Monday October 24, 2022   7 pm

RECONNECT

What’s on your mind these days? How are you navigating your spiritual life? What are you celebrating? What is weighing on you? What are you feeling about the state of humanity?

NISE welcomes you to gather with others in small groups (spaced appropriately) and simply RECONNECT. As NISE enters its 12th year we want to hear from you and better define the future of NISE. Join us at Champlin United Methodist Church at 7:00 pm on October 24th. We’ll talk and then have a treat! Amy Lee says she’ll make her famous pumpkin bars! Yeah!

Monday, October 25, 2021 – 7 pm

Grief, Humor, and Purpose

 

Presented by Dr. Melissa Baartman Mork Psychology Professor at University of Northwestern

 Dr. Melissa Baartman Mork, a Psychology professor at University of Northwestern, studied grief after her parents died when she was in college. Her master’s thesis was, “The Mourning After: Patterns, processes, and obstacles of grief.” After she realized studying grief wasn’t a barrel of laughs, she changed her research to applied and therapeutic humor. When her husband died in 2017, it all came together as she and her kids used humor to navigate their grief.

In the course of our lives, we will experience significant losses that cause us to grieve: death, divorce, impoverished childhoods, broken relationships, failed friendships, financial and job losses, and more. This session will explore the tasks of grief work. We will discuss patterns, processes, and obstacles to grief and look at the value of humor in the process. Finally, we will explore a way to find purpose in our pain.

Monday September 27, 2021 – 7 pm

ENOUGH “Say Their Names…”

Meet and get to know the eight authors of ENOUGH “Say Their Names…” Messages from Ground Zero to the WORLD as they discuss and perform selections from their stunning social justice anthology.

This timely, powerful anthology features remarkable board-up artwork and photography directly from the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests around the United States, some from Minneapolis. Incisive poetry and prose by this diverse team of writers provide historical perspective and expand on the protest messages of the decade.

In addition to poetry and slides, we will provide an open forum for Q&A and conversations around the social issues we face in the United States, with an intention to stimulate ideas and to foster understanding and positive change.

Visit our website to hear audio samples and to read excerpts from each contributing author at

Social Justice Protests and Demonstrations Depicted in Photography, Poetry and Prose.

Presentation Bios with Photos-NISE

Friday, October 4, 2019

7 – 9 pm

Human Trafficking 101-

Become a Modern Day Abolitionist

Presented by Sean and Kay Levesque

Executive Directors of Love2Hope

 Sean and Kay are co-founders and executive directors of Love2Hope and work with audiences across America to understand human trafficking and their role in fighting it.

These questions will be answered: What is Human Trafficking? How does it happen? What are the warning signs? How do I protect my friends and family? What can I do to make a difference?

Who: Anyone 12+ who wants to know more and do more. Why: Because slavery is real. People matter. And everyone can do something.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, May 3, 2019

7 – 9 pm

Danny Buettner

 

Speaking about Blue Zones

Blue Zones are regions of the world where people live much longer than average.

Danny Buettner, son of Blue Zones author and founder Dan Buettner, has firsthand knowledge of the Blue Zones — places that have the greatest life expectancy and where more people reach age 100 than anywhere else in the world.  Danny is a certified Blue Zones speaker as well as a veteran firefighter and EMT. Danny has honed his message from extended service trips around the world, including to post-earthquake Haiti, post-civil war Guatemala and the “Blue Zones” areas.

Using National Geographic photography and a dynamic, storytelling delivery, Danny will take you to these longest-lived cultures, sharing his observations from the field, and will provide you with ideas to immediately increase your own healthy longevity and well-being.

Friday, November 2, 2018

Brian Freeman

 

 

 

 

Brian Freeman is a MN author who took a relevant world topic and wrote the book MARATHON. In the 8th book of the Jonathan Stride series,
Freeman explores the human condition under great stress. He looks at the psychological impact, how our beliefs, and biases might play out, and highlights how we aren’t always even aware of them. What happens to a community when anyone feels they must be ‘on guard’ each day?
Brian Freeman’s presentation will further NISE’s efforts to open dialogue around difficult topics as we explore intercultural realities while remaining conscious of the spiritual weight of real life social justice issues. Tough ethical situations are at the heart of Brian Freeman’s work.

