religion - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T20:54:59Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/religionFinding Faith: St. Gregory’s ‘Meals with Meaning’ feeds body, mind, spirithttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-st-gregory-s-meals-with-meaning-feeds-body-mind-spi2022-08-02T20:47:47.000Z2022-08-02T20:47:47.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10741693271,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10741693271,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="317" alt="10741693271?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>In 2017, Gena Vallee heard God’s call. When she answered, he put her to work immediately. “I don’t know if I can really call it work,” she said. “Much of what I do is an honor, and most times it goes by in a wink.” <br /> Vallee, 43, was a lifer at FedEx, destined from age 18 to oversee the shipment of packages in some capacity until she reached retirement age, but she didn’t plan on retiring so soon.<br /> In 2016, Vallee met her partner, Rose, and they started attending St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton. In April 2017, they were married at St. Gregory’s and Vallee became fully committed to serving God. She had volunteered with the church’s feeding program, at the time a small commitment. She was so adept at solving problems, the church tried to hire her, but she said, “no, but thank you,” more than once.<br /> “But God kept thumping,” Vallee said, and she finally left FedEx in 2017 and joined the church as the director of its youth ministry and outreach coordinator, as well as the driving force behind the church’s initiative to feed hungry people.<br /> Vallee, with Rose’s help, started Meals with Meaning, which each Sunday provides several dozen homeless or food insecure people with homemade, hot, takeout meals and other basics at 1:15 p.m. in the Harris Hall courtyard next to the butterfly garden. <br /> Volunteers from the community and businesses such as Publix and Crumbl Cookies step up to help. The food and volunteers on July 17 were from Kindness Angels, a local charity “dedicated to serving our homeless and our hungry one good deed, one small act of kindness at a time.” It is an affiliate of Kindness Matters 365 (kindnessmatters365.org). <br /> The volunteers served vegetarian lasagna, salad, fruit and huge ciabatta rolls from frequent donor Old School Bakery in Delray Beach. Shloimies Kosher Bakery in Sunrise donated 96, inch-thick brownies. Volunteers also handed out toiletry bags with a variety of goods from baby wipes to snack crackers.<br /> The volunteers from Kindness Angels included Risa and Amol Naiksatam, who brought along their children Micah, 10, and Chloe, 7.<br /> Risa is a social worker and understands the importance of serving others. “We want them to always treat people well,” Risa said of her children, “and this is a great place to learn.”<br /> Micah was a natural. Not the least bit shy, he stepped up to offer bologna or turkey and cheese sandwiches, always remembering the little packets of mustard and mayo. (All the guests who want a sandwich or two for later can pick them up at the end of the queue.) Chloe staffed the dessert table, picking out the largest slice of cake she could find for the man who wanted it. Both were happy.<br /> The line for the meal is long and moves slowly. Each person gets one-on-one time to choose his food and ask questions, share concerns and just talk.<br /> The volunteers try to make no judgments and to look people in the eyes and smile at them. <br /> And though the number of people needing help may change, the problem will never go away, Gena Vallee says.<br /> “One of the biggest challenges is keeping the community aware of the need, keeping our mission out in front,” she said.<br /> Food insecurity has escalated since the pandemic began to food injustice, Vallee said. meaning food is available but not fairly distributed.<br /> According to a study by Craig Gundersen, Adam Dewey, Monica Hake and Emily Engelhard — “The Impact of the Coronavirus on Food Insecurity in 2020 & 2021” — more than 70,000 children in Palm Beach County were going to bed hungry each night. The number of residents struggling to keep food on the table was more than 226,000, a 35% increase since 2018.<br /> Want to help? Support food drives and the local food banks whenever you can. And volunteers are always needed. The St. Gregory food pantry volunteers commit to work three or four hours on weekdays. Meals with Meaning volunteers work for four hours on Sunday. <br /> Nicole, Margo and Chris were first in line to pick up their meals. “The food is tasty, it’s filling and it’s a blessing to have it,” Nicole said. “And the desserts? OMG!”<br /> Some guests take their meals to Sanborn Park when the weather is good. <br /> Chris, a middle-aged man waiting for his lunch, said, “I never pass up even a penny. Everything has value. If someone offers me something, I take it. If I say no, I’m not letting them show their love for me. You don’t turn away love.” <br /> St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church is at 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton. Interested volunteers should call 561-395-8285, email gvallee@st-gregorys.com or visit mealswithmeaning.org. The organization also serves a supper starting at 4:30 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month.</p>
<p>Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423e@outlook.com.</p></div>Religion News: St. Vincent processions honor Blessed Motherhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-news-st-vincent-processions-honor-blessed-mother2022-08-02T20:44:05.000Z2022-08-02T20:44:05.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10741620852,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10741620852,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10741620852?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Statue of Mary is carried during one procession. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p>With “joy and hope,” a procession outside St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church on July 13 recognized the 105th anniversary of the Third Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal in 1917. <br />On the 100th anniversary in 2017, St. Vincent Ferrer was consecrated to the Blessed Mother.<br />Other processions are planned on Aug. 13 after the 4 p.m. vigil Mass, and after Mass on Sept. 13 and Oct. 13. All are welcome. St. Vincent Ferrer is at 840 George Bush Blvd., Delray Beach. Call 561-276-6892 or visit stvincentferrer.com.</p>
<p><strong>Backpack blessings</strong> <br /> Have the kids practice getting up and dressed early with their backpacks for a special Blessing of the Backpacks from 8 to 9 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 14 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. A prayer for a great school year in 2022-23 will be part of the blessing. Call 561-276-4541.<br /> First Presbyterian Church, 33 Gleason St., Delray Beach, will hold its Blessing of the Backpacks at 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 7. Call 561-276-6338 or visit firstdelray.com.</p>
<p><br /><strong>Open house</strong><br /> St. Paul’s Day School will host an open house beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 12, at the school, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. <br /> The preschool has an annual enrollment of fewer than 40 children. It is offered for fully potty-trained children ages 3 to 4 years old by Sept. 1. St. Paul’s Day School accepts VPK vouchers for the 4-year-olds class. Full day hours are 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., with an optional Stay and Play program from 1:30-3:30 p.m. <br /> Parents of prospective students are encouraged to visit. Call 561-278-4729 or visit stpaulsdelray.org/day-school.</p>
<p><strong>Yiddish Fest</strong><br /> The fourth annual I Love Yiddish Fest ’22 takes place Aug. 30 through Sept. 4, with three shows in Boca Raton.<br /> This extravaganza of comedy, concerts and plays features contemporary Jewish headliners. For tickets and more info, visit YILoveJewish.org, email info@ YILoveJewish.org or call 888-945-6835. <br />The festival also will be in Coral Springs and Miami Beach. <br />The Boca Raton shows are:<br />“The Gospel According to Jerry” — 2-4 p.m. Aug. 30, Levis JCC Phyllis & Harvey Sandler Center, 21050 95th Ave. S. A play reading about a divorced rabbi and a reserved African-American gospel choir director. <br />“Stars of David: Story to Song” — 7:30-9 p.m. Aug. 31, Sandler Center. A musical revue full of original songs and based on the best-selling book by Abigail Pogrebin. <br />“YidLive” — 7-8:30 p.m. Sept. 4, Mizner Park Cultural Center 201 W. Plaza Real. The creators of “YidLife Crisis” bring an evening of comedy, music and thought-provoking shtick. The show has some adult content but is appropriate for anyone over bar/bat mitzvah age.</p>
<p>— Janis Fontaine</p></div>Religion News: New rabbi welcomed at Temple Beth Elhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-news-new-rabbi-welcomed-at-temple-beth-el2022-06-28T14:10:06.000Z2022-06-28T14:10:06.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p>By Janis Fontaine</p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10601769256,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10601769256,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="177" height="221" alt="10601769256?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a>Temple Beth El of Boca Raton continues to grow and planned to welcome Rabbi Elana Rabishaw as its fourth full-time rabbi on July 1. She will join the clergy team that includes Rabbis Dan Levin, Jessica Spitalnic Mates and Greg Weisman, Cantor Lori Brock, and cantorial soloists Michelle Auslander Cohen and Jake Harris. <br /> An open house for prospective members will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 16, at the Schaefer Family Campus at 333 SW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton. Call 561-391-8900 or visit tbeboca.org.</p>
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<p><strong>No One Buried Alone rite</strong><br /> The No One Buried Alone ministry will hold a memorial service from noon to 1 p.m. July 6 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery, 10941 Southern Blvd., Royal Palm Beach. Everyone is welcome. <br /> The NOBA project started officially in May 2011 after the death of a 100-year-old patient at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis. <br /> Father Gabriel Ghanoum, who had been the medical center’s director of spiritual care since 2010, began the initiative to take care of her and other individuals in Palm Beach County who died without known relatives or next of kin. With Adriana Gorrondona at the Palm Beach County Department of Human Services and Our Lady Queen of Peace, the No One Buried Alone ministry was born. <br /> The ministry maintains that every human being deserves a dignified burial. The first compassion service was held at Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery on July 27, 2011. In 2013, the remains of 29 infants were laid to rest in the baby section. Last Nov. 13, 171 individuals were laid to rest. Because of the pandemic, more people died and more of them died alone. <br />Ghanoum told the Florida Catholic: “When we name each person from the list, I say ‘I love you’ because love was absent in their final moments on this Earth. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ, we love because God loves them. That is enough and all that matters.” <br /> No One Buried Alone is an ecumenical ministry open to all regardless of faith or background. To learn more, visit <a href="https://ourqueen.org/no-one-buried-alone">https://ourqueen.org/no-one-buried-alone</a> or call 561-793-0711.</p>
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<p><strong>B’nai Torah gets big gift</strong> <br /> B’nai Torah Congregation, the largest conservative synagogue in Southeast Florida, announced at the end of April that Boca Raton residents Donna and Gerald Kramer gifted one of the largest single donations the synagogue has ever received. The temple wouldn’t share the exact amount, but the Kramers confirmed that the amount was “seven figures.” <br /> The gift was made in honor of David Steinhardt, senior rabbi at B’nai Torah Congregation, who has held the position for more than two decades. Steinhardt said he was “profoundly appreciative that they have chosen to honor me in such a significant way.” <br /> For more information, visit <a href="http://www.btcboca.org">www.btcboca.org</a>.</p></div>Finding Faith: Jehovah’s Witnesses communal gatherings, door-to-door visits on hold during pandemichttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-jehovah-s-witnesses-communal-gatherings-door-to-doo2021-04-27T19:50:25.000Z2021-04-27T19:50:25.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8857028492,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8857028492,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="8857028492?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Handwritten letters and phone calls have replaced door-to-door visits as Jehovah’s Witnesses primary methods of spreading their message during the pandemic. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>No twice-a-week gatherings or door-to-door witnessing? The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a whole new pandemic game plan. </p>
<p>No matter what God you worship, the way you did it changed a year ago when the COVID-19 death rate soared and threats of infection caused churches, mosques and synagogues to “go virtual.” </p>
<p>For Sarah Haupt of Boca Raton, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, Bible study on Thursday and worship on Sunday have been part of her life ever since she can remember, she says.</p>
<p>Now, attending meetings by Zoom has become normal, and for the mother of three children, ages 4, 2 and 4 months, not having to get everyone dressed on Sunday morning is a blessing. </p>
<p>Haupt said the church quickly shifted from communal gatherings at the Kingdom Hall to virtual meetings. Unlike lots of churches that have resumed at least some in-person meetings, JW remains virtual only, not just in Boca Raton but nationwide. </p>
<p>Keeping that regular Thursday and Sunday schedule was a comfort for Haupt personally and to her church family of about 130 “brothers and sisters,” as they’re called. “It would have left a huge gap in our spiritual lives if it just stopped,” she said.</p>
<p>There were “a rocky few weeks” at the beginning but even the oldest people learned Zoom. “They quickly got the hang of it,” Haupt said. “We’ve even seen an increase in attendance.”</p>
<p>Most churches report that attendance has been surprisingly good during the pandemic, in part because some people turn to God during periods of high stress and because those who found it difficult to attend services can stay home and watch online. </p>
<p>Another big adjustment as a result of the pandemic has been the shift by Jehovah’s Witnesses away from door-to-door visits. Now, almost all of Haupt’s witnessing, a primary responsibility and a fundamental obligation of all Jehovah’s Witnesses as a show of faith, is done over the telephone, usually in the early afternoon when the two youngest are napping. She found that people she reached out to on the phone wanted and needed to hear her positive message. </p>
<p>Jehovah’s Witness as a faith is simple: The Bible is literally its bible. The Witnesses don’t depend on any other words except the Bible’s. </p>
<p>They use the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, in 1950 (New Testament) and 1961 (the completed Bible). “It’s all very focused on learning and education,” Haupt said. “The deep faith that comes from our strong foundation of knowledge gets you through times of stress.” </p>
<p>The Bible isn’t just full of psalms and parables, but of basic truths and principles to follow, “practical ways that we can live happy lives,” Haupt said, and Jesus is the supreme role model.</p>
<p>“We study so much,” Haupt said. She easily quotes Scripture even as she settles her baby down to sleep. “The beauty of the truth of the Bible is that it’s simple. Why would it be complicated?”</p>
<p>When someone is rude or mean when she tries to start a conversation, she doesn’t take it personally. </p>
<p>“If someone is not happy to see us, that’s fine,” Haupt said. “Jesus was rejected by his own people. I’m not going to worry because I’m following what Jesus told me to do. I’m going to focus on pleasing God.”</p>
<p><em>Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Religion News: Vocal star of ‘Frozen’ headlines Beth El Bashhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-news-vocal-star-of-frozen-headlines-beth-el-bash2021-03-30T17:36:29.000Z2021-03-30T17:36:29.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8733421283,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8733421283,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="454" height="308" alt="8733421283?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></p>
<p><strong>“Live From Beth El: It’s Saturday night!”</strong></p>
<p>Temple Beth El of Boca Raton will virtually host its annual fundraiser, the Beth El Bash, via Zoom at 7 p.m. April 24. </p>
<p>And though the presentation may be virtual, the talent is the real deal: The featured musical guest is the award-winning singer, star of Broadway and movies, TV and stage, Idina Menzel.</p>
<p>Although Menzel has recorded six studio albums, she’s best-known for voicing Elsa in Disney’s <em>Frozen</em> in 2013. The signature song <em>Let It Go</em> is now a classic. It won an Oscar and a Grammy and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Menzel the first Tony Award-winning actress to reach the Top 10. </p>
<p>The 2020 Beth El Bash was canceled due to the coronavirus, so the temple reinvented this year’s event to honor pandemic heroes and heroines. In addition to the A-list entertainment, home-delivered sweet treats and raffles are planned. The event is open to the community.</p>
<p>Proceeds provide scholarships to Beth El, which are needed even more because of the pandemic. </p>
<p>Tickets for the Beth El Bash are $118 per person or $180 per household and available at <a href="http://www.tbeboca.org">www.tbeboca.org</a>. Email Shayna Martinoff at smartinoff@tbeboca.org or call 561-314-2815 for more information.</p>
