Tuesday, October 27, 2009

"Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs."

Hello friends,
Am asking for your assistance and enthusiasm here. Please pass this info to folks in your email address book, your facebook page, your twitter followers, your co-workers, your church, your friends and relatives... everyone. This matters a lot to me.

This Monday, Nov 2, I will be on Good Morning America to release "Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs." Early reviews of the book have been wonderful, and folks say there are left smiling, and re-remember why Mattie inspired us so profoundly with his words, his message, and his wit and wisdom. The book is available on online sites like amazon for pre-orders. And on Wednesday, Nov 4 at 7 pm, the book release event will take place at the White Flint Mall Borders Bookstore on Rockville Pike/North Bethesda, MD. Please visit Mattie's website (www.mattieonline.com) for info about the book and updated info about publicity.

Thank you so much my friends,
Jeni ("Mattie's mom").

Jennifer Smith Stepanek, Ph.D.
MDA National Vice President
Chair, Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation
402 King Farm Blvd. #125
Rockville, MD 20850

www.mattieonline.com
1-888-951-0008

Monday, October 26, 2009

Advent Quiet Day - Dec. 5, 2009

The Tutu Institute for Prayer & Pilgrimage
Advent Quiet Day - Incarnation: Body, Mind and Spirit – Register today!
Lead by The Reverend Mpho Tutu & Tai Chi Instructor, Raymond Franklin-Vaughn.
WHEN: December 5, 2009, 9am-4pm. Registration deadline: November 20, 2009.
WHERE: St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (Foggy Bottom) Washington, DC 20037.
PRICE: $20 (in advance) $25 (at the door). Includes Continental Breakfast, Light Lunch & Materials (no credit cards please).
For registration form and more information, visit our website http://www.tutuinstitute.org/events.html or contact us at 703-677-5642 or email info@tutuinstitute.org.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

9/11 Unity Walk - October 18th, 2009

The events of September 11, 2001 shocked the world. For a moment the world seemed poised on the edge of a question, should we fly apart in fear or can we come together as a witness for peace. The creators and participants of the first 9/11 Unity walk chose to answer the despair of those days with hope and humility. They came together as people of different faiths and no faith at all to show the world that with respect for each of our diverse beliefs we can build peace.

Each year since all the churches, temples, mosques and synagogues on Embassy Row in Washington, DC, and near Ground Zero in New York City, open their doors to continue this faithful witness. On October 18th, this year a multi-faith throng will make the march again. We walk in memory those who died on that day, and on the days after. We walk to express our belief that religion can be and is a force for good. We walk side by side with people who believe differently than we do. We walk trusting that the people we walk with have something to teach us, as we have something to teach them. We walk because we refuse to be chained by ignorance and imprisoned by fear.

Along the way, through mutual respect, we sow the seeds of true and lasting peace.

In addition to our traditional stops at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, the Islamic Center and the Gandhi Memorial, this year participants will have the opportunity to tour other houses of worship they may never have entered before. They will be able to experience some of the riches of religious expression that Washington has to offer. Participants will chant with the Soka Gakkai Buddhist Congregation; they can try turban tying at the Sikh Gudwara; they can explore the Russian Orthodox cultural festival; and they can join Baha'i musicians at the Khalil Gibran Memorial. Children are also welcome to make artistic expressions of unity at the Children's Unity Wall.

Beyond this day on which we celebrate our faiths we will continue to unite in interfaith service to our community.

In January, the Youth Service Initiative of the 9/11 Unity Walk partnered with the Earth Conservation Corps to draw an inter-religious group of 175 young people together for a clean up of the banks of the Anacostia River and inter-faith dialogue. In April, young people of many faiths from around the region gathered for a weekend of environmental service projects for poverty alleviation. In September, the Unity Walk hosted "Fast 2 Feed": over two hundred people participated in an interfaith food drive and Iftar - a dinner that marks the end of the Muslim fasting day in the Holy month of Ramadan - at the Historic Synagogue at 6th and I. That effort collected hundreds of canned goods for the Salvation Army.

It is only by celebrating our faiths and uniting to serve that we can turn our world from the bloody violence that marked 9/11 to a hope-filled place of peace for all people. We can begin by taking a first step this Sunday at the Unity Walk.

Rev. Mpho Tutu, an Episcopal priest at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Washington, DC., and the founder and executive director of the Tutu Institute for Prayer and Pilgrimage. Learn more about Sunday's Unity Walk at www.911unitywalk.org.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Don't forget about our pilgrimage-Jan. 16-29, 2010!

Please join us on our upcoming pilgrimage to South Africa, January 16-29, 2010. The registration deadline is approaching fast, October 15th! Space is still available! Visit our website for details www.tutuinstitute.org

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Please pray...

Please pray with me today for Nate, his mom, Chris and Nate's grandma at Boston Children's Hospital. Little Nate will be having his sixth brain surgery. He's not yet three years old.
M