Friday, May 11, 2108

7 – 9 pm

Dale Graunke

Mayor of Delano, MN

 

 

Delano Responding to Hate.

Learn how this small community in MN came together to respond to hate and steps they are taking to make it a more welcoming community. 

 

For those that missed Christian Picciolini on April 13, 2018 see the link below.

 

Friday, April 13, 2018

7 – 9 pm

Christian Picciolini

Christian Picciolini is the author of WHITE AMERICAN YOUTH: My Descent into America’s Most Violent Hate Movement—and How I Got Out (Hachette, 2017), a former leader of the early American white-supremacist skinhead movement turned peace activist, and a cofounder of Life After Hate—a nonprofit that helps people disengage from violent extremist ideologies.

 

 

 

Friday, November 3, 2017 @ 7 pm

Piano Performance with Mark Ochu

Reflections on Our Times

Islam and Race Unity from a Baha’i perspective

Friday, October 6, 2017 @ 7 pm

Panel Discussion: Issues of Suicide and Mental Health

How does your religion/belief system address the issue of suicide and mental health?

Suicide in Minnesota reached record highs in 2015. 726 suicide deaths were reported, an increase of 6 percent from 2014. According to the MN Department of Health, “Half of the increase occurred among white men ages 25 to 34.” Other mental health statistics across the country include these facts: 16.1 million American adults live with major depression, while another 6.3 million live with bipolar disease and 2.6 million live with schizophrenia.

How is your faith or belief community responding to the issue of suicide and the topic of mental health?

“For years, I got rhetoric from the church that mental illness was equivalent to a lack of faith,” says Reverend Donna Allen, PhD.

Where do our different belief systems stand today?

Speakers from four backgrounds: Baha’i, Islam, Atheism, Christianity.

Speakers for Suicide and Mental Health panel include:

Rev. Max Richter

Rev. Max Richter is pastor of Champlin United Methodist Church.   In his 18 years of pastoral ministry, Max has served congregations in South Minneapolis, Columbia Heights and was appointed to Champlin UMC July 1st, 2017.  Max has a background in youth ministry and Christian Education and is also a semi-professional musician. Rev. Richter is a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota and United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.

 

 

Tressa Reisetter, PhD., LP, NCSP – Baha’i faith

I’m a neuropsychologist in Champlin, Minnesota. I primarily administer neuropsychological tests to investigate such diagnoses as ADHD, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Giftedness, Learning Disorders, and Alzheimer’s. I help clients with plans and strategies to help deal with the diagnoses. If clients elect, I meet with them for 6-10 sessions to help facilitate the new strategies.

 

 

August Berkshire

August Berkshire has been a leader in the atheist movement in Minnesota and nationally since 1984. He is also interested in science and the arts, especially evolution and poetry.

 

 

 

 

Father Mike Sullivan

Fr. Mike Sullivan was ordained in 1981.  He has served in several parishes in northwest Minnesota before coming to St. Joseph the Worker in 2000.  In 1992 he received a Pontifical Degree in Canon Law and served for the next 15 years as the Judicial Vicar for the Diocese of Crookston (the diocesan office that handles requests for annulments).  Several of his relatives suffer from mental illness and he dealt with clinical depression for some time while in the flood prone regions of the Red River Valley.

Peace for our Planet

Friday, April 7, 2017 7-9 pm

Peace for Our Planet: A New Approach Friday, April 7, 2017 7-9pm There is a new spirit stirring in the world, and it is leading us toward a more just and peaceful global society. This presentation will focus on making these contemporary constructive trends visible to the naked eye, and discuss the role we can play in facilitating their progress.

Bio: Dr. Roya Akhaven Dr. Akhavan serves as Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at the Department of Mass Communications, St. Cloud State University. She has lived and worked in four different cultures, Persian, American, Japanese, and Chinese. She is the author of a book entitled, “Peace for Our Planet: A New Approach,” which is also the title of her presentation tonight.