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<p><strong>Unity of Delray resumes in-person services </strong></p>
<p>With safety procedures in place, Unity of Delray, an interdenominational church, welcomes the community back to the church for in-person Sunday worship and other programming. Masks are mandatory on church grounds. The socially distanced capacity is capped at 50 people. Children’s lessons will remain online only, with video lessons available on the website. </p>
<p>Programs include:<br /> • Tuesday prayer service, 10 a.m. in the sanctuary. Reservations not required.<br /> • Wednesday meditation service, 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary, with associate minister the Rev. Laurie Durgan. Reservations not needed. <br /> • In-person Sunday services, 9:25 and 11 a.m. Reservations required by noon Saturday at <a href="http://www.unityofdelraybeach.org">www.unityofdelraybeach.org</a>; 561-276-5796; or email unitychurch@unityschool.com.</p>
<p>The 11 a.m. service will be streamed live and available at <a href="http://www.unityofdelraybeach.org">www.unityofdelraybeach.org</a>.</p>
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<p>Send religion news to Janis Fontaine at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</p></div>Religion News: Food has extra meaning in traditions of holidayshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-news-food-has-extra-meaning-in-traditions-of-holidays2021-03-02T20:19:40.000Z2021-03-02T20:19:40.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p> </p>
<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>As people prepare to celebrate Easter and Passover toward the beginning of April, food is definitely part of the plan.</p>
<p>Both holidays are celebrations: Passover celebrates the freedom of the Israelites after centuries of slavery. Easter celebrates the forgiveness of sins and a guarantee of eternal life.</p>
<p>And when people are happy, we feast! </p>
<p>The foods Christians and Jews eat have symbolic meanings. </p>
<p>For Christians, eggs symbolize life and Christ’s resurrection. Bread is also symbolic of Jesus, and of course the lamb is Christ as well. Salt represents purification, and horseradish is symbolic of the bitter sacrifice of Christ. Ham and bacon are symbolic of great joy and abundance.</p>
<p>In the Jewish tradition, symbolic foods found on the seder table include a roasted lamb shankbone, which represents the sacrifice of the ancient Hebrews. Maror and chazeret are “bitter herbs,” frequently horseradish and romaine, which recall the bitterness of slavery. Charoset, a sweet salad of apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon, represents the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves to make bricks. And karpas — a green vegetable, usually parsley — symbolizes the freshness of spring. A roasted egg is a symbol of springtime and renewal. It isn’t eaten, but should look roasted to complete the plate. </p>
<p>But matzo is probably the most important symbol on the seder table. Three pieces of unleavened bread are covered with cloth. The unleavened bread (made without yeast) reminds Jews of how quickly they fled their enslavers — so quickly they could not wait for the bread to rise.</p>
<p>At St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church, a centuries-old tradition called the Blessing of the Easter Basket is still practiced, but it doesn’t involve chocolate bunnies or jelly beans. </p>
<p>On Holy Saturday, congregants bring the food they’ll serve for Easter dinner to the church to be blessed by the priest. The tradition can be traced back to Eastern Europe with different cultures:</p>
<p>In Poland, the practice is called Święconka; the main food is an egg, which is broken and shared by all on Easter Sunday morning. The lamb is molded of butter or made from pastry as a centerpiece for the Easter table.</p>
<p>In Rome, a crisp white tablecloth is adorned with an uncooked Easter lamb and decorated with flowers, wine and fruit. A large traditional cake called “pizza” is also served.</p>
<p>In Russia, you’ll find painted eggs in the basket, as well as the makings for a traditional Orthodox Easter cake called kulich, a tall cylinder of yeast dough frosted with icing and nuts. The elites in Old Russia once served 48 dishes to match the number of days of the Lenten fast.</p>
<p>The biggest Easter food basket blessing in the world is held each year in the Romanian town Miercurea Ciuc. In 2018, more than 7,000 people came to have their Easter baskets blessed.</p>
<p><strong>Here are the local Blessing of the Easter Basket and other Easter services for 2021 available as of late February:</strong> </p>
<p>Advent Church of Boca Raton — Easter services likely will take place at 9 and 10:30 a.m. April 4 in person. A sunrise service was in the planning stages. Check the church website at <a href="http://www.adventboca.org">www.adventboca.org</a>.<br /> Ascension Catholic Church, Boca Raton — Holy Thursday, 7 p.m.; Good Friday, 3 p.m.; Saturday, 7 p.m. vigil; Sunday Mass at 8, 10 and noon. Visit <a href="http://www.accboca.net">www.accboca.net</a>. <br /> First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach — The church has been virtual-only since January, but is counting down to reopening, it hopes in time for the Easter services. Check the church website at <a href="http://www.firstdelray.com">www.firstdelray.com</a>. <br /> First United Methodist Church, Boca Raton — Virtual and in-person worship outside by reservation. Check with the church for details at <a href="http://www.fumcbocaraton.org">www.fumcbocaraton.org</a>.<br /> St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton — Check with the church at <a href="http://www.stgregorysepiscopal.org">www.stgregorysepiscopal.org</a>.<br /> St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, Boynton Beach — Check with the church at <a href="http://www.stjoesweb.org">www.stjoesweb.org</a>. <br /> St. Lucy Catholic Church, Highland Beach — Check the church website at <a href="http://www.stlucycommunity.com">www.stlucycommunity.com</a>.<br />St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Delray Beach — Palm Sunday vigil, 5 p.m. March 27, and Palm Sunday services, 8 and 10 a.m. March 28. An Easter Vigil, 6 p.m. April 3, Easter Sunday services, 7:30, 9 and 11 a.m. April 4. Virtual services will be broadcast on the church's website and YouTube channel. <a href="https://stpaulsdelray.org">https://stpaulsdelray.org</a>. <br /> St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church, Delray Beach — Holy Thursday, 7 p.m.; Good Friday, 3 p.m.; Holy Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Blessing of the Easter Basket; Easter Mass, 7, 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday.</p>
<p></p></div>Finding Faith: Despite improved virtual services, some folks glad to be back in churchhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-despite-improved-virtual-services-some-folks-glad-t2020-12-29T19:46:22.000Z2020-12-29T19:46:22.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
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<p>On Jan. 2, 1921, radio station KDKA became the first to broadcast a Christian church service, from Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh. Today, thousands of churches make their services available to people who can’t attend in person, but few church leaders expected virtual church to become such a vital part of serving their congregations. </p>
<p>So some churches were more prepared than others. </p>
<p>At First United Methodist Church of Boca Raton, Danny Davis has been helping improve the quality of the live-streamed services since the coronavirus pandemic forced a shutdown last March. The church was already broadcasting its services on Facebook and YouTube, but that wasn’t anything on which it spent a lot of time. </p>
<p>“Our congregation was aware of our online presence, but we didn’t market it,” said Davis, a lay leader for the church, which now has resumed a Sunday in-person service outdoors, with reservations required. “Mostly it was watched by people who were home sick and couldn’t get to church, about 10 views per week.”</p>
<p>But when COVID-19 hit, “we realized early on things weren’t going to change,” Davis said.</p>
<p>Job one was to improve the quality of programming. He said it felt “like someone outside looking in” and the church wanted viewers to feel like they were right there, a part of the service. </p>
<p>“We planned it out and filmed the parts and music separately,” Davis said. “We found a person in the congregation who produced videos and he volunteered to help. We used the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, as a model.” </p>
<p>The largest Methodist church in the U.S. has 20,000 members and a professional TV production crew. </p>
<p>“My wife and I watch and I love that you can watch it on the big screen at home or on your phone from anywhere and it looks and feels like you’re a part of it. It feels good,” Davis said.</p>
<p>Penny Johnson has been attending some virtual and some in-person church at First Presbyterian in Delray Beach. Because she lives alone, interacting with others at church is important.</p>
<p>COVID-19 also curtailed two other church ministries in which Johnson was heavily involved — the choir and Holly House, a crafting group. That left a huge void in Johnson’s life. </p>
<p>“There are four or five of us who have no family here, and those relationships have become stronger,” Johnson said. People’s reticence to travel has kept families apart, adding to the isolation, Johnson said. Her pod alleviates some of her loneliness until her family can resume visiting. </p>
<p>She laughed as she said that “for the first time ever,” Pastor Doug Hood “emphasized that it was perfectly fine if you wanted to stay home.” </p>
<p>For Stephanie Hernandez, “as soon as I could get back to in-person church, I was there. Just walking through the doors into the house of God gave me a sense of relief, of inner peace.” </p>
<p>The Hernandez family attends St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach and their two daughters, 9 and 6, attend school there.</p>
<p>Hernandez said her younger daughter found it hard to focus on virtual church.</p>
<p>“There were a lot of distractions,” Hernandez said with a laugh. “The dishwasher buzzer would go off; my daughter would wander away.” </p>
<p>Hernandez tried taking her computer on the patio to watch Mass alone, but said people at the door would interrupt too often. The biggest void, though, wasn’t spiritual, it was emotional.</p>
<p>“I’m a very social person and mentally it wasn’t good for me,” she said. “I want to stay home when I want to, not when I am told I have to.” </p>
<p>Hernandez calls herself “faith-driven. I was born and raised in the church and Catholic school, and the church feels like family.” </p>
<p>At First United Methodist, Davis has found a new calling in working on the Facebook and YouTube live-streams.</p>
<p>“The joy of it for us as we perfected this was getting notices from as far away as the Philippines from people watching,” Davis said. </p>
<p>The church has even attracted a handful of virtual-only members, that is, folks who don’t plan to set foot in church. “But most of our membership longs for in-person church,” Davis said. </p>
<p>Davis said virtual church has expanded to Bible studies, book clubs, women’s group meetings and other ministries.</p>
<p>“These are just as important to the church as worship,” Davis said. “These are the folks actually doing the work of the church. And through Zoom or GoToMeeting, they can actually see each other.” </p>
<p>And in-person church isn’t what it was. Seating is restricted, so “you can smile and wave,” Johnson said, “but don’t really interact.” There are no Bibles or hymnals, just the printed bulletin. “A lot of people still don’t want to come back because they’re afraid. Being with people is important to me. I want to live my life.”</p>
<p>Davis agrees. “I like it, but it’s not as good as being together.”</p>
<p><br /><em> Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Religion: What churches have planned for Christmas 2020https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-what-churches-have-planned-for-christmas-20202020-12-01T20:57:51.000Z2020-12-01T20:57:51.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>It’s 2020, so you may wonder where to find celebrations of the birth of Jesus amid a pandemic. Here’s what’s planned at some churches. Since plans, like infection rates, could change, call ahead or check the church websites for up-to-date information. </p>
<p>Advent Lutheran Church in Boca Raton is planning Christmas Eve services at 6 p.m. Dec. 23, a day early, then at 2, 3, 4, 6 and 11 p.m. Dec. 24. Christmas Day services will take place at 10 a.m. Social distancing and safety protocols are in place. Call 561-395-3632; <a href="http://www.adventboca.org">www.adventboca.org</a>.</p>
<p>St. Lucy Catholic Church’s outdoor Nativity scene will be on display at 3510 S. Ocean Blvd., Highland Beach, beginning in mid-December. Christmas services are planned at 6 p.m. Dec. 24 and 8 and 10 a.m. Dec. 25. These are indoor services with social distancing protocols in place. Call 561-278-1280; visit <a href="http://www.stlucycommunity.com">www.stlucycommunity.com</a>. </p>
<p>St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church’s popular Spontaneous Christmas Pageant will be updated into a series of drive-thru tableaus where preselected families will act out scenes from the Nativity story. The event will take place during the day on Dec. 24 at St. Joseph’s, 3300 Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach. More info will be available closer to the date. Call 561-732-3060; visit <a href="http://www.stjoesweb.org">www.stjoesweb.org</a>.</p>
<p>St. Paul’s Episcopal Delray Beach welcomes parishioners by invitation only. Seating will be limited to 80 people per service to allow for social distancing. Masks will be required for all attendees over the age of 2. All services will be livestreamed via the church YouTube channel. St. Paul’s is at 188 S. Swinton Ave. Call 561-276-4541; visit <a href="https://stpaulsdelray.org">https://stpaulsdelray.org</a>.<br /> Services are Dec. 24, 5 p.m.: A family Christmas service with a multigenerational presentation of the traditional Christmas story. Children who attend will be able to participate from their seats.<br /> Dec. 24, 10 p.m.: A celebration of the Holy Eucharist featuring music by organist and soloist with the Very Rev. Paul Kane, rector. <br /> Dec. 25, 10 a.m.: A celebration of the Holy Eucharist will feature music by organist and soloist.</p>
<p>St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton, holds in-person worship for a maximum of 50 people by reservation but will not have in-person Christmas services. Instead a “spectacular virtual service” is being planned. Call 561-395-8285; visit <a href="http://www.stgregorysepiscopal.org">www.stgregorysepiscopal.org</a>. </p>
<p>At St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach, a special children’s Mass is planned at 6 p.m. following the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass. At 9 p.m., the most popular Christmas Eve Mass begins. This year as a special treat, an ensemble will perform beloved Christmas carols and hymns for 15 minutes before each service, so arrive early for this auditory delight. <br /> Social distancing and thorough cleaning with special fogging machines between each Mass are part of the COVID-19 protocols. The church, at 840 George Bush Blvd., can accommodate about 500 people. Call 561-276-6892; visit <a href="http://www.stvincentferrer.com">www.stvincentferrer.com</a>.</p>
<p>First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach is planning an outdoor service for Christmas Eve, but church officials caution that could change depending on COVID-19 numbers. More details will be available closer to Christmas. Call 561-732-3435; visit <a href="http://www.fumcbb.com">www.fumcbb.com</a>. </p></div>Finding Faith: Virtual services prove valuable but not preferablehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-virtual-services-prove-valuable-but-not-preferable2020-05-20T13:30:00.000Z2020-05-20T13:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960954058,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960954058,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960954058?profile=original" /></a>ABOVE: Recovered COVID-19 patient Alan Levy, right, with his wife, Lynne, and son Joshua Levy cheer from the balcony of their home in Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club during the Lag BaOmer parade on the May 12 holiday.</em><br /> <em>BELOW: Jeff Wasserman, front, and Jeff Bilfeld show support for Levy, a fellow Chabad of East Boca member. The Chabad celebrated the holiday by saluting health care heroes. The parade through Boca Raton ended with a ceremony featuring video footage of the team at Boca Regional Hospital, where Levy spent more than a month.</em> <br /> <strong><em>Photos by Tim Stepien/</em><em>The Coastal Star</em></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960954467,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960954467,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960954467?profile=original" /></a></em></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>How about some good news? <br /> People are showing up at virtual church and temple in increasing numbers. While there are few (if any) places practicing public worship in Palm Beach County, many more people are seeking out a virtual spiritual connection.<br /> When “coronavirus” was just a whisper, Rabbi Shmuel Biston, co-director of Chabad of East Delray Beach, closed the doors of his newly opened facility on First Avenue “almost immediately.” But Biston, an Apple watch-wearing millennial, made a seamless transition to virtual worship, which was easier for groups that already had a strong online presence through Facebook or YouTube. <br /> Others scrambled. <br /> St. Joseph’s Episcopal in Boynton Beach amassed every tool it could find, Father Marty Zlatic says. “We started a church Facebook page, we instituted a YouTube channel for the church, and we bought a subscription to Zoom. We’re investigating the cost of installing a permanent video broadcasting system so we can more easily offer livestreaming of our services even after the quarantine is over.” <br /> Father Brian Horgan at St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach celebrates Mass every day, but he’s leaving the streaming to others. “So many others are doing it, and we don’t want to send out something that’s not as effective,” he says. He keeps in touch with the congregation through daily emails and he answers his cellphone. “We want the parish to know they’re not forgotten.”