The Abode to Host Unity of Religious Ideals Week at New Lebanon Campus
The Abode to Host Unity of Religious Ideals Week at New Lebanon Campus
New Lebanon, NY, March 29, 2017 – The Abode of the Message will be hosting a weeklong series of events that celebrate religious unity and freedom, from April 10 – 16, at its historic 350-acre Shaker campus in the Berkshires.
“Unity of Religious Ideals Week – Freedom and Spiritual Liberty” celebrates the universalist Sufi principles of Hazrat Inayat Khan and his followers. The Abode is open to and honoring of all spiritual paths, because its Sufi tradition is universalist, based in and directly connected to the universalist Sufi spiritual transmission of Hazrat Inayat Khan.
The Abode welcomes all, and does not require affiliation, even though its mission is to live and offer the universalist Sufi teachings in relationship with nature. Universalist Sufism does not impose a view, but offers spiritual teachings and practices to awaken and catalyze one’s own spiritual path; thus, there are universalist Sufis who identify in a variety of ways — Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc., and even Sufis who only identify as such, or who do not care for any label at all.
Schedule of events
The week begins on Monday, April 10, with an exploration of Judaism in a Passover Seder, led by Netanel Miles-Yépez, Abode Spiritual Director and Pir of the Inayati-Maimuni Order, a Sufi-Hasidic tradition. The Seder will begin at 6pm in the Rezak Dining Room, prepared by Abode Kitchen Manager and Abode farmer, Evan Young.
On Tuesday, April 11, film director Megan McFeely will present a screening of her film “As She Is,” which is an intimate look at a woman’s encounter with the Feminine, with freedom, and with finding wholeness. Dinner will be at 6pm in the Rezak Dining Room and film screening at 7pm in the Abode Meditation Hall.
On Thursday, April 13, multiple activities will occur, beginning with an Abode Farm Class led by Manager of Ecology, Evan Thaler-Null, at 2:30pm. Attendees will move from farm to table with dinner at 6pm in the Rezak Dining Room. At 7pm in the Meditation Hall, Abbot Monshin Paul Naamon of Tendai Buddhist Institute, Canaan, New York, will dialogue with the Abode Spiritual Director regarding the theme of freedom and spiritual liberty within both Buddhism and Sufism.
Saturday, April 15, Yaqin Joseph Aubert, Esoteric Secretary of the Inayati Order and long-time Abode resident, will present a full-day spiritual retreat: “The Way of Illumination ~ The Path of the Heart.” In this retreat, running from 9am to 5pm and including lunch, Aubert will explore breath, zikr, meditation, and the unity of religious ideals taught by Hazrat Inayat Khan.
On Easter Sunday, April 16, the week will conclude with a Universal Worship service at 11:00 am, coordinated by Wahida Janice Young and involving a number of spiritual leaders. A celebratory Easter brunch, and an Easter Egg Hunt in the Abode’s Herb Garden will follow, beginning at 12:30pm. This day will be perfect for the whole family and all are invited and all are welcome!
The Abode was founded in 1975 by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and holds to the universal Sufism of early twentieth century Sufi teacher and mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan. The Abode honors the unity of religious ideals, that all religions are striving to “the unswerving progress in the right direction towards the ideal, which fulfills the life’s purpose of every soul.” The Abode, as an Eco-Sufi Village, is spiritual in nature, universal in message, and elemental in practice.
For further information on this event, or general information about the Abode and its programs, please contact: Ibrahím Pedriñán, Director of Programs, at 518.784.8090 x 125, programs@theabode.org
For media inquiries, please contact: Al Bellenchia, Executive Director, at 518.784.8090 x 122, director@theabode.org