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Secular Humanist Ethics

Friday, March 3, 2017 7-9 pm

Secular Humanist Ethics Friday, March 3, 2017 7-9pm The presentation will focus on the ethical imperative of humanism and provide an overview of the moral theories and scientific principles which lay the foundation for this naturalist worldview.

 

Bio— Audrey Kingstrom Audrey is currently president of Humanists of Minnesota and an 18-year member of the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis. She is a Humanist celebrant and educator developing and leading programs for these organizations and officiating at weddings and memorials. Born and raised a devout Minnesota Lutheran, Audrey made her way to NYC in her twenties to go to seminary but ended up an atheist instead. She went on to work in the field of education—in publishing and high school teaching. Returning to Minnesota in 1995 to raise her family, Audrey became an avid volunteer and humanist activist.

 

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Trees and Me

A story of my faith journey, starting with the relationship with my Native American Grandmother and leading to where I am today.

Author of TREESPIRITEDWOMAN, Colleen Baldrica is a Christian who believes there are many paths to one God.

 

 

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Religious Persecution

Is it only a historical reporting or a modern day issue? Abir Majid shares his personal story of religious persecution while living in Iraq. Reflections will also include: Is humankind sharing many religions or iterations of one faith? Why are there so many religions when there are so many common fundamentals? Why is there so much disagreement?

 

 

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Would the World be a Better Place Without Religion?

A Panel Discussion

Friday, April 8th, 2016

 

The Panel consists of speakers from four backgrounds:

Christian, Baha’i, Muslim, Atheist

 

Jerad Morey — Christian

A former atheist, Rev. Jerad Morey is now associate pastor of Northfield United Methodist Church and program and communications director with the Minnesota Council of Churches. He earned Master’s degrees in Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary and in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University, both in Washington, DC. Jerad lives in Northfield with his wife and two sons.

 

 

 

 

Vern Iverson — Baha’i

I live in Elk River, married with three children and one granddaughter. Lived and worked in Honduras CA for three years. I currently work for Medtronic as a research and development scientist. Been a member of the Baha’i Faith for more than 30 years.

 

 

 

 

Odeh Muhawesh — Muslim

Mr. Muhawesh is an adjunct professor of theology at theUniversity of St. Thomas where he taught and teaches Business Law, History of the Modern Middle East, and Islam. He is a regular speaker at churches, synagogues, colleges, and universities around the nation.

 

 

August Berkshire — Atheist

August Berkshire has been an atheist activist since 1984. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Minnesota Atheists and American Atheists. In the past he has been president of Minnesota Atheists, vice president of Atheist Alliance International, and on the boards of directors of the Humanists of Minnesota and Camp Quest Minnesota. He is the author of numerous pamphlets, owns the “ATHEIST” car license plate for Minnesota, and is proud to be listed in “Who’s Who in Hell”.

 

 

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Native American Spirituality

Presented by David Saice, Sr., Anishinaabe (Ojibwe), Pipe Carrier & Sundance Leader

Friday, March 4th

 

 

The presentation will cover the Lakota (Sioux) way of life and the history. Specifically the Sweat Lodge, Sundance, and the different types of ceremonies.

 

 

 

 

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Christian Science, a Practical Bible-based

Teaching for our Times.

Presented by Will Fetzer

Friday, Nov. 6th, 2015

Will was raised from early boyhood in Grants Pass, Oregon. His father died when he was 8 years of age and he searched diligently, starting at that young age, for answers as to why God would take his father when he most needed him. He found answers in the teachings of Christian Science that helped him greatly with this question. It taught him God is divine Love and is infinitely good and (to quote the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy) that “……….the infinite (cannot) do less than bestow all good, since He is unchanging wisdom and
Love.” He came to understand from this teaching that God is Life and is not the cause of death.

Will earned a BA degree from Stanford University. In his business career, he worked in the fields of finance, real estate and title work in Cedar Rapid, IA and, for the last 30 years, in Minneapolis, MN. He left the business field three years ago to go into the full time public practice of Christian Science healing working as a Christian Science practitioner.

He is married and lives with his spouse of 30 years. They have no children, but have raised a cat named Lord Byron.

