Rothko Chapel: Recent Episodes
Rothko Chapel
How does the growing politicization of religion impact democracy, religious freedom, and community life in Texas?Hosted by the Rothko Chapel in partnership with the Texas Interfaith Legislators Caucus, this timely panel discussion brings together Texas legislators, faith leaders, and journalists to examine the rise of anti-Muslim and antisemitic hate, the importance of interfaith dialogue, and the role of religious literacy in building a more inclusive democracy.Panelists explore how communities can strengthen relationships across faith traditions, defend religious liberty, and create pathways toward solidarity for all Texans.
Guided Meditation by His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at the Rothko ChapelHis Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda is a Himalayan siddha monk, who hails from unbroken lineages of the combined heritage of rishi sages and nath meditation adepts. He has directly learnt the Himalayan Kriyayoga meditation system from Tryambaknāth, (popularly known as Mahavatar Babaji). Currently, His Holiness is developing Sambhala Online University based on the teachings from Jñanā-gañja, a siddha enclave commonly known as Sambhala located in Tibet, east of Limpiadhura Pass bordering India. He is among the very few experts outside of India who has been awarded the degree of DLitt et Phil (Mahāmahopādhyāya) by the erstwhile President of the Association of Indian Universities and by the Sanskrit scholars of Calcutta, India. The degree was conferred in recognition of his meditative interpretation, scholarly analysis, and ability to articulate the philosophical nuances of Sanskrit literature. He is the spiritual founder of the US Nonprofit, Self Enquiry Life Fellowship.
"The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science," Talk by Dr. Peter Hotez, epidemiologist & professorVilla Albertine’s signature evening of arts and culture marathon, “Night of Ideas,” took place from March 27 through April 6 across 20 US cities. The event brought together thought leaders, activists, performers, authors, and academics to engage the public in late-night discussions addressing major global issues. This year’s unifying theme, “Common Ground,” encouraged participants to reflect on how we can commit to and protect what we share. Conversations explored ways to foster authentic interpersonal connections in an increasingly digital world, opportunities for dialogue in a polarized political landscape, and strategies to preserve the land amidst extreme weather threats. Night of Ideas was presented by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation and coordinated worldwide by the Institut Français.
“The Advocacy Power of Music & Poetry,” Performance & Discussion with Toni Hickman & Sofia Heyl Special Thanks to Community Partner ReelAbilitiesVilla Albertine’s signature evening of arts and culture marathon, “Night of Ideas,” took place from March 27 through April 6 across 20 US cities. The event brought together thought leaders, activists, performers, authors, and academics to engage the public in late-night discussions addressing major global issues. This year’s unifying theme, “Common Ground,” encouraged participants to reflect on how we can commit to and protect what we share. Conversations explored ways to foster authentic interpersonal connections in an increasingly digital world, opportunities for dialogue in a polarized political landscape, and strategies to preserve the land amidst extreme weather threats. Night of Ideas was presented by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation and coordinated worldwide by the Institut Français.
“Connecting through Music & Medicine,” Performance by Texas Medical Center OrchestraVilla Albertine’s signature evening of arts and culture marathon, “Night of Ideas,” took place from March 27 through April 6 across 20 US cities. The event brought together thought leaders, activists, performers, authors, and academics to engage the public in late-night discussions addressing major global issues. This year’s unifying theme, “Common Ground,” encouraged participants to reflect on how we can commit to and protect what we share. Conversations explored ways to foster authentic interpersonal connections in an increasingly digital world, opportunities for dialogue in a polarized political landscape, and strategies to preserve the land amidst extreme weather threats. Night of Ideas was presented by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation and coordinated worldwide by the Institut Français.
This year's observance provided space for learning, restoration, and renewal through a conversation and meditative moment on sustaining action focused particularly on youth organizers working for climate justice and community health.Inspired by the 2023 ruling in the Held v. Montana case on the state’s constitutional rights to health, representatives from Our Children’s Trust including staff attorney David Schwartz and youth plaintiffs shared the development and success of this case, and how their methods could be applied across the country. A community discussion followed with Texas-based youth and grassroots activists including Chanté Davis (Sunrise Houston) and Armon Alex (Gulf of Mexico Youth Climate Summit) about the links between environmental and climate justice and community health, moderated by Andre Segura, VP of Litigation at Earthjustice. Reflection time was facilitated by Tiffany Jin, Co-Director of Houston Climate Justice Museum.Special thanks to Hershey Foundation for underwriting support
Led by conductor Delyana Lazarova, people experienced Aaron Copland’s iconic tone poem Appalachian Spring in its original 13-piece version, along with the world premiere of a new companion work by James Stephenson—as Houston Contemporary Dance Company, choreographed by Founding Artistic Director Marlana Doyle.
Gun violence in the United States—the country with the highest gun ownership per capita—is an entrenched public health issue that impacts Americans across demographics and geographies. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 327 people a day are shot in the US, and 42,654 die from gun violence each year. Since the 1990s, Texas firearm-related homicides rose 66% and suicides involving firearms rose 40%. The Austin American-Statesman stated that Texas topped the list of gun related deaths in 2021, and in 2022 we witnessed the catastrophic mass-shooting in Uvalde leaving 19 children and two teachers dead at an elementary school. In the spirit of Dr. King’s commitment to address critically important justice issues and create a more equitable society through engaging in nonviolent tactics, this event provides space to learn more about the public health impacts of gun violence, and to delve into our collective responsibilities to address this critical epidemic. The event will feature keynote speaker David Hogg, Co-Founder of March For Our Lives, followed by a panel of local public health researchers and organizers including Dr. Jeff Temple, Dean of Clinical Research in the School of Behavioral Health Science at UTHealth Houston; Dr. Bindi Naik-Mathuria, Pediatric Trauma Surgeon at UTMB; Karlton Harris, Executive Director of The Forgotten Third; and Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who recently ran for mayor of Uvalde after her daughter was killed in the Robb Elementary School Shooting.The program featured a temporary memorial installation on the Plaza by Sandeigh Kennedy exploring the impacts of gun violence in 2023, contemplative music by DACAMERA Young Artists and poetry by Texas Poet Laureate Lupe Mendez. Local organizations addressed gun violence in Houston and Texas were onsite after the event to share information about how to get involved in gun violence prevention efforts.About the Annual MLK Birthday ObservanceIn 1979, The Rothko Chapel started the annual MLK Birthday Observance to connect the contemporary implications of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy to the ongoing struggle for civil and human rights, captured through artist Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk. This sculpture, located on the plaza adjacent to the Chapel, is dedicated to Dr. King. Recent presenters have included Civil Rights Freedom Singer Rutha Mae Harris, artist David Banner, columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., environmental justice leader Dr. Robert Bullard, MacArthur Fellow Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra, and photographer Devin Allen.
"loss. nothing. memorial: the HOMEGOING Concert—a sonic memorial" focuses on the impact of the AIDS crisis in Black communities in the United States between 1980-2005. This music honors fallen Black queer musicians, choir directors and singers. Songs performed are written to and about musicians, singers and choir directors from the Black church tradition, and Black queer musicians that were victims of the AIDS crisis. We sing songs to honor, to remember and to wish them well on their journey to otherwise and beyond.The Houston-debut performance will feature vocalists from Phillip Hall Singers, Hammond organist Abdul Hamid Robinson-Royal, percussionist Vernon Daniels and the William Grant Still String Quartet.Composer Ashon Crawley is a writer, artist and teacher. A professor of Religious Studies and African-American and African Studies at the University of Virginia, he is author of Blackpentecostal Breath: The Aesthetics of Possibility and The Lonely Letters. He was a Yaddo fellow, a MacDowell interdisciplinary arts fellow, and a New City Arts Initiative Fellow. All his work is about otherwise possibility. Photo credit Benita Mayo.
Community members contemplated cycles of life and death with music, poetry, and personal reflections in observance of Dia de los Muertos, All Saint’s Day, and National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. This year's offering focused on the loss of children, with remarks from local peer support group The Compassionate Friends - Houston Inner Loop Chapter. Contemplative music was shared by DACAMERA Young Artists and guitarist Jesus Lozano. Attendees were invited to bring a small memento, photo, or item to place on a community altar in remembrance of those who have passed on (no food, drinks, or live flowers please).About The Compassionate FriendsWhen a child dies, at any age, the family suffers intense pain and may feel hopeless and isolated. The Compassionate Friends provides highly personal comfort, hope, and support to every family experiencing the death of a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, or a grandchild, and helps others better assist the grieving family. TCF has over 600 chapters serving all 50 states plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam, that offer friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved family members during the natural grieving process after a child has died. Learn more about the Houston Inner Loop Chapter.
Beginning in 2020, Brad Braxton and Anthony Pinn exchanged a series of email conversations that together form the basis for the book A Master Class on Being Human: A Black Christian and a Black Secular Humanist on Religion, Race, and Justice (Beacon Press 2023). In this time of marked polarization in our communal life, the authors embarked on an experiment, attempting in-depth discussions that probed their deep differences about serious topics, with the ultimate goal of promoting constructive engagement, enhanced understanding, and more compassion among people with different identities, beliefs, and practices.Master Class is an exploration of what it means to be human, drawing on each authors' expertise in philosophy, religion, and African American studies. The book covers seven issues of social importance relevant to these theological-philosphical groups, including non-theism, violence against Black Americans and the Black Lives Matter movement, and whether religion does or should have a public role.The authors acknowledge the centuries-long opposition between Christian and secular humanist traditions. In their conversations, they seek to expose the assumptions each group makes about the other, with "intellectual rigor and compassion." While they don't claim that dialogue or mutual understanding is a panacea for the discord between the two groups, they do believe that the embrace of difference—not the elimination of difference—is an effective classroom for learning to be better humans. Their nuanced discussion lays the groundwork for constructive dialogue between all who wish to move from tolerance of differing opinions to celebration.In business and in life, Tracie Jae is The Quiet Rebel. Her work in the world is creating incremental and organic shifts to the status quo. In her work, she centers on humans, celebrates differences and honors lived experiences. The expertise of her proprietary approach is based on evidence-based practices in clinical and cognitive psychology, and communications research, and focuses on what makes us fully human, at both our best and worst. Tracie holds a BA in Business Management and MA in Strategic Communication and Leadership.
