A&O Meetup in Oklahoma, July 7-9, 2011

ALPHA OMEGA ARTSBy Ernest Disney-BrittonEsther's Scroll in "Passages" at the Oklahoma City Museum of ArtOKLAHOMA - Creating memorable moments with sacred art, Alpha Omega Arts journeys to Oklahoma City this July 7-9, for the largest exhibition ever on the Holy Bible. The interactive exhibit, "Passages" features original materials and robotics to bring the stories to life as never before. See this exhibition in its entirety before it is shipped in...

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Theater Review: "Skinwalking" at Harvard U

THE HARVARD CRIMSONMarch 29, 2011MASSACHUSETTS - Artwork about religion is never neutral. There is always some message that the artist feels the need to communicate with his or her audience. This is not a bad thing: some of the greatest artwork ever created was prompted by the desire to communicate intense feelings of spirituality. Even outside the category of explicitly religious works, art has been used to express and explain philosophies from atheism to multi-culturalism. “Skinwalking,” the senior thesis of writer and director Cecelia A. Raker...

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Disney's Mystical "Brave" Releases Artworks

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLYMarch 28, 2011CALIFORNIA - Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios and Pixar's Brave is set in the mystical Scottish Highlands, where Merida is the princess of a kingdom ruled by King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). An unruly daughter and an accomplished archer, Merida one day defies a sacred custom of the land and inadvertently brings turmoil to the kingdom. In an attempt to set things right, Merida seeks...

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David Altmejd’s Gorgeous Gothic at Andrea Rosen Gallery

THE NEW YORK TIMESMarch 28, 2011"The Vessel" (2011) by David AltmejdNEW YORK - As a mediator of the sacred and the profane, Altmejd makes every object a thing of beauty, the driving force of his work. “For me the grotesque is necessary to understand beauty,” he said the other day. “Things that are pure, I can’t feel them. They have to be infected or else they don’t exist — they don’t have a presence.” “The Vessel,” a 20-foot-long plexiglass diorama...

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John Martin's Heaven and Hell at Laing Art Gallery

THE TELEGRAPHMarch 28, 2011"Belshazzar’s Feast" by John MartinUNITED KINGDOM - When the 19th-century visionary painter John Martin exhibited his best known canvas Belshazzar’s Feast at the British Institution in February 1821, the 8ft high and 5ft long picture had to be cordoned off to keep the crowds at arm’s length. For Belshazzar’s Feast is painting as theatre. As much as it is about art, the Laing Art Gallery’s retrospective of Martin’s work...

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French Church & State Co-exist in Chicago

CHICAGO SUN TIMESMarch 30, 2011ILLINOIS - “Kings, Queens and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France,” which recently opened at the Art Institute of Chicago, highlights one such glorious moment in history. It runs through May 30, and a hint of just how good this show is: the rare loan of “The Madonna of the Yarnwinder” by Leonardo da Vinci and his assistants, is not even the exhibit’s centerpiece. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries,...

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Miami muralist Serge Toussaint brightens Miami’s neighborhoods

MIAMI HERALDMarch 29, 2011"Madonna & Child" by Serge Toussaint FLORIDA - Artist Serge Toussaint — the man behind dozens of multi-colored murals and signs in Miami’s urban neighborhoods. The Haitian-born Toussaint — muralist, sign painter, visual storyteller, son of Little Haiti — has spent nearly two decades brushing walls and storefronts, underpasses and pillars with a rainbow of hues, vibrant scenes and powerful portraits that offer a slice...

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Film Posters with Religious Overtones

HEY U GUYS UKMarch 30, 2011UNITED KINGDOM - Two unique-looking posters for Julian (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) Schnabel’s new feature, Miral, have cropped up online. The film focuses on an orphaned Palestinian girl (played by Slumdog Millionaire’s Freida Pinto) growing up in the wake of Arab-Israeli war, who finds herself drawn into the conflict. The posters successfully blend a graphic art feel with religious overtones, resulting in two striking...

