Grand Valley Interfaith Network

  Dear Chevre,   Today, January 27, is Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day in 1945, the concentration camp  Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated.  Today we honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism. We commit to fighting against antisemitism and hate of any kind, which includes taking action in our backyard.   This day strikes a different chord this year as we are still feeling shockwaves from the hostage situation at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas and continue to experience the impact of rising antisemitism and attacks at synagogues over the past few years. We are not immune to such events in Colorado:  this op-ed  from the Denver Post reveals the harsh reality that there were 60 anti-semitic incidents in Colorado in 2020, and even this weekend,  antisemitic flyers were distributed in Denver and Arvada . The authors of the op-ed, representing the Anti-Defamation League, Temple Emmanuel, and JEWISHcolorado, write:    “A

  Dear  Hevre ,  ברוך אתה ה' אלוהינו חי העולמים מתיר אסורים. Barukh atah adonay eloheynu hay ha’olamim matir asurim. Blessed are you, THE REDEEMER, our God, Life of all the worlds, who frees the captives. – From the morning liturgy   What a terrible irony that on Shabbat Shirah, as Jews around the world read about the Israelites’ liberation from slavery, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and three other people were held hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas in a standoff that lasted more than 11 hours.  We breathe a sigh of relief that all the hostages were freed and are physically safe. We have tremendous gratitude for the myriad law enforcement officials who worked tirelessly and courageously toward this end, and to religious leaders and lay people from all traditions, especially many local and national Muslim leaders, who expressed their concern and solidarity throughout this ordeal. They brought to life the teaching of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.: The

Heart to Heart with Immigrants: Opportunity to Serve The Border Program at Cristo Rey: https://youtu.be/jUohkqykZ0g We believe the best way to know another reality is to experience it first-hand. Cristo Rey offers an intense educational immersion experience for adults, university students, and youth groups. Participants have a chance to:    hear personal accounts of border life from our members visit the fence between El Paso and Juárez and hear stories of members and friends who live in Juarez  meet with promoters of social justice in El Paso through non-profit organizations and ministries participate in a discussion with Border Patrol  meet with an immigration lawyer  work with youth at Cristo Rey's After School Program visit the  colonias  of El Paso, Texas and, if desired, Juárez, México  experience Mexican and Mexican-American culture participate in fellowship with the Cristo Rey congregation   For more information visit:  http://iglesiacristorey.wix.com/borderimmersion or sen

                                                                                                                                                          Photography by Tom Gennara This letter is written by Krista. Dear Friends, I hope that the turn of the year was peaceful for you and those you love. I am ever so glad to have landed in 2022.   My heart is very full as we offer up  our remembrance of Archbishop Desmond Tutu  this week. He passed in Cape Town the day after Christmas. For years he was at the top of my list of people I most longed to interview. The interview was elusive. Then in 2010, I was able not just to speak with him, but to sit with him while he was on private spiritual retreat at the Fetzer Institute, our longtime friend, partner, and kindred place. And there was Tutu: at rest, yet vibrating with energy and laughter and wit. There was a fierceness to his presence, as large as the life he’d lived, the history he’d helped to shape. But at the center of it all, as he