In collaboration with Jaipur Literature Festival Houston, the Rothko Chapel hosted classical Indian quartet Anirudh Varma Collective and Houston Poet Laurate Aris Kian for a contemplatived morning music and poetry experience inside the sanctuary followed by light bites on the Plaza. About the presentersThe spirit of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival, held annually in Jaipur, India, travels across countries and continents with a caravan of writers, thinkers, poets, influencers, balladeers and raconteurs. The Anirudh Varma Collective (AVC) is a contemporary Indian classical ensemble from New Delhi, India. It is led by pianist, composer & producer, Anirudh Varma. The Anirudh Varma Collective comprises musicians & artistes from across India, America, and Canada. The Collective aims to discover, re-discover, and present the tradition & diversity of Indian music in a contemporary yet rooted manner in order to reach and connect with the masses. Aris Kian Brown is currently the Houston Poet Laureate 2023-2025 and ranked #2 in the 2023 Womxn of the World Poetry Slam. Previously an Inprint C. Glenn Cambor Fellow, she received her MFA from the University of Houston. She was ranked #10 in the 2020 Women of the World Poetry Slam and #4 in the nation at the 2019 ACUI College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational with UH team Coogslam. She is a current member of Smoke Slam alongside LeChell “The Shootah” R.H, R.J. Wright, Blacqwildflowr, and Sherrika Mitchell, coached by Ebony Stewart. About the observanceThis event was held in observance of International Day of Peace which takes place annually on September 21st. Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to reace above all differences and to contribute to building a global culture of peace. This year's theme is "Actions for Peace," recognizing our individual and collective responsibilities to foster peace and more just and inclusive societies, free from fear and violence.
Loop38 explores human creativity, perseverance, and all that binds us all together. Works by George Lewis and Chen Yi look inward, considering humanity's inherent creativity and life force, while Carolyn Chen's work looks outward, contemplating our relationship with the environment. Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton joins the musicians of Loop38 to present the world premiere of a work by Martha Horst based on D.E.E.P.’s poetry about hope, aspiration, and the power of creation.About Loop38Loop38 is a boundary-pushing, artist-driven new music ensemble based in Houston, Texas, that aims to build community around innovative, stimulating, and culturally relevant musical experiences. Loop38 specializes in the performance of contemporary classical music for solo instrument, chamber ensemble, and large ensemble—instrumentations that collectively allow the full timbral spectrum of an orchestra while showcasing the virtuosic solo capabilities of its performers. Named after the 38-mile freeway (“the loop”) that encircles our hometown, Loop38 focuses on presenting distinctive and memorable aural experiences that push stylistic boundaries, feature underrepresented voices, and incorporate meaningful collaborations with composers and artists of other disciplines.About Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, poetDeborah D.E.E.P. Mouton is an internationally known writer, librettist, educator, activist, performer, and the first Black Poet Laureate of Houston, Texas. Formerly ranked the #2 Best Female Performance Poet in the World (PSI), Her work has appeared in Houston Noir by Akashic Press (2019), Black Girl Magic by Haymarket Books (2019), the Texas Observer, and Fjords Journal, and on such platforms as NPR, BBC, ABC, Apple News, Blavity, Upworthy, and across the TedX circuit. Honored by Houston Business Journal as a part of their 2021 40 Under 40 class, She has served as a contributing writer to Texas Monthly, Glamour Magazine, and ESPN’s The Undefeated. This season, Plumshuga: The Rise of Lauren Anderson has its world premiere at STAGES Houston, which D.E.E.P. directs and wrote the book for. She also is slated to perform in Unison for Da Camera Society of Texas, which she also wrote poems for. Her recently published memoir, Black Chameleon (Henry Holt & Co, 2023), explores the use of modern mythology as a path to social commentary.About Martha Horst, composerMartha Horst is a composer who has devoted herself to the performance, creation, and instruction of classical music. Ms. Horst has won the Copland Award, the 2005 Alea III International Composition Competition for her work Threads, and the Rebecca Clarke International Composition Competition for her work Cloister Songs, based on 18th century utopian poetry. She has held fellowships at the MacDowell Colony, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Wellesley Conference, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Dartington International School in the UK. Her work Piano Sonata No. 1, recorded by acclaimed pianist Lara Downes, was released nationally by Crossover Media. Dr. Horst is a professor of composition and theory at Illinois State University and has also taught at the University of California, Davis, East Carolina University, and San Francisco State University. She recently served as the composer-in-residence for the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in Chicago, IL.This program is supported in part by funding from Texas Commission for the Arts, Houston Arts Alliance, and Poets & Writers.
People Enjoyed an afternoon of free art, music, poetry, and family activities in celebration of our vibrant neighborhood. Participating organizations include: DACAMERA, Houston Center for Photography, Inprint, The Menil Collection, Pride Chorus Houston, Rothko Chapel, Writers in the Schools (WITS), and Watercolor Art Society. Ars Lyrica presented an interactive, family-friendly musical story time featuring Maria’s Magical Music Adventure focused on mindfulness, with narrators reading the book in English and Spanish with live string quartet accompaniment. The performance included excerpts from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and was followed by a book signing by author Emma Kent Wine and translator Verónica Roméro at the Suzanne Deal Booth Welcome House between performances. Presenters for this event included Emma Kent Wine, author and English narrator; Verónica Roméro, translator and Spanish narrator; Joanna Becker, violin; Maria Lin, violin; Matthew Weathers, viola; and Fran Koiner, cello.
Since 1986, the Rothko Chapel has given the Óscar Romero Award in recognition of courageous, grassroots human rights advocacy. This award is named in honor of Saint Óscar Romero of San Salvador, who was assassinated in March 1980 while conducting Catholic Mass in a local hospital chapel. He is recognized internationally for his vocal opposition against oppression and has inspired countless others to advocate for justice even in the face of great economic and political pressure.The 2023 Rothko Chapel Óscar Romero Award recognizes individuals and organizations exercising courageous, grassroots, human rights advocacy to further civil rights in the United States. At a time when many urgent, intersecting civil liberties and human rights are under attack and actively losing protections in the US, the Rothko Chapel continues a multi-year effort to further community engagement on the topic of civil rights, following our 2021-22 Symposium “Beyond the Rhetoric: Civil Rights & Our Shared Responsibility.”2023 Awardees included Rev. Erika Ferguson, Principal, Envision Justice & Reproductive Justice Post Roe (Dallas, Texas); Secunda Joseph, Co-Founder & Director of Smart Media & Organizing with ImagiNoir/BLMTX (Houston, TX); and The People’s Paper Co-Op (Philadelphia, PA).The program included an awards ceremony followed by a moderated conversation with the awardees facilitated by Omar El-Halwagi, The Anti-Discrimination Attorney PLLC, Co-Founder of Grassroots Islam, and Rothko Chapel Board Member & Program Committee Chair.
Reflect on women's social, economic, cultural, and political achievements with a call to collective action for accelerating gender equity. This year’s global theme set by the United Nations is “Embrace Equity”, which involves challenging gender stereotypes, calling out discrimination and bias, and cultivating inclusive environments and systems. Bear witness to intersectional reflections on the state of gender equity today with women leaders from the Houston community sharing their perspectives.Presenters includeKimberly Baker, Assistant Dean, UTHealth Houston School of Public HealthKelly Johnson, Director of Public Programs, Rothko ChapelRachna Khare, Executive Director, DayaJames McAloon Jr., trumpeter & DACAMERA Young ArtistRev. Diane McGehee, Senior Pastor, Bering MemorialLeslie Contreras Schwartz, poetKesley Sham, harpist & DACAMERA Young ArtistEden Rose Torres, Founder, Pride Portraits & transgender activistDonya Ziraksari, Iranian women's rights activist, author, producer
“The Long Struggle to Abolish Reproductive Slavery” with Dorothy RobertsAnnual Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture in Peace, Social Justice and Human RightsPresented in partnership with the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at UT-Austin School of LawThe Rothko Chapel and the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at the University of Texas at Austin present the eighth annual Sissy Farenthold Lecture featuring acclaimed scholar of race, gender and the law, Dorothy Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology and the Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, on the intersections between reproductive rights, criminalization of pregnancy, and the family policing/separation systems in the aftermath of the June 2022 Dobbs decision. Roberts will explore the histories of compelled births in the US dating back to Black women’s reproductive bondage during slavery, and the abolitionist frameworks that call for the dismantling of these targeted, oppressive structures for more compassionate and equitable reproductive rights and family support systems.The lecture will be followed by conversation moderated by Eleanor Klibanoff, women’s health reporter at the Texas Tribune, and a book signing on the Welcome House Plaza of Robert’s Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families--and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World (2022).Named in honor of Sissy Farenthold (1926-2021), who dedicated her life to exposing and responding to injustices as a lawyer, legislator, and global leader in human rights, this lecture series inspires audiences to think and act creatively in response to the greatest human rights challenges of the 21st century.
In partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) and The Gordon Parks Foundation, the 2023 Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance explores the role of the media in civil rights movements past and present. Inspired by the MFAH’s current exhibition Gordon Parks: Stokely Carmichael and Black Power, panelists share their work and perspectives on how photographers and journalists shape narratives around social justice movements and leaders. Presenters include Lisa Volpe, Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Michal Raz-Russo, Program Director at the Gordon Parks Foundation; Baltimore-based photographer Devin Allen; and moderator Tony Diaz, Houston-based writer, activist, and media personality.
“Little Central America, 1984”: A Sanctuary Then, and NowPresented in partnership with DiverseWorksPay What You Can $5-20 | In-person event with chair seatingIn advance of the Houston premiere of “Little Central America, 1984,” a performance that reanimates the history of the Sanctuary Movement that offered safe space to refugees fleeing Central American civil wars of the 1980s, performer-writers Elia Arce and Rubén Martínez offer a conversation about the role of art in solidarity and accompaniment. Drawing upon their first-hand witness of the civil wars of the 1980s and the subsequent creation of “Little Central Americas” in places like Houston, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington D.C., they contextualize the most recent refugee crisis. What place does Houston’s Central American community occupy in the city’s culture, politics and imagination? What role does artistic representation play in collective memory and healing? Sixto Wagan, project director of BIPOC Arts Network and Fund, served as interlocutor, joined by Allison Sáenz, a PhD Candidate in the Department of History at the University of Houston who has been recovering history about Houston’s sanctuary movement via oral histories.
Community members contemplated cycles of life and death across cultures with music, poetry and personal reflections in observance of Dia de los Muertos, All Saint’s Day, and National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. Attendees were invited to bring a small memento, photo, or item to place on a community altar in remembrance of those who have passed on.Presenters includedAcharya Bramdeo ji, Arya Samaj Greater HoustonDavid Leslie, Executive Director, Rothko ChapelRana S. McClelland, President & CEO, Houston Hospice Diana X. Muniz, Chaplain, Bayou City HospiceJuan Palomo, Poet & Guild Member, Rothko ChapelTammy Zwahr, Bereavement Counselor, Houston HospiceJesus Lozano, Guitarist, MECARice MusicMDs: David Nemoto, pianist; Serena Kim, violinist; Amara Anyanwu, violinistHouston Hospice is a nonprofit organization that provides uncompromising, compassionate, end-of-life care to patients and families across 13 counties in Texas. Since 1980, we have been committed to the highest quality hospice care for patients of all ages, races, ethnicities and places of origin, with or without insurance.Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated annually November 1 & 2 to reunite the living and the dead, where mourning is exchanged for celebration. Families create ofrendas (offerings) decorated with marigold flowers, photos of the departed, and the favorite foods and drinks of the family members being honored. The offerings are believed to encourage visits from the land of the dead as the departed souls hear their prayers, smell their foods and join in the celebrations! All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown. National Hospice and Palliative Care Month takes place in November, honoring the millions of nurses, home care aides, therapists, and social workers who make a remarkable difference for the patients and families they serve. These heroic caregivers play a central role in our health care system and in homes across the nation.