<br /> Still, reopening is the goal. <br /> Paul J. Kane, rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Delray, says, “I can’t imagine online becoming the normal means of worship. The church is a community. Being together in prayer, fellowship and service is at the heart of who we are. So, in that sense, I don’t think online church can ever become the norm. But this pandemic has certainly demonstrated the importance of the church having a strong, accessible presence on the internet.”<br /> The quantity and content are changing too, local clergy said, along with its audience. <br /> Zlatic says, “Since the day the quarantine started, we started posting a worship experience of some sort every day on our social media pages to give the congregation a touch from the church. It’s been a ray of hope to our congregation, especially those who are quarantined alone.”<br /> Rabbi Ruvi New of Chabad of East Boca Raton says he’s seen a significant spike in participation in the daily prayers he offers, with as many as 1,000 viewers showing up from around the world.<br /> “I’m inspired and humbled by it,” he says. “We’re embracing this disruption of life as we knew it. It’s about how we utilize the opportunities and make the most of it that matters.” <br /> Kane says daily emails to parishioners (“spreading God’s love, not the virus”) have “become a sort of lifeline in the midst of a lot of loneliness and isolation.” <br /> For a successful reopening, everyone agrees the key is to act responsibility and safely with new protocols in place. <br /> Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito of the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach spoke to his flock and acknowledged that all want to reopen as soon as possible, but everyone must respect social distancing and follow policies in a “careful and thoughtful way.” <br /> Horgan says that St. Lucy’s will follow the diocese’s lead. The church has taped off pews to enforce social distancing and removed all the books and hymnals. It is working on safe ways to offer the sign of peace, formerly a handshake or embrace, and Holy Communion. <br /> “People need human touch,” Horgan says. “Our people are so willing to make changes, which is a tremendous blessing, but it’s been extremely hard. I can’t be a priest without people. But I’m optimistic about the future.”<br /> Biston says, “We have to be cautious. We have a lot of seniors so even when it’s safe, we’ll keep attendance in check and take it one day at a time.”<br /> No one is sure how places of worship will decide who comes. Reservations only? Maybe a lottery? Kane says that St. Paul’s will follow the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, which plans to take a phased approach to reopening. <br /> “The next phase,” Kane says, “will likely involve having congregants wear PPEs, sitting at least 6 feet apart and not receiving Communion from the common cup.” <br /> The biggest factor in determining what worship will look like six months from now will be the development of a vaccine, Biston says. But whether we’re asked to wear masks, check our temperatures at the door, provide proof of vaccination or other mandates, Biston says, “We’re humans. We adapt. We forge on.”<br /> New says he expects a new appreciation for relationships and a lot of excitement around the communal nature of worship.<br /> “That feeling of pooled energy, a greater sense of connection from sharing space,” are what we’re missing, he says. He expects people to be almost giddy. Right now, the feelings aren’t so positive. <br /> But New says not to lose faith. <br /> “My message is to relieve yourself of the burden of worry. God’s divine orchestrations cannot be understood by man. We are on the cusp of a better, brighter world,” New says.</p></div>Finding Faith: Classes offer help with money, dreamshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-classes-offer-help-with-money-dreams2019-01-29T17:50:22.000Z2019-01-29T17:50:22.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>Do you think of God every time you open your purse or wallet, enter an ATM or use your credit card online? Is it a prayer that the transaction goes through? Do you feel sick to your stomach or have a tension headache because you and money aren’t getting along?</p>
<p>The Rev. Gregory Barrette, senior minister and chief executive officer of Unity of Delray Beach Church since October, says lots of us have money issues, and some of us have relationships with money that are toxic. Barrette (you can call him Greg) just wrapped up a four-week class in January based upon the best-selling book The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, by Edwene Gaines.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960841296,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960841296,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" alt="7960841296?profile=original" /></a>Barrette says our financial health is just as important as our physical and mental health, and an unhealthy relationship with money can complicate or worsen physical and mental health problems.</p>
<p>“Money is like energy,” Barrette says. It goes where it’s directed but if it’s not under control, it can cause chaos.</p>
<p>In some places of worship, the only time people talk about money is when they’re asking for it. Unity’s programs focus on providing practical solutions to real problems.</p>
<p>Barrette also teaches skills like meditation and dream interpretation that can help us find our way. As a teacher, he simplifies the work of theologians and complex thinkers like Eckhart Tolle for the rest of us.</p>
<p>“At Unity, we don’t believe the point is getting people into heaven,” Barrette says. “We want to help people live better now, in this moment. It’s about spiritual growth rather than being ‘saved.’”</p>
<p>Barrette doesn’t mean better as in richer or thinner or even more successful in your career. He means your soul has grown. Soul characteristics are universal: things like honesty, compassion, ethics, gratitude, humility, charity. That’s what our soul aspires to and it’s why, when people are especially wise about spiritual matters and the human condition, we call them “old souls.” They’ve had time to grow.</p>
<p>Barrette says meditation is an important tool that teaches practitioners to go deeper into themselves, “mining the depths of your soul. Meditation is a lot like exercise: Everyone thinks of it a little differently.”</p>
<p>And like exercise, the more you practice the better you get, but you’ve never fully realized your limits. You can always learn more, so Barrette drives a couple of hundred miles twice a month to see his meditation teacher.</p>
<p>Learning and growing spiritually is a process Barrette calls “unfoldment.” Some might call it “enlightenment,” but that sounds like there’s an on-and-off switch — you’re either enlightened or you’re not — whereas our spiritual lives happen on a continuum, expanding and evolving and moving toward perfection.</p>
<p>Perfection isn’t about what you’ve achieved in this life or how perfectly you achieved it, but how much your soul has grown as a result of it. Say you’re rich, but miserly — a real Ebenezer Scrooge! Rather than being visited by three spirits, Barrette says, one way to encourage your soul to grow is to pay attention to your dreams. In dreams, your soul and your subconscious aren’t censored.</p>
<p>They speak to you, often in symbols.</p>
<p>In February, Barrette will teach a workshop with simple instructions to “let your dream symbols speak.”</p>
<p>The process for taking control of your dream life is tailored to each person. And Barrette says anyone can do it.</p>
<p>Everyone has intuition to some degree. Some of us listen better than others, but we’ve all had those “feelings.” When someone sneaks up behind us, but we “feel” them coming, or we’re approaching an intersection and we slow down for no reason and some guy running the red light would have hit us but misses us.</p>
<p>Dreams are little vignettes from our subconscious mind that tell a cryptic story.</p>
<p>Barrette says solutions to our problems are in those symbols if we know how to read them. Barrette will teach a workshop called “Dreams: Letters from God” at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at Unity.</p>
<p>“In 90 minutes, I’ll teach participants why they dream and the importance of dreaming, how to remember your dreams and how to interpret them so they can be used to solve problems. The simple, specific technique will allow them to interpret any dream.”</p>
<p>Register for the course by calling Unity at 276-5796, or visit unityofdelraybeach.org. A free-will offering will be taken.</p>
<p><em>Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Finding Faith: Interfaith Café offers safe place to discuss beliefshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-interfaith-cafe-offers-safe-place-to-discuss-belief2019-01-02T15:30:00.000Z2019-01-02T15:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830298,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830298,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960830298?profile=original" /></a>At Interfaith Café programs, people of all beliefs can discuss spiritual issues. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>Most people, at one time or another, ponder the big questions: Why am I here? What’s my purpose? Is there one God, many gods or no god at all? What happens when I die? Is there a heaven? Are there dogs there? <br /> Even people who are deeply committed to their faith have questions and, sometimes, doubts.<br /> Faith almost demands you have doubts in its very definition: belief in the absence of proof. <br /> For many, these ruminations take place in our heads. <br /> But a group of deep thinkers has a safe place to discuss hard questions. It’s called the Interfaith Café and it’s a free program offered by the Interfaith Coalition. All are welcome. <br /> The Interfaith Café meets monthly at the South County Civic Center on Jog Road —neutral ground. <br /> “We used to meet at a different church every week, but the Civic Center seemed to work better,” Jane Faysash said. She is one of the original members and she represents the Buddhist faith. <br /> Linda Prior, who finds speakers and organizes the programs each month, is a Christian. Other members represent the Mormon, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim and Baha’i faiths. Some call themselves spiritual, some agnostic and others label themselves as atheist. <br /> But in the café, those labels melt away to reveal our common humanity: love, pain, forgiveness, shame, gratitude. Topics are more philosophical than theological, and meetings are civil and respectful. <br /> Most meetings attract between 30 and 50 people with open minds, which keeps discussions from dissolving into arguments. <br /> People with literalist views or rigid thoughts will not enjoy the café.<br /> “We connect on a deep personal level,” Faysash said. “We can be open here.” <br /> Prior, whose home church is First Presbyterian in Delray Beach, cares deeply about people who have no attachment to a church or a religion or even a belief system. She has seen the discussions at the café change people. <br /> She knows that the universal desire to congregate comes from our longing for community, connectedness, to be a part of something greater, to belong somewhere.<br /> Feeling isolated and alone and excluded is a touchstone for disaster. <br /> Musician Cecilia St. King will speak and perform at the Jan. 17 meeting. She knows a little bit about disasters. <br /> She was in New York City during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Instead of leaving town, she stayed and performed for the firefighters, construction workers and search and rescue personnel. She wanted to lift them up, and she would do it again. <br /> But it came with a steep price: throat cancer, possibly from breathing the poisonous air around the site. <br /> St. King will perform on guitar her signature blend of American roots music, rock, blues, folk and spirituals (and a grain of jazz) to express the Tao’s ageless wisdom teachings in song. <br /> She has traveled the world as a performer, but she settled down in Delray Beach recently. <br /> She has been quick to lend her support where needed. She performed and counseled children after the Parkland mass shootings and raised $15,000 for students to go to the March on Washington. She sang at a vigil for gun control in Delray Beach and performed at the “Together We Remember” vigil for Holocaust remembrance in Boca Raton. <br /> The Interfaith Café takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 17 at the South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. The meeting is free. <br /> For the February meeting, the topic will be “courageous conversations,” with tips on how to tell someone that you find their jokes, insults, ethnic stereotypes and disparaging comments about religion inappropriate and hurtful. Allan Barsky, who has a Ph.D. in social work, will speak.<br /> For more info, visit meetup.com/Interfaith-Cafe.</p>
<p><br /> <em>Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Religion Notes: St. Joseph’s Episcopal plans session on centering prayerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-notes-st-joseph-s-episcopal-plans-session-on-centering-p2018-07-31T22:01:55.000Z2018-07-31T22:01:55.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960798680,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960798680,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="124" class="align-left" alt="7960798680?profile=original" /></a>The Rev. Wendy Tobias, associate priest at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Boynton Beach, will present an Introduction to Centering Prayer from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 18.</p>
<p class="p1">“We may think of prayer as thoughts or feelings expressed in words, but this is only one expression,” Tobias explains. “In centering prayer we rest in the presence of God beyond thoughts, words and emotions. In this prayer method, we cultivate a deeper relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.”</p>
<p class="p1">Centering prayer is more meditative than active prayer. Its goal is to quiet the mind so God’s voice can be heard, according to Tobias. Rather than asking for what we want, the prayer asks what God wants for and from us. “Our only intention in centering prayer is to consent to God’s presence and action within us,” Tobias said.</p>
<p class="p1">The workshop will offer time for conversation and lunch. Bring your own bag lunch. Drinks and fruit will be provided. Cost: $10 suggested donation. St. Joe’s is at 3300 S. Seacrest Blvd. Call 732-3060 or visit stjoesunplugged.org.</p>
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<p class="p3"><span class="s1"><b>Advent Lutheran offers opportunities for growth</b></span></p>
<p class="p1">Advent Lutheran Church is accepting reservations for a Women’s Sea Side Retreat Sept. 28-30 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton at the Deerfield Beach Resort and Spa. Registration is open through Aug. 26 after church services and online at <a href="http://www.adventboca.org">www.adventboca.org</a>.</p>
<p class="p1">Also registering at Advent Lutheran is Pastor Andy Hagen’s Irish Adventure 2019. Travel with the pastor and his wife, Susan, on a trip to Ireland from April 25 to May 4. The trip includes visits to Belfast, Dublin and the Dingle Peninsula. Kiss the Blarney stone, see the Book of Kells, sip Guinness, dine in a castle and play golf. For details, visit<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> adventboca.org.</p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1"><b>St. Vincent programs registering now</b></span></p>
<p class="p1">St. Vincent Ferrer is offering two multiple-week programs beginning in August, as well as a one-night marriage seminar. For information about programs at St. Vincent, call 665-8566 or visit stvincentferrer.com </p>
<p class="p1">A 14-week Grief Share support group begins Aug. 4 and meets from 10 a.m. to noon each Saturday in the conference room. The group will offer compassion and comfort to those grieving the death of a loved one. Call 921-5693 or visit stvincentferrer.com/griefshare</p>
<p class="p1">Faith on Fire programs help parishioners connect with their fate. The next program is Course 1, Introduction to the Bible, and it meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 20, 27, Sept. 10, 17, 24, and Oct. 1 in Kellaghan Hall. The registration fee is $10. Course textbooks are additional. Contact Deacon Bob Laquerre for more information and to register at 276-6892 or email associate@stvincentferrer.com</p>
<p class="p1">Family Life Ministries and An Empowered Life Inc. present the Empowered Marriage, a seminar set for 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Aug. 28 to help strengthen faith-based marriages. Jeanine Mannweiler, a Delray Beach-based licensed therapist, will teach. A $25 donation per couple is suggested. RSVP to 702-8271.</p>
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<p class="p3"><span class="s1"><b>St. Paul’s music programs</b></span></p>
<p class="p1">Music at St. Paul’s returns in August and continues with programs throughout 2018. Concerts take place at 3 p.m. Sundays at the church, located at 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. Many shows include<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> pre-concert discussions at 2:30 p.m. A $20 suggested donation is asked, but shows are free for those 18 and younger. The announced August and September programs are: </p>
<p class="p1"><b>Baroque and Beyond</b> — Aug. 19. Violinist Mei Mei Luo and harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa, who is director of music ministries at St. Paul’s. There will be a pre-concert conversation with composer Karl Henning at 2:30 p.m.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>Chopin and the Americans</b> — Sept. 16. The Delray String Quartet performs with pianist Jure Rozman with a pre-concert lecture with Cienniwa.</p>
<p class="p1">For future programs and more information, visit music.stpaulsdelray.org.</p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1"><b>St. Mark Parish Picnic</b></span></p>
