Category: Uncategorized

Kenneth Woodward
Former religion editor at Newsweek (retired 2002)
Thursday, September 13th, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center

Kenneth Woodward served as Religion Editor of Newsweek for 38 years. In addition to some 100 cover stories for Newsweek, his articles, essays and book reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Commonweal, First Things, America, The Nation, and The Weekly Standard. Among his numerous awards are the National Magazine Award, the Pulitzer Prize of the magazine industry, and the Robert E. Griffin Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Art of Writing from the University of Notre Dame, his alma mater. Mr. Woodward is the author of four books, including his recently published Getting Religion: Faith, Culture and Politics from the Age of Eisenhower to Ascent of Trump, which is available in paperback after his lecture.

In his lecture, Mr. Woodward will emphasize the essentially narrative character of miracles, whether they are found in sacred literature or in personal experience. In doing so, he will draw on two of his own books, The Book of Miracles: The Meaning of the Miracle Stories in Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, and Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn’t, and Why, the latter of which contains a chapter on how church authorities validate miraculous claims.

 

You can an audio recording of Woodward’s lecture here.

Meet My Religious Neighbor resumes with a visit to the Shafia Islamic and Cultural Center (1425 University Ave) for their jummah sermon and prayers. The visit will be held on Friday, September 14th from 1:30-2:15 p.m.

Shafia is a relatively new (2014) Somali mosque with Sufi influence. Many of its members are refugees, victims of persecution by Al-Shabaab in Somalia. For more information about the mosque, see the entry by Drake student Runal Patel on the TCP website: http://comparisonproject.wp.drake.edu/religions-of-des-moines/shafia-islamic-and-cultural-center/.

Men should enter through the back side (non-University) of the mosque; women, through the front (University). After the prayers have ended women and men together can learn about the community’s distinctive practice of Islam. To respect the customs and rules of the mosque, women should cover their hair and have arms covered to wrists and legs covered to ankles. Men should not wear shorts. Also, men should avoid touching women and vice versa (handshaking included). If you want more information, please contact Tim Knepper at tim.knepper@drake.edu.

Meet My Religious Neighbor is a monthly open-house series. Each open house allows the public the opportunity to tour a sacred space, learn how religion is practiced in it, and meet the congregation who worships there.

 

 

Please join us for our next “Meet My Religious Neighbor” open house, to be held on Saturday, June 2nd from 8:30-9:30 p.m., at Bosniak Islamic and Cultural Center (3805 Lower Beaver Rd, Des Moines). 

Visitors can watch this Bosnian Muslim congregation break the Ramadan fast (with water and dates), then perform their evening (maghrib) prayers. Afterwards, visitors are invited to join the congregation in their iftar feast. Come hungry!

Men should wear long pants, and women should wear a headscarf (that covers hair) and be covered to wrists and ankles.

Meet My Religious Neighbor is a monthly open-house series. Each open house allows the public the opportunity to tour a sacred space, learn how religion is practiced in it, and meet the congregation who worships there.

David Weddle
Professor Emeritus of Religion at Colorado College
Thursday, May 10th, 2018, 7:00pm
Drake Univeristy, Cowles Reading Room

Can miracles establish the truth of religious claims or the basis of political authority? Does supernatural might make for human right? Should we believe in Buddha or Jesus or Muhammad because of miracles they performed? We will consider examples of miracle stories in several religious traditions and trace their use in arguments over theology and politics.

David L. Weddle is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Colorado College, where he taught courses in comparative theology and ethics, American religions, and philosophy of religion. He served as chair of the department and was active on faculty committees. A life-time honorary member of the American Academy of Religion, he is the author of Miracles: Wonder and Meaning in World Religions (2010) and Sacrifice in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (2017).

 

Video of Lecture

 

Please join us for our next “Meet My Religious Neighbor” open house, to be held on Sunday, May 6th from 2:00–4:00 p.m., at Pure Land of Iowa (8364 Hickman Rd, Clive).

Visitors will be able to tour the facilities of this new Buddhist temple, to meet its members, to learn about Buddhist philosophy, and to practice Buddhist meditation. Since the temple is home to different a diverse community, visitors will have the opportunity to experience the unique arts and designs of all three major lineages of Buddhist traditions: Theravada, Mahayana, and Tibetan. Snacks and tea will also be provided.

Meet My Religious Neighbor is a monthly open-house series. Each open house allows the public the opportunity to tour a sacred space, learn how religion is practiced in it, and meet the congregation who worships there.