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Chris Ofili's "The Holy Virgin Mary"

YALE DAILY NEWSMarch 29, 2011NEW JERSEY - Some artists are known for their use of watercolor, others are famous for their acrylic pieces. British painter Chris Ofili, meanwhile, is renowned for using a different artistic material: elephant dung. Ofili, famous for his use of elephant dung on his paintings, gave a lecture in room 206 of the Sculpture Building at 36 Edgewood Ave. Monday night. Indeed, his works broach subjects ranging from hypersexuality,...

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An Upscale Religious Refuge Near Mexico City

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWSMarch 6, 2011MEXICO - Valle de Bravo -- a lakeside community of 57,000 in the pine-covered hills two hours west of Mexico City -- feels almost quintessentially small-town Mexico. A dusty half-hour drive later, we arrived at our destination: a gleaming white stupa encircled by the bright, primary colors of Tibetan prayer flags. The temple, consecrated in December by the Tibetan cultural association Garuda Mexico, is the tallest in the Western Hemisphere, my guides claimed. The next day, we visited Valle de Bravo's oldest church,...

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Sculpting Biblical Scenes With Soap, Coffee, Floor Wax

THE CATHOLIC TRANSCRIPTMarch 30, 2011Bible-inspired soap sculptures by Ron DaisomontCONNECTICUT - During his 27 years building Broadway and movie sets, Ron Daisomont learned how to work with wood, metal and a variety of other materials. His new medium: bars of Dial soap. Mr. Daisomont, who attends St. Michael Church in Waterbury, hopes to form a nonprofit organization, build a Web site and sell his sculptures at church bazaars to raise...

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Haitian Art at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design

PROVIDENCE JOURNALMarch 29, 2011RHODE ISLAND - “Reframing Haiti: Art, History and Performativity” is a vibrant celebration of Haitian art and culture organized by Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. One of the highlights of the exhibit — a selection of the sequin-studded “flags” created for Haiti’s voodoo temples — is housed in one of the weekday-only buildings (the Bass Performing Arts Space). Nevertheless, the display is worth seeking out. If one art form can be said to capture the unique blend of earthy exuberance and deep...

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US Eastern Spirituality as a Group Show at the Copy Cat

RADAR REDUXMarch 29, 2011MARYLAND - The group show Venn Diagram, which consists of drawings, paintings, video and interactive works is currently on view on the fifth floor of the Copy Cat building. Several of the works in the show convey a preoccupation with the eastern spirituality. A persistent concern with eastern spirituality has been in evidence in Baltimore art for a couple years. The spiritual has a funny relationship to visual culture. Spiritual belief or practice is made known through visible signs – religious garments, religious tokens,...

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A "Saint John's Bible" Purchase for Loyola U

THE CATHOLIC REVIEWMarch 29, 2011"Birth of Christ"MARYLAND - A Heritage Edition of the “Saint John’s Bible,” a fine art reproduction of a handwritten text, will be on display at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore during an evening of prayer and reflection April 5, from 7 to 9 p.m., courtesy of Loyola University Maryland, College of Notre Dame of Maryland and a gift to those institutions from...

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Atta Kim rinses off "Ice Buddha" at Rubin Museum of Art

WALL STREET JOURNALMarch 28, 2011NEW YORK - “Ice Buddha,” South Korean artist Atta Kim’s five-and-a-half feet tall, 1,300-pound ice sculpture of a seated Buddha is now on display at the Rubin Museum of Art. That is, until it melts. Until now, much of Kim’s work has centered on long exposure photography. (He was the first photographer chosen to represent South Korea in the São Paulo Biennial in 2002.) As an encore to his current group exhibition,...

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St John the Evangelist Catholic Church | IN

ALPHA OMEGA ARTSBy Ernest Disney-BrittonINDIANA---The youthful, Father Rick Nagel led an energetic Ash Wednesday mass at the amazing Saint John's the Evangelist Church (est. 1837) in downtown Indianapolis, the city's original Catholic parish and former Pro-Cathedral. St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church is an 1860s brick and stone Gothic Revival design. The grand and richly ornate interior, with dark woods and gold-leafing throughout stems from the idea that this church would soon become the Cathedral of Indianapolis. There is so much to...

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Testing Member Solicitation

Dear:As you know, I am writing to invite you to join me on a journey with art. I believe that art can connect us across faiths and communities, and as executive director of the Alpha Omega Arts, Inc. one of the ways we are doing this is through our Sunday newsletter. Each week we synthesize the religious & spiritual news across the USA, and around the world and send it to our subscribers by email. The artists we cover are of many faiths: Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic, etc. I hope you will join me on this journey...