<p class="p1">The annual St. Mark Parish Family Picnic takes place 1-4 p.m. Aug. 12, after the noon Mass. Tickets are $15. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. A cash bar, music and activities are planned. Tickets are on sale in the parish office and will be for sale after Mass Aug. 4 and 5. For more information, call 734-9330.</p>
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<p class="p4"><i>Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</i></p></div>Religion: Petals, Purses and Prayers Fashion Showhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-petals-purses-and-prayers-fashion-show2018-04-04T15:40:24.000Z2018-04-04T15:40:24.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960787672,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960787672,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960787672?profile=original" /></a><em>The St. Lucy Council of Catholic Women, Highland Beach, organized the March 9 show at the Polo Club in Boca Raton, which brought in 350 guests. The Wick Theatre and Costume Museum contributed decor with vintage movie costumes and sponsored centerpieces. Proceeds will be directed fully to Birthline/Lifeline, Boca Helping Hands, AVDA, the Women’s Circle, FOCUS and A Place For Hope. <strong>ABOVE:</strong> (l-r): Marilyn Fontenelli, Marilynn Wick, Jeanette Schmitz and Kimberly Wick. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p></div>Religion Notes: Church’s annual sale is light on the ‘rummage’https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-notes-church-s-annual-sale-is-light-on-the-rummage2018-01-31T16:10:31.000Z2018-01-31T16:10:31.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960773062,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960773062,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960773062?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>The Step-Above Rummage Sale is put on by the First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach. This year it takes place Feb. 8-10. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>If you like your rummage sale without too much rummaging, the Step-Above Rummage Sale at First Presbyterian Church, Delray Beach, was designed with you in mind. <br /> Think “department store” with neatly arranged and labeled merchandise, conveniently sized and sorted and displayed by department. There will even be a boutique where you’ll find high-end items, like designer dresses and shoes. Sales specialists will be on hand to help and a dressing area is available to ensure a perfect fit.<br /> The media area will contain books, DVDs and electronic games. Kids clothes, toys and games will be organized in their own area. Arrive early for the best bargains.<br /> The Step-Above Rummage Sale is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 8-10, at the church, 33 Gleason St. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 276-6338 or visit <a href="http://www.firstdelray.com/upcoming-events">www.firstdelray.com/upcoming-events</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Boca Beach Chabad welcomes</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Orthodox pop singer</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">It’s not often folks here get to welcome an A-list performer from the Orthodox community, but that’s about to change. In celebration of its 18th anniversary, Boca Beach Chabad will host the Israeli pop singer Avraham Fried at Mizner Park Amphitheater on Feb. 13. <br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960773079,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="200" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960773079,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-right" alt="7960773079?profile=original" /></a>Fried has released more than 25 albums and sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. His eclectic style mixes genres like rock, pop and jazz, but also incorporates both cantorial-style pieces as well as Yiddish folk songs, tied together by Jewish themes and sentiment. <br /> The concert is part of a wider “Celebration 50:18” recognizing the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification following the Six-Day War.<br /> Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the UN, will deliver a keynote address at an invitation-only reception at 5:30 p.m. at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, where a special presentation will recognize Israeli troops who served during the Six-Day War as well as family members of fallen service members.<br /> Three local philanthropists — Leonardo Farkas, Howard Kaye and Myrna Gordon Skurnick, all with ties to Boca Raton — will be honored. <br /> Concert tickets are $20 to $60 (free for ages 2 and younger), available at <a href="http://www.5018concert.com">www.5018concert.com</a>. <br />For an invitation to the VIP reception, call 394-9770 or sign up at <a href="http://www.bocabeachchabad.org/gala5018">www.bocabeachchabad.org/gala5018</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>Orthodox singer Avraham Fried’s<br />set list includes rock, pop, jazz,<br /> cantorial-style pieces and Yiddish<br />folk songs. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Shabbat in east Delray</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>for young professionals</strong></span> <br /> Rabbi Shmuel Biston and Chabad of East Delray will host a special Young Jewish Professionals Shabbat Dinner to appeal to people in the 21-39 age bracket in downtown Delray Beach on Feb. 9.<br /> Biston understands that new relationships begin with one positive experience. <br /> “One great Jewish experience equals mission accomplished,” Biston said. “The youth nowadays are searching for something meaningful and they are realizing that Facebook and Instagram are not going to bring true happiness.<br /> “We don’t want [young people] to feel intimidated to come to our programs and events, so to make it interesting, we make exclusive programs just for them amongst their peers in an environment where they will feel comfortable. The food is great and the drinks are unlimited.” <br /> CYP Shabbat is 7-10 p.m. Feb. 9, at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. Tickets: $25 in advance only at Eventbrite.com. For information, visit <a href="http://www.jewisheastdelray.com">www.jewisheastdelray.com</a> or call Biston at 954-857-3543.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Compassion experience</strong></span><br /> It’s hard for some Americans to imagine how poor some people are. Many of us have never been out of the country, and we’re too busy keeping the balls of our life in the air to stop and wonder about someone thousands of miles away. <br /> Compassion International found a way to bring the experience of poverty to thousands of people across the country, using semi-trucks and iPods. The Compassion experience will stop in the parking lot at Spanish River Church, 2400 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, from Feb. 15 to 18. The experience is being held in conjunction with the annual Ride 4 Orphans. (See story, page H16.)<br /> This self-guided tour does more than just show pictures and tell stories. Using iPod headsets, visitors walk through the 2,000 square feet of interactive space where they get glimpses of daily life from a child’s perspective. Guests walk through replicas of the marketplace, through the school and then to the home of the child living in poverty. <br /> UNICEF and the World Bank Group estimated in 2013 that 385 million children were living in extreme poverty, defined as less than $1.90 per day. Other estimates say that number tops 1 billion. <br /> Compassion International is known for its work finding sponsors for children in developing countries. Over the last 60 years, Compassion International has helped more than 1.8 million children in 25 of the world’s poorest countries. (Info: 888-503-4590 or <a href="http://www.compassion.com">www.compassion.com</a>.)<br /> This free exhibition is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible and appropriate for all ages (it has kid-friendly audio versions). Reservations are encouraged, especially for groups. Email changetour@compassion.com.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Community of Hope</strong></span> <br /><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>hosts special-needs prom</strong></span> <br /> At 500 churches in 50 states and 16 countries around the world, kids with special needs will get to go to the prom because of Tim Tebow. <br /> The former Florida football star’s foundation sponsors Night to Shine. Locally, proms will take place at Community of Hope’s two campuses on Feb. 9. <br /> Night to Shine is designed to be an “unforgettable prom night experience,” for people with special needs ages 14 and older. Every guest walks the red carpet to cheers and applause from family and friends. <br /> Kids also get hair and makeup help, limousine rides, corsages and boutonnieres, a catered dinner and party favors. Entertainment is karaoke and dancing, and everyone gets to be crowned prom king or queen.<br /> A special respite room is provided for parents and caretakers as their teens dance and sing the night away. <br /> Tebow says Night to Shine is his “favorite night of the year.” His foundation committed more than $3.5 million in financial support to hundreds of churches needing assistance in hosting the event. In 2015, the first year, 44 churches hosted Night to Shine. Last year, 375 churches crowned 75,000 prom kings and queens. This year, the number has grown. <br /> Volunteers are needed to help guests check in, assist with the food and entertainment, and take pictures and video. If you can help, visit <a href="http://www.communityofhope.church/shine">www.communityofhope.church/shine</a>.<br /> Night to Shine is from 6-9 p.m. Feb. 9 at Community of Hope West Campus, 14055 Okeechobee Blvd., Loxahatchee Groves, and Community of Hope East Campus, at Good Shepherd Church, 2341 S Military Trail, West Palm Beach. <br /> Admission is free, but reservations are required. Call 753-8883 or register at communityofhope.church/shine.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Ongoing programs</strong></span><br /> Beer, Conversation & God: Pub Theology meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 (and the third Thursday of each month) at Barrel of Monks, 1141 S. Rogers Circle, No. 5, Boca Raton, for conversation, fellowship and open discussion of mostly theological topics. The group also meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 (and the first Tuesday of each month) at the Biergarten, 309 Via De Palmas, No. 90, Boca Raton. For more information, contact Pastor Marcus Zillman at mzillman@fumcbocaraton.org; call 395-1244; or visit <a href="http://www.fumcbocaraton.org">www.fumcbocaraton.org</a>.<br /> The Interfaith Café, a theological discussion, meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 15, at South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. Light refreshments are served. The meeting is free, but donations are appreciated. The Interfaith Café meets the third Thursday of the month, and volunteers are needed to assist with a variety of duties to keep this program going. For information or to volunteer, email Jane@Aurorasvoice.org.<br /> Music at St. Paul’s hosts Roberta Rust performing with the Serafin Quartet at 3 p.m. Feb. 18, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. The program: Danzas de Panama, William Grant Still; String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2, Felix Mendelssohn; Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81, Antonin Dvorak. Tickets are $20. Admission is free for age 18 and younger. For more information, call 278-6003 or visitwww.music.stpaulsdelray.org.</p>
<p><em>Contact Janis Fontaine at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Ride 4 Orphans: Spanish River Church, Boca Raton – Aug. 2https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ride-4-orphans-spanish-river-church-boca-raton-aug-22017-08-29T17:57:45.000Z2017-08-29T17:57:45.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738659,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960738659,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960738659?profile=original" /></a><em>Checks from the Feb. 8 Ride 4 Orphans were awarded to Place of Hope at the Leighan and David Rinker Campus and 4 Kids of South Florida. The annual ride raises money for Spanish River Church’s orphan projects. (l-r) Matheus Macedo, first-place finisher; Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers; Keith Seago, race sponsorship committee; Monica Blake Speer, Place of Hope; Craig Kindell, event director; George Gaffey, sponsorship committee; Lauren Atchison, of Team zMotion, and Charlene Harrington Smith, five-time R4O participant. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p></div>Congregants share thoughts on the meaning of Yom Kippurhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/congregants-share-thoughts-on-the-meaning-of-yom-kippur2017-08-29T17:30:00.000Z2017-08-29T17:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong><br /> <br /> The holiest day of the Jewish year is approaching. <br /> Yom Kippur, which starts the evening of Sept. 29, is a solemn day for reflection, a day of atonement. It follows 10 days after Rosh Hashana, which marks the new year.<br /> But there are no out-of-control parties celebrating Rosh Hashana. The only similarity to Jan. 1 is that Jews will spend time examining their lives and planning changes for the coming months. <br /> We asked some local folks to share their feelings about the High Holy Days. Here’s what they had to say:</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> •</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960739088,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960739088,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" width="103" alt="7960739088?profile=original" /></a>As a kid, I used to spend the holidays with my grandparents in a little town in Slovakia. I never forget walking with my grandfather, holding his hand going to our little synagogue. I felt happy, secure and looking forward to meeting the other kids on the yard of the temple. <br /> It was a great time and I often try to re-create that childhood memories in my mind. My grandparents were murdered in Auschwitz.<br /> After the Holocaust, I grew up in a communist regime where going to temple was not a safe thing to do, but I know when the holidays were and fasting in Yom Kippur was important to me. Gave me the feeling that I am walking with my grandfather.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> <em>Thomas Gabor</em><br /> <em>Delray Beach</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> •</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> When people make New Year’s resolutions, it’s usually in some attempt at doing better the following year. So too, when we celebrate the High Holy Days, we try to embrace the idea of changing ourselves for the better, no matter how hopeless change might seem. This is done in a more serious manner during the holiday of Yom Kippur, which to me is an occasion where the Jewish people could in some way feel the presence of higher power in a timely manner, a connection only comparable to meditating on the very text of the Torah. <br /> Why, then, do we give such attention to an occasion which other people would simply put off half the time? Because Yom Kippur is not about the future, it is of course about the past, and to see the past year go by in the mind’s eye is equivalent to seeing one’s life flash before your eyes. <br /> Having such an experience is not only a transcendental way to let go of the past, it also encourages us to look to the future to redeem the mistakes we had made. <br /> To go through such a major change during a single day is a miracle, and so when we feel this change happening in such a noticeable way, all we could help thinking is the beauty of change and hope for the remaining year.<br /> <em>Kyle Dunton</em><br /> <em>Boynton Beach</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> •</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> Few memories, if any, kindle that special pang than reflecting upon those formative years, walking behind my parents with my two brothers, to shul on the High Holy Days.<a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960739097,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960739097,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-right" width="102" alt="7960739097?profile=original" /></a><br /> I lived in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on an exclusively, by design, Jewish block when Brooklyn was Brooklyn. Belonging to an Orthodox shul, as almost all were in those treasured days, no one drove to Talmud Torah Beth Judah. Another cardinal sin would be a man without suit and tie … and women equally elegant upon Judgment Day. <br /> My father, owing to his status as a major benefactor to the synagogue, as well as the recognized Talmud scholar that he was, enjoyed a prominent front-row seat in the special section abutting the eastern wall. My two brothers and I accompanied my father while my mother sat opposite on the far side of the mishits. <br /> We were a traditional family. We were an observant family. We were a loving family. My father died in 1988 at the age of 73. Mom lived to 100. They live in my heart every day as luminaries to emulate. The High Holy Days bring for me tears of sorrow and tears of joy. I can so clearly see them now walking, together, heart-in-heart, followed by their three sons, ever so proud. How I miss those days. <br /> But Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur endure. Our five children, their spouses and our eight grandchildren will have their memories.<br /> <em>Marty Teitelbaum</em><br /> <em>Boca Raton</em></p></div>Finding Faith: Putting people in pews is priest’s mission at Boynton Beach churchhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/putting-people-in-pews-is-priest-s-mission-at-boynton-beach-churc2017-07-31T21:30:00.000Z2017-07-31T21:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960728495,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960728495,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960728495?profile=original" /></a><em>The Rev. Wendy Tobias says St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church is trying to offer something for everyone. Photo provided</em></p>
