Welcome to the second issue of In the Spirit, a monthly newsletter created to share news of the Charleston Interreligious Council (CIC) and other interfaith events held in metro Charleston, SC.
November 2019 : Issue 3
Upcoming Events
November 7-9
Third Annual Interfaith Speaker Series. Visit
here for more information.
November 9, 5pm
Reimagining God and Religion: Our Most Urgent Task
3rd Annual James Sawers Jr. Interfaith Speaker Series
November 6-9, 2019
Dr. Wendy Cadge, a sociologist at Brandeis University and expert in contemporary American religious demographics will be offering 4 lectures during the Interfaith Speaker Series. Cadge has earned bachelor's degrees in religion, sociology, and anthropology from Swarthmore College, as well as both a master's degree and doctorate in sociology from Princeton University. Those of all faiths and religious backgrounds are welcome to attend to be part of the conversation. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the role of sacred places, the work of chaplains and what scholars can learn about people and suffering, the many ways religion is a force for cooperation and conflict in the contemporary world, and several more topics. The series of free lectures and workshops are open to the public and will be held Nov. 7-9, 2019 at locations around Charleston.
Thursday, November 7, 2019 at 4 p.m.
“Boston's Hidden Sacred Places”
Arnold Hall, Jewish Studies Bldg., 1st Floor, 96
Wentworth St, (downtown) Charleston, SC 29424
This presentation will describe what can be learned about spirituality and religion in the contemporary American landscape by looking at sacred places that exist outside of congregations. In this lecture, Cadge will share how her research of more than 60 sacred spaces in and around greater Boston applies to other spaces with a spiritual mission within secular institutions.
Friday, November 8, 2019 at noon
“Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine”
Roper-St. Francis Hospital, Board Room, Cancer Center, 2085 Henry Tecklenburg Dr. (West Ashley), Charleston, SC 29414
This session explores how spirituality and religion are present in hospitals and how healthcare professionals, including chaplains, navigate the topics with patients and families.
Friday, November 8, 2019 at 3:30 p.m.
“A Case of Religious Acceptance”
Alumni Center, School of Education, College of Charleston, 86 Wentworth St. (downtown), Charleston, SC 29424
A conversation based on the case study that researches the Buddhist and Jewish communities in western Massachusetts, New York and California. A story of a Jewish born mother who became a Buddhist priestess wants her son to have a bar mitzvah at a synagogue in Syracuse, New York. The rabbi will have to or need to decide.
Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 7 p.m.
Keynote Lecture: “God Around the Edges: Moral Frameworks in Times of Crisis”
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1519 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. (West Ashley), Charleston, SC 29407
In her latest book with the same title, Cadge examines who chaplains are and what scholars can learn about how people make sense of suffering by analyzing their daily work. In this presentation, attendees will hear the analysis, explanations, and practices that chaplains have developed around suffering, resilience, hope, and other aspects of personal experiences. This research is based on several years of ethnographic and historical research in Boston.
All events are free and open to the public. Please see more information on our website here and a copy of the program here.
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
November 26, 2019 at 6:30pm
The Charleston Interreligious Council proudly presents our annual Thanksgiving Service at the Unitarian Church, 4 Archdale St., on Thursday, November 26 @ 6:30 p.m. "Giving Thanks in Community" celebrates the importance of our diverse community with a keynote address by Rev. David Messner, Unitarian Church minister, and additional readings by local clergy and leaders. Music by community choirs will inspire, and, in the spirit of community action, we will encourage donations to Lowcountry Food Bank. A dessert reception will follow the program. All are welcome!
Interfaith Harmony Month: January 2020
The Mayor of the City of Charleston will be proclaiming January Interfaith Harmony Month for the City of Charleston on December 30, 2019, in the
City of Charleston Council Chamber. Please join us as we launch Interfaith Harmony in Charleston with a festive representation of Charleston faith traditions. Children from various faiths will be reading the proclamation and music will be offered by
Heather Rice.
Interfaith events for the month of January will be announced. This will be a meaningful way to cap off 2019 and begin 2020, in harmony, and for all the tri-county region to witness that harmony. We hope you can attend. More information can be found
here.
More news and events from the community
New congregation in 100-year old Charleston church blends traditional and contemporary
The P
ost and Courier reported on Parkside Church recently launching its first worship experience at the historic St. Barnabas Lutheran Church, a 100-year-old sanctuary at the intersection of Rutledge Avenue and Moultrie Street downtown... see the article here!
Circular Congregational Church in Charlestonat 150 Meeting St., was organized in 1681. It was already 200 years old when the church's building was damaged in the earthquake of 1886. The original meetinghouse gave iconic Meeting Street in Charleston its name. Read more
here and plan a visit to better understand its history and faith traditions.
Peace among religions is a precondition for world peace.--- Swami Agnivesh
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The Charleston Interreligious Council (formerly the Christian Jewish Council of Greater Charleston) is an organization that seeks to build bridges of understanding to promote sensitivity, tolerance, respect, and fellowship among religious groups.