Dinner and Divinity - March 18th - Celebrating Spring

Around the world, millions of people celebrate Naw-Ruz (the New Year), which occurs on the first day of spring. At Dinner & Divinity, in addition to breaking our daily fast (**from March 2nd to March 20th Baha'is around the world abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset), we celebrated spring's arrival and the signs of new life beginning to appear. Also explored was the "Spiritual Springtime" - the infusion of new life into humanity through God's chosen educators (Buddha, Moses, Krishna, Christ, Muhammad, Baha'u'llah, etc). The following quotation is from Baha'u'llah's son, Abdu'l-Baha, the perfect exemplar of the Baha'i teachings:

"The earth is in motion and growth; the mountains, hills and prairies are green and pleasant; the bounty is overflowing; the mercy universal; the rain is descending from the cloud of mercy; the brilliant Sun is shining; the full moon is ornamenting the horizon of ether; the great ocean-tide is flooding every little stream; the gifts are successive; the favors consecutive; and the refreshing breeze is blowing, wafting the fragrant perfume of the blossoms. Boundless treasure is in the hand of the King of Kings! Lift the hem of thy garment in order to receive it.

If we are not happy and joyous at this season, for what other season shall we wait and for what other time shall we look? This is the time for growing; the season for joyous gathering!"

Perhaps if we look with spiritual eyes, we will see a world bursting with bounty, gifts, mercy, treasure and favors.

In honor of Saint Patty's Day, we made Irish cabbage and sausage stew!

Kate and Josh, who will be celebrating a "new life" quite soon!

Happy Spring!

Dinner and Divinity - February 18th - Food, Glorious, Food!

At this month's gathering, Alma Schneider, local community organizer, chef and blogger (www.TakeBackTheKitchen.com) led discussion on how to overcome obstacles to cooking and how to eat healthier (thanks again Alma!). After a nutritious meal of quiche, quinoa, salad, corn bread, collard greens and edamame dip, we jumped into the discussion, consisting of some excellent advice and a flowing Q&A. Finally, we proceeded to dessert, where some vegan cupcakes were annihilated (along with some other desserts). Coffee and tea, sealed the night in caffeine.

Now for some photos!

Potlucking

BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair) Sometimes, this is the case..!

Alma (left) sharing some wisdom

Isabella listening intently

The Divinity Cafe

Dinner and Divinity - January 24th - "The 'King' of Peace"

At January's Dinner and Divinity, we payed tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and turned to his words to guide us in these often divisive times (see article). His quotations are still so relevant, so necessary and so uniting. Here are some of my favorites from the night:

• "If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control."
• "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."
• "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

I hope they inspire you as much as they inspired us. Know what else inspires? Good food and friends!

Homemade pizza, pasta and salad

The challenges of eating on your knees...

The blondes chatting (blonde jokes fail with these eloquent ladies!)

Dinner and Divinity - December 17th - "Prayer"

This month's Dinner and Dinner was a twofold event. On one hand, D&D was its normal self. We had a delicious dinner (Middle Eastern meatballs - cous cous and cucumber sauce, chicken and asparagus and some Chinese dumplings [lots to choose from at these potlucks...!]). We had a diverse mix of participants and since our theme was prayer, we created a prayer list which we read during our divinity portion. We discussed the topic, got to know each other and enjoyed our selection of tasty desserts.

On the the other hand, D&D was also celebrating my last day of student teaching. Tanja did some decorating and used the night to congratulate me. It was a great way to finish off the semester! Thanks Tee!

Tanja put these little speech bubbles all over the house. They were awesome!

Dinner was great. A true potluck. Thanks everyone!

When you don't have a table, make one with your knees!

Dessert (thanks for the cookies Jessie!)

Erica, Tanja and Wink

Naseem and friends from San Francisco

Tanja even made that banner for me... from SCRATCH!

Dinner and Divinity - November 5th - "Meditation"

This week's Dinner and Divinity was led by Jessie Klein, a yoga and meditation teacher (and our friend and neighbor). After a filling dinner of lasagna, stuffed shells, chicken, garlic bread and salad, Jessie shared some of the basic concepts of meditation and led the group in a sampling of four different types of meditation: visualization, breathing, sound and reflective. We closed the night with some silence, prayer, singing, and of course - dessert!

Here are some photos from the night. Until next time...

Brenda, Jessie, Marlena

Garlic bread... ^__^

Tanja, Ollie, Chelsea

Tanja's Dad, Paul, who was visiting from Finland and me

Dinner and Divinity - October 22nd - "Coming out Spiritually"

This week's gathering was the biggest Dinner and Divinity we've ever held! 19 people cozily sat on couches, chairs and even the floor! It was a lovely and diverse group of friends.