<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>Whoopi Goldberg’s character in the 1992 comedy Sister Act may have oversimplified the goals of the church — “Y’know, get some butts in the seats” — but membership and attendance are what keep church doors open. Gaining new members and retaining existing ones are critical if a church is going to survive.<br /> And church attendance is falling. Only 36 percent of adults said they attend services weekly, according to the Pew Research Center, and only 17 percent of adults age 18-29 attend weekly services.<br /> The leaders at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Boynton Beach have spent a lot of time, energy and money trying to entice new members through the door. In 2011, the Rev. Wendy Tobias became St. Joe’s Whoopi Goldberg. As the associate priest for “Unplugged,” it’s her job to help church leaders fill the empty pews.<br /> “We’re the best-kept secret in Boynton Beach and I want to get our story out,” Tobias said. “We offer an opportunity for a different kind of worship, and I believe we can make a real difference.”<br /> The church’s leaders noticed that few of the people who attended weekly services were in the young adult demographic. They knew people in their 20s and early 30s weren’t coming to church, so the church paid market researchers to find out why. Specifically, what did the young professional in the community want from a church? After careful study and discussion of the research, St. Joe’s decided to offer “Unplugged,” a more casual service offered later on Sunday mornings with modern music and a shorter sermon and service overall. <br /> The church leaders carefully planned every detail down to the exact time — 11:45 a.m. Sunday — that the young adults said they wanted. They hired a minister to perform the kind of music the would-be worshipers said they like. <br /> But things don’t always work out the way market research says they will. The younger folks didn’t come. <br /> “We designed the service around the market research,” Rector Marty Zlatic said, “but we could never reach ‘critical mass.’”<br /> They tried holding services at the beach. They tried different times. They used social media. They puzzled and pondered. Then they brought in Tobias to see what she could do. <br /> Tobias, 62, had grown up at St. Joe’s. She attended the church as a child and had taught at the school, even served as the chaplain. <br /> Most people don’t return home after attending the seminary, so Tobias considers herself lucky. She already knew the community and she already loved the church. She threw her support behind the music minister, Charles Milling, a New Orleans native and a graduate of NYU and Boston’s Berklee College of Music, and his band. More people began attending.<br /> On a recent Sunday, 9-year-old Zachary Raab showed off a bit of his Michael Jackson flair at the service. The congregation is invited to sing and dance along with the band, and it’s even OK to applaud at the end of a song. <br /> Zachary, a Boynton Beach fourth-grader, attended the Unplugged service with his grandmother, Nancy Raab. Zachary said he usually attends Sunday school or goes to the family service, but he thinks the band rocks so he’s happy to come with his grandmother. Nancy Raab has been attending St. Joseph’s for 20 years, since Zachary’s father was a boy. <br /> Children do seem to draw families to church. Research shows weekly attendance at church among 30- to 49-year-olds is 36 percent, the highest of any group. Parents want to give their kids every advantage and to teach them values that will make them good citizens of the world, and many people believe the church is a good partner in reaching that goal. <br /> Kim Tice, of Boynton Beach, attended the service with her 3-year-old son, who introduced himself as Darth Vader. She appreciates the casual, relaxed vibe and the come-as-you-are acceptance. Unplugged is her favorite service because it’s not all sitting and listening and it’s not so long that Luke, er, Darth Vader, gets bored. And if he does make a bit of a ruckus, people are fine with that. <br /> The easy-listening music matches the church’s easygoing, progressive messages. “We are more open,” Tobias said. “Women are equal in the church and we’re accepting of the LGBTQ community.” <br /> Tobias knows there are people who have been turned off by the church. “We try to offer something for everyone. A gathering place. A place to reinforce camaraderie. And a place to celebrate the God within,” Tobias said. <br /> Even spending just an hour focusing on God’s plan is enough, Tobias said. “The love and joy that is felt at the service is a positive spark plug for the workweek.” <br /> Research, including a 2016 study by Harvard University’s school of public health, shows that people who attend church services regularly are happier and healthier than those who don’t.<br /> Churchgoers are less likely to suffer from depression. They have more success stopping negative behaviors like smoking. And they live longer. But why? <br /> The scientists thought the benefit may come from one’s social network, but women who belonged to other groups that met weekly for social interaction (like book clubs and volunteer work) did not show the same benefit to the degree that churchgoers did. <br /> Tobias doesn’t want you to just show up or to follow blindly, and neither does the church. She wants to connect with you. In the Episcopal Church, it’s OK to have doubts. Ask questions. Debate opinions. Ask more questions. And know that if you’re different, you won’t be bullied or ignored or excluded. You’ll be welcomed and embraced — unless that invades your personal space, of course. <br /> If there is one message that Tobias says rings truer and louder than the rest, it’s this: “You are beloved by God. You don’t have to earn it. And you cannot do anything to stop it.” <br /> So, you might as well show up and sing along. <br /><br /></p>
<p><strong>Four services to meet your needs</strong><br /> St. Joseph’s offers four services, hoping that one will be just what you’re looking for: <br /> <strong>The reflective, healing service:</strong> This is an intimate service with piano and guitar music, healing candles and anointing, and Communion passed from person to person around the altar. At 5 p.m. Saturday. <br /> <strong>The traditional, Rite I</strong>, <strong>service:</strong> This is a quiet, traditional service with prayer, Communion and without music. Coffee hour and fellowship available after the service in the Parish Hall. At 7:45 a.m. Sunday. <br /> <strong>The family, Rite II</strong>, <strong>service:</strong> This is the largest gathering. Children, pre-K to fifth grade, are invited to participate in Christian education (Sunday school) as younger children get care in the nursery. Music director and organist David Clyle Morse and the adult parish choir perform weekly. The children’s choir performs on the fourth Sunday of every month from September to May. At 9:30 a.m. Sunday. <br /> <strong>The Unplugged service</strong>: A relaxed, joyful, come-as-you-are service with prayer and music; a haven for people who want to unplug from stiff traditions yet long for spiritual growth and depth in their lives. At 11:45 a.m. Sunday. <br /> St. Joseph’s is at 3300 S. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach; 732-3060; <a href="http://www.stjoesweb.org">www.stjoesweb.org</a>.</p>
<p><em>Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Finding Faith: Postal Service chooses Boca temple for Hanukkah stamp unveilinghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-postal-service-chooses-boca-temple-for-hanukkah-sta2016-11-02T14:53:47.000Z2016-11-02T14:53:47.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960684662,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960684662,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960684662?profile=original" /></a><em>The stamp depicts a menorah in a window with snow outside.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"> The U.S. Postal Service bestowed an honor on Temple Beth El of Boca Raton by naming it the official site for the first-day-of-issue dedication of the U.S. 2016 Hanukkah stamp. The Postal Service planned to release the stamp commemorating the Festival of Lights during a ceremony Nov. 1 at Temple Beth El, a Reform congregation in Boca Raton, which was chosen for its “vibrant Jewish population.”<br /> For the last few years, the dedication ceremony for the Hanukkah stamp had taken place in New York City, and the organizers were ready for a change. The Jewish population of South Florida — estimated at more than half a million people — gave them a legitimate reason to choose our palm trees and ocean breeze over another gray November day in Manhattan.<br /> The Postal Service offered its first Hanukkah stamps in 1996, and a stamp has been offered 12 times since then. Four stamps, including this year’s by artist William Low, depicted a menorah. One stamp had a dreidel, and one was just the word Hanukkah in bright lettered boxes.<br /> The Postal Service also offers commemorative Christmas and Kwanzaa stamps, Fourth of July and Cinco de Mayo stamps, even the ever-popular Valentine’s Day ”Love” stamps that grace wedding invitations year-round. <br /> Low’s stamp has a burning menorah sitting in a homey window, and the branches outside are frosted with a blanket of snow that glows pale blue in the candlelight. He worked with Ethel Kessler, an art director working with the Postal Service, who seeks out artists with styles that lend themselves to the small format of stamps. <br /> Low has been producing stamp art for years. He also illustrated the holiday windows set of four stamps released in October, and the two poinsettias Forever stamps released in 2013. He painted the 2014 Winter Flowers set of four Forever stamps.<br /> At the dedication ceremony at Temple Beth El, the Postal Service was to give a 45-minute presentation that concluded with the big reveal: the pulling down of a curtain to unveil a blowup of the stamp. Postal Service CEO David E. Williams was scheduled to attend, as was Jeffery A. Taylor, manager of the South Florida district. <br /> Steve Kaufman, executive director of Temple Beth El for the last four years, says the congregation was excited about the national attention. “The honor came out of the blue,” he said. “We didn’t apply or anything. They just picked us.” <br /> Kaufman said that the planners did some quiet research, checking out Temple Beth El’s website and Facebook page, checking to see how many followers it has, and what kind of programs it offers for the 1,500 families that make up the congregation. <br /> The synagogue is at 333 SW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton. <br /> Rabbi Dan Levin planned to offer an invocation, and the cantors and children from the preschool planned to sing Hanukkah songs. <br /> Kaufman said he expected the event to attract some local philatelists in search of first-day covers. FDCs are stamped envelopes, postal cards or other postal materials with cancellation stamps that state “First Day of Issue.” The special decorative artwork that complements each stamp is called a “cachet” and is highly collectible these days. <br /> “It is a really big deal,” Kaufman said of the honor. <em><br /><br /> Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Religion Notes: Not-for-profit theater raises money for two LGBTQ-friendly churcheshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-notes-not-for-profit-theater-raises-money-for-two-lgbtq-2016-11-02T14:48:41.000Z2016-11-02T14:48:41.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p> The recent run of <em>The World Goes ’Round</em> at the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse did more than entertain. It also raised money for Metropolitan Community Church of the Palm Beaches and Joy MCC in Orlando. Both groups received checks of almost $2,800 from MNM Productions. <br /> Both faith communities are dedicated to serving their local LGBTQ communities in the aftermath of last June’s massacre at Pulse in Orlando.<br /> <em>The World Goes ’Round</em> was the fourth major musical produced by partners Michael Lifshitz and Marcie Gorman-Althof of MNM Productions in the last two years. The not-for-profit theater, founded in 2014, has three shows planned for the summer of 2017: <em>Monty Python’s Spamalot</em> (May 17-June 4), <em>Company</em> (July 21-Aug. 6) and <em>La Cage Aux Folles</em> (Oct. 6-22), all at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. <br /> For more information, call 722-4258 or visit <a href="http://www.southfloridatheatre.org/mnm-productions">www.southfloridatheatre.org/mnm-productions</a>.<br /> For more information about the Metropolitan Community Church, at 4857 Northlake Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens, call 775-5900 or visit <a href="http://www.mccpalmbeach.org">www.mccpalmbeach.org</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-3">B’nai Torah Congregation sends supplies to Haiti</span><br /> The devastation of Hurricane Matthew on Haiti inspired B’nai Torah Congregation, a large Conservative synagogue in Boca Raton, and Hands on Tzedakah, a Boca-based charity, to open their hearts and wallets.<br /> In only a few days, the two groups raised and gathered more than $200,000 in donations of critical supplies, as well as cash contributions of $30,000, which was matched by HOT and used to purchase additional supplies.<br /> More than 150 volunteers spent a day unloading cars and sorting, boxing, taping and shrink-wrapping the $200,000 plus in supplies. About 1,000 people made donations. <br /> For more information about relief to Haiti, call Summer Faerman, B’nai Torah TLC director, at 305-1228, or email summer.faerman@bnai-torah.org.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-3">CROS Ministries’ walk raises $23,000 to fight hunger</span> <br /> CROS Ministries held its End Hunger Walk 5K, a 3.1-mile walk on Flagler Drive, on Oct. 1 to raise money for its hunger programs and increase awareness about hunger in our community. Despite rainy weather, 170 walkers turned out and helped raise pledges of more than $23,000. <br /> CROS Ministries serves hungry people in Palm Beach and Martin counties. Its programs include seven community food pantries; the Caring Kitchen, a hot meal and social services program; summer camp; a weekend food program for children; and gleaning, a food recovery program.<br /> Volunteers are needed. For more information, call 233-9009 or visit <a href="http://www.crosministries.org">www.crosministries.org</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-3">Food drive a success</span> <br /> For the 23rd consecutive year, Congregation B’nai Israel’s Kantor Family Center collected food during the Jewish High Holy Days to donate to the Palm Beach County Food Bank, which supports more than 140 partner agencies with food, programs and services. <br /> The members collected more than 10,000 pounds of food, which will be distributed by Feed My Community, Jacobson Family Food Pantry of Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services, CROS Ministries, Boca Helping Hands and more. <br /> Congregation B’nai Israel is at 2200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton. For more information about the food drive, contact Cindy or Greg Jacob at 487-7355 or email gejcadj@aol.com. For more information on CBI, visit <a href="">www.cbiboca.org or</a> call 241-8118. <br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-3">Meeting for all faiths</span><br /> The Interfaith Café meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 17 at the South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. Volunteers are needed to help keep this interfaith dialogue going. From clerical work to designing programs, there are many ways you can help. Contact Jane at jane@aurorasvoice.org.<br /> <br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-3">An Advent retreat</span><br /> Join the congregation of St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church for an evening retreat Nov. 30 in Harris Hall at the church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton. This retreat will usher in the Advent season with prayer, dinner and small group discussions. A candlelight labyrinth walk follows. A donation of $10 is requested to cover the cost of the meal and other supplies. RSVP required to anitasherman561@gmail.com.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-3">Local rabbis chosen</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-3">for elite program</span><br /> Boca Raton Rabbis Josh Broide and Dan Levin recently returned from their first summer residency in Jerusalem as part of Shalom Hartman Institute’s sixth Rabbinic Leadership Initiative. <br /> The Shalom Hartman Institute does research and education that immerses an elite group of rabbis in the highest levels of Jewish learning.<br /> These two South County rabbis underwent a rigorous selection process by the institute.<br /> Levin, a senior rabbi at (Reform) Temple Beth El of Boca Raton, and Broide, a practicing Orthodox rabbi who serves as the director of community engagement at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, were honored to have been chosen for this three-year intensive fellowship program. <br /> Levin and Broide will join 26 other RLI rabbis from around the country who will engage in webinars, study, small group elective courses and local projects.<br /> For more information on the Shalom Hartman Institute or the RLI, visit <a href="http://www.hartman.org.il">www.hartman.org.il</a>.<br /><br /><em> Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Finding Faith: Gandhi’s grandson to share lessons from his famous ancestorhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-gandhi-s-grandson-to-share-lessons-from-his-famous-2016-09-28T22:45:43.000Z2016-09-28T22:45:43.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960675257,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960675257,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960675257?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>Arun Gandhi will give a free lecture, ‘Lessons From My Grandfather,’ Oct. 2 at Florida Atlantic University.</em> <strong>Photo provided</strong></p>