Songs for Justice: A Series Exploring Music in Social Justice Movements 2022 Annual MLK Birthday Celebration in partnership with Community Music Center of Houston
In 2022, the Rothko Chapel presents Songs for Justice, a series of concerts and conversations exploring the role that music plays to further social justice movements, addressing today’s inequities and injustices. Coinciding with the Chapel’s annual observance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on January 15, the series opened with a performance of and discussion about music central to the US Civil Rights Movement. The Community Music Center of Houston Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra conducted by Dr. Anne Lundy shared a selection of music central to Dr. King’s transformative leadership and Black Americans’ historic and contemporary struggles for equity. Dr. Shana Redmond, scholar of music, race and politics, discussed the broader history surrounding the relationship between music and activism in the U.S., the importance of music in Rev. King’s life, and the strategic use of music within the Civil Rights Movement.
Buy Shana Redmond's book Anthem: Social Movements and the Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora. Listen to Anthem: The Mixtape, compiled by Shana Redmond & The Dreadstar Movement.
The Rothko Chapel started the annual MLK Birthday Celebration in 1979 to connect the contemporary implications of Dr. King’s legacy to the ongoing struggle for civil and human rights, captured by artist Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk. This sculpture, located on the plaza adjacent to the Chapel, is dedicated to Dr. King. Learn more about upcoming programs in the Songs for Justice series.
About the presenters Community Music Center of Houston (CMCH), formerly the Society for the Preservation of Spirituals, was founded in 1979. In 1983 CMCH formed the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra (SJCO), a 40 member predominantly Black community orchestra in response to the lack of opportunity for Black classically trained musicians in the world of symphony orchestras. Today SJCO is the nation's second oldest predominantly Black chamber orchestra actively performing.
Dr. Anne Lundy, CMCH Music Director, Conductor, Violinist, Educator and Ethno-musicologist, began her musical studies on the violin. She received a Bachelor of Music Education in 1977 from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master of Music in Conducting from the University of Houston in 1979. Dr. Lundy received her Doctor of Musical Arts from University of Houston's Moores School of Music in 2015. She has lectured extensively throughout the United States. In addition, Dr. Lundy has published articles on finding and performing music written by African American composers. In 1989, she is the first African American woman to conduct the Houston Symphony at Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston, TX. She founded and currently conducts the CMCH Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra, the William Grant Still String Quartet, and teaches violin and viola.
Shana L. Redmond, Ph.D. (she|her) is a scholar and author of Anthem: Social Movements and the Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora (NYU, 2014) and Everything Man: The Form and Function of Paul Robeson (Duke, 2020), which received a 2021 American Book Award. She has written widely for public audiences, including the critical liner essay for the vinyl soundtrack release of Jordan Peele's film, Us (Waxwork Records, 2019). She is President-Elect of the American Studies Association and Professor of English and Comparative Literature and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity & Race at Columbia University.
In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Rothko Chapel hosted a morning observance to show support and stand in solidarity with the millions of people living with and impacted by HIV/AIDS.
The morning program included live music, personal testimonials, and guided reflection. Shadawn McCants, Owner and Clinical Director of Know and Live Counseling and Consulting, provided first-person testimonial on living with HIV and issues facing Black women in the HIV community. Jeffrey Campbell, Chief Program Officer at AIDS Foundation Houston, shared information on the state of the battle against HIV in Houston and Texas. Moments of reflection were led by Rev. Troy Treash, Senior Pastor of Resurrection MCC, and music was performed throughout by Kelsey Sham on harp.
Established by the World Health Organization in 1988 as the first ever global health day, World AIDS Day takes place on the 1st day of December each year. It is an occasion to reflect on the millions of people who have died from HIV/AIDS since the virus was first identified in 1984, and a time to consider how to better care for the 38 million people living with HIV/AIDS, and their families, friends and loved ones who have been deeply impacted.
Charles Kamasaki (Unidos US) & Sister Norma Pimentel (Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley) engaged in a timely conversation exploring immigrants' rights in the US, including how they have historically been understood and changed over time, and the current policy decisions that drive today's US immigration issues. Charles Kamasaki shared a national perspective and Sister Norma Pimentel gave first hand accounts of what is happening at the Texas-Mexico border, including the impact of these policies on thousands of families each year. Their addresses were followed by a moderated conversation with Q&A facilitated by Frances Valdez, Executive Director of Houston in Action.
About the Presenters Charles Kamasaki is Senior Cabinet Advisor of UnidosUS, formerly the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Previously the Executive Vice President of NCLR, Kamasaki for two decades managed the group’s research, policy analysis, and advocacy activity. He has authored, co-authored, and supervised the preparation of dozens of policy and research reports, journal articles, and editorials, testified frequently at Congressional and Administrative hearings, coordinated pro bono litigation and legal analysis, and represented the organization at research and policy conferences and symposia. Kamasaki is also a Resident Fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, where he conducted research that produced the book, Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die (Mandel-Vilar Press, 2019), about the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and its follow-on bill the Immigration Act of 1990, the last comprehensive immigration reforms enacted into law.
Norma Pimentel, a Sister with the Missionaries of Jesus, is Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley for over 12 years. She oversees the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville, providing oversight of different ministries & services in the Rio Grande Valley through emergency assistance, homelessness prevention, disaster relief, clinical counseling, pregnancy care, food programs, and the Humanitarian Respite Center. Sister Norma has been recognized by many organizations for her humanitarian work on the US-Mexico border overseeing the provision of a safe space for migrants to rest and regain strength. Most recently Pope Francis sent her a video message encouraging her and all the volunteers to continue their work. She was also named to the 2020 TIME100 list of the most influential people in the world.
Moderator Frances Valdez (she/her) is the Executive Director of Houston in Action, a collective impact initiative that believes that by working together to reduce systemic barriers we can increase civic participation in the greater Houston region. Their collective work is moved by the shared ethos that, regardless of social identity, people should have equal opportunities to participate in, and have a meaningful impact, on civic life. In 2020, Valdez engaged Houston in Action to be a leader in the first-of-its-kind 2020 Census coordination and historic 2020 election coordination in Harris County. In 2021, that work continued post-Census to include coordinating efforts for equitable Covid vaccination access in Harris County, the creation of Unity Maps with member organizations to affect redistricting lines, and the implementation and funding of Black, Latinx and AAPI Grassroots Organizing Cohorts in Houston. Prior to starting Houston in Action, Valdez had a 13-year career as an immigration attorney, advocacy and policy advisor, director, and civic engagement coordinator within the immigrant rights movement.
About the series In conjunction with the Chapel’s 50th Anniversary and commitment to furthering social justice nationally and internationally, "Beyond the Rhetoric: Civil Rights & Our Shared Responsibility" speaker series will examine different understandings of and approaches to furthering human rights and civil liberties in the United States.
The Rothko Chapel presented a livestream lecture and conversation with art historian Sheldon Nodelman and Christopher Rothko. In 1997, Nodelman authored Rothko Chapel Paintings: Origin, Structure, Meaning, where he explored the Rothko Chapel as "a masterpiece of twentieth century art and incontestably the greatest work of pictorial installation to date, both dauntingly complex and enigmatic." The quarter century that has elapsed since the publication of Nodelman’s book on the Chapel paintings has allowed for further reflection and the emergence of some new evidence regarding Mark Rothko's design and creative process that promotes a fuller estimation of its achievement. Of particular importance is a new understanding of the second of the three painting design phases that culminated in the finished work. This revelation is not only impressive but also enables a better appreciation of the leap of inspiration that resulted in what we know as the Rothko Chapel today.
About the presenters Sheldon Nodelman is Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at the University of California, San Diego. He received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D degrees from Yale University. Before joining the Visual Arts faculty at UCSD, he taught at Bryn Mawr College, Princeton University and Yale. His research fields include Classical Greek and Roman art--especially Roman sculptured portraiture, the twentieth century avant-garde, and art historical theory and method. Prominent among his published works is the major critical study so far of the Rothko Chapel paintings. He is currently pursuing two parallel investigations of the work of Marcel Duchamp.
Christopher Rothko, the second of Mark and Mary Alice Rothko's two children, is a psychologist, writer and for the last thirty years, the custodian of the Rothko legacy. He is editor of his father's book of philosophical writings, The Artist's Reality. His book of essays, Mark Rothko from the Inside Out, was published in 2015 by Yale University Press. Dr. Rothko has helped prepare more than two dozen Rothko exhibitions at museums and galleries around the globe and is co-curator of the recent Rothko exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. He is Past Chair of the Rothko Chapel Board and is currently head of the Opening Spaces Project, guiding the restoration of the Chapel and enhancement of its campus.
Tink Tinker and Dina Gilio-Whitaker engaged in dialogue moderated by Suzanne Benally exploring the concept of rights for the American Indian people. Juxtaposed to western frameworks that focus on individual rights, for American Indians the idea of rights has often been used against the collective interests of tribal nations because the philosophical foundations at the core of Indigenous and western worldviews are dramatically different.
About the Presenters Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) is a lecturer of American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos, and an independent educator in American Indian environmental policy and other issues. At CSUSM she teaches courses on environmentalism and American Indians, traditional ecological knowledge, religion and philosophy, Native women’s activism, American Indians and sports, and decolonization. She also works within the field of critical sports studies, examining the intersections of indigeneity and the sport of surfing. As a public intellectual, Dina brings her scholarship into focus as an award-winning journalist as well, with her work appearing at Indian Country Today, the Los Angeles Times, High Country News, Time.com, Slate, History.com, Bioneers, Truthout, the Pacifica Network, Grist, and many more. Dina is the author of two books; the most recent award-winning As Long As Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice from Colonization to Standing Rock. She is currently under contract with Beacon Press for a new book under the working title Illegitimate Nation: Privilege, Race, and Accountability in the U.S. Settler State.
Tink Tinker is a citizen of the Osage Nation (wazhazhe) and the Clifford Baldridge Emeritus Professor of American Indian Cultures and Religious Traditions at Iliff School of Theology. During his 33 year career at Iliff, Dr. Tinker brought a distinctly American Indian perspective to a predominantly White, euro-christian school, as he continues to do in lectures across the continent. For three decades he volunteered both administratively and as a traditional spiritual leader at Four Winds American Indian Council in Denver, and he continues to work closely with the American Indian Movement of Colorado. His publications include: American Indian Liberation: A Theology of Sovereignty (Orbis, 2008); Spirit and Resistance: American Indian Liberation and Political Theology (Fortress, 2004); Missionary Conquest: The Gospel and Native American Genocide (Fortress Press, 1993); and nearly a hundred journal articles and chapters for edited volumes.
