through a meditation as a way of connecting to a deeper sense of self and beginning the process of inner cleansing. This practice serves as preparation for entering the High Holy Days- a period of inner cleansing and outer repairing of relationships. As we begin a new year, may we be renewed on our paths towards wholeness and peace.

Bio:

Rabbi Kaya Stern-Kaufman,MSW  is one of the founders and leaders of The Berkshire Minyan- a traditional/egalitarian prayer group that meets every Shabbat morning at Hevreh of S. Berkshire. She volunteers as chaplain at Fairview Hospital and is an experienced Jewish Educator. She has taught a variety of classes in Judaic Studies and Hebrew at Sinai Academy of the Berkshires, Congregation K'nesset Israel  Synagogue, Hevreh of S. Berkshire, Simon's Rock College and Isabella Freedman Center. Formerly a social worker and Feng Shui consultant,  Kaya is currently working on a book entitled, "Between Heaven and Earth- Re-envisioning Synagogue Space."

Come join us for this women's monthly potluck  program and bring a friend. $5-10 Suggested donation FREE FOR MEMBERS* Please bring a labeled dish to share. Optional: You may wish to include traditional Rosh Hashana foods in your recipes such as apples, honey, pomegranates, beets or leeks. Where: Church on the Hill Chapel 55 Main Street Lenox, MA (The brown building is down the street from the main church, and across the street from Nejaime's Wine Cellar. Please use entrance on right side of building.) When: 5:45 - 8:45pm 5:45 Gathering with food 6:00 Welcome circle 6:15 Potluck supper 7:15 Program 8:45 Closure and clean up Interesting link about the Days of Awe: Debra Darvick

Interfaith Chant for Peace

Note from Rabbi Kaya Stern-Kaufman:

Dear Friends,

After the tragic and horrific events in Norway this summer, I have felt ever more provoked to do something to express our spiritual connectedness and unity as one humanity with many diverse and beautiful spiritual voices.

I envision an interfaith group, meeting monthly to share chants and prayers for peace from all traditions.

I have spoken to several local spiritual leaders from different faith traditions and they have enthusiastically agreed to join in this vision. Thus far, Rev. Natalie Shiras from The Church on the Hill, Rev. Yaqin Aubert from the Abode of the Message,  Native American Healer Mikka Barkman, the Quaker community and others will be joining me in our first monthly gathering.

Interfaith Chant for Peace 

Wednesday, August 31st,  5-6 PM 

at The Quaker Meeting House in Great Barrington

 280 State Road-Rt. 23.

Please join us as we share the sounds of Peace from all faith traditions.

Everyone is welcome.

B'shalom,

Rabbi Kaya Stern-Kaufman