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<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>Arun Gandhi, the fifth grandson of international symbol for peace and human rights Mahatma Gandhi, will speak at 5 p.m. Oct. 2 at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton in honor of his grandfather’s 147th birthday. <br /> The free lecture at FAU’s University Theatre, titled “Lessons From My Grandfather,” will shine a light on the danger of anger and the meaning of justice. It is hosted by the university’s Peace, Justice & Human Rights Initiative. <br /> Gandhi also will visit and speak at his grandfather’s memorial, Gandhi Square Florida, in Falcon’s Lea Park in Davie, where a 7-foot-tall brass sculpture of the icon stands. The work was made by the craftsmen at Big Statues in Provo, Utah, and was dedicated in 2012.<br /> Arun Gandhi, who was a journalist for The Times of India for 30 years, is the author of several books, including Gandhi’s Legacy of Love and most recently, Grandfather Gandhi in 2014 and a children’s book, Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story in August 2016. <br /> A private dinner will follow the lecture at Farmer’s Table, 1901 N. Military Trail in Boca Raton. The dinner will be vegetarian fare, a nod to Gandhi’s strict diet. Tickets are $100 and the proceeds will benefit Auroras Voice, Gandhi’s Square Florida and Sea Star School in Boca Raton. Find tickets on <a href="http://www.Eventbrite.com">www.Eventbrite.com</a>. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.GandhiTalk.org">www.GandhiTalk.org</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-4">Music at church</span><br /> Some of the best music is heard in church. <br /> Local houses of worship are announcing schedules for fall and beyond. What’s coming:<br /> Music at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. A free-will offering will be accepted. For information, call 276-4541. <br /> • Giorgi Chikvadze, piano — 3 p.m. Oct. 2.<br /> • The Delray String Quartet, 3 p.m. Oct. 16.<br /> • Fuoco e cenere: Music from Versailles — 3 p.m. Nov. 13.<br /> • Lessons and Carols: Noel, Noel, A French Christmas — 3 p.m. Dec. 18.<br /> • David Pedraza, viola, and Sheng-Yuan Kuan, piano, 3 p.m. Jan. 15.<br /> • Gareth Johnson, violin, Tao Lin, piano, 3 p.m. Feb. 5.<br /> • Camerata del Re: Not Outside the Bachs — 3 p.m. March 19.<br /> • Raisa Isaacs and friends: Brilliance of the Baroque — 3 p.m. April 2.<br /> • Trillium Piano Trio — 3 p.m. May 21.<br /> • Agustin Anievas, piano — 3 p.m. June 4.<br /> • Mei Mei Luo, violin, Daphne Spottiswoode, piano — 3 p.m. Aug. 20. <br /> St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church has announced its 2016-17 concert series. Performances take place at the church, at 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton. Tickets are available at <a href="http://www.stgregorysboca.eventbrite.com">www.stgregorysboca.eventbrite.com</a> , 395-8285, or stgregorysepiscopal.org.<br /> • Phantom of the Opera — 7 p.m. Oct. 22. <br /> • A Seraphic Fire Christmas: On Winter’s Night: 4 p.m. Dec. 18.<br /> • An Evening with Tim Brumfield & Friends — 7 p.m. Jan. 14<br /> • Wycliffe Gordon — 4 p.m. Feb. 12.<br /> • The Florida Singing Sons & Girls Choir of South Florida — 4 p.m. March 5.<br /> The Symphonia of Boca Raton announced its 2016-2017 Connoisseur Concert Series, which includes the Florida premiere of I Will Not Remain Silent on Holocaust Remembrance Day. The five concerts will be held at the Roberts Theater at St. Andrew’s School, 3900 Jog Road in Boca Raton. <br /> The series:<br /> • Concert No. 1 — 3 p.m. Dec. 4. James Judd, guest conductor, Jan Mracek, violin soloist in a program of Schubert, Brahms and Dvorak. <br /> • Concert No. 2 — 3 p.m. Jan. 8. Brett Karlin, guest conductor, and Sherezade Panthaki, soprano soloist, in a program of “Baroque Brilliance” featuring Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau and Bach. <br /> • Concert No. 3 — 3 p.m. Feb. 19. Alastair Willis, guest conductor, and Lindsay Garritson, piano soloist, in a program called “Paris Impressions.” <br /> • Concert No. 4 — 3 p.m. March 26. Gerard Schwarz, guest conductor, and Gregory Miller, horn soloist. Mozart, Diamond, Copland are explored in the program called “Vienna to Appalachia.” <br /> • Concert No. 5 — 3 p.m. April 23. “Heroism and Hope,” the Holocaust Remembrance Day performance, features Michael Stern, guest conductor, and Sharon Roffman, violin soloist, in a program that features Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, Adolphe’s Violin Concerto I Will Not Remain Silent, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica.<br /> Special programs related to the concerts include: <br /> • For Children: Meet the Orchestra — 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, the day before each connoisseur concert. Families can meet and interact with the Symphonia’s conductor and musicians and attend a live dress rehearsal at the Roberts Theater. Children can learn about and hold instruments. $5 adults, free for children/nonprofits. Reservations are required.<br /> • Box Lunch It With The Symphonia — 11:30 a.m. Dec. 2, Jan. 6 and March 24, at Unitarian Church, 2601 St. Andrews Boulevard, Boca Raton. Get a look behind the scenes. Sit in on part of a rehearsal and enjoy a box lunch while listening to the conductor, soloist and musicians’ perspective on the upcoming concert. Tickets are $35 and reservations are required. <br /> • Pre-Concert Conversations — 2-2:30 p.m. the day of each concert. A conductor or special guest speaker will provide insight about the program and the artists whose work was chosen. The discussion is free with your ticket. <br /> Season subscription tickets range from $175 to $350, depending on seat selection. Single tickets are $50 to $84, and all tickets are available at <a href="">www.thesymphonia.org or</a> by calling 866-687-1201. You can also email tickets@thesymphonia.org. <br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-4">More upcoming events</span><br />First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach at 33 Gleason St. hosts its Holly Days Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 10, 11 and 12 in the Holly House. For information, call 276-6338. <br />Unity of Delray Beach is hosting a new arts and crafts show this year featuring the work of local artists. From 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 8-9, you’ll find the work of outdoor photographer Sally Lynskey of Boynton Beach and children’s custom poetry wall décor by Amy Shafranek of Delray Beach. <br /> Also in the show are Terry Varga, who paints portraits of pets and other animals, and Lynn Robins, who paints special tree pods and donates the profit to charities such as Place of Hope in Boca Raton and St. Jude Research Hospital. The show’s organizer is church bookstore manager Jill Reid. <br /> From 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 8, there is a Blessing of the Animals planned. Pets must be properly controlled at all times. <br />Unity of Delray Beach is on the northwest corner of Swinton Avenue and Northwest 22 Street. For more information, call 276-5796.<br /><br /><em> Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Finding Faith: Mitzvah program brings High Holidays to homebound seniorshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-mitzvah-program-brings-high-holidays-to-homebound-s2016-08-31T02:53:42.000Z2016-08-31T02:53:42.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960667491,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960667491,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960667491?profile=original" /></a><em>Residents of The Tradition of the Palm Beaches, the senior residence on MorseLife’s Katz Seniors Campus, participate twice a year in the Homebound Mitzvah Program, as part of their commitment to giving to people less fortunate. From left: Rosalie Shapero, Hal Bogdanoff, Sylvia Mandell, Carolyn Patterson, Yetta Pearlman and Minnie Grosman. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p><br /><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong><br /> <br />Not everyone who wants to experience the joys and traditions of the High Holidays is able to do so. With them in mind, MorseLife Health System Homebound Mitzvah Program will come to the rescue of Jewish homebound seniors on Sept. 29.<br /> The High Holidays begin with Erev Rosh Hashanah on Oct. 2 and continue with Yom Kippur beginning on Oct. 11 and ending at sundown on Oct. 12.<br /> The mitzvah program, financed through community philanthropists and a grant from the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, relies on 400 volunteers to prepare Homebound Mitzvah Program packages for delivery throughout the county, including the coastal communities between South Palm Beach and Boca Raton. <br /> “I know of no other organization that does this here,” said Greg Goodman, a spokesman for MorseLife. “We are the only ones that deliver free packages that include not only kosher meals and wine, but also prayer books and DVDs of services led by Rabbi Alan Sherman, chaplain at MorseLife, along with caring volunteers who spend quality time with recipients. In fact, organizations that serve seniors, including independent and assisted living residences, synagogues, the county jail and others, rely on us.”<br /> The program has been around since 1987. It was founded by Marilyn and Stanley Katz, who had nurtured a similar program in New York.<br /> “The challenge for many of our community’s seniors is the passing of loved ones and friends, or the distance they are from their children, and this is particularly evident over the holiday,” said Linda Sevich, MorseLife’s director of community services. Sevich has been in charge of the program since it began.<br /> “It has been such an honor for us to be able to bring the joys and traditions of the Jewish New Year to them on what could be the loneliest time of the year for them. It is truly a beautiful mitzvah.”<br /> MorseLife also delivers kosher meals-on-wheels year-round, a program that has been around for almost 20 years. <br /> Mitzvah volunteers will meet on Sept. 29 to make deliveries at Temple Torah at 8600 Jog Road in Boynton Beach and on the MorseLife Campus at 4847 Fred Gladstone Drive, off Haverhill Road in West Palm Beach.<br /> Anyone interested in volunteering — or receiving packages — should call Sevich by Sept. 18 at 282-5388. <br /><br /><em> Janis Fontaine, who writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events, is taking a month off. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em><br /><br /><br /></p></div>Finding Faith: Mother Teresa canonization trip seats availablehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-mother-teresa-canonization-trip-seats-available2016-08-03T15:26:37.000Z2016-08-03T15:26:37.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960662277,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960662277,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960662277?profile=original" /></a><em>The Florida Singing Sons will perform as part of St. Gregory’s 2016-17 Concert Series.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>The Fort Lauderdale-based choir performs Gregorian chant and Broadway favorites.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo provided</strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Janice Fontaine</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong> </strong> It’s the trip of a lifetime. Vatican City. The Sistine Chapel. The Vatican Museums. St. Peter’s Basilica. Michelangelo’s heart-swelling <em>Pieta</em>. The tomb of Blessed Pope John Paul II.<br /> Magnificent! <br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960662298,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960662298,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="98" alt="7960662298?profile=original" /></a> But what puts this trip over the top and makes it a one-time-only experience is the chance to attend the canonization ceremony for Mother Teresa, which takes place Sept. 4. <br /> Pope Francis put the nun called “the saint of the gutter” on the fast track to sainthood. The two required miracles have been authenticated, one for beatification (recognition of a person’s entrance into heaven) and the second for sainthood, which means the person has lived a holy life and is to be honored.<br /> For Annie Davis of Palm Beach Travel, who is organizing the trip, Mother Teresa is one of her heroes. When she heard that Sky Tours was offering this trip, she knew it would be popular. A trip she planned three years ago to Rome was a huge hit and people always told Davis if she planned another trip, to sign them up.<br /> The first 20 spots sold immediately, but Davis said if she can find about 12 more people who want to go, she can add a second group. The trip costs just under $2,500 for double occupancy; for a single-person room add about $600. A stop in Portugal to see Our Lady of Fatima, which is celebrating 100 years since the apparition appeared, is also planned. A complete itinerary is available online. <br /> For more information, call 585-5885 or visit <a href="http://www.mypalmbeachtravel.com">www.mypalmbeachtravel.com</a>.<br /><br /><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">The Holy Land</span><br /> Maybe you’d rather walk where Jesus is said to have walked. First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach is taking 20 people to the Holy Land in April. The all-inclusive cost of the trip is just under $4,000. Call 276-6338, Ext. 10 or visit <a href="http://www.firstdelray.com">www.firstdelray.com</a>. <br /><br /><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Music at St. Paul’s</span> <br /> Camerata del Re: Strike the Viol, the next production for Music at St. Paul’s on Aug. 21, will feature combinations for viols, violins and flutes on period instruments. The concert is 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. $15 requested donation. $20 for preferred seating. For more information, call 276-4541 or visit <a href="http://www.stpaulsdelray.org">www.stpaulsdelray.org</a> <br /><br /><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">St. Gregory’s 2016-17 tickets</span><br /> Tickets go on sale in September for St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church’s 2016-17 Concert Series. Shows include: <em>Phantom of the Opera</em> (Oct. 22); A Seraphic Fire Christmas: On a Winter’s Night (Dec. 18); An Evening with Tim Brumfield and Friends (Jan. 14); Wycliffe Gordon (Feb. 12); The Florida Singing Sons and The Girl Choir of South Florida (March 5). St. Gregory’s is at 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton. Call 561-395-8339 or visit <a href="http://www.stgregorysepiscopal.org">www.stgregorysepiscopal.org</a><br /><br /><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Prosperity Coffee</span> <br /> Unity of Delray’s weekly coffee club, which meets from 7-8 a.m. on Thursdays in the Mary Kupferle Hall, has become an important part of the week for more than 50 regular attendees.<br /> What started with a handful of people is now a thriving fellowship led by the Rev. Nancy Norman, who teaches a chapter from whatever book they’re reading — they’re currently discussing Think and Grow Rich — then leads a discussion. <br /> There’s time for conversation, encouraging words and warm greetings. And, of course, there’s coffee, plus tea and goodies. <br /> Unity of Delray Beach is at 101 NW 22nd St., Delray Beach. For more information, call 276-5796 or visit <a href="http://www.unityofdelraybeach.org">www.unityofdelraybeach.org</a>.<strong><br /><br /></strong><em> Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.<strong><br /></strong></em></p></div>Lori Sklar Mitzvah Day, Various South County locations – Feb. 28https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lori-sklar-mitzvah-day-various-south-county-locations-feb-282016-05-04T19:55:34.000Z2016-05-04T19:55:34.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960653672,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960653672,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960653672?profile=original" /></a><em>Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton had its 23rd annual day of good deeds, including a barbecue at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church to feed people in need. In all, more than 1,000 pounds of clothing, food and toiletries was collected. ABOVE: Congregation B’nai Israel committee member Penny Laufer gleans at a farm in Boynton Beach. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p></div>Finding Faith: St. Paul’s Day School has a new directorhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/finding-faith-st-paul-s-day-school-has-a-new-director2016-03-02T17:06:01.000Z2016-03-02T17:06:01.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960628077,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960628077,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="174" alt="7960628077?profile=original" /></a><em>Liz Ryan</em></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"> Liz Ryan has accepted a position with St. Paul’s Day School in Delray Beach as day school director.<br /> Ryan, who has a degree in music/theater, started her child- care career as a volunteer at her church and then honed her skills providing in-home child care. Once her own children were old enough to be in school all day, she taught preschool for 10 years at St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Coral Springs, her home parish at the time, before being named the preschool’s director, a position she held for more than six years.<br /> Ryan, who calls herself a “cradle Episcopalian,” says church, Sunday school, and choir were part of her life from day one. She stayed active through high school, playing guitar with the church “folk Mass” group. “I taught Sunday school as a teen and then again after I had my own children,” she said. <br /> Ryan said she follows the philosophy of Maria Montessori: “Play is the work of the child.” She hopes to add more music to the curriculum at St.Paul’s. <br /> In her spare time, Ryan likes to paint, crochet, knit, design Web pages, practice calligraphy and plan events. <br /> She will assume her position in June. She replaces Patti Daniell, who retires after 23 years.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Interfaith concert raises money for common goal</span><br /> At the end of January, Muslims, Christians and Jews came together in harmony to help Family Promise of South Palm Beach County raise money for its programs. <br /> The concert — called Sounds of Promise — featured choirs from five congregations, including St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton. Members of Banyan Creek Elementary’s drum line also performed, and representatives from the Islamic Center of Boca Raton read from the Quran and recited poetry.