Moderator Suzanne Benally is Navajo and Santa Clara Tewa, and she currently serves as the Executive Director of Swift Foundation. She has worked in higher education and the non-profit sector for 40 years. Formerly, Suzanne served as the Executive Director of Cultural Survival, an international Indigenous Peoples rights advocacy organization that advocates for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, self-determination, land, language, culture, and political resilience. Prior to Cultural Survival, she served as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Naropa University and was a core faculty member and previous chair of the environmental studies department. Her extensive experience spans work devoted to social justice, diversity, and equity. Suzanne is currently co-chair of the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples and a Trustee of the Naropa University Board of Trustees. She was a cohort member of the Rothko Chapel’s Spirituality and Social Justice initiative to further contemporary understandings about spirituality and social justice. Deeply committed to social, environmental and climate justice, her work, passion, and interests center on relationships and interconnectedness between land, spirituality, culture,
JoDee Winterhof, Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs at Human Rights Campaign and Adri Perez, Policy & Advocacy Strategist at ACLU of Texas discussed the state of LGBTQIA+ rights in the US. JoDee Winterhof addressed national LGBTQIA+ issues and initiatives, followed by Adri Perez who focused on the state of Texas. A moderated conversation with Q&A was facilitated by Rev. Troy Treash, Senior Pastor at Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church.
About the Presenters JoDee Winterhof, a veteran political strategist and respected advocate with over 25 years of experience in navigating the complex intersection between politics, campaigns, messaging and public policy, currently serves as Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs for the Human Rights Campaign. In this role, she leads the organization's federal, state and local legislative, field and legal teams, while overseeing management of HRC’s political action committees and electoral engagement. This includes the launch of HRC Rising, the largest grassroots expansion effort in the organization’s history. Winterhof joined HRC after serving as a Chief of Staff in the US Senate and US House of Representatives, as well as head of advocacy for CARE, an International Non-Governmental Organization. She served as Chief of Staff to former US Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09). In addition to her work on the Hill, Winterhof has held leadership roles on multiple presidential, senatorial and congressional campaigns including Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. She hails from Walnut, Iowa and is a graduate of Simpson College. She presently resides in Washington, D.C. with her wife and two children.
Adri Perez is a life-long El Pasoan, UTEP graduate, and policy & advocacy strategist for the ACLU of Texas, where they lead LGBTQIA+ advocacy on the Sexuality & Gender Equality team. Adri represents the ACLU of Texas in statewide coalitions, trains and educates families of trans kids, and advocates at the legislature on bills that affect trans Texans. Adri is an organizer whose intersectional experience motivates their advocacy as a native fronterizx, transgender, queer educator and abortion storyteller. Prior to joining the ACLU of Texas in 2018, Adri started West Fund, the first abortion fund in West Texas. They also co-founded the Fronterizx Fianza Fund that raises money to pay bonds for people in immigration detention. Adri previously worked at Ngage New Mexico, Fund Texas Choice, and YWCA El Paso Del Norte. Adri received the Rising Star Award from the League of Women Voters of El Paso and the “Golden Girl” Award from the El Paso Queer Bar Association in 2019. They were recognized as the Texas Rising 2015 Organizer of the Year while a student at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Rev. Elder Troy Treash has served for eight years as the Senior Pastor of Resurrection MCC in Houston, TX. For ten years prior to Resurrection as the Executive Director of Reconciling Ministries Network, Troy flew nationally from home base in Chicago, IL to advocate for equality for LGBTQ persons church by church, network by network, and conference by conference within the United Methodist Church. His ordained ministry began in 1991 in the trenches of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Houston, TX as the Director of the Bering Support Network. He is a member of Houston Coalition Against Hate and serves on the Congregational Council for Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston. He shares life with Walter, his husband of 23 years; Michael, their adopted son; one beagle, Tip; and one cat, Spot. He enjoys cooking, reading, weeding, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, oceans, and aspen trees. He struggles at times with teenager parenting, marathon zoom meetings, defeating white supremacy, and balancing life. He relies upon God’s grace.
Texas Children's Hospital Music Therapists Marial Biard and Hillary Gómez presented a family-oriented, interactive contemplative experience focused on mindfulness and music. Join us in 3 different approaches to achieving mindfulness through music at any age!
About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
About the presenters The Music Therapy Program at Texas Children’s Hospital focuses on creating a safe environment for children and families to relax, have fun, learn, grow, and express themselves through music. Music therapy activities include active music engagement, developmental stimulation through music, movement to music, engaging with music videos and audio recordings, directed singing, songwriting, and therapeutic music instruction.
Marial Biard joined the music therapy team at TCH in 2016. Marial became a board-certified music therapist after completing her Master’s in Music Therapy at Colorado State University and her Bachelor’s in Music Education from Louisiana State University. Marial is a certified Neurologic Music Therapist, gaining Fellowship status in 2019. She currently serves as the Internship Director and the Acute Care music therapist, working with patients in West Tower (Inpatient Rehab Unit, Medical/Surgical Unit, Neurology Unit, and Pulmonary and Adolescent Medicine Unit).
Hillary Gómez recently joined the music therapy team at TCH earlier this year. Hillary became a board-certified music therapist after completing her Master’s in Music Therapy at Sam Houston State University and her Bachelor’s in Piano Performance from Ave Maria University. Hillary currently serves as the Critical Care music therapist, working with patients in Legacy Tower (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Transitional Intensive Care Unit, Heart Failure Intensive Care Unit, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Neonatal Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Heart Center, and Cardiac Patient Care Unit).
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President & Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival, addressed his perspective on US civil rights through a moral and faith-based lens. Rev. Dr. Barber shared historical and contemporary experiences of organizing around issues of economic and racial justice across the country, and discussed the work of his coalitions to create lasting, systemic change. Rev. Dr. Barber's talk was followed by a moderated Q&A session led by Rev. Laura Mayo, Covenant Church & Rothko Chapel Board Member.
About the series In conjunction with the Chapel’s 50th Anniversary and commitment to furthering social justice nationally and internationally, "Beyond the Rhetoric: Civil Rights & Our Shared Responsibility" speaker series will examine different understandings of and approaches to furthering human rights and civil liberties in the United States. Visit the series page to learn more about and register for related events.
About the Presenter The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is the President & Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival; Bishop with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries; Visiting Professor at Union Theological Seminary; Pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and the author of four books: We Are Called To Be A Movement; Revive Us Again: Vision and Action in Moral Organizing; The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and The Rise of a New Justice Movement; and Forward Together: A Moral Message For The Nation.
Rev. Dr. Barber is also the architect of the Moral Movement, which began with weekly Moral Monday protests at the North Carolina General Assembly in 2013 and recently relaunched again online in August 2020 under the banner of the Poor People's Campaign. In 2018, Rev. Dr. Barber helped relaunch the Poor People's Campaign, which was begun by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, starting with an historic wave of protests in state capitals and in Washington, D.C., calling for a moral agenda and a moral budget to address the five interlocking injustices of systemic racism, systemic poverty, the war economy and militarism, ecological devastation, and the false moral narrative of Christian nationalism. There are currently 45 state coordinating committees across the country, mobilizing around the Poor People's Jubilee Platform and We Must Do M.O.R.E. (mobilize, organize, register, and educate people for a movement that votes).
About the Moderator Rev. Laura Mayo is the Senior Minister of Covenant Church in Houston. She is a graduate of Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee and Wake Forest University Divinity School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Laura is active in Houston interfaith work including membership in American’s United for the Separation of Church and State clergy advisory group, The Coalition for Mutual Respect (of the Anti Defamation League), The Faith Leaders Coalition, and Interfaith Ministries’ Multi-Faith Council. Laura has been part of many panel discussions including a panel hosted by The University of Houston Law School about what the Bible says about LGBTQ+ relationships, a panel hosted by Project Lifeline concerning the treatment of people at our borders, and panels hosted by The Alley Theatre, The Foundation for Contemporary Theology, Lifeline Chaplaincy, and PFLAG.
Over the next year, each Twelve Moments will highlight the role of music and sound in spiritual practices, and how these practices sustain us in the face of current challenges and injustices. For the month of July, the Rothko Chapel presented a family-friendly laughter meditation, led by Stephen Findley. This offering focused on the power of laughter and humor to encourage healing and release stress from our bodies.
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About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
About the presenter Stephen Findley has been a Presenter and Trainer in Laughter for over a decade delivering Humergy and Mirth to audiences through Laughter Yoga. Certified as a Laughter Yoga Teacher through Laughter Yoga International, Stephen is recognized as an Ambassador of Laughter for his selfless service to spreading laughter and wellness. He was also instrumental in developing the Laughter for Health Program for outpatients and caregivers at the Integrative Medical Center at U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Available as a Keynote Speaker and Workshop Facilitator, Stephen shares his knowledge by speaking on topics related to Wellness and Spirituality.
Members of First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston celebrated Pride Month with a powerful, family-friendly service including social justice songs, readings and interactive meditations. The offering was organized by the Rev. Dr. Colin Bossen and Music Director Mark Vogel, joined by Rev. D. Scott Cooper, Tawanna Grice, Alma Viscarra, Karen Carlson, and Carol Burrus.
In the Chapel's 2020-2021 season, each Twelve Moments highlights the role of music and sound in spiritual practices, and how these practices sustain us in the face of current challenges and injustices.
About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
About the presenters The Rev. Dr. Colin Bossen is senior minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston. He has a PhD in American Studies and master’s degree in History from Harvard University, an MDiv. from Meadville Lombard Theological School (affiliated with the University of Chicago), and an undergraduate degree from Denison University. A scholar and organizer as well as a religious leader, he has been active in the labor movement and human rights work for many years. He has led worship, workshops or given lectures for congregations, community centers, unions, and academic institutions throughout North America and Europe. He keeps a blog at www.colinbossen.com
Mark Vogel received his master's degree from Manhattan School of Music. He serves as Music Director at both First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston and Congregation Beth Israel, and is Artistic Director for International Voices Houston, a multicultural community choir of singers from over 35 different countries. His work also includes regular performance lectures at the Texas Medical Center, exploring how music relates to science and health.
Over the next year, each Twelve Moments will highlight the role of music and sound in spiritual practices, and how these practices sustain us in the face of current challenges and injustices. In May, during the holy month of Ramadan, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Islamic tradition, led by Mohamed Hussein with Fatimah Ali, Imam Dr. Basem Hamid and Mouaz Al Nass, organized by the Minaret Foundation. A major part of Islamic tradition is the recitation of the Holy Quran. It isn't simply read during holy days - Muslims read the Quran daily and listen to it to relax and reflect. This session compared elements of sound in different recitation styles and showcase how these recitations contribute to the connection people feel when reading and listening to the Quran. It will showcased a thematic recitation where the tunes and melodies match the tone and story being read.
About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
About the presenters Mohamed Hussein is an Egyptian American singer/songwriter who has produced songs in both Arabic and English. His songs aim to inspire and deliver a positive message of compassion and unity. He has worked with some of the most talented teams in Egypt and has performed in Cairo as well as touring the USA. All of Mohamed's songs are meant to inspire and direct the listener to perform good deeds and strengthen one's most essential relationships.
