Author: Timothy Knepper

On Sunday, April 12, we will celebrate the annual holiday of Vaisakhi from roughly 12:00 to 2:00 pm with the Sikh gurdwara in West Des Moines, the Iowa Sikh Association (1115 Walnut St.).

The service will include many of the elements of a typical Sunday worship service: the signing of hymns (kirtan), reading from sacred scripture (Guru Granth Sahib), community prayers (aardas), and the sharing of the sacred sacrament (karah prashad, the so-called “holy pudding”), after which a free vegetarian meal will be served (langar). Dress modestly, remove shoes at door, and don a head scarf (available at the door for both women and men). Also, refrain from pointing outstretched legs toward the holy book/altar.

This event is part of the “Meet My Religious Neighbor” series, which is co-programmed with CultureALL, the Des Moines Area Religious Council, and Interfaith Alliance of Iowa.

On Sunday, March 16 from 11:00am–1:00pm (roughly), we will join the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center (33916 155th Lane, Madrid) in the annual celebration of Holi. Guests will be able to tour the temple, observe the Holi fire ritual (Holika Dahan), throw colored powered at one another, and dance.

Please dress accordingly if you are going to participate in the throwing of colors.

Lunch is available for purchase from the temple.

This event is part of the “Meet My Religious Neighbor” series, which is co-programmed with CultureALL, the Des Moines Area Religious Council, and Interfaith Alliance of Iowa.

On March 8th, from 6:00–7:30 pm, we will attend a Ramadan prayer and Iftar meal at Masjid an-Noor (1117 42nd St, Des Moines). The event includes the sunset (maghrib) prayer, the breaking of the fast, and an iftar meal.   

Please dress appropriately: women should be covered below the elbows and knees and should cover their head/hair with a scarf. Men should wear long pants.

This event is part of the “Meet My Religious Neighbor” series, which is co-programmed with CultureALL, the Des Moines Area Religious Council, and Interfaith Alliance of Iowa.

On Thursday, April 17, at 6:00 pm, in Drake’s Sussman Theater (lower level of Olmsted Center), Dr. Max Thornton, independent scholar, will deliver a lecture on “Getting What We Deserve: Theologies at the Intersection of Disability and Work.”

Dr. Thornton’s lecture will think through some of the connections between disability, work, and the theological ideas that shape popular views on both in the US. Concepts of punishment for sin, redemptive suffering, and character formation are embedded in the ways we think about both disability and work; the place where they meet is shaped by racialized ideas about labor, poverty, and salvation, as well as the belief that God materially rewards the faithful. Yet disability theology offers an alternative to these habits of thought, asking us to rethink both our definition and our valorization of “work”; to withhold judgments about sin, punishment, redemption, and other metaphorical readings of disability; and to take seriously our shared human vulnerability.

On April 5, Drake’s Comparison Project will host “A Celebration of Islam in Des Moines,” in conjunction with the annual forum of the Abdelkader Education Project.

The event will occur in Meredith Hall from 2:00–4:30pm.

It will feature plenaries about Abd el-Kader and the Abdelkader Education Project, as well as dozens of breakout sessions on various topics, booths for the many Islamic communities in Des Moines, and a photo exhibition.

We will soon have more information posted about the event.