 

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Unity: A Way of Life

Presented by Carol Kniskern

Friday, Oct. 9th, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My Reflections on NISE

Presented by Tasneem Ratansi

Friday, Sept. 11th, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Changing Role of Religion

in the United States Today

Presented by Odeh A. Muhawesh

Friday, Sept. 11th, 2015

Odeh Muhawesh is a graduate of the Global Institute for Islamic
Studies where he earned his Ph.D. in Comparative Theology. He is the author of numerous books and essays on matters of world religions and the history of religious development.

Mr. Muhawesh is an adjunct professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas where he taught and teaches Business Law, History of the Modern Middle East, and Islam. He is a regular speaker at churches, synagogues, colleges, and universities around the nation.

Currently, he is the Chairman of the board of Scorant, Inc. and serves on several boards including the board of advisors of the college of Arts and Sciences, The Norris Institute, The Muslim/Christian Dialogue Center, and is a special advisor to the Jay Philips Center for Jewish/Christian interfaith dialogue.

 

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 Atheism: A View of the World from the Ground Up

Monday, April 13, 2015

August Berkshire was the co-founder of the modern atheist movement in Minnesota in 1984.  He is a past president of Minnesota Atheists and a past vice president of Atheist Alliance International.  He has also served on the boards of directors of the Humanists of Minnesota, Camp Quest of Minnesota, American Atheists, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.  He has authored numerous pamphlets and several articles about atheism and related topics.  He is the owner of the “ATHEIST” license plate for Minnesota and is proud to be included in the reference book “Who’s Who in Hell.”

 

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Scientology— Applied Religious Philosophy

What is Scientology? Why am I a Scientologist?

Monday, March 23, 2015

Troy Wilson has been a Scientologist for over 20 years. He is a computer programmer by day, is active in 2 bands as a percussionist and singer and teaches a free drumming class for a non-profit organization ‘Books for Africa.’ He has an academic background in Philosophy and Religious Studies. He has two sons who share his enthusiasm for Martial Arts. He lives in Golden Valley.

 

 

 

 

Lisa Doescher has been active in Scientology for 5 years. She likes to golf, bike and enjoy the Minnesota lakes. She lives in Minnetonka and has 2 grown children, a son and a daughter.

 

 

 

 

 

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HARMONY 2014

Friday, October 10, 2014

HARMONY is an evening of spiritual expressions through the ARTS. Through this featured event NISE continues our purpose of unity in our community. Included in HARMONY will be a variety of spiritual explorations including: A community interfaith and intergenerational choir, musical ensembles, drumming and poetry. Representatives from the Bahai’, Islam, and Christian faith communities will join together to share their artistic expressions of faith.

 

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The Misunderstood: Muslim in America

Monday, September 8, 2014

A documentary created by Annalise Lamberty,
Champlin Park High School International
Baccalaureate Diploma Student

 

 

 

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Revelation is not sealed:

Unitarian Universalist History & Theology

Monday, April 14th 

The Reverend Luke Stevens-Royer serves as a minister at White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church in Mahtomedi, MN.  A native of southern Minnesota, Luke grew up Lutheran (ELCA) and became a Unitarian Universalist while in Seminary.  He holds a Bachelors Degree in Religion and Vocal Music from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, and a Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, an ecumenical/interfaith seminary.  He also spent time studying at Earlham School of Religion (Quaker) in Richmond, IN, and Wartburg Theological Seminary (Lutheran) in Dubuque, IA.  He lives in St. Paul with his wife and daughter.

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Goodness, Honor, Love & The Golden Rule

Monday, March 24th   

Molly Friedenfeld

Some background, history and practices of spiritual tradition from Molly:

I grew up in a Lutheran family, but am not a practicing Lutheran. I believe all roads lead to God. I believe God is pure love. God is pure truth. God is pure wisdom. God is the great networker. He brings together souls with love, not fear. Love goes hand in hand with light, peace, joy, truth, communication, trust, and knowing. When we live in the truth, we turn on our own spiritual flashlight and illuminate a direct pathway to God. When we make this connection we come to the realization that we are all connected. We are all ONE. All souls hold equal and immense value in the eyes of the Universe. We are dearly loved by the heavens and we are never left to wander alone.

