Obama Nominates First Non-Christian to Lead Religious Freedom Initiative

RELIGION DISPATCHES
By Peter Montgomery

“O. C. Blue Amulet” (2009) by Yona Verwer; print 16” x 20"

S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced yesterday (Monday) that President Barack Obama is nominating the first non-Christian, Rabbi David Saperstein, to the post of ambassador for international religious freedom. Saperstein has served as head of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism for more than 30 years, been a member of the advisory council for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and teaches First Amendment and Jewish law at Georgetown Law school. In his remarks on Saperstein’s religious freedom pedigree, Kerry called him “the gold standard,” pointing to his work “across faith lines,” with “women of faith networks,” and with “American Muslim communities.” [link]

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Pittsburgh Art Exhibit Canceled After Palestinian Artists Threatened, Pull Out

JTA | JEWISH NEWS SOURCE

A woman hold a Palestinian flag during a protest to show solidarity with Palestinians. Photo by Reuters / Haaretz Archive

PENNSYLVANIA---An art exhibition in Pittsburgh featuring the work of Israeli, Palestinian and American artists was canceled after the Palestinian artists withdrew from the show. “Sites of Passage: Borders, Walls & Citizenship,” scheduled to run at Pittsburgh’s Mattress Factory museum from June 1 to July 27, was the culmination of a joint multimedia project begun a year ago by the artists, the Jewish Chronicle reported. The Palestinian artists pulled out of the show on May 29, a day after the Israeli artists had canceled their participation in order to allow the Palestinians to continue participating and to protect them from threats and criticism on an Arabic-language Facebook page, Tavia La Follette, the independent curator of the exhibit, told the newspaper. [link]

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Bill Viola Unveils Major New Installation At St Paul's Cathedral

ARTLYST

Martyrs is located behind the High Altar of the Cathedral next to the American Memorial Chapel

UNITED KINGDOM---Bill Viola has unveiled a major new installation At St Paul's Cathedral in London. Martyrs, has taken ten years to realise and is the first of two large-scale permanent video installations created by this internationally acclaimed artist. The was inaugurated in St Paul’s Cathedral on 21 May 2014. The installation is the first moving-image artwork to be installed in a British cathedral or church on a long-term basis. Martyrs, is joined in 2015 by a second piece entitled Mary, which the artist has conceived as a companion work. Although installed in an Anglican cathedral, the works will engage with a multi-national, multi-denominational audience, in keeping with a spiritual environment that attracts millions of people of all faiths. [link]

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Sacred Web Conference Contemplates the Importance of Religion in a Secular Age

THE VANCOUVER OBSERVER

CANADA---"When we lose sight of the sacred, we can't see each other but as dust," said Vancouver-based trial lawyer and writer M. Ali Lakhani, at the Sacred Web conference in the Segal Building on Granville Street. He spoke of a haunting remark made by a survivor of 9-11, who said: 'We were as dust in their (the terrorists') eyes." In addition to the rise of Islamophobia and the release of best-selling books such as The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris, he said there were corrosive influences within religion itself. Sadly, he said, there were "homogenizers" and "fundamentalists" who imposed their views on others and attacked anyone who didn't conform to their beliefs, as well as "diluters" who adapted their chosen religion to suit their personal whims. "The homogenizers and diluters feed off each other, and lost in all this is the centre -- what is the sacred?" [link]

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10th Biennial Liturgical Arts Festival’s Juried Art Exhibit Opened Saturday at the Springfield Art Association

THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

By Steven Spearie

“Mary, Christ and St. John the Baptist,” created by Springfield’s Paul Jergens, is part of the
Liturgical Arts Festival’s juried art exhibit that opens Saturday at the Springfield Art Association.

ILLINOIS---Reflecting on the history of the Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield, Thom Dennis recalls the 1995 suspicious fire that claimed the Islamic Center of Greater Springfield’s masjid in an unincorporated area of the city. “One of the (Jewish) temples was the first to respond to the community’s needs at the time,” Dennis recalls. “That same spirit helped to foster the festival, the idea of working together on common values.” Dennis’ idea is still being celebrated in the 10th biennial event that kicks off Saturday with a hands-on creative workshop at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and with the Liturgical and Sacred Art exhibit at the Springfield Art Association. [link]

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