<br /> Family Promise of SPBC finds work and housing for homeless families in Boca Raton and Delray Beach. The network consists of 19 congregations, and serves as an example of interfaith cooperation and acceptance. <br /> Marchele Courtney, who has volunteered at Family Promise for several years, helped organize the 90-minute concert. <br /> “We had such a variety of performers,” she said. “Our congregations brought their best performers to showcase their musical talent, including The Abundant Life Christian Center Choir from Margate. We had women from the Islamic Center read poetry in English and Arabic, and one recited a beautiful poem she had written. It was an hour of happy.”<br /> So far, Family Promise of SPBC has helped more than 300 people find jobs and housing. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.familypromisespbc.org">www.familypromisespbc.org</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><br /><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960628253,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960628253,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960628253?profile=original" /></a></span><em><span class="font-size-2" style="font-family:'times new roman', times;">Holocaust expert Father Patrick Desbois.</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span class="font-size-2" style="font-family:'times new roman', times;">Photo provided</span></strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Holocaust investigator to speak</span> <br /> Father Patrick Desbois’ life’s work — researching the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism, and improving the relationship between Catholics and Jews — has taken him all over the world. In March, it brings him to Palm Beach County. <br /> Desbois will speak at 8 p.m. March 29 about the genocide of the Yazidi people in 2014 at the hand of ISIS militants, who abducted women and girls and killed more than 5,000 civilians. He’ll also speak about his work in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.<br /> Desbois is the founder and president of Yahad-In Unum, a global humanitarian organization dedicated to identifying and commemorating the sites of Jewish and Roma mass executions in Eastern Europe during World War II. Since 2004, Desbois has been researching the einsatzgruppen, the Nazis’ mobile killing units. These paramilitary death squads were responsible for many mass killings, such as Babi Yar, which lasted two days and killed 33,771 Jews. <br /> He also is director of the Episcopal Committee for Catholic-Judeo Relations, under the auspices of the French Conference of Bishops. His grandfather was a WWII prisoner of war held in the Rawa Ruska camp on the Poland-Ukraine border. <br /> An exhibition, Holocaust by Bullets, on display at the United Nations from Jan. 25 to Feb. 9, was one of many Holocaust remembrance events planned in 2016. The exhibition chronicled Yahad-In Unum’s work collecting evidence of massacres during WWII.<br /> Desbois, as president of Yahad-In Unum, spoke at a private reception when the exhibit opened. Organized by the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, the exhibit was subtitled “The Hidden Holocaust.” <br /> Admission to the private briefing is by invitation only; call Ellen Safran at 906-9775 or email esafran@comcast.net. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.yahadinunum.org">www.yahadinunum.org</a>.</p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><em><strong>INSET BELOW:</strong> Marci Shimoff</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Upcoming events</span><br /> Unhappy? Lonely? She has advice for you.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960627501,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="200" class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960627501,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960627501?profile=original" /></a> <em>New York Times</em> best-selling author Marci Shimoff will be the guest speaker at the Jewish Women’s Foundation of South Palm Beach County’s Granting Wishes cocktail reception, which begins at 5:30 p.m. March 16 at Boca Rio Golf Club, 22041 Boca Rio Road in Boca Raton. <br /> Shimoff is a nationally recognized expert on happiness and unconditional love. The author of Love for No Reason and Happy for No Reason, she has a new philosophy about finding and keeping love and happiness.<br /> As part of the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Shimoff logged six bestselling titles including Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul, which have sold more than 14 million copies worldwide in 33 languages. Her books have spent 108 weeks — more than two solid years — on top.<br /> Shimoff is related to a second important self-help strategy for achieving love and happiness as well as success. Shimoff is a featured teacher for “The Secret,” the visualize-what-you-want-and-you-shall-have-it phenomenon. She’s also the co-founder of the Esteem Group and is a frequent lecturer on empowerment and self-esteem, and on getting to and staying at the top of your game. <br /> The JWF’s grants fund programs that create social change. The group awarded $125,000 in 2015, and the JWF has awarded more than $1 million over the last dozen years. It funds initiatives in education, health, abuse prevention, and economic security that help women and children. JWF trustees contribute a minimum of $2,000 per year for five years, which allows them a say in which projects are funded. <br /> The Granting Wishes event features heavy hors d’oeuvres, desserts and wine (kosher dietary laws observed). Admission is $85. <br /> For more information, visit <a href="http://www.jewishboca.org/grantingwishes">www.jewishboca.org/grantingwishes</a> or contact Lisbeth Rock Cauff at 852-3188 or by email at lisbethc@bocafed.org.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /><em>Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.</em></p></div>Religion: Rabbi reaches out with new congregationhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-rabbi-reaches-out-with-new-congregation2016-03-02T17:00:00.000Z2016-03-02T17:00:00.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960636059,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960636059,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="403" alt="7960636059?profile=original" /></a><em>Rabbi Joan Cubell, right, with Cantor Geniene Miller, left,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>and Adina Baseman Sharfstein at a recent Shabbat service.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo provided by Norman Karl Garrett</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Janis Fontaine <br /> <br /></strong> Rabbi Joan Cubell wants everyone to feel welcome at Congregation Beit Kulam, which she founded in July in Boca Raton.<br /> Beit Kulam, which means The House of Everyone, is a Reform congregation. Reform Judaism is the largest Jewish denomination in the United States, accounting for about one-third of U.S. Jews. <br /> Cubell recently returned from the biennial conference of the Union for Reform Judaism, which took place in Orlando on Nov. 4-8. “Reform is the way to go because I believe in pluralism,” she said. “It’s more welcoming.” More than simply accepting everyone, true pluralism rejoices in the knowledge that diverse groups can thrive at the same time, she said.<br /> She is the first female rabbi to be ordained as rabbi with s’micha (a rabbinical ordination) from Tifereth Israel Rabbinical Yeshiva in its 60-year history. She’s also the first woman to be accepted as a member of the American Council of Rabbis. <br /> Those achievements are important, but they pale beside her work as a rabbi of the people. <br /> Cubell grew up in Randolph, Mass., a close-knit community about 18 miles south of Boston, in a traditional Jewish family. Her father, Frederick Cubell, was a respected businessman. “I miss the sense of community,” she said of the small New England town. That sense of community is exactly what she wants to build with her new congregation. <br /> Cubell earned a business degree from Northeastern University in 1982 and joined her father’s financial planning firm after graduation. Her father spent 54 years helping people with their money problems. It took a long time and a lot of careful cultivating to grow hundreds of strong relationships in business. That created a bond with the community that was important to both father and daughter. <br /> “We watched their families grow up and their kids go off to college,” she said, often paying those college tuitions with money the Cubells had helped them save. Cubell still has clients she’s devoted to, but the work itself has her a little bored. <br /> “It’s just not fun anymore,” Cubell said. “There’s a lot of paperwork, and more interference from Uncle Sam. It’s just not the same.”<br /> Like so many wealthy Northerners, the elderly Cubells flew south to Florida when they retired. When her father became ill in 2012, Cubell came to South Florida to care for him. “He didn’t even last the year,” Cubell said. <br /> Then her husband, David Okun, had a stroke. Though he has recovered most of his skills, he still has challenges with his right arm and with retrieving just the right word sometimes. <br /> Despite these personal hardships, Cubell said it was “bashert,” meaning meant to be.<br /> She loves being a rabbi, she said. “It’s my passion.”<br /> Cubell is a new kind of rabbi.<br /> “What people need from a rabbi has changed. The family unit is no longer together,” Cubell said. People connect more through their kids’ friends at school or at extracurricular activities than they do any other way, Cubell said. <br /> “But the children all have cell phones and they don’t talk anymore, they text.” Cubell said she knows a woman who texts her son in the next room to tell him dinner is ready. It’s a different world. <br /> She doesn’t blame technology; she embraces it. “We use technology to keep in touch with our congregation,” Cubell said. <br /> If social media are the best way to get and stay connected in 2016, she’s in with both thumbs. And if you doubt that you too are searching for “connection,” ask your Facebook friends or go count your LinkedIn endorsements. The more you have, the more connected you are, right? <br /> “We host ‘meet-ups,’” she said, referring to the popular website meetup.com, which connects people who share the same interest. “There are a lot of lonely people out there, and some people aren’t comfortable going into a big synagogue with a large congregation. Maybe it’s been a long time since they’ve gone. Maybe they don’t know Hebrew and don’t want to be embarrassed.” <br /> At Beit Kulam it’s different. <br /> “We’re a small, congenial congregation. We provide a place for making friends, for making a real connection. We know that’s what’s important. There are a lot of unaffiliated Jewish families in our area and I want to reach out to them.” <br /> They use music to connect to new people, because music is a universal language. It puts people at ease. Cubell’s musical team includes Cantor Geniene Miller, who performed with Cubell at Temple Beth Shira, before they decided to fly solo.<br /> “I’m a different type of rabbi,” Cubell said. “My door is always open, and it’s open to everyone. There’s no pretense here.”<br /> The congregation has about 80 members and 30 or 40 people still come to services each week at Cubell’s home. It’s cozy, but it will have to do until she finds a suitable permanent home. <br /> Don’t let the crowded conditions intimidate you. Seating might be a little tight, but you’ll be among friends.<strong><br /></strong> <em> For more information, visit <a href="http://www.cbkulam.org">www.cbkulam.org</a>.</em></p></div>St. Lucy Catholic Church fashion show: Via Mizner Golf & Country Club, Boca Raton — Feb. 23https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/st-lucy-catholic-church-fashion-show-via-mizner-golf-country-club2016-03-02T16:58:30.000Z2016-03-02T16:58:30.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960627273,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960627273,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960627273?profile=original" /></a><em>Sleeves To Go model Susan Costanza walks the runway during the church’s</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>44th annual fundraising luncheon and fashion show.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p></div>Religion: St. Paul’s new rector awed by his good fortunehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-st-paul-s-new-rector-awed-by-his-good-fortune2016-02-03T15:23:36.000Z2016-02-03T15:23:36.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960631858,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960631858,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960631858?profile=original" /></a><em>Father Paul Kane, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, participates</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>in Delray Beach’s Martin Luther King Day Walk to City Hall.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Janis Fontaine<br /><br /></strong> If you come to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach and ask to speak to the chief shepherd, they’ll introduce you to Father Paul Kane.<br /> He was recently named rector of the church, a role that calls him to preach, teach and outreach. <br /> As the new face of St. Paul’s, Kane, 50, is tall and broad-shouldered; a people person, friendly and welcoming. <br /> One wall in his office is filled with books, the shelves recently dusted. He doesn’t want to sit behind his big desk. He prefers the sofa and armchair.<br /> Kane’s job in a nutshell is “the pastoral care of the congregation.” He’s responsible for bringing good quality preaching to the church, and that’s what he loves most about the job. Preaching brings more sheep to the fold, and attracting new members is critical to the sustainability of St. Paul’s. <br /> “We don’t welcome people who are Episcopalians. We welcome people because we’re Episcopalians,” Kane said. <br /> Once Kane has potential new members in the pew, their education begins. He does this when preaching, of course, but new worshipers interested in joining the church can attend a class called the Foundations of Faith, which covers the basics of the Episcopal religion. <br /> Ultimately, members are recruited to support the church’s charities and outreach programs. They provide the money and the energy, the creativity and the labor.<br /> Kane calls the strong and vibrant people in the community to satisfy the church’s primary purpose: “To support the poor and the needy,” he says, “and to offer services that meet the fundamental needs of the congregation,” whether they are physical, financial, emotional or spiritual. <br /> Kane was born in Chicago, the fifth of seven children. His parents were high school sweethearts and devout Catholics who moved to Miami when he was 9. <br /> In Catholic families, it’s an honor to raise a son to become a priest. Kane earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from La Salle University in Philadelphia in 1987, and he worked in sales management for Amscan Inc. and Berwick Industries until he entered the seminary. <br /> In 1995, he earned his master’s in systematic theology, followed by a master of divinity in 1996, both from St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. <br /> He began his career as a Catholic priest in South Florida at Little Flower Catholic Church in Hollywood, then at St. Timothy’s in Kendall and finally at St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Pompano Beach. <br /> But in 2010, after 14 years, he decided to leave the priesthood. He had become unable to support some of the church’s views — two in particular: that priests cannot marry and its refusal to ordain women. <br /> It wasn’t only the intellectual theologian in him that was questioning his choices. In his heart, there was “a loneliness that led me to the conclusion that God was calling me to join the married life,” he says.<br /> After leaving the priesthood, he accepted a job with Food for the Poor, among the largest international nonprofits based in the United States. He continued to worship as a Catholic until Easter 2011, when he found his “theological convictions” aligned better with the Episcopal Church. It was an environment where marriage and priesthood were not mutually exclusive. <br /> Kane had found a new home for his faith, but a piece was still missing.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960632056,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960632056,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960632056?profile=original" /></a><em>Kane left the Catholic church in part because its priests cannot marry. He met his wife, Irene, shortly after.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo provided</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> Then he met his wife, Irene, a health care administrator, at a dinner party. The two became friends and eventually started dating. They fell in love and were married on Jan. 7, 2012, at St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Coral Springs. <br /> “In marrying Irene, I became stepfather to her daughter Ingrid, who is now 21 years old,” Kane said.<br /> A month later, after much prayer and preparation, Kane and his wife were both received into the Episcopal Church. Kane says that being called to marry and to know, personally, the love of a woman and a family have helped him grow. <br /> His “journey from Rome to Canterbury was a process of personal and professional conversion,” Kane said, “but I never stopping feeling the need to serve God as a priest.” <br /> Shortly after joining the church, Kane began the process of being received as an Episcopal priest. “I longed for preaching,” Kane said. <br /> It took just over a year for the former Father Paul the Catholic to become Father Paul the Episcopalian, in June 2013. <br /> He was put in charge of St. James-of-the-Hills Episcopal Church in Hollywood. Kane was happy. Friends who heard about the opening at St. Paul’s began to encourage him to apply. When the job went unfilled and the church announced it was still accepting applications, at more urging of his friends, he reconsidered. <br /> Kane talked it over with Irene. He wanted to be sure she wanted to take on the responsibilities of a rector’s wife. Her 18-year career at Tenet Healthcare was important to her. <br /> Ultimately they decided he should apply. Kane threw his hat in the ring, as had almost 50 others. He was one of four finalists brought in for a three-day visit to preach and meet the staff and vestry in person. <br /> Kane says the fact that the search committee and vestry took a long time to decide made him feel confident about the church. It was the sign, he says, of a healthy congregation.