Molly lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband Peter in a blended family unit of joyful souls consisting of Mallory, Maddy, Will, Jake and granddaughter Hailey.

For more information about Molly Friedenfeld’s work visit her website: www.violetwisdom.com 

The Mormons Next Door

Monday, November 18^th

Although The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is becoming more visible, it still is often misunderstood. You may interact with members of my faith (there are over 31,000 members in Minnesota) and still be unsure about what members of my church believe or how they live, so please join us in learning about “The Mormon’s Next Door”— we will present topics that range from history and health to charitable giving.

Paul W. Wilson III, a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a native Minnesotan and a graduate of Robbinsdale Armstrong High School. He currently resides in Plymouth with his wife and two daughters. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Brigham Young University and has worked in IT consulting for 15 years. He is currently employed at Best Buy as a Senior Manager in Application Development. In addition to his full-time employment, Paul Wilson currently holds a position in the church as the First Counselor in the Anoka MN Stake Presidency (a stake is a geographic subdivision made up of multiple smaller congregations). Previous to his current church assignment, he served for five and a half years as a bishop of one of these local congregations (known as a ward) with duties similar to those of a pastor, priest or rabbi. These positions are volunteer and unpaid. In addition, before his marriage, Paul served as a voluntary, full-time, Spanish-speaking missionary in Tucson, Arizona. Paul loves spending time with his family, especially doing active things like riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline or playing tennis and golf. To learn more about Paul, please visit his profile on Mormon.org: http://mormon.org/me/1XY4 

Dana Willis,  originally from Las Vegas, NV, has resided in Minnesota for the past 19 years.  Dana, who joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1985, has done extensive volunteer work, both in the church and in the community. She served a humanitarian mission for the Church in the Philippines. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Recreation Management from Brigham Young University and has worked for several local city Parks and Recreation Departments as a program planner.  She has organized multiple humanitarian service projects in the past ten years for local food shelves and schools. She has also served extensively in the PTO, including as president, at Oxbow Creek Elementary and on the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Committee for the City of Brooklyn Park.  An entrepreneur, Dana created and currently runs a small wedding and design business where she has developed her own line of custom wedding products. Dana and her husband have two teenage daughters, and even with all of the many hats she wears and activities and professions she has involved herself with, she considers herself a Mother first, which is her true “dream job.” Dana’s interests include hiking and exploring the North Shore, taking long road trips with her family and spending time with her daughters and husband. To learn more about Dana, please visit her profile at http://mormon.org/me/1VHT/Dana.

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Harmony

Friday, October 25th, 7:00 pm

NISE PRESENTS: HARMONY, an evening of spiritual expressions through the ARTS. Through this featured event NISE continues our purpose of unity in our community. Included in HARMONY will be a variety of spiritual explorations including: A Community interfaith and intergenerational choir, musical ensembles, drumming, poetry, and photography set to music. Representatives from the Bahai’, Islamic, and Christian faith communities will join together to share their artistic expressions of faith.

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A Pagan perspective

Monday, September 23, 6:30 pm

Robin Mavis is the Board Chair of Pagan Living TV, a professionally produced weekly podcast sharing current events and issues from a Pagan perspective. She also founded a grass roots organization working toward a welcoming school climate for students in the Anoka Hennepin School District, and is a business analyst with Target. She has beeen studying and practicing Wicca for the last 3 years. Robin’s passions are around interfaith ecumenicalism and social justice issues. She has been participating in the Faith Organizing Roundtable for the last year and a half, working on social justice issues in Minnesota. Robin attends Columbia College online and is finishing her degree in Sociology. Robin and her husband Allen have 4 grown children and a teenager who is in high school as well as a new grandson.

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Moving towards reconciliation in the shadow of the unforgivable

April 8

Jim Bear Jacobs is a member of the Turtle Clan of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation. An American Indian tribe located in central Wisconsin. He has degrees in Pastoral Studies and Christian Theology. He is a cultural facilitator in the Twin Cities and works to raise the public’s awareness to American Indian causes and injustices. He is a convener of “Healing Minnesota Stories”, a committee dedicated to creating events of dialogue and education particularly within faith communities.  He presently lives in Coon Rapids with his wife Susan and three young children.

