There seems to be a smartphone app for everything these days — social media, weather forecasts and even an app that shows the exact direction of Mecca. And that’s just one of the many apps that are made specifically for Muslims.
If there is anything that regularly challenges belief in God, it’s the existence of the ungodly. Evil and suffering have been frequent visitors to Chautauqua Institution, both as topics of discussion — for example, during the Interfaith Lecture Series’ week on emancipation — and as experiential realities. While some may think otherwise, Chautauqua isn’t paradise; evil and suffering happen here every day.
The Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the focus of this Sunday’s 8 p.m. Sacred Song Service in the Amphitheater. The four coordinators of the Abrahamic Program for Young Adults will weave together their faith traditions to tell the story of Abraham.
Jawad Bayat’s mouth is parched. He’s standing at the front of the Hall of Christ, shoes off, facing Mecca.
It’s Ramadan, and he can’t eat or drink until dark. [w/ VIDEO]
The coordinators of the Abrahamic Program for Young Adults shared with the Daily their personal reactions to Week Two’s theme of “The Next Greatest Generation.” Comprising of four coordinators representing Judaism, Christianity and Islam, APYA develops programs geared specifically toward generating interfaith dialogue among young adults at Chautauqua Institution.
The words of the Rev. Otis Moss III rolled in waves over the Chautauqua congregation at Sunday’s morning worship and sermon, causing heads to bob and even drawing a few verbal affirmations from the most tacit of congregants.
Moss, chaplain in residence this week, opened his sermon with words from the first verses of Psalm 34.
“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!” he said, welcoming his listeners.
In her application for the Abrahamic Program for Young Adults, Farrah Walji referenced the Quran: “[We] have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another.” To truly know one another, Walji argued in her essay, there needs to be interfaith dialogue.
Before W. Walter Braham had ever been to Chautauqua, N.Y., he paid his way through law school as a lecturer on the tent Chautauqua circuit.
Years later, he served as president of Chautauqua Institution, from 1956 to 1960.
Braham’s wife, Selina, had a history with the Institution, and introduced Walter to the place.
“My mother had been coming since her childhood,” said Isabel Pedersen, Walter and Selina’s daughter. “She and Dad rented for five years before we bought the family house. He was a new Chautauquan when he got married.”
Pamela Karlan will speak at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Hall of Philosophy on pressing issues before the Supreme Court and Justice Robert Jackson’s legacy.
The Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law at Stanford Law School, Karlan is also the co-director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.
“The issues I will focus on include this past term’s decision in the Affordable Care Act case, where Jackson’s New Deal-era opinion for the court in Wickard v. Filburn was a focal point,” Karlan said.
Though the season is winding down, Chautauqua Fund Chairs Jack and Yvonne McCredie will not be winding down their efforts to gather support for Chautauqua.
“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Jack said.
The job of the McCredies is a year-round one. From conversations with their team of volunteers, the 2012 Chautauqua Fund has so far been a success. All 110 annual fund volunteers meet several times with their teams and team captains during the season, and the 12 team captains meet four times each summer.
The Chautauquan Daily 