<br /> When the Right Rev. Peter Eaton, bishop of the Diocese of South Florida, invited Kane to take the position, it was an easy decision.<br /> Now, when Kane goes home to Boca Raton at the end of the day, he’s got a loving wife, a lovely stepdaughter and even a dog — a feisty 14-year-old Maltese/shih tzu mix named Yango — waiting for him. <br />Even the priest seems awed by his good fortune. “The well doesn’t go dry,” Kane said. “It grows.”</p></div>Religion: Advent Lutheran parishioners share how they used 'benevolence money'https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-advent-lutheran-parishioners-share-how-they-used-benevol2015-12-29T19:34:47.000Z2015-12-29T19:34:47.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p>Here are some of the stories about how the money was used, in ways both large and small. The donors want to remain anonymous:<br /> <br /> • I started a “Go-Fund-Me” website with my $20 and to date have raised $1,000 for the Village of Hope in Haiti.<br /><br /> • We quadrupled the $20 Advent gift we received in our brick and purchased a large gift basket which was delivered to the city of Delray Police Department with the note reading “Blue Lives Matter, you have our support and prayers.”<br /><br /> • We received $20. We are adding our own money and sponsoring and cooking a pancake and sausage breakfast for our “Bring a Friend to Church Sunday.”<br /><br /> • I am using my brick money as seed money to make “care bags” for the homeless: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, water bottles, cookies, toothbrushes, etc.<br /><br /> • I doubled my $20 brick money and sent it to Project HOPE for a special appeal which multiplied it 105 times, providing $9,450 in medical supplies. <br /><br /> • The $20 that was in my brick was matched with an extra $20 I had this past month. To date, I have been able to grow the original $20 into $160, with a promise of another $40 to add to it from my photo sales. This might not seem like much, but to someone on Social Security, I think it’s a lot.<br /><br /> • I deliver meals for Boca Helping Hands on Saturdays. I took the $50 bill I received in my brick and turned it into five $10 bills. I put $10 in five envelopes and gave them to five of the families I deliver meals to. I explained where the money came from and prayed with each family. <br /><br /> • We added $20 to the $20 and used that $40 to buy $79.80 worth of food at Publix (with buy-one-get-one and coupons) to donate to the food drive at my son’s elementary school. <br /><br /> • We used the money from our second brick to provide dinner to our local firehouse, Squad 54. I wish you could have been there to see how surprised and grateful they were. They had been out on calls all day and were wondering what they were going to do for dinner when we showed up. God is always in the right place at the right time! The owner of Davito’s was so impressed about our “Church Without Walls” campaign that he donated salad and rolls to go along with the meatballs and ziti.<br /> <br /> • Wonderful Patty works shampooing clients at a modest hair salon and has for many years. She lives paycheck to paycheck and yet always has a beautiful, warm smile for clients, never complaining. If she is having a bad day, you would never know. She always thanks God for what she has and for her large family. Patty had tears in her eyes when I hugged her and gave her our “Tear Down the Walls” money. <br /><br /> • “We gave 4½ times our initial money to a single mom with a little girl who had surgery. She will be out of work for four weeks and does not get that much sick and vacation time so this will help with some of those days she won’t get paid for.<br /><br /> • We multiplied the amount received to make it a total of $140. We then put $20 in seven envelopes with the following note: “We were given a gift and we decided to share it with others. Please accept this $20 as a gift to you. May it make you smile and brighten your day. If this has brought you joy, please share these feelings with others!!” Then we went to Publix in Delray and (after clearing this with the assistant manager of the store) we walked around the store handing out the envelopes to people. Everyone was surprised. Of course, we were the ones who gained the most from this experience.</p>
<p><br /><em>— Janis Fontaine</em></p></div>Religion: Charity, multipliedhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-charity-multiplied2015-12-29T19:30:00.000Z2015-12-29T19:30:00.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-6" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Parishioners turn a Boca church’s $8,000</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-6" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">into $30,000 in donations to others in need</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-6" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960622485,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="550" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960622485,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960622485?profile=original" /></a></span><em>The Munson family, (clockwise from front) Pierce, Emerson, Melinda, Ken and Paula,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>hold their bricks. Members of Advent Lutheran Church were given play bricks</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>containing cash ranging from $20 to $100, with the sole instruction to use it to ‘break down a wall.’</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo provided</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/religion-advent-lutheran-parishioners-share-how-they-used-benevol"><strong>Related story:</strong> Parishioners share stories of how they used the money</a></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Janis Fontaine<br /> <br /></strong> In November, the leadership at Advent Lutheran Church in Boca Raton came up with a clever way to shake things up among its congregation. <br /> One Sunday morning, church members and visitors arrived to find a wall of brightly colored cardboard preschool bricks stacked in the sanctuary. During the service, members were invited up to choose a brick. Inside, they found money — cash! — in amounts varying from $20 to $100. <br /> “The pastors told the congregation that $8,000 in benevolence dollars were being handed out to them to do with as they were led by God,” Pastor Andrew Hagen said. “The only rule was that they had to use the money to ‘break down a wall’ that was preventing someone from experiencing the abundant life Jesus came to bring us. <br /> “They could keep the money if they needed it. They could donate the money to their favorite cause, inside or outside the church. Or they could find a way to build it into more money.”<br /> It wasn’t the first time this had happened, but it was the first time at Advent. <br /> “A lot of churches do this,” Hagen said. “We had a pretty good year and our theme for the year was ‘A Church Without Walls.’ We wanted to really get people involved with making the decisions about where the money should go.”<br /> What they did was jump-start an explosion of random acts of kindness. <br /> People immediately began talking about it, Hagen said. “It was like, ‘We’re all in this together.’” <br /> It built a bond among the church members. <br /> Over the next month, the church continued buzzing with people talking about how and when and where to use their dollars. There was a lot of discussion about what “wall-breaking” meant. Families sat down together and debated the best way to use the money. <br /> People behaved very differently toward that free $20 bill than they did with an identical bill out of their wallet, Hagen said. “It was like it was sacred money, and they had to take great care to give it back.”<br /> Some people made the decision quickly, in most cases matching the funds with their own and donating the money to known church charities, including Lutheran World Relief, the Village of Hope in Haiti, and Lutheran Church of South Sudan for its “$40 for 40 Seminarians Campaign.”<br /> Others returned the money to the church, often with an additional donation of their own, because they trusted the pastors to make the best use of the money. <br /> Some people used the money to help people in their own community, while some helped people continents away. <br /> “It’s impossible to assess the total impact of this program,” Hagen said. “But we believe that the $8,000 was multiplied to over $30,000 in donations to this point.” <br /> And some plans haven’t yet come to fruition. That number still could grow.</p></div>Religion Calendarhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-calendar-32015-12-02T18:23:37.000Z2015-12-02T18:23:37.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em>Note: Events are current as of 11/27. Please check with organizers for any changes.</em><br /><br /><strong>December 6-12</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /><strong>Sunday - 12/6 - The Evolution of the Torah Over 3000 Years</strong> at Temple Sinai, 2475 W Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach. Dr. Leon Weissberg, Judaic studies scholar. 1 pm. $5. 276-6161; templesinaipbc.net<br /><strong>12/6 - Share Our Light 1st Night Chanukah Concert</strong> at Temple Sinai, 2475 W Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach. Noted Judaic studies scholar Dr. Leon Weissberg. 5:30 pm. $5/adults; free/children under 16. 276-6161; templesinaipbc.net<br /><strong>12/6 - Life Teen</strong> at St Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church, 840 George Bush Blvd, Delray Beach. Comprehensive youth ministry program; dinner included. Every Sun 6:45-8:30 pm. Free. 276-6892 x330; stvincentferrer.com<br /><strong>12/6 - Christmas Collage: Christmases of Past and Present</strong> at First United Methodist Church, 625 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. 7 pm. Free. 395-1244; fumcbocaraton.org<br /><strong>Tuesday - 12/8 - 7th Annual YMCA of the Palm Beaches Prayer Breakfast</strong> at The Breakers, 1 S County Rd, Palm Beach. Keynote speaker Dr. Ben Carson. 7:45-9:15 am. $80/person; $500/premium. 968-9622; ymcapalmbeaches.org<br /><strong>12/8 - Lectio Divina (Divine Prayer)</strong> at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Traditional Benedictine practice of scriptural reading, meditation, prayer. Every T 9-10 am. Free. 276-4541; stpaulsdelray.org<br /><strong>12/8 - Catholic Grandparents Meeting</strong> at Ascension Church, 7250 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. All welcome. Second T 10-11:30 am. Free. 289-2640; diocesepb.org<br /><strong>12/8 - Rector’s Bible Study</strong> at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Every T 10:30 am & Th 7-8:30 pm. Free. 276-4541; stpaulsdelray.org<br /><strong>12/8 - Bible Study</strong> at St. Mark Catholic Church, 643 St. Mark Pl, Boynton Beach. Every T 7-8 pm through 5/31/16. $10/free will offering for study guide. 736-7812; stmarkboynton.com<br /><strong>12/8 - Bible Study</strong> at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church Kellaghan Hall, 840 George Bush Blvd, Delray Beach. Every T 7-9 pm. 276-6892; stvincentferrer.com<br /><strong>Wednesday - 12/9 - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Bible Study</strong> at Panera, 1701 S Federal Hwy, Delray Beach. Read, discuss upcoming Lesson and Gospel readings. Every W 8-9 am. Free. 276-4541; stpaulsdelray.org<br /><strong>12/9 - Wonderful Wednesdays</strong> at First Presbyterian Church, 33 Gleason St, Delray Beach. Theme: “God’s Creation.” All ages. Every W 5:45 pm dinner; 6:30 pm program. $7/adult; $5/child; $20/max per family. Reservations: 276-6338; firstdelray.com<br /><strong>12/9 - Rector’s Bible Study</strong> at St Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. Every W 6 pm supper (soup and salad, donation requested); 7 pm Bible study (free). 395-8285; stgregorysepiscopal.org<br /><strong>Thursday - 12/10 - Prayer Circle</strong> at Trinity Lutheran Church Courtyard, 400 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Every Th 8:05 am. 278-1737; trinitydelray.org<br /><strong>Friday - 12/11 - Women’s Bible Study Group</strong> at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church Youth House, 266 NE 2nd St, Boca Raton. Every F 9:15 am. 395-8285; stgregorysepiscopal.org<br /><strong>Saturday - 12/12 - Month’s Mind Requiem Mass</strong> at Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery Outdoor Chapel, 10941 Southern Blvd, Royal Palm Beach. Feast of prayerful remembrance for departed souls. Second Sat 10 am. Free. 793-0711; diocesepb.org<br /><strong>12/12 - Live Nativity</strong> at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1480 Knuth Rd, Boynton Beach. The Bible story from Luke, interfaith choirs, more. 4:30-9 pm. 737-1588.<br /><strong>12/12 - A St. Gregory’s Christmas Concert</strong> at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. 7-9 pm. $35/person; $10/student w/valid ID. 395-8285; stgregorysepiscopal.org</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><strong>December 13-19</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Sunday - 12/13 - Handbell Concert at First United Methodist Church</strong> of Boynton Beach, 101 N Seacrest Blvd. 4 pm. Free but love offering accepted. 954-947-1951 <br /><strong>Friday - 12/18 - Parents of St. Gregory’s</strong> at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. Potluck dinner, topic discussion (targeted to young parents with children ages 2-13), group feedback, childcare available. Third F 6-8 pm. Free. 395-8285; stgregorysepiscopal.org<br /><strong>Saturday - 12/19 - Special Advent Day of Reflection</strong> at Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center, 1300 US Hwy One, North Palm Beach. Sr. Roberta Popara and Deacon Dennis Demes. 10 am. $30. 626-1300; ourladyofflorida.org</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><strong>December 20-26</strong></p>
<p><strong>Sunday - 12/20 - Christmas Cantata</strong> at First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach, 101 N Seacrest Blvd. 8:30 & 11 am. Free. 954-947-1951<br /><strong>Thursday - 12/24 - Christmas Eve with The Journey Church</strong> at Mizner Park Amphitheatre, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. 3, 4:30, or 6 pm. Free. bocajourney.com/Christmas<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve at Journey Church South Florida</strong>, 715 S Federal Hwy, Boynton Beach. Snow experience after final service. 3, 5, & 7 pm. Free. 616-8389; gojourneychurch.com<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve Mass</strong> at St Mark Catholic Church, 643 St. Mark Pl, Boynton Beach. 4 pm early Mass; 5:45 pm Children’s Mass; 7:30 pm Spanish Mass; 9:15 pm Carols of the Season; 10 pm Solemn Mass of Christmas Eve. Free. 734-9330; stmarkboynton.com<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve Mass</strong> at St.Vincent Ferrer, 840 George Bush Blvd, Delray Beach. 4 & 9 pm evening Mass. 5:30 pm Children’s Mass. Free. 276-6892; stvincentferrer.com<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve Services</strong> at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. 4 pm family service featuring children’s pageant; 7 pm lessons and carols; 10:30 pm Midnight Mass musical prelude; 11 pm Mass. Free. 395-8285; stgregorysepiscopal.org<br /><strong>12/24 - Family Christmas Pageant/Musical</strong> at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 5 pm. Free. 278-6003; stpaulsdelray.org<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve Services</strong> at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 5 pm family service: Christmas pageant and musical by parish members; children act out the traditional Christmas story; 7:30 & 11 pm Candlelight service, music by St. Paul’s choir, instrumental ensemble, traditional carols. Free. 276-4541; stpaulsdelray.org<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve Candlelight Services</strong> at Unity of Delray Beach, 101 NW 22nd St. 6, 8, & 11 pm; 11 pm adults only. Free. 276-5796; unityofdelraybeach.org<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve Service</strong> at Lakeview Baptist Church of Delray Beach, 2599 N Swinton Ave. 6 pm. Free. 276-3937<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve Candlelight Services</strong> at First Presbyterian Church, 33 Gleason St, Delray Beach. 7, 8, & 9:30 pm. Free. 276-6338; firstdelray.com<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve Service</strong> at First United Methodist Church, 625 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. 5 pm family service; 7 pm traditional (west chapel) and contemporary (east chapel ) services; 9 pm traditional service (east chapel). Free. 395-1244; fumcbocaraton.org<br /><strong>12/24 - Christmas Eve Candlelight Services</strong> at First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach, 101 N Seacrest Blvd. 7 & 11 pm. Free. 954-947-1951<br /><strong>12/24 - The Avenue Church Christmas Eve Service</strong> at The Pavilion at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Some chairs provided; bring chairs, blankets. 6 pm music; 7-8:30 pm service. Free. 997-5486.<br /><strong>Friday - 12/25 - Christmas Mass</strong> at St.Vincent Ferrer, 840 George Bush Blvd, Delray Beach. 7, 8:30, 10, & 11:30 am. Free. 276-6892; stvincentferrer.com<br /><strong>12/25 - Christmas Holy Eucharist</strong> at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. 10 am. Free. 395-8285; stgregorysepiscopal.org<br /><strong>12/25 - Christmas Holy Eucharist Service</strong> at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Sermon, traditional carols. 10:45 am hymn sing; 11 am service. Free. 278-6003; stpaulsdelray.org</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><strong>Dec. 27 - Jan. 2</strong></p>
<p><strong>Thursday - 12/31 - New Year’s Eve Reflection & Celebration</strong> at Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center, 1300 US Hwy One, North Palm Beach. Presentation by Br. Ed Hall, CP. Presentation, reconciliation, Mass, midnight party. 6 pm registration; 7 pm dinner. $80/overnight; $60/evening only. 626-1300; ourladyofflorida.org</p></div>