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महिलाएं, नमाज, ईदगाह और हमारा बदलता समाज मेरा देश बदल रहा है का शानदार उदाहरण कि अब महिलाएं भी ईदगाह जाकर नमाज अदा कर सकेंगी. लखनऊ इस शानदार और एतिहासिक पहल का उदाहरण बनेगा. ईद की हार्दिक बधाई और ढेरों शुभकामनाएं !! ईद मुबारक !! भारतीय महिलाए और समाज – Monica Gupta महाराष्ट्र के शनि […]

The post महिलाएं, नमाज, ईदगाह और हमारा बदलता समाज appeared first on Monica Gupta.

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FAMILY BLESSINGS: Prayers, Poems, and Traditions by June Cotner & Nancy Tupper Ling.

All submissions for this book only should be emailed to:

submitATfinelinepoetsDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )

Viva Editions is publishing Family Blessings in Spring 2016. Family Blessings consists of prayers, poems, toasts, traditions, rituals, and blessings for family gatherings. Your submissions should be inspiring, uplifting, and fitting for most faith traditions. The selections in Family Blessings will cultivate gratefulness for family life while nurturing and enriching the family bond. Each one should be universal (applicable to other families) and suitable to be read aloud at family gatherings.

Preliminary chapters include: 1) All-Occasion Toasts; 2) Graces & Mealtimes; 3) Birthdays; 4) Weddings; 5) Babies & Christenings; 6) Anniversaries; 7) Graduations; 8) Housewarmings; 9) Family Reunions; 10) Memorial Services; 11) Prayers & Blessings; 12) Holidays; 13) Appreciating Siblings; 14) Family Traditions; 15) Everyday Joys; 16) Special (misc. category to include Retirement, Bon Voyage, New Job, Move, and other family-related topics); 17) Legacies; and 18) Benedictions.

Please email no more than three submissions, each as a separate Word document and within one email message. Please use "FAMILY BLESSINGS" + your last name as your subject line and suggest a chapter from the headings above for each of your submissions. If your submissions are exactly what we are seeking, you will be invited to submit more.

All submissions must be single-spaced in Times New Roman 12 with all of your contact info in the upper left corner. For desired spiritual tone, refer to my book, Baby Blessings, or you may request guidelines and samples as a Word document by emailing:

submitATfinelinepoetsDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )

Payment is one copy of the book for each published selection for non-exclusive rights. Submissions close: November 30, 2014.

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By Alyssa Bender

We print many different types of bibles here at Oxford University Press, one popular line being our Book of Common Prayer. While this text is used worldwide, you may not know about its interesting history. From the fact that there are a half a dozen books in print with this title, or perhaps that it is not so much a collection of prayers as a sort of “script” to be used, there is much you may not know about this text. Take our quiz below to learn more.

Alyssa Bender is a marketing coordinator at Oxford University Press. She works on religion books in the Academic/Trade and Reference divisions, as well as Bibles.

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The post The Book of Common Prayer Quiz appeared first on OUPblog.

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If my mom were alive today, she would thank you for coming here. So her family thanks you today. Besides prayers, the last gift that I can give our mother is a few kind words. She used to say, “If it makes you happy, do it.” And I am happy to share these words with you.


Our mother is gone, but she’s here in our hearts and memories—like Father Jim said. She’s here in her children and their spouses, grandchildren and many others. Yes, she’s here in her grandchildren. She was a “grand” mother to all of them. Whenever we closed a long distance phone call, she would add, “Give everyone a kiss for me and tell them that I love them.”


She even included our dog, Rosco, in her good wishes. Dogs held a special place in my mom’s heart because they asked for so little and gave so much. Dogs like Rudy and Lucy. Mom is here in her nieces and nephews and her friends.


So, who was this woman we call mother, sister, grandma, great-grandma or friend? She was an angel on Earth. That’s who she was. Those who used to watch “Touched By An Angel” know what I mean. This earthly angel wasn’t perfect, but she was as perfect as a person can be. She earned her angel wings by spending most of her teenage years without a father, a father who died in a fire. Her oldest brother, John, became her rock of Gibraltar, her substitute father. This lovely lass fell in love with a hard-working macho Italian man. It was a classic case of “Romeo and Juliet,” except that the relationship survived growing up in two different houses, with two different cultures and lifestyles.


In the first year of marriage, there were challenges and the background of World War Two. Out of love, my mother gave into her groom in many ways. She waited hand-and-foot on a man used to European ways of living. That’s partly how she earned her heavenly wings today. She pleased this tough macho man as much as she could because she knew that he would love her all the days of his life; that he would work hard for her and their family, as long as he could.


She knew a profound secret about him that escaped the minds of his children, even as their lives unfolded into adulthood. She knew that he wa

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Good Morning All!

What's the first thing you do when you wake up? Is it groan and moan while you reach for the snooze button? Blindly make coffee? Grumble about everything you have to do that day and how you don't want to do it? (Ok, maybe that's just me)

Do you ever take the time to wake up and appreciate the gift of each new day? To thank God for giving you such a blessing?

I know I don't. But such thanks are part of the Jewish morning prayers, a daily ritual for many Orthodox Jews, but many of us more liberal Jews don't necessarily say it, especially not every morning.

In her Sydney Taylor Honor Award winning book for Young Readers, Sarah Gershman gives families a gorgeous picture book to read in the morning, making the morning prayers, Modeh Ani, accessible for young children. Her Modeh Ani: A Good Morning Book pairs nicely with her previous book, The Bedtime Sh'ma.

I'm delighted to have Sarah Gershman here this morning to talk about her new book!

You have a bedtime book of the Sh'ma for young readers. While many Jews are familiar with the Sh'ma, they might not be as familiar with the Modeh Ani. What tips can you give to parents who want to start working this morning ritual into their lives?

There are some wonderful artistic interpretations of Modeh Ani. Find one you like and hang it over your child/ren's bed. This can serve as a beautiful reminder to being the day with this prayer of gratitude. In our family, it also helps to say it right when we first wake up, before beginning our other morning rituals (getting dressed, etc.)


How did you choose which selections from the morning prayer to include in this book? How did you decide which ones to do only in interpretation and which ones to include in Hebrew? What special considerations do you think should be taken into account when teaching religion to young children?

I tried to choose excerpts that young children would most connect to. The theme of the book is really gratitude. So I tried to find prayers that lent themselves to being interpreted as expressions of gratitude for the most fundamental blessings in our lives.

We chose only to have the Sh'ma itself in Hebrew - so to parallel with the Bedtime Sh'ma.

I have found that talking about God comes very naturally to young children. When talking to my own young children about God and religion, I try to keep it simple. There is plenty of time for later for more complex understandings.


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In lieu of an article this morning, I would like to highlight a precious author whose family could use your prayers. She recently celebrated the release of her novel, The Master’s Wall, and at a time when she should be attending author signings and book promos, Sandi Rog’s days have been spent in the care of doctors and specialists. Sandi Rog was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer (for more information please read Kathleen Maher’s Blog posting). Due to the nature of her illness, Sandy cannot promote her book in the way she may have wanted to. So may I suggest picking up a copy of The Master’s Wall for your next read and ordering a copy or two for your co-workers, friends, and family members as Christmas gifts. As you do, would you offer up a prayer for her health and for the peace of her family during this time. Thank you.

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