Imam Dr. Basem Hamid is a practicing neurologist and pain specialist, as well as the Imam of Shadowcreek Islamic Center and a member of the Jurist Council of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. Born and raised in Syria as part of the refugee program for Palestinians, he graduated from Damascus University’s School of Medicine and attained a Master’s Degree in Islamic Studies. Since immigrating to the United States in 1996, he founded Wasat Institute, an organization dedicated to exploring the intersectionality of health and spirituality. His work has been published numerous times regarding his research overlapping socio-economic issues, health, and faith.
Mouaz Al Nass is of Syrian descent and was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He holds a degree in Management Information System and studied Inshad and Maqamat (the various styles of religious poetry & songs) under foremost singers in Syria. An expert singer and drummer, he has been involved in many renowned musical performances in the USA, UK. He currently resides in Houston, Texas, and works for the University of Texas Health science center as an IT specialist.
Fatimah Ali is the outreach coordinator at Masjid Warithdeen Mohammed and is active in engaging both young people and women in Islamic activities. She has served with Interfaith Ministries on their young leaders team and is active in bridgebuilding efforts throughout Houston.
Over the next year, each Twelve Moments will highlight the role of music and sound in spiritual practices, and how these practices sustain us in the face of current challenges and injustices. For the month of April, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Zarathushti tradition, led by Kaemerz Dotiwala of the Zoroastrian Association of Houston. This session was focused on The Gathas, seventeen hymns composed by poet-prophet Zarathushtra around 1200 BCE that form the core of Zarathushti liturgy.
About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
About the presenters The Zoroastrian Association of Houston (ZAH) was established in 1976 to promote the religious, social, and cultural aspects of the Zoroastrian faith. ZAH is fortunate to have in the local Mobeds (priests) who conduct religious services, ceremonies, and rituals; numerous individuals whose serve on executive boards and committees (i.e. youth, sports, Sunday school, religious services, outreach,Golden Group & Library) provide leadership and vision to growing community and countless active members who through their participation, initiative, and hard work are committed to building a strong community.
Kaemerz P. Dotiwala is the President of Mazda Yasni Zarathushti Dar-E-Meher Funds, a non-profit organization established to construct the first consecrated Dar-E-Meher (Fire Temple) in the Western World. Kaemerz has been a resident of Houston since 1975 and is one of the founding members of the Zoroastrian Association of Houston. He has served on its Executive Committee for many years and presently serves as its Chairperson on the Outreach Committee. Kaemerz teaches Sunday School and has been instrumental in founding the Zoroastrian Association Of Houston Youth Group. He has served on the Zoroastrian Association of Houston's Building Fund Committee, and chaired its Fund Raising and Finance Committee. Kaemerz was a Founding participant of The Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) as well as the representative from ZAH. Kaemerz also served as the first Chairperson of FEZANA’S Zarathushti, Unity and Welfare Committee. This committee was instrumental in resettling Zarathushti refugees from Iran in North America.
In honor of Mark Rothko’s Latvian heritage, Latvian jazz ensemble the Māris Briežkalns Quintet commissioned ten Latvian composers to each create an original jazz composition, arranged and performed by the Quintet. Each composition is created to illustrate the moods and atmosphere evoked by an iconic Rothko painting selected by the composer. This program is underwritten by Peter Ragauss.
Performers include Māris Briežkalns – drums, band leader; Viktors Ritovs – piano, keys; Raimonds Macats – harmonica, cello, keys; Kristaps Lubovs – saxophone; and Andris Grunte - double bass
Māris Briežkalns Quintet (MBQ) is one of the leading acoustic mainstream bands on the Latvian jazz scene, stretching special accents on pop, jazz, and Latin jazz. MBQ has performed on several international stages, including MIDEM, Pori Jazz, London Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz, Jazz at Castle in Prague, Venice Jazz Festival, Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, and Tokyo Jazz Fest. MBQ’s project Latvian Evergreens has two volumes, showcasing Latvian classical and pop music in versatile jazz arrangements. Māris Briežkalns Quintet released five albums: Felix Jazz, Latvian Evergreens Vol 1, Jazz At Castle, Latvian Evergreens Vol 2, and Rothko In Jazz.
Māris Briežkalns, the leader of the quintet, is a drummer and producer. Among other things, he is the Head of Latvian Radio Recording Studios Department, was the Artistic Director of Latvian Radio Big Band for several years and has participated in the recording of over 70 music albums, has hosted workshops in Norway, Germany, Great Britain. He runs the Contemporary Music Centre and produces the "Rigas Ritmi Festival” and the International Jazz Artists Competition “Riga Jazz Stage”. Māris Briežkalns has been nominated for and received many awards, including the highest Latvian state honor, The Order of the Three Stars.
To lift up the last 50 years of the Rothko Chapel’s work and mission, and renew and strengthen its commitment to serve as a welcoming interfaith sanctuary for all and a place to rally around the significant human rights issues of the day, the Chapel will hold an interfaith service and human rights celebration including Sufi Whirling, prayers, reflections, and music.
Find the full order of service in our digital program: http://rothkochapel.org/assets/pdfs/50th_Interfaith_Service_Digital_Program.pdf
Published by Rizzoli Electa, this beautiful new large-format volume provides photographic testimony along with the insights of scholars who give an intimate look into this sacred space, where visitors seek solace and inspiration. Commemorating the first monograph on Rothko Chapel in more than 20 years, the book’s contributors speak about the Rothko Chapel’s history and how the restoration project came to fruition.
Contributors and panelists include: Stephen Fox, architectural historian and Fellow of the Anchorage Foundation of Texas; Paul Hester, architectural photographer, Hester + Hardaway; and Pamela Smart, Associate Professor, Binghamton University; moderated by Ashley Clemmer, Director of Programs and Community Engagement, Rothko Chapel
Following an eighteen-month restoration, the Chapel has reopened to the public with transformed lighting that brings the space into alignment with the founders’ original vision for the first time. This conversation explores the original design of the Rothko Chapel, the importance of light within the building, the Chapel’s growing campus, and the creative process of the Opening Spaces Design Team.
Panelists include: Adam Yarinsky, Principal, Architecture Research Office; George S. Sexton III, Principal, George Sexton Associates; and Thomas L. Woltz, Principal, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; moderated by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, Melva Bucksbaum Associate Director for Conservation and Research, Whitney Museum of Art.
Today, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is celebrated for his 'dream' of a just America, but by the end of his career King was calling for a "radical reconstruction" of the United States. What compelled the transformation of King's ideas and what do they tell us about our society today? For the 2021 Annual MLK Birthday Celebration, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor engaged these questions in hopes of unlocking the ideas and strategies necessary to enact effective and lasting change in the United States. A Q&A session followed the lecture, moderated by Brandon Mack, community activist and lead organizer for Black Lives Matter: Houston.
The Chapel started this important annual gathering in 1979 to connect the contemporary implications of Dr. King’s legacy to the ongoing struggle for civil and human rights, captured through artist Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk. This sculpture, located on the plaza adjacent to the Chapel, is dedicated to Dr. King.
About the Presenter Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of African-American Studies at Princeton University. She is author of Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership, published in 2019 by the University of North Carolina Press, longlisted for a National Book Award for nonfiction and a 2020 finalist for the Pulitzer in History. Taylor’s book From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, won the Lannan Cultural Freedom Award for an Especially Notable Book in 2016. She is also editor of How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective, which won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ nonfiction in 2018. Taylor is a columnist for The New Yorker.
About the Moderator Brandon Mack is a community activist and sociologist dedicated to issues related to the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation. He is a lead organizer with Black Lives Matter: Houston, Co-Chapter Director of New Leaders Council - Houston, Screening Committee and Education and Advocacy Chair of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, and Research Coordinator for the Mayor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Mack is currently a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Leadership & Policy Studies at University of Houston.
Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture Series in Peace, Social Justice and Human Rights Is this really a racial reckoning? with Charles M. Blow Presented in partnership with the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at UT’s School of Law
After the killing of George Floyd, millions of people, of all races and ethnicities, in America and around the world, poured into the streets as part of historic protests to demand racial justice. Some began to call those protests a major civil rights moment, a long-overdue, honest dealing with racial justice and equality. But, as months have passed, as progress has stalled and protests narrow, we are forced to wrestle with the question: Is this really a racial reckoning?
Join the Rothko Chapel and the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at the University of Texas at Austin for the 6th annual Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture in Peace, Social Justice and Human Rights.
The 2020 Farenthold Lecture kicked-off a series of Rothko Chapel programs exploring the past, present, and future of civil and human rights in this country. Which rights are particularly at-risk in today’s society, and how can we become more effective advocates and activists as we work to undo injustice and create a society of equality and equity? A moderated Q&A session by ABC13’s news anchor Melanie Lawson followed the lecture.
About Charles M. Blow Charles M. Blow is an Op-Ed columnist at The New York Times, where his column appears on Mondays and Thursdays. Mr. Blow’s columns tackle hot-button issues such as social justice, racial equality, presidential politics, police violence, gun control, and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Mr. Blow is also a CNN commentator and was a Presidential Visiting Professor at Yale, where he taught a seminar on media and politics. He is the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times best-selling memoir, Fire Shut Up in My Bones. The book won a Lambda Literary Award and the Sperber Prize and made multiple prominent lists of best books published in 2014. People Magazine called it “searing and unforgettable.”
Mr. Blow joined The New York Times in 1994 as a graphics editor and quickly became the paper’s graphics director, a position he held for nine years. He then went on to become the paper’s design director for news before leaving in 2006 to become the art director of National Geographic Magazine. Before coming to The Times, Mr. Blow had worked at The Detroit News. He graduated magna cum laude from Grambling State University in Louisiana, where he received a B.A. in mass communications, and he holds an honorary doctorate from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. He lives in Brooklyn and has three children.
Los servicios de interpretación estarán a cargo de Antena Houston
El Premio bienal Óscar Romero de la Capilla Rothko, se ha otorgado cada dos años, desde 1986, en reconocimiento al valeroso trabajo de incidencia comunitaria en favor de los derechos humanos. El premio lleva su nombre en honor al arzobispo Óscar Romero de San Salvador, quien fuera asesinado el 24 de marzo de 1980 debido a su fuerte oposición contra la violenta opresión de sus compatriotas.
Partiendo de los temas sobre cambio climático discutidos en nuestro Simposio de Primavera del 2019: “Hacia un mejor futuro: Transformando la crisis climática”, la Capilla Rothko reconocerá a tres personas comprometidas con la justicia del medio ambiente y quienes juntas representan la intersección de la Capilla Rothko con el arte, la espiritualidad y los derechos humanos.
Los galardonados del 2020 incluyen a: Germán Chirinos, Fundador de MASSVIDA (Honduras); Bernadette Demientieff, Directora Ejecutiva de Gwich’in Steering Committee (Alaska); y a Jorge Díaz, Co-Fundador de AgitArte (Puerto Rico).
Gérman Chirinos es activista hondureño por los derechos del agua y la tierra. Desde hace más de 10 años, tierras protegidas y públicas del sur de Honduras han sido privatizadas y proyectos de energía a gran escala y de explotación forestal han limitado el acceso al agua y a la tierra. Motivado por esta creciente crisis medioambiental, en el 2014 Gérman se unió a otros activistas para fundar el Southern Environmental Movement for Life (Movimiento Ambientalista del Sur por la Vida) o MASSVIDA, una asociación que incluye a 37 comunidades que se encuentran en resistencia activa en contra de la destrucción de la tierra y el agua. Cuando se le preguntó sobre el impacto de este premio para MASSVIDA, Germán dijo: “Ya no nos podrán silenciar, nuestro trabajo será reconocido.” Bernadette Demientieff es la Directora Ejecutiva de la Gwich’in Steering Committee (Junta Directiva de Gwich’in) y es Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in. Bernadette es firme en su protección del Refugio Ártico Nacional de la Vida Silvestre del Llano Costero, el Porcupine Caribou Herd (La Manada del Puerco Espín Caribú) y el modo de vida Gwich’in. Bernadette es miembro del consejo del Arctic Refuge Defense Council (Consejo de Defensa de Refugio Ártico). También ejerce como miembro del comité asesor del NDN Collective (Colectivo Indígena), el Care of Creations Task Force (Grupo de Trabajo del Cuidado de las Creaciones), el Native Movement Alaska (Movimiento Nativo de Alaska) y el Defend the Sacred Alaska (Defensa de la Sagrada Alaska). Es miembro tribal del Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in Tribal Government (Gobierno Tribal Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in) y es líder del consejo del ITR. Cuando se le preguntó sobre sus años de activismo, Bernadette respondió, "Todxs debemos recordar que estamos en un camino espiritual, y que son fundamentales tanto la co-existencia como el respeto mutuo hacia las formas de vida de lxs demás".
Jorge Díaz co-fundó AgitArte en 1997 en Santurce, PR, y es uno de los editores del libro When We Fight, We Win! (Cuando luchamos, ¡ganamos!). Jorge es titiritero, educador popular y organizador bicultural con más de 25 años de experiencia. Está profundamente comprometido con las luchas de la clase trabajadora contra sistemas opresivos, concretamente el colonialismo, el patriarcado, la supremacía blanca y el capitalismo. Jorge es también uno de los fundadores de Papel Machete, un colectivo radical de artistas y trabajadores de teatro callejero/titiriteros dedicado a la educación, agitación y trabajo solidario en el Puerto Rico del siglo XXI y en su Diáspora. Al recibir la noticia del premio, Jorge dijo: “Acepto este premio como una oportunidad para reafirmar mi compromiso individual de continuar en la lucha colectiva por una vida en la que podamos liberarnos de la violencia”.
Este programa está financiado por The Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation.
The Rothko Chapel's biennial Óscar Romero Award has been given every two years since 1986 in recognition of courageous, grassroots human rights advocacy. The award is named in honor of Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador who was assassinated on March 24, 1980, because of his vocal opposition to the violent oppression of his fellow citizens. Building upon climate change topics addressed at our 2019 Spring Symposium: “Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis,” the Chapel honors three recipients who are committed to climate justice, and together represent the Chapel's intersection of art, spirituality and human rights. 2020 Awardees include: Gérman Chirinos, Founder of MASSVIDA (Honduras); Bernadette Demientieff, Executive Director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee (Alaska); and Jorge Díaz, Co-Founder of AgitArte (Puerto Rico). The virtual ceremony was led by David Leslie, Executive Director of the Rothko Chapel and an invocation was given by Myokei Caine-Barrett, Shonin, the Resident Priest of Myoken-ji Temple in Houston. This year's Nomination Committee included Cassandra Carmichael, Executive Director at the National Religious Partnership for the Environment; Guillermo Kerber, former Program Executive for Climate Justice at the World Council of Churches; Cara Mertes, Project Director for Moving Image Strategies at the Ford Foundation; Marianne Møllmann. Director of Regional Programs at the Fund for Global Human Rights; Bryan Parras, Healthy Communities Campaign Organizer at the Sierra Club; and Nato Thompson, Artistic Director at Philadelphia Contemporary. About the Awardees: Gérman Chirinos is a land and water rights activist from Honduras. Over the past 10 years, protected and publicly held lands in southern Honduras have been privatized, and large-scale energy projects and logging have limited access to water and land. Motivated by this growing environmental crisis, Gérman joined other activists in 2014 to found the Southern Environmental Movement for Life (Movimiento Ambientalista del Sur por la Vida) or MASSVIDA, an association of 37 communities in active resistance to the destruction of land and water. When asked what difference the award will make for MASSVIDA, Gérman said: “We will no longer be silenced, our work will become known.” Bernadette Demientieff is the Executive Director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee and she is Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in. Bernadette stands strong to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge-Coastal Plain, the Porcupine Caribou Herd and the Gwich’in way of life. Bernadette is a council member for the Arctic Refuge Defense Council. She also serves as an advisory board member for NDN Collective, the Care of Creations Task Force, Native Movement Alaska, and Defend the Sacred Alaska. She is a tribal member of the Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in Tribal Government, and on the leadership council for ITR. When asked about her years of advocacy, Bernadette said, "We must all remember that we are on a spiritual path and that co-existing and respecting each other’s ways of life is important." Jorge Díaz co-founded AgitArte in 1997 based in Santurce, PR and is an editor of the book When We Fight, We Win! He is a puppeteer, popular educator and bicultural organizer with over 25 years of experience. He is deeply committed to working class struggles against oppressive systems, namely colonialism, patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism. Jorge is also a founding member of Papel Machete, a collective of radical artists and street theater/puppetry workers dedicated to education, agitation and solidarity work in 21st century Puerto Rico and its Diaspora. Upon announcement of receiving the award, Jorge said, "I take this award as an opportunity to reaffirm my individual commitment to continue in the collective struggle for a life in which we can be free from violence." This program was underwritten by The Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation.
Over the next year, each Twelve Moments will highlight the role of music and sound in spiritual practices, and how these practices sustain us in the face of current challenges and injustices. For the month of February, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Bahá'í tradition, led by members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Houston, organized by Marcel Wormsley.
According to the Baha’i writings, music is “a ladder for our souls, a means whereby we may be lifted up unto the realm on high.” In the Baha’i tradition, music will often involve the setting of sacred writings to song and instrument, or may be in the form of a prayer chant. Join to experience an immersion into a slice of the musical soul of the Baha’i community, including performances by Badie Khaleghian (vocals, keyboard), TJ Stapleton (vocals, guitar), Robyn Smith Retzlaff (vocals), and Kamal Khanjani (vocals). The musical offerings will be uplifting, contemplative, and sublime, and are exemplary of what the Baha'i community may hear during periodic gatherings, devotionals and holy day celebrations.
About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
About the presenters The Bahá'í Faith has been part of the Houston community since the 1930s. The first Local Spiritual Assembly in Houston was established in 1942, and local members were involved in legal and social civil rights movement efforts from the 40s through the 60s. Since the early 2000s, the Houston Baha'i Center has made its home in Midtown Houston. Currently, the Houston Bahá’ís are involved in various community building efforts throughout the city, including children's education, junior youth groups, and study circles, all punctuated by regular devotional gatherings throughout the city, and firesides in homes and at the Houston Baha'i Center. To learn more visit bahaihouston.com
Over the next year, each Twelve Moments will highlight the role of music and sound in spiritual practices, and how these practices sustain us in the face of current challenges and injustices. For the month of March, the Rothko Chapel presents a meditation in the Hindu tradition, led by Dr. Hansa Medley and representatives of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) of Houston. In this traditional Vedic or Hindu meditation we will vibrate sacred sound in the form of the maha-mantra (maha - great, man - mind, tra - liberating). To start, our first mantra meditation will be chanted individually (japa), then we will chant the maha-mantra collectively in call-and-response (kirtan) accompanied accompanied by Doug Sauer (mridanga drum) and Damodar Sharan (harmonium & vocals).
About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
About the presenter Hansa Bhakti Medley M.D. has been practicing Gaudiya Vaisnavism since 1981 under the guidance of H.H. Tamal Krishna Goswami, a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna Movement. In addition to being the Director of Outreach for the Hare Krishna Temple where she serves as a teacher, priest and advisor, she also works as primary care physician.
Douglas Sauer has been serving as a brahmacari, student-monk, in the ISKCON Houston community for the past 2 years. Born & raised in Pittsburgh, PA, he completed a BA in Criminology from Pennsylvania State University. While in college he developed an interest in eastern spiritual practices and began his personal practice of meditation and yoga. It was there that he met some practitioners of the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition, and became attracted by both the rich depth of its philosophy and the sincere application of its principles by its followers. He is currently preparing for formal initiation or baptism in ISKCON.
Damodara Sharana das (Devesh Kasireddy) has been practicing mantra meditation since his childhood, for nearly 21 years, committing to a daily regimen of chanting and singing in prayer. He is a youth leader at ISKCON who also engages in outreach & interfaith activities. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston, studying Biochemistry with the hopes of pursuing medical school.
Please note, this livestream recording is choppy during the Q&A session due to some connection disruption during the live event.
Over the next year, each Twelve Moments will highlight the role of music and sound in spiritual practices, and how these practices sustain us in the face of current challenges and injustices. For the month of January, the Rothko Chapel presented a crystal bowl meditation to mark New Year's Day, led by Dana Shamas of Bayou Bliss Yoga.
About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
About the presenter Dana’s passion for health and wellbeing comes from the heart. As a therapeutic yoga teacher, breathwork facilitator, biofield tuning practitioner, and crystal bowl musician, Dana understands how complementary tools in the healing arts can facilitate a profound and lasting transformation. Her work as a certified practitioner in biofield tuning brings structure and form to the power of healing vibration that is available to all beings. With her generous spirit and open nature, she creates a safe and nurturing environment in which her clients can explore, release, receive, and heal.
Dana’s previous work in the world of business and finance gives her a unique perspective on the challenges we face day to day, and how elusive a sense of wholeness and harmony can be. Dana knows that harmony within ourselves gives us the capacity to create a more harmonious life. She is dedicated to helping people find a deeper connection to their Higher Selves so that they may fully express who they are and what they are meant to do.
Over the next year, each Twelve Moments will highlight the role of music and sound in spiritual practices, and how these practices sustain us in the face of current challenges and injustices. For the month of December, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Christian tradition, led by representatives from Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Music Ministry. Organized by Music Minister Leon Lewis (keyboard) and featuring Sabrina Gatson (vocals) and Jamie Perry (violin), this contemplative performance explored the history and significance of gospel music in the Baptist tradition.
About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
About the presenters Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church is a worshiping, witnessing and welcoming congregation committed to a spirit of excellence in the praise of the Almighty God through Jesus Christ; the Christian Education of children, youth and adults for the maturation in the faith; and worldwide ministry for the promotion of peace and justice in every aspect of life. In March of 1962, 13 pioneering worshipers assembled in the lounge of Texas Southern University’s Baptist Student Union for the sole purpose of establishing an ecclesiastical form of expression through which the worship of God and service to mankind could co-exist. Led by Founding Pastor Rev. William A. Lawson until 2004 and by Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Marcus D. Cosby today, the congregation has grown to over 12,000 members and a multitude of ministries. To learn more visit wheelerbc.org.
The Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Jain tradition, led by Samani Punya Pragya Ji & Samani Jigyasa Pragya Ji of JVB Preksha Meditation Center.
We are all familiar with external music but have you ever experienced internal music? This session compared elements of sound in two different approaches to meditation in the Jain tradition - Mantra Meditation (external sound) and Deep Breathing Meditation (internal sound). Mantra Meditation focuses on humming or chanting certain syllables and frequencies to create healing vibrations in the body, while Deep Breathing Meditation emphasizes attention to the inner vibrations and sounds within the body. Samani Ji's shared the histories of these healing meditative traditions and facilitate practices of both methods.
The Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Jewish tradition, led by Cantor Rollin Simmons of Congregation Emanu El.
During these uncertain times, it is essential to find ways to be present in the moment, to not just wish this time away, but to find joy and gratitude around and within ourselves.
As we near the most sacred time of the Jewish calendar - Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement - we will use the tools of Jewish ritual and prayer to bring awareness to our bodies and lift our spirits up with song.
Aset Hetep presented a family friendly meditation focused on unconditional love in the Ancient Kemetic (Nubian Egyptian) tradition.
Amidst the developing COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about returning to school, and ongoing work to address racial injustices, this guided meditation for all ages helped us to release judgement, negativity, and attachments, moving into a space of understanding and unconditional love. Let go of passing judgement in order to tap into the high vibrational frequency of unconditional love for self, others and the planet.
About the presenter Aset Hetep is the founder of Shemsu Ra Inc - a Non-profit 501 (c)(3) Organization dedicated to helping spread Divine Light, Love, Peace, Wisdom, Harmony, Order and Equanimity (Maat) throughout the world. She is a Certified Yoga Instructor, Certified Reiki Practitioner and Teacher. She also teaches classes on how to effectively meditate. Aset left the corporate world two years ago, where she worked as a Senior Computer Security Engineer to serve a higher purpose in the world fulltime.
About the Twelve Moments series Since 2005, the Rothko Chapel has shared a monthly contemplative practice featuring different spiritual and faith traditions. Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, this series engages teachers and religious leaders locally from the greater Houston community, providing opportunities to learn more about specific traditions and participate in a contemplative practice.
Please note the meditation recording is choppy for the first 40 seconds.
For the month of November, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Bön Buddhist tradition, led by Tibetan Lama Geshe Denma Gyaltsen and Tibetan meditation teacher, Alejandro Chaoul of Ligmincha Texas. This session of Tibetan meditation used seed syllables, comprised of three vocalized sounds that connect and awaken your body, speech, and mind. Each seed sound is explored first individually then combined to promote clarity and balance amidst the stressors of a pandemic, hurricanes, wildfires, and election season.
Dr. Alejandro Chaoul is the founding director of The Jung Center's Mind Body Spirit Institute (MBSI) and holds a doctoral degree in religious studies from Rice University. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at UT Medical School and MD Anderson Cancer Center, where since 1999, he has been leading people with cancer and their family members through mind/body/spirit techniques aimed at reducing stress and facilitating healing. He has also engaged in research to assess the benefits of these practices in different populations. Dr. Chaoul is the author of Tibetan Yoga for Health and Well-Being and Chöd Practice in the Bön Tradition. Dr. Chaoul has personally studied Buddhist practices and traditions with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Löpon Tenzin Namdak and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. He brings over 20 years of experience as a teacher of Bön Buddhism and Tibetan yoga. His affiliation with the Ligmincha Institute has given him the opportunity to instruct throughout the United States, Latin America, and Europe. He is also a senior teacher of the 3 Doors program and has been recognized as a Fellow of the Mind & Life institute. Dr. Chaoul serves as an advisor of the Rothko Chapel.
Geshe Denma Gyaltsen is the resident lama of Ligmincha Texas. He arrived in Houston in January 2016 to serve as Ligmincha Texas’s first resident lama. Geshe Denma was born in northern Nepal. His father brought him to Menri Monastery, India, regarded as the mother Bon monastery in exile, in 1981 to begin his program of study toward the Geshe degree. He received all the Bon teachings, initiations and transmissions in sutra, tantra and dzogchen from His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizin, and His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche. When he became a senior student, he was asked to teach philosophy to younger students. He successfully completed this degree program in 1996 and was awarded the Geshe certificate, which is considered equivalent to a Ph.D. in Bön Buddhist philosophy and religion. Geshe Denma was an accomplished teacher and in 1998 was appointed, with the approval of the Tibetan government in exile, first abbot of Zhu Rishing Yungdrung Kundak-Ling Monastery, a Bon Monastery in Sikkim, India by His Holiness. He served two terms in this capacity until 2003. In addition, from the time he graduated until 2008, Geshe Denma also was active in assisting Geshe Nyima Dakpa with the Bon Children’s Home, which houses many children in Dolanji, India, providing them with food, healthcare and free education.
Celebrating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Rothko Chapel, in partnership with the Barbara Jordan – Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University, presented a conversation exploring the influence of MLK and the Civil Rights Movement on the environmental justice movement. Scholars, activists and community leaders explored the evolution of the environmental justice movement, continued environmental challenges and inequities faced by vulnerable and frontline communities, and actions being taken to improve the health of the region.
Speakers include: George Kieh, TSU BJ-ML School of Public Affairs Dean; David Leslie, Executive Director of the Rothko Chapel; Dr. Robert Bullard, Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University; Richard M. Mizelle, Jr., Associate Professor of History and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Houston; Bridgette Murray, Founder and Executive Director of Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS); and Yvette Arellano, policy research and grassroots advocate with Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s.).
This program was presented as part of the Rothko Chapel’s two-year programmatic initiative exploring climate change's impact on individuals around the world, culminating with the biennial Rothko Chapel Óscar Romero Award for Human Rights in 2020.
Offsite Program 5/16/19 Neuroscience and Visual Art: The Complex Relationship of Light, Color and the Brain Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS)
“It is not what you look at that matters. It is what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
Light allows us to experience our world, including art, and different lighting conditions have a profound impact on our overall visual perception.
This lecture by neurologist and Rothko Chapel board member, Dr. Aziz Shaibani, illustrated the physical properties of light and the way the brain processes light and color, providing insight into the complex relationship between light, perception, and art.
This event was one in a series of offsite programs presented by the Rothko Chapel in partnership with Houston-area organizations while the Chapel is closed for restoration. The Rothko Chapel and grounds are closed to the public, to reopen in early 2020. This temporary closure is the first part of the implementation of the Rothko Chapel Opening Spaces master plan, focused on preserving the Chapel as a unique public art site and spiritual space, serving the growing number of visitors and program participants, and setting the stage for programmatic expansion.
About the presenter: Aziz Shaibani, MD, is a practicing neurologist in Houston who also specializes in neuromuscular medicine and neurophysiology. Dr. Shaibani graduated from Mosul University in Iraq in 1983 and completed residency in neurology and fellowship in neuromuscular disorders at Baylor College of Medicine, and currently is the director of Nerve & Muscle Center of Texas and is affiliated with Baylor St Luke's Medical Center. He is a clinical professor at Baylor College of Medicine. He is past president of the Texas Neurological Society and current vice president of the neuromuscular section of the American Academy of Neurology, and the past president of the National Arab American Medical Association, and currently serves as the President of the Arab-American Educational Foundation and is on the Board of the Arab American National Museum and the Rothko Chapel. Dr. Shaibani published a prize winning book "Video Atlas of Neuromuscular Diseases," the second edition was released in 2018 by Oxford University Press. He has published many articles in peer reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine.
4/8/19 Offsite: Texas Light: The Art & Architecture of the Rothko Chapel University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design Theater
Presented in partnership with the University of Houston School of Architecture, this program explored the role of light in creating intentional experiences, and the history of the Rothko Chapel’s architectural design with special focus on the skylight, from conception to post-renovation. The program included presentations by Christopher Rothko, George Sexton, and Stephen Cassell, and will be followed by a moderated conversation by Sandra Zalman, UH Art History Professor.
Christopher Rothko, writer, son of the artist Mark Rothko, and former Chair of the Rothko Chapel Board of Directors, will share the history of the commission and design of the Rothko Chapel, the collaboration between Mark Rothko and original architect Phillip Johnson, the importance of natural light in the Rothko Chapel (and how this differs from Rothko paintings) and the past iterations of the Chapel skylight since its opening in 1971.
Stephen Cassell, founding Principal of Architecture Research Office (ARO), who is leading the restoration effort of the Chapel, will discuss the current state of the Chapel and the planned restoration project, including the new skylight, that will for the first time fully bring the Chapel into alignment with Mark Rothko’s original vision. Cassell will also describe the expansion of the Chapel’s campus with three new buildings that support the Chapel’s public programs.
George Sexton, Founder and Principal of George Sexton Associates, and an expert in museum lighting will discuss how the design of the new skylight and baffle system was developed through the use of a large-scale day-light model. Sexton will also discuss the innovative artificial lighting system that will light the paintings.
This event was one in a series of offsite programs presented by the Rothko Chapel in partnership with Houston-area organizations while the Chapel is closed for renovations. The Rothko Chapel and grounds are closed to the public, to reopen in winter 2019/2020. This temporary closure is the first part of the implementation of the Rothko Chapel Opening Spaces master plan, focused on preserving the Chapel as a unique public art site and spiritual space, serving the growing number of visitors and program participants, and setting the stage for programmatic expansion.
3/2/19 1-2:30pm Legislation and Public Policy Strategies
Positive climate change outcomes depend on sound legislative decisions at the local, state, and national levels. Attendees learned about current policy initiatives and how we can be more effective advocates.
Lara Cottingham, Chief of Staff of the Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department and the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Houston Jay Blazek Crossley, Executive Director of Farm&City Luke Metzger, Executive Director of Environment Texas Bakeyah Nelson, Executive Director of Air Alliance Houston Moderator: Elizabeth Love, Senior Program Officer for the Houston Endowment, Inc.
The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
3/2/19 10:45am-12:15pm Communicating Climate Change
Our current climate crisis demands that we identify new modes of communication to convey the urgent moment we find ourselves in and to demonstrate why people should care. This presentation and conversation followed the work and perspectives of an artist, former coal miner, environmental journalist and Indigenous leader.
Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Founder, Host and Producer of First Voices Indigenous Radio and a member of the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation of South Dakota Jim Morris, journalist and interim CEO of the Center for Public Integrity Eve Mosher, artist and creator of the HighWaterLine project Nick Mullins, former Appalachian coal miner and founder of Breaking Clean, an environmental communication firm working to develop messaging strategies across sociocultural and political divides Moderator: Christie Manning, PhD, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Psychology at Macalester College
The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
3/2/19 2:30-3pm Closing Reflections and Moving Forward
David Leslie, Executive Director of the Rothko Chapel, and Dr. Shivas Amin, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of St. Thomas, reflected with symposium attendees on the range of topics covered and discussed some of the many opportunities for action and advocacy.
The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
3/1/19 2-5:15pm The Science, Policy, Technology, and Economics of Climate Change: Past, Present and Future
This cross-sector, interactive session shined a light on the perspectives and work of scientists, economists, policy makers, environmentalists, and engineers, and included presentations, breakout discussions and a moderated conversation.
Jim Blackburn, Co-Director of Severe Storm Predication, Education, and Evacuation from Disaster (SSPEED) Center Mark Boling, Founder and CEO of 2C Energy, LLC Astrid Caldas, Senior Climate Scientist at Union of Concerned Scientists Maha N. Haji, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Research Affiliate Amy Myers Jaffe, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and Environment and Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change at the Council on Foreign Relations Michael Skelly, Senior Advisor of Renewable Energy & Sustainability at Lazard
The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
3/2/19 12:35-12:55pm Remarks from the Mayor of Houston
The Honorable Mayor Sylvester Turner gave a short address on climate initiatives in the city of Houston.
The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
3/1/19 12:30-1:45pm Environmental Injustices faced by Frontline, Indigenous and Vulnerable Communities
This presentation and conversation included a pre-recorded message and poetry video from Marshall Islander poet Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner. From oyster beds in Louisiana, to the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington state, low income communities and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the changing climate. This presentation and discussion shared firsthand accounts of the realities three specific communities currently face, including their work toward change and the creative opportunities that arise to combat these injustices.
Jim Morris, journalist and interim CEO of the Center for Public Integrity Bryan Parras, Co-Founder of the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s.) and Dirty Fuels Gulf Coast Organizer at Sierra Club Fawn Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation in the Pacific Northwest Moderator: Earthea Nance, PhD, PE, CFM, Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University
The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
2/28/19 Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis
"The Human Toll of Climate Change: A Reporter's Reflections" Opening Keynote Address by Somini Sengupta, The New York Times International Climate Reporter and George Polk Award-winning foreign correspondent
Climate change is not only about the planet -- it's about the past, present, and future of the people who live here. Sengupta shares reflections from her writings about the human toll of climate change on vulnerable communities around the world.
The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
Somini Sengupta, The New York Times’s international climate reporter, tells the stories of communities and landscapes most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. A George Polk Award-winning foreign correspondent, she has reported from a Congo River ferry, a Himalayan glacier, the streets of Baghdad and Mumbai and many places in between. As The Times’s United Nations correspondent, she reported on global challenges from war to women's rights. Her first book, The End of Karma: Hope and Fury Among India's Young was published in 2016 by W.W. Norton. She grew up in India, Canada and the United States, graduating from the University of California at Berkeley.
3/1/19 Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis
"Impact of Climate Change on Mind, Body, and Spirit" Panel
Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Founder, Host, and Executive Producer of First Voices Indigenous Radio and member of the Cheyenne River Lakota of South Dakota Christie Manning, PhD, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Psychology at Macalester College Umair A. Shah, Executive Director and Local Health Authority for Harris County Public Health Department Moderator: Alejandro Chaoul, Director of The Jung Center’s Mind Body Spirit Institute and Director of Education at the Integrative Medicine program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
The impact of climate change is vast—impacting our countries, cities, communities, homes and each of us on a personal level. This conversation will explore the physical, psychological and spiritual effects of the changing climate, engaging the perspectives of a public health official, a research psychologist, and an Indigenous leader from the Lakota Tribe.
This program was a part of "Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis." The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
3/2/19 Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis
8:45-9am Morning Observance and Poetry "Multiple Choice Test after the Hurricane" by Jackson Neal, Houston Youth Poet Laureate and National Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador
"Young Activists Speak Out" Panel Juan Elizondo, 31-year-old from Houston, Texas, Partnerships Coordinator and Instructional Specialist at Furr High School Jayden Foytlin, 15-year-old from Rayne, Louisiana, an indigenous climate activist, and a plaintiff in the case, Juliana v. United States Nadia Nazar, 16-year old from Baltimore, Maryland, Co-Founder, Co-Executive Director, and Art Director of Zero Hour Moderator: Estrella Sainburg, GreenFaith Organizer
The people who are the least responsible for climate change are the ones who will be the most impacted long-term. Knowing this, they are taking the lead in making their demands for a livable climate known to the leaders of our cities and countries. This panel will explore what young leaders from different parts of the country are doing to lead us toward a better climate future. Examples include a class action lawsuit against the government, a national youth-led protest march, and joining local advocacy groups and empowering young people to make change.
This program was a part of "Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis." The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
This interfaith conversation explores the map of climate change and how to navigate it through the lenses of Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Sikh traditions. Panelists spoke about what they see as possible paths to take, and whether we might reimagine new ones going forward.
Vijaya Nagarajan, Associate Professor in Department of Theology and Religious Studies and the Program of Environmental Studies at University of San Francisco Sister Damien Marie Savino, FSE, PhD, Dean of Science and Sustainability at Aquinas College Rajwant Singh, President at EcoSikh and Executive Director of Guru Gobind Singh Foundation Rabbi Daniel Swartz, Executive Director of Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) and Spiritual Leader at Temple Hesed Moderator: Steve Kolmes, Chair of the Environmental Studies Department and Molter Chair in Science at the University of Portland
This program was a part of "Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis." The Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas hosted a three day symposium exploring the current climate crisis, its impact on vulnerable communities, and mitigation efforts being implemented locally and nationally.
Given the global interconnectedness of the climate crisis, the symposium explored how best to move to a zero emission, low carbon economy through the engagement of presenters from religious, Indigenous, public health, energy, government, philanthropic, academic and arts sectors and communities. A central focus was on individual and institutional actions, practices and policies that must be taken to create a more livable and equitable future.
2/6/2019 Twelve Moments: Stewardship Zen Buddhist Tradition with Mary Carol Edwards
For the month of February, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation on the topic of "Stewardship" in the Zen Buddhist tradition, led by Mary Carol Edwards.
This program preceded our 2019 Symposium "Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis" taking place February 28 through March 2 at the Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas. To learn more, click here.
About the presenter: Mary Carol is a lay entrusted dharma teacher at the Houston Zen Center. After exploring various faith traditions, she began practicing Zen Buddhism in the Soto lineage in 1998. She also has a calling for environmental restoration, particularly wetlands. She was a stormwater wetland specialist for Texas A&M Extension Service for 8 years, and recently started on a new path as a wetland plant farmer. Mary Carol has deep roots in Texas as a 9th generation native, and loves to see nature and the dharma flourishing in Houston.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month at 12pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a contemplative practice focusing on different spiritual or faith traditions featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. This series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about specific spiritual and faith traditions and experience a contemplative practice.
2/5/2019 Poetic Reflections by Gerling-Mut Duo
Poetic Reflections was performed by Dr. Ingrid Gerling (violin/voice) and Dr. Andreea Mut (piano). Each piece in the program was based on meditation, sacred text, or religiously inspired poetry, written by composers of different religious backgrounds and nationalities. Poetic Reflections aimed to share an experience of universal spirituality that can be deeply felt through music. One of Houston's most notable composers, Paul English, debuted a piece composed for Gerling-Mut Duo, centering around the mission of the Rothko Chapel. Gerling-Mut Duo were joined by guest musicians Gabriel Santiago, guitar, and Cassio Duarte, percussion.
About Gerling-Mut Duo: Known for their dynamic performances and creative programming, Dr. Ingrid Gerling and Dr. Andreea Muţ are re-energizing the concept of the violin and piano duo. They began their musical collaboration in 2012, while pursuing their Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees at the University of Houston. Upon graduating in 2015, they officially formed the Gerling-Mut Duo with the mission to bring new life to this traditional genre. They perform a wide range of repertoire, and share a strong commitment to performing contemporary music. Since its formation, the Gerling-Mut Duo has given multiple recitals at the University of St. Thomas and performs weekly for the Harmony in the Air series at the Hobby Airport.
Their recent performances at San Jacinto College and at the Memorial Classical Music series were received with great enthusiasm, and they have since been invited to give recitals at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church and Grace United Methodist Church. The Gerling-Mut Duo was also featured at Miller Outdoor Theatre and the Rice University Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance as part of the Arts of Tolerance program. Future plans include another series of recitals at University of St. Thomas and other venues in Houston, outreach performances throughout Houston, and a recital tour in Brazil.
This program was presented in celebration of World Interfaith Harmony Week | February 1 – 7, 2019
The World Interfaith Harmony Week was first proposed at the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2010 by H.M. King Abdullah II of Jordan. Just under a month later, on October 20, 2010, it was unanimously adopted by the UN.
The World Interfaith Harmony Week extends the two common religious commandments: Love of the Good, and Love of the Neighbor, and includes all people of goodwill, those of faith and those with no faith. The week provides a platform when all interfaith groups and other groups of goodwill can show the world what a powerful movement they are. It is hoped that this initiative will provide a focal point from which all people of goodwill can recognize that the common values they hold far outweigh the differences they have, and thus provide a strong dosage of peace and harmony to their communities. For more information on World Interfaith Harmony Week and other events happening around the world, please visit: worldinterfaithharmonyweek.com
1/15/2019 Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration
In honor of the life and work of the Rev. Dr. King, the Chapel hosted a conversation between civil rights activist and organizer Rev. Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr. and Former Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao exploring the influence of Mahatma Gandhi on Dr. King, moderated by Melanie Lawson. The program featured opening remarks by Mayor Sylvester Turner and Consul General of India, Dr. Anupam Ray. This program coincided with the Houston-wide Gandhi Sesquicentennial Celebration in partnership with the Mahatma Gandhi Library-Houston.
A performance by Indrajit Banerjee (sitar) and Shantilal Shah (tabla) took place from 6:30-7pm during seating for the event. A performance by the Phillip Hall Singers concluded the program.
Rev. Francene Young, Christian Tradition Wednesday, December 5, 2018
For the month of December, the Rothko Chapel presented a contemplative practice on the topic of "Justice," led by Rev. Francene Young of St. Luke the Evangelist Episcopal Church. Rev. Young led participants in reflections on passages related to the theme of justice from three different interpretations of the Bible, while providing prayers for families on the border.
About the presenter: The Rev. Francene Young is the current Transition Minister for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and the Vicar at St. Luke the Evangelist Episcopal Church. While working as a Vice President in Human Resources for a global energy company, she attended the Episcopal Diocese of Texas Iona School for Ministry. After successfully completing the three-year program, Francene was ordained a Transitional Deacon in 2011 and a Priest in January 2012. Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, she attended