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Franciscan Friars Launch Website About Holy Land Shrines

GOD DISCUSSIONMarch 28, 2011ISRAEL - For the past 800 years, the Franciscan friars have been committed by the Holy See for the preservation and guardianship of all Catholic shrines in the Holy Land. They have nearly a millennium of experience in welcoming pilgrims to the shrines of Israel and the surrounding areas. They have now made their extensive knowledge available on the Internet at their website called "Custodia TerrÆ SanctÆ", which is available in six languages. The site explains their work, the shrines, and available pilgrimages in the...

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Ancient Holy Art: The Mandala

THE STARMarch 27, 2011An artist at the Mandala Thanka Painting School in Kathmandu working on a peace mandala. INDIA - Mandalas are one of the oldest holy art forms known to humanity; the basic design, the circle and centre, represents completeness.The designs can help guide any person seeking happiness and fulfilment because they assist the seeker to wholeness and contentment. There was complete stillness when I stepped into the Mandala Thanka Painting...

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Art Review: A Spiritual Connection

THE NEW YORK TIMESMarch 25, 2011MARYLAND - “Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe” at the Walters Art Museum here is the most beautifully mysterious exhibition I’ve seen this season. It’s also a model of institutional sharing. The Walters, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the British Museum, all with deep medieval holdings, have combined their forces brilliantly. [li...

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Meditations Meet Art in New Book

TIMES OF MALTAMarch 9, 2011MALTA - An art book released in March fuses literature, painting, photography and spirituality just in time for the reflective time of Lent. Via Crucis, a publication by the Divine Mercy Shrine in San Pawl tat-Tarġa, is based on the paintings of the Stations of the Cross found at the church, each accompanied by meditations prepared by Fr Peter Serracino Inglott. The publication, according to the shrine’s rector, Fr Michael...

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Pakistani Govt Engages Shrines in Fighting Extremism

THE INTERNATIONAL NEWSMarch 25, 2011PAKISTAN - The government in Sindh has adopted a strategy to convince the caretakers of the shrines of Sufi saints to help stop the fresh wave of extremism in the province, believing they (caretakers) have influence over 85 percent of the population and may play a key role in helping the government to deal with the crisis. These views were expressed by Senior Minister Pir Mazharul Haq on the occasion of the Sakhi...

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Awe-Struck in India: Bustling Streets and Dazzling Shrines

BOSTON HERALDMarch 28, 2011INDIA -After adjusting to its raucous rhythm, India was rewarding. From the enormous red Agra Fort, almost more magnificent than the Taj Mahal, to the lavish gold-embroidered saris of women on their way to a Delhi wedding, the sights were beautiful. I saw richly decorated tombs, palaces, mosques and temples, where most tourists were Indians, clearly proud of their heritage. Inside, even at the busy Taj Mahal, crowds were orderly, lines moved quickly, people were friendly and the centuries-old buildings were spotless....

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Trucker Who Destroyed Art at Museum Launches Website

COLORADOANMarch 29, 2011COLORADO - A website purportedly operated by Kathleen Folden, the Montana truck driver who destroyed an Enrique Chagoya lithograph at the Loveland Museum/Gallery last year, describes how she bought a crowbar at the Flying J in Cheyenne, Wyo., and asked God if she was "the right person for the job." The site, http://www.givegodlove.com/, also attacks the local evangelical Pastor who brought about a reconciliation with the artist. Additionally, Folden says the rapture might take place May 14 and names Bill Gates as the person...

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Art challenges Tunisian revolutionaries

ALJAZEERRAMarch 25, 2011TUNISIA - The Artocracy project, featuring photos of ordinary Tunisians, has proven art can be just as provocative as politics. It is led by JR, the 2011 winner of the TEDPrize. [li...

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Art museum conserves Tiffany church windows

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRERMarch 25, 2011"To the Honored Memory of Robert Mitchell (1811-1899)." / Provided/Amy Dehan/Cincinnati Art MuseumOHIO - For more than 100 years, the three angels and one Christ figure depicted in the four, life-sized Tiffany stained-glass windows watched over weddings, funerals, baptisms and Sunday morning services. Only half of Tiffany's religious-themed windows, commissioned during the church-building boom at the turn of the...