 

 

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NISE through the ARTS:

Entangled/Untangled: an exploratory correspondence

March 1-3

While attending the 2012 Art-a-whirl exhibit, NISE board members saw visitors interacting with the artistic exhibit End of Time. Two displays of the event drew great interactivity and positive response by the community. These installments were created by Rachel Andrezejewski and Victoria Carpenter, two Minnesota visual artists who have been working in tandem on large-scale art installments for the past two years. Following exploratory conversation with NISE, we invited the artists to expand their original efforts. We believe the concept of their new interactive visual art installment Entangled/Untangled: an exploratory correspondence, with the artistic goal to prompt more purposeful dialogue and personal reflections, also furthers the mission and purpose of NISE to unite our community. In the NISE installation, Rachel and Victoria will also be adding the element of personal ceremony. This simply means, the artists will have a tailored experience for the viewer to take special time and emphasis with certain elements of the work, in order to encourage personal exploration by engaging with the artwork. The artistic goal of the installment depicts the eternal struggles of humanity and the interactive qualities of the installment allows for personal expression and outlet.The three-day exhibit of March 1-3, 2013, with six community events prior to the full-scale event,  is designed to engage people in multiple ways in order to allow all ages to create individualized , and then community experiences. The Friday evening installation will be for adult participants who will experience a format of presentation, individual and community experiential discovery, and then small group discussion followed by a Q &A with the artists. Day two and three will focus on the individuals and families from our community, including those who have been reached by the community outreach efforts in collaboration with the local schools, library and senior living facility.

 

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NISE through the ARTS:

Interfaith worship service

Sunday, March 3, 2013

An Interfaith Worship Service featuring an interfaith community choir.

 

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NISE through the ARTS:

Family afternoon with hands on art activities

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Activities may include building a sort of time capsule of the participants wishes for each other and their future. We’ll  make a book together; participants are encouraged to bring trinkets, decorate a box provided, or even more encouraged, BRING A BOX/PRECIOUS CONTAINER to the event! We hope to bring meaning personally, spiritually, and communally with friends, family, fellow humankind.

 

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NISE through the ARTS:

Entangled/Untangled: an exploratory correspondence

An evening with the artists of a visual interactive arts installment

Friday, March 1, 2013

The Entangled/Untangled: an exploratory correspondence installation will be comprised of three interactive, visually enhanced spaces. Starting in the “black space” then moving to “white space” and then the “fire space,” participants can join in a guided or self-guided venue.  In this Friday evening guided event, the opening presentation of the installment begins in the ‘entangled’ display. The artists, Rachel and Victoria, will provide a verbal exploration, and the viewers will be provided with an exercise to help foster a deeper artistic exploration and to textually write out one’s own thoughts. After the exploration of this space is complete, participants will take their chosen objects and journey to the “white space.”

All attendees to the Friday event will be invited to re-gather for post experience questions with Rachel and Victoria. Saturday and Sunday will be self-guided events for families and others who attend due to our community outreach efforts. A program will be provided for those taking a self-guided tour and art activities and additional elements of play for all ages will be added throughout the installment. The self-guided days will also include small group discussion opportunities for all ages, including one-on-one discussion with the artists.

About Rachel Andrzejewski and Victoria Carpenter:

Rachel and Victoria are experienced Minnesota visual artists who have been working in tandem on large-scale installments for the past two years. Their artistic relationship began in 2009a small, DIY gallery showat Fallout Art Center in Minneapolis.

Their bodies of work in the past two years have been based around creating spaces that people feel invited to come into, and experience the art in a unique, set apart space, specially designed to enhance introspection, share with loved ones, and to explore with wonderstruck children.

The coming installment for NISE will examine the element of personal ceremony within personal introspection and exploration. This simply means the artists will have a tailored experience for the viewer to take special time and emphasis with certain elements of the artwork, in order to encourage exploration by engaging with the artwork as they see fit. This allows an individualized, all-ages experience that has a profound effect on visitors.

