PRESENTATIONS
SPIRITUAL INFO-TAINMENT AT ITS FINEST!
Hazzan Steve Klaper, Mary Gilhuly & Br. Al offer classes, workshops, presentations, weekend retreats, missions and Shabbatons that engage the entire community in spiritually uplifting explorations of music, study, art and faith. These programs can be scheduled as individual events, or can be bundled together in a variety of ways to create a day-long or multi-day retreat experience for your group or community. Additional programs are available as well.
Contact [email protected] for more information
THE JEWISH WISDOM OF JESUS. Judaism and Christianity have each removed Jesus from his place in the lineage of Jewish teachers, but his deeply Jewish message can be understood almost entirely as a daring attempt to re-form the Judaism of his day. In this 3-part interfaith class, we place Jesus in historical context as an innovative, first century sage and teacher of Jewish wisdom. We’ll compare and contrast Kaddish and the Lord’s Prayer as examples of early rabbinic liturgy, explore the intent of the Beatitudes as a means of teaching Torah to the masses, listen to the parables with First Century ears, and much more.
HOPE & HEALING: ONE PIECE AT A TIME. Artist and peace/piece-maker Mary Gilhuly describes her unique journey of healing through mosaic art, presenting one of-a-kind works to honor the memories of those affected by the Newtown, CT/Sandy Hook school shooting, and Nigerian girls kidnapped by terrorists. Far from being morose, her story and the creative and spiritual process that brings them to life is truly inspirational.
DEEP ECUMENISM: Every spiritual tradition. at its root, teaches Presence - presence of God, presence of awareness, presence of consciousness - a presence so palpable that it feels like transcendence when we become aware of it. Tolerance and "peaceful co-existence" are the lowest possible forms of what we might call "hospitality." In studying the many ways we connect with God, we learn that not only are these seemingly disparate spiritual traditions meant to love and embrace one another, but we're already far more intimately connected than any of us realize.
A BREATH OF PEACE. Is it possible to send a restorative breath of perfect peace to a friend or a loved one in need of a moment of respite? Take a breath of peace with Mary, and share the stories behind her beautiful “Peace Garden” mosaic, completed in honor of one 40-day commitment to this spiritual practice.
ORDINARY MARY. “But I’m just one person. How can anything I do really make a difference in the world?” Engaging stories and real-life examples will prove to your children (and the kid in all of us!) that it is TRUE - that one perfectly ordinary deed CAN change the world! may be combined with a creative, hands-on service project.
YOURS, MINE AND OURS: RAISING AN INTERFAITHFUL FAMILY. Interfaith families are everywhere in America these days, especially among Jews and Christians. Hazzan Steve Klaper and Mary Gilhuly have been married for nearly 40 years, raising two children while Mary remained active in her Catholic parish and Steve went on to ordination as a Jewish Maggid and Cantor. Come sit with us as we discuss our spiritual backpacks, and what we owe our ourselves, our kids, our parents and our tradition(s). This presentation usually leads to a lively discussion.
EVERYTHING IN ITS TIME: WHAT JUDAISM HAS TO TEACH US ABOUT MOURNING.
Jewish traditions of mourning treat the deceased with the utmost respect, while offering a grieving process which acknowledges a family’s life has been upended, and that they suddenly find themselves in a “time out of time.” In Judaism, there is no rush to “get on with your life.”