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Dance Review: Sacred Art and Ritual of Hawaiian Hula

THE NEW YORK TIMESMarch 27, 2011Halau o Keikiali’i The traditional Hawaiian dance troupebrought the hula to Symphony Space on Saturday.NEW YORK - At Halau o Keikiali’i’s presentation of “The Sacred Hula: Ka Wa Hula — Hula Through Time,” on Saturday night at Symphony Space, the dance suggested gentleness, sensuousness, playfulness and a belief in the simultaneity of the past and the present — that those who came before you live on through memory and...

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Artist Liz Asher Bible artworks at Horsham Museum

WEST SUSSEX COUNTY TIMESMarch 27, 2011Artist Liz Asher marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible with her exhibition at Horsham MuseumUNITED KINGDOM - Horsham Museum and Art Gallery is marking the 400th anniversary of the creation of the King James Bible by exhibiting the work of Liz Asher. ‘The Power of the Word’ runs until Saturday April 30 and features a selection of early bibles on display, including a King James Bible owned...

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Mirabile Dictu: Wonderful to Relate

BETTENDORF NEWSMarch 11, 2011FRANCE - As an artist and founder of the journal “L’Art Sacre”, Father Couturier sought to integrate art and the sacred. Fr. Couturier worked closely with Matisse on the Chapel de Rosaire in Vence on the Riviera. Matisse was a lapsed Catholic, but Fr Couturier said: “Better a genius without faith than a believer with talent…Trusting in Providence, we told ourselves that a great artist is always a great spiritual...

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Mexican's Fill Pews in NYC Catholic Churches

THE NEW YORK TIMESMarch 27, 2011NEW YORK - As the Roman Catholic Church in the United States struggles with an exodus of American-born faithful, its ranks have been replenished by recent Latino immigrants — most of them Mexicans, who have brought an intense faith and a youthful energy. That buoying effect is especially evident in New York City, where the Mexican population has grown more than 25-fold since 1980. In parishes where they have settled,...

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Colossians 3:15, Hebrews 7:25

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VIDEO: GOD'S MOUNTAIN OF LOVE

FOR OVER 30-YEARS, Leonard Knight was been constructing a mountain shrine to God's love in the desert near Niland, Calif. If you can't get to the desert, you can also pick up a DVD of his artwork on Amazon. In the meantime, we think you will enjoy hearing and seeing what he has to say on this new video released by KCET this past we...

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Giving Art this Easter

BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS have been a focus for many artists for thousands of years. In 1956, Jewish painter, Marc Chagall completed his illustration of the Old Testament and made a gift of it to his second wife, Vava. For years it has been out of sight of the public and in the hands of a private collector but this week it went on view in Paris's Museum of Jewish Art and History. As you consider gifts for this Easter season,...

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The Buddha at Pier One

THE CROSS AND THE BUDDHA are two well known images. You can even pick up a copy of a Buddha statue at your neighborhood Pier One (as I found out this week), but what do Christians know about the Buddha? Is the Buddha head a religious symbol? Does it have a purpose? Is the Buddha a mystical being like Jesus Christ or a prophet like Mohammad? This week, we came across an easy to read essay by Michael Brenner, Senior Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic...

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Changing the Paris Skyline

A NEW CONTROVERSY IN FRANCE has been sparked over recently released design plans for a new Russian Orthodox Church. Critics argue it will change, and harm, the skyline of Paris. What do you think of this new house of worship? Will the design add or detract from the fabled skyline? We believe it's a pretty exciting additi...

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FOUNDATION REPORT:

BY ERNEST BRITTONIt was another great week for the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts. On the program side, we continued to finalize plans for next month's AOA Travel to the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art; and we completed a 10-month action plan with our program partners for this November's art exhibition entitled, "Faith & Death: A Youth Response." The biggest news however is that we've finally passed round #1 of the IRS review to become an independent 501C-3 foundation....