Entangled/Untangled: an exploratory correspondence is an installment based on Rachel and Victoria’s exploration of their spiritual beliefs and understanding. They are excited to be working with NISE, and to be an enhancement and a visual representation of their growing community.

 

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(In) The Absence of Jews

February 4,  2013

Explaining Jews and Jewish life to people who have never met a Jew!

Joseph A. Edelheit, Director of Religious and Jewish Studies at St Cloud State University, has been a rabbi for 40 years, last serving as Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel in Minneapolis. He has lectured in India and Brazil about this very topic. The most important fact about his life is that he has four children, one of whom, Shanan teaches English at Roosevelt Middle School.

 

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A conversation with the SIKH community

November 5, 2012

In the fall of 2012 suddenly, for tragic reasons, the SIKH community was thrown into the headlines. Quickly we realized that many in our community knew very little about this faith. NISE wants to change that. Our presenter from the SIKH faith tradition shared the history and beliefs of this religion.

 

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So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!

October 12 & 13, 2012

NISE presented the hit touring show about adolescence, angst…and Jewish summer camp! So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz! is a one-woman comedy by Minneapolis actor/writer Amy Salloway.

1986. Amy has a plan for her 15^th summer: Transform from total dorkwad to Material Girl. Build This City on rock and roll. And pine for Ross Buckman until he sees her True Colors shining through. Instead, her parents ship her off to “freakishly Jewish” Camp L’Chaim, where “even the mosquitoes wear yarmulkes!” How do you survive when you’re the pork chop in an all-Kosher world?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NISE is the recipient of an MRAC … Metropolitan Regional Arts Council grant!!

October, 2012

When NISE applied for a grant during its first year of existence, imagine our great delight upon receiving this $ 5,000.00 opportunity to bring So Kiss Me Already, Hershel Gertz! to Champlin. On October 12 & 13, 2012 nearly 120 guests shared in the high energy and delightful performance of Amy Salloway.

In a Q&A and comments time following her performance, participants commented on the creative way Amy addressed prejudices of society, individuals and even the prejudices we carry about ourselves. Amy looked at how our faith traditions can sometimes alienate us when we hope, even expect, they will be a unifying, connectional experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Christianity in a Multi-Faith Context:

“I don’t even KNOW my neighbors — How do I love them?”

Rev. Rachel McIver Morey

September, 2012  

Rev. Rachel McIver Morey, pastor of Brooklyn Mosaic United Methodist Church presented a spectrum of Interfaith Approaches including: Exclusivism , Inclusivism, Pluralism and Universalism. Using the Gospel of John to present each approach, participants found themselves gaining a language for further discussion about how to reconcile the different perspectives in scripture. Rev. Rachel shared biblical encounters of relating to people of different faiths and how in those encounters we are faced with holy ground and quicksand dilemnas….Holy ground because transformation is made possible, quicksand because we don’t know where to step without stepping in it!

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Second Annual Youth Pride Event

August 7, 2012

Along with Champlin United Methodist Church, NISE participated in the Second Annual Youth Pride Event. NISE had an opportunity to promote the upcoming So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz! arts event in October and invite young people and their families to attend. Spiritual communities were specifically invited to this event to help youth know that they are important and significant human beings in the ‘religious’ areas of life.

Conversations with a Hindu Devotee

Ned Mohan

May 14, 2012

 

 

 

 Piano Performances with a World View

with Mark Ochu

 Friday April 13, 2012

Concert pianist, Mark Ochu presented a concert lecture exploring the mystical and symbolic significance of what has been referred to as “Divine Springtime” in the context of the appearance of World Religions and the renewal of human culture and civilization throughout history. The Program included works by Mendelssohn, Chopin, Brahms, and Gershwin. Presentation followed by a question and answer session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Introduction to Islam – with Mr. Odeh Muhawesh

Presentation followed by a small group discussion and Q & A.

Refreshments will be provided.

Monday, March 19, 2012

6:30 pm

Odeh Muhawesh is a specialist in theology and modern Middle East history. He teaches at the University of St. Thomas, where he is an associate of the Muslim-Christian Dialogue Center.

 

 

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Understanding the Baha’i Faith

by Dr. Nader Saidi

November, 2011