The conversation was lead by Lisa Sargese, a religious studies professor from Montclair State University, on the topic of "Coming out Spiritually." Before getting to the topic, each participant shared their own spiritual path and where they currently feel they are. Then Lisa started the discussion, asking, "When you declare new beliefs or your interest in a different religion, how do you friends and family react? How do you respond to those reactions?" With heartfelt, honest answers, the group shared their experiences and the discussion carried into the night. The evening was capped off with a prayer for humanity and a series of seven desserts!

One - two - three - four - five ...

... six - seven - eight ...

... nine - ten - eleven - twelve... :)

Goat cheese and pear salad, Wild rice, Chicken cooked with mushrooms and tomatoes, Vegan artichoke baked pasta and a Pasta dish with a tomato and turkey sauce. Yum!

Good food and good company!

Seven different types of dessert!

Pumpkin pie, Cream puffs, Munchkins and four types of cake! (Red Velvet, Peruvian Strawberry Short, etc). Delicious!

John and Nassim having a cuddly moment with our cat Wink.

Dinner and Divinity - October 8th - "We Are God?"

For this week's D&D, a good friend of ours, rockstar / meditation leader - Mark Van Buren, shared some of his insights on the topic "We are God." Over the summer, he completed an independent study focused on the similarities between Buddhism and Christanity and came up with a paper about the need to find inner divinity. For D&D, mark put his paper into a powerpoint presentation and helped us think deeper about the reality of God and ourselves.

As always, we started our gathering with delicious food:

build-your-own Chicken Fajitas with some Potato salad on the side.

the lovely Jessie and Andrea.

Mark sharing his Power Point presentation.

The evening was brought to a lovely end with some lovely songs and drum beats...

Dinner and Divinity - September 24th - "Think With Your Soul"

This week at Dinner and Divinity, our dear friend Ally led some discussion on this interesting thought:

Often, in times of difficulty or decision making, we are encouraged to think with our head (rationally) or to think with our heart (emotionally).

Ally suggested, "What if we were encouraged to think with our soul? What would that look like?" Unlike our head and heart, the soul can not be simplified so easily. It is a divine mystery held deep inside us, manifesting itself in subtle reflections and silent moments. When we call upon our soul, how do our thoughts and actions differ?

Thanks for the engaging discussion Ally. Enjoy London for the next 7 months. We'll miss you!

Persian rice, eggplant casserole, bean salad, stew and salad. Yum.

So far, D&D's youngest participant. :D

Tanja and Ally. Cheerio mate!

Dinner and Divinity - September 11th

This week was a little different from previous times: We had a very international group of friends get together! These are some friends we met during our Year of Service in Haifa, Israel, where we worked along side people from all over the world, as well as other friends from New Jersey who had met each other in Israel as well!

Tonight was shared with Roya from Australia, Nabil from Germany/England, Matine straight from Jamaica on his way back to Seattle, James from NJ but on his way to Russia, Bahiyyah from South Carolina, Juliet who recently arrived from Niger and thrown into the mix was Tanja from Finland/Canada/NJ and Bryan, World Citizen! :-)

It was a lovely evening filled with reminiscing of the "good old days" , discussing all kinds of different and diverse spiritual topics as well as sharing some prayers.

Salad, homemade pizza and baked pasta. Italian night.

Conversing, reflecting.

So lovely to be together again!

Such strange elbows...

:)

Dinner and Divinity - August 21st - Middle Eastern Drumming

This week's gathering was a small and intimate group. For dinner, we ate salad, baked macaroni, a healthy vegetable dish and crab dip and chips. After cleaning up and conversing, we started with some drumming. This week, D&D was attended by Luis Manuel, an accomplished drummer, who teaches drumming workshops all over the State. (You can check out his website here). He led the group in several different Middle Eastern drum patterns. During a Sufi pattern, the type that Whirling Dervishes dance too, I read some mystical writings to accompany the rhythms. The spontaneous collaboration was quite beautiful.

We finished the evening with some more music and interfaith readings, followed by a delicious dessert of peach cobbler / crisp.

Here are just a few photos from the night. See you at our next gathering, September 11th at 7pm!

A Portuguese vegetable salad.

Post dinner conversation.

Luis Manuel. Check out his site and videos here.

Hasta la próxima!

Dinner and Divinity - August 8th - Multicultural Feast

Hey everyone,

Here are some pictures from this week's gathering. In summary, the evening was a bountiful feast of food and fellowship. You know, the norm. :)

Hope to see you at our next Dinner and Divinity, on August 22nd, at 7pm.

I say multicultural since we ate South American wraps, Persian potato salad, and several types of pasta.

Atridad, Robert, Kate

We also had home-made salsa fresco and chips.

Post dinner conversation and discussion.

Eric and "Wink" having a calm moment. :)