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SABBATH ART | NEWS IN REVIEW

ART OF THE WEEK:Nashville's new Hindu art exhibition (above), and other religious & spiritual arts news of the past week is listed below. If we missed anything, please let us know at sabbathart@alphaomegaarts.com. The religious art news items are grouped into four broad categories: At Home; Congregations; Galleries; and Museums. AT HOME:The Popes Philippine Chair of Miracles (Inquirer)Italian Schools to Raise High the Crucifix (The...

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God is Love at Knight's Mountain

KCET | PBSBy TAHLIBCALIFORNIA - Just east of the Salton Sea near the town of Niland, Calif. is the famous desert dwelling of Leonard Knight. There, at the entrance of the so-called Slab City, is the 50-foot tall Salvation Mountain, a 30-year (and continuing) labor of love that spans 150 feet in length. The ultimate message of this oft visited folk art installation? "God is Love." [Mo...

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Papa Mu Gallery honors Hawaiian culture and tradition

BIG ISLAND WEEKLYMarch 16, 2011"Pono" by Keoni AlvarezHAWAII - Upon walking into the Papa Mu Gallery, which is located near the center court area in the Prince Kuhio Plaza, you cannot help but feel the mana (power) emanating from this sacred art gallery. At the heart of this gallery lives the "Papamu," a grid of geometric design etched with holes in the surface of pahoehoe (flat, ropy lava), symbolizing a great time of transformation and success....

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Reopening Photo of El Greco Museum in Toldeo, Spain

ARTDAILYMarch 25, 2011SPAIN - A view of one of the halls of El Greco Museum in Toledo, central Spain, 24 March 2011. The Minister of Culture, Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde inaugurated the reopening. EPA/ISMAEL HERRERO. [li...

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Raise high the crucifix! | Italy

THE GUARDIANMarch 23, 2011ITALY - The decision of the European court of Human Rights that Italian schools may continue to display a crucifix in the classroom is obviously a victory for common sense, of which only fanatics would disapprove. But it is also, in a small way, something to help rescue the European project, and to preserve us from the wilder excesses of American political life. The idea that human rights legislation should be used to prevent children from being exposed to a crucifix is a profoundly totalitarian and superstitious...

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God's Wife Named Asherah

DISCOVERY NEWSMarch 18, 2011UNITED KINGDOM - God had a wife, Asherah, whom the Book of Kings suggests was worshiped alongside Yahweh in his temple in Israel, according to an Oxford scholar. In 1967, Raphael Patai was the first historian to mention that the ancient Israelites worshiped both Yahweh and Asherah. The theory has gained new prominence due to the research of Francesca Stavrakopoulou, who began her work at Oxford and is now a senior lecturer in the department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter. "After years of research...

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Cross-making: A Lithuanian Tradition

THE BALTIC TIMESMarch 23, 2011LITHUANIA - Cross-making intertwines archaic, Christian and Lithuanian traditions, and divinity. The art of cross-making is recognized as unique and was added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 2001. Quite ironically, Lithuania was the last country in Europe to reject paganism for Catholicism, in the 14th century, and just a few decades ago people still faced persecution for erecting crosses under the iron rule of the USSR. Nevertheless, the problems did not hinder the rise of the famed Hill of Crosses near...

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The Last 3 Shakers

RELIGION & ETHICSSeptember 17, 2010MAINE - The Shakers, the Christian group known for its devotion to God, demanding lifestyle, beautiful furniture, and a vow of celibacy. Before the Civil War there were nearly 6000 Shakers in 23 communities. Today, according to Religion & Ethics there is just one active Shaker village left, with just three members. Just above Sabbathday Lake, in central Maine, the last Shaker community straddles an old road in the midst of 1800 acres of forest and farmland. At its peak, there were nearly 200 members here....

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Feast Day: The Annunciation

Today, Friday, March 25, 2011 is a "Feast Day" in the Roman Catholic tradition and not a day a Fasting. It is the day to celebrate The Annuciation. Today the Angel speaks to Mary about the eminent coming o the Holy Spirit, and in 9 months is Christmas Day. According to the Church, today we can have "steak" to celebrate the Annunciation, which is essentially a Sunday (Little Easter) celebration on "one" of the Friday's of Lent. Tonight, I will have a burger at the Pacer game!But did you know that the Annunciation provides us with a little...

