Gathering for Passover Observance

Sunday, 17 April
5:30 pm, 618 Locust Street

Passover, observed beginning Monday night, April 18 and continuing for 7 days, is the Jewish holy observance which commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites, led by Moses, were freed from slavery in Egypt. As Dick Marine notes, "It is significant to the Jewish people because it commemorates the Jewish 'national liberation movement' somewhat similar to the Emancipation Civil Rights Movement for African Americans." Jews continue to remember and pass on the lessons from this story through the sharing of a Seder meal. This meal of remembrance has also become important to Christians because it was a Seder meal which Jesus celebrated with his disciples when he broke the bread and shared the cup before his death. The meal continues to be significant to anyone who feels the struggle for liberation for themselves and all of God's children.

It will be in this spirit that we will gather on Sunday, April 17, which is the Christian Palm Sunday, for an interfaith Seder. Dick is organizing our meal of remembrance. In addition to bringing the Seder foods for which we signed up, Dick also requests that we bring finger foods to share. For more specific information and to help with the Seder ingredients, please contact Dick.

Our offering will be designated for the UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns, an organization working to break the chains of oppression and fighting for freedom and justice for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered. Under the leadership of newly elected Executive Director Andy Lang, the Coalition's mission is "to provide support and sanctuary to all our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender sisters and brothers, their families and friends; advocate for their full inclusion in church and society; and bring Christ's affirming message of love and justice for all people."

The focus of this week's radio program Being is the book Exodus and writer Avivah Zornberg's perspective on the Israelite Exodus. Krista Tippett writes "Avivah Zornberg uncovers in Exodus a rich commentary on human nature at its best and at its worst, in the powerful and in the weak.... She reads Exodus as a tale of passion - of God's aroused attention to the enslaved people's suffering, and a subsequent longing on the part of God that mirrors the more predictable longing of human beings in the other direction."

Also from American Public Media's radio program Being comes an interview with journalists Cokie and Steven Roberts (devout Catholic and Jew, respectively) about their religiously "mixed" marriage and the importance of observing Passover. The interview is worth hearing before participating in The Gathering's Seder and can be found on Being's blog.