Dear ICSC Family & Friends,

It has been an emotional week for many of us.  At ICSC, we came together to share friendship and joy at Family & Spiritual Night, but also stood side-by-side in quiet remembrance of those who tragically lost their lives around the world this past week. These calamities are weighing heavy on our hearts, but we remain hopeful.  We will rise above and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in humanity by choosing to honor, preserve, and sustain human life. 

"Hope gives us the capacity to see something different than what is in front of us."  - Dr. Najeeba Syeed (Professor at Claremont School of Theology)

As many of you know, on Saturday evening, we held a Press Conference and Candlelight Vigil at the Center.  We met to make a public statement denouncing the acts of terrorism that ISIS has carried out in the name of Islam and to honor the lives lost.  Thank you to everyone who was able to attend.

"I am grateful that we had this event.  This is the heartbeat of the Center -- being around good people and coming together in prayer. And giving ourselves this opportunity to spend time together is charity.  This is the kind of stuff that strengthens our community and we should do it more often, insha'Allah."   - Alicia Mesco (ICSC Community Member)

We built up to it for weeks, and finally, this past weekend we celebrated our Night of Gratitude.  From time to time, we will hold a Family & Spiritual Night here at ICSC to bring the family together for an evening of prayer and reflection, followed by food and socializing.  With the Thanksgiving holiday on the horizon, this Family Night was centered around the idea of gratitude.

Edina Lekovic started us off with a short lecture on Gratitude. In her talk, she discussed how expressing daily gratitude can change our lives. It inherently makes us pay more attention to our blessings rather than focusing on what we don't have.   Gratitude trains our minds to focus on the positive things in life and helps us make "the shift". Consequently, Edina says...

"...we are able to attract more good, more love, more joy, more money, as well as better health and blissful relationships in our lives." - Edina Lekovic

After more prayer and a short speech from the President of our Muslim Youth Group, we all enjoyed a dinner from Hatam restaurant and spent some quality time socializing with familiar faces at the Center.  It was a great success with many new faces in the building.

An event like this takes a lot of hard work to plan.  Thank you very much to all those who played a role in the evening.  Asim Buyuksoy, Hassan Zeenni, Kenan Kapetanovic, Saleh Kholaki, Hadir Elsayad, Edina Lekovic, Omar Badr, Jimmy & the Front Desk Staff, Yusif Lee, the Religious Committee, the Board of Directors, and all of our Volunteers.  We couldn't have done it without you!

ICSC Candlelight Vigil

Muslim Youth Group (MYG)

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