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Review: Beth Boorman's "Picturing Jesus in Art"

http://www.stlukesumc.com/After viewing, "Fallen Carpenter" (1969) by D. Jack Rader and "Celebration Window" (1999) by Minnietta Millard at St. Luke's United Methodist Church on March 20, we sat down to listen to Beth Boorman's 30-minute session on "Picturing Jesus in Art." It was great, and although I didn't buy her book (for sale in lobby) I was thrilled with how she engaged the audience, and in particular how she engaged YOU (My husband). She introduced herself as not being an artist, but a person who "becomes lost in art. It takes me places...

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Chagall's Biblical Gift to his Wife

THE WALL STREET JOURNALMarch 22, 2011"Easter" by Marc Chagall (1968)FRANCE - For years, a set of hand-colored engravings that artist Marc Chagall made for his second wife, Vava, have been out of public view, in the hands of a private collector in France. Now the engravings are on display for the first time as part of an exhibit at Paris's Museum of Jewish Art and History called Chagall and the Bible, presenting 105 engravings by Chagall to illustrate...

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Book Review: How Indian Spirituality Changed the West

RELIGION DISPATCHESMarch 23, 2011The American Veda tells the story of a new American tradition, derived from both the practices of yoga, and the philosophy of Vedanta. Phillip Goldberg names this “Vedanta-yoga,” as distinguished from other aspects of Hindu religious culture (such as the worship of multi-limbed deities) that might be less meaningful for Americans. For Goldberg, it all adds up to the slow “Vedicization” of American spirituality....

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St. John's Bible in Florida Workshop

FLORIDA TIMES UNIONMarch 25, 2011FLORIDA -  The Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine, Grace Episcopal Church and Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church to coordinate this Saturday's "Day of Immersion" at Riverside Presbyterian Church featuring "The St. John's Bible." To some it may look simply like a really big Bible, printed with a fancy font and illustrated with biblical scenes and symbols. But "The St. John's Bible" is way more than that, according...

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Jeremy Morgan of the S.F. Art Institute Mixes East with West

SF WEEKLYMarch 21, 2011Jeremy MorganCALIFORNIA - Artist Jeremy Morgan recounts the day his parents gave him "various mystical texts" including Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, the Bible, and the Koran. "All of these are possibly right," they told him. "You need to figure that out." Morgan, an associate professor of painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, has been exploring that through painting ever since. The arresting images in his large-scale abstractionist...

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Critics Love Broadway's new Morman Musical

THE NEW YORK TIMESMarch 25, 2011NEW YORK - Experiencing the “The Book of Mormon” (the musical) is a privilege of living inside that improbable paradise called a musical comedy. This is to all the doubters and deniers out there, the ones who say that heaven on Broadway does not exist, that it’s only some myth our ancestors dreamed up. I am here to report that a newborn, old-fashioned, pleasure-giving musical has arrived at the Eugene O’Neill Theater,...

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DC's National Building Museum Celebrates Hildreth Meière's Art Deco murals and mosaics

EXAMINER - DCMarch 23, 2011WASHINGTON DC - Think Art Deco, what doesn’t come to mind is who created its major murals -- and much of America’s greatest Art Deco murals, mosaics, and decorative arts -- Hildreth Meière. Washington’s National Building Museum is correcting this with a just-opened, much-deserved tribute, “Walls Speak: The Narrative Art of Hildreth Meière”, the first major retrospective of the award-winning artist’s spectacular work. Her...

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David Wojnarowicz's "Excavating the Temple of the New Gods"

ARTINFOMarch 23, 2011"Excavating the Temple of the New Gods" (1986) by  David Wojnarow...

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UNESCO urges all sides to preserve Libyan treasures

MSNBCMarch 23, 2011LIBYA - The U.N. agency in charge of the world's cultural heritage urged all sides in Libya on Wednesday to preserve the country's ancient treasures, including the former Greek colony of Cyrene and its temple of Apollo. "From a cultural heritage point of view, Libya is of great importance to humanity as a whole," Irina Bokova, head of the Paris-based UNESCO, said in a statement. While no damage has yet been reported, at least three sites were cause for particular concern due to their proximity to Tripoli and other strategic areas,...

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Religion Nearing Extinction in 9 Countries

BBC NEWSMarch 22, 2011TEXAS - A study using census data from nine countries shows that religion there is set for extinction, say researchers. The study found a steady rise in those claiming no religious affiliation. The study, reported at the American Physical Society meeting in Dallas, US, indicates that religion will all but die out altogether in those countries. The team took census data stretching back as far as a century from countries in which the census queried religious affiliation: Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland,...

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1,000 Yrs of Persian Kings

ART DAILYMarch 22, 2011Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, GermanyGERMANY -- UNESCO has designated the year 2010 as Millennium year of the Shahname. The Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin and the Berlin National Library are seizing the opportunity to introduce this literary masterpiece to the public with their world-renowned collections of Shahname manuscripts and miniature paintings. The exhibition, on view from March 19 through July 3, 2011, communicates...

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History of salvation is Juniper's delight | Australia

THE RECORDMarch 21, 2011AUSTRALIA - Depicting the history of salvation throughout the rebuilt St Patrick’s Cathedral in Bunbury is the highlight of internationally-renowned West Australian artist Robert Juniper’s career. Mr Juniper has depicted stories from the Bible for 14 seven-metre high window walls, two rose windows and a five-metre wide tapestry for the new St Patrick’s Cathedral. Mr Juniper - whose art has been presented in group...

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A Vision to Save a Philadelphia Church

WEEKLY PRESSMarch 23, 2011PENNSYLVANIA - Philadelphia's historic Church of the Assumption at 12th and Spring Garden Street is associated with two American Catholic saints, and there are not too many of those. Saint John Neumann consecrated the church, built in 1849, and Saint Katherine Drexel was baptized there. Yet the beautiful Gothic Revival church, with its aspiring twin steeples, designed by noted ecclesiastical architect, Patrick Charles Keely,...

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VIDEO NEWS: Methodist Pastor fired for not believing in Hell

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Group aims to recreate pilgrims' route to Highlands | UK

THE PRESS & JOURNALMarch 23, 2011UNITED KINGDOM - A group of history fans are trying to recreate an ancient pilgrimage route to the Highlands from Edinburgh. Back in the reign of King James IV one of the most popular shrines was to Tain-born St Duthus and today there are still close links between the ancient burgh and the Irish-educated preacher. The timescale for the route launch is 2013 to coincide with the 500th anniversary of King James's death. The Collegiate Church of St Duthac is one of the finest mediaeval buildings in the Highlands....

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Govt resolves to stop razing shrines in Mumbai | India

THE TIMES OF INDIAMarch 21, 2011INDIA - Chief minister Prithiviraj Chavan on Monday announced the suspension of a government resolution (GR) on demolition of religious structures, admitting that there were some discrepancies and lacunae in it. Now, a new policy will be formulated in its place, which will focus on 'relocation' instead of 'demolition' of religious structures on roads, pavements and public places. Till then, all demolitions will be stayed. [li...

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2 Corinthians 12:5-10

In this passage I really hear God speaking directly to me. He is letting me know that my broken pieces or imperfections are part of me and not necessarily a sin. My imperfections should not be dwelled upon or worried about. They should however allow the spirit and love of Christ shine through all that more radient. I want to wrap myself in the love and perfection that is Christ!Sent via BlackBerry by AT&am...

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BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CELEBRATES 400TH YR OF KING JAMES BIBLE

PRESS RELEASEMarch 21, 2011A copy of a Torah, with an ancient scroll of the biblical book of Esther atop itTEXAS - No Bible occupies a position in the heart of Christianity like that of the King James Version. It (2011) marks its 400th anniversary this year, and in celebration of that milestone, Baylor University will present a three-day international conference in which more than 30 noted scholars of religion will examine the Bible’s history...

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Owner of Museum of Russian Icon's holding onto artwork, for now

METRO WEST DAILY NEWSMarch 22, 2011Gordon B. Lankton at his Museum of Russian IconsMASSACHUSETTS - Digging in his heels, the founding owner of the Museum of Russian Icons has refused a disputed order to return loaned artworks four months early until Russian authorities clarify the legal basis for their claim. Gordon B. Lankton said his museum is continuing to exhibit Treasures from Moscow despite a Russian demand he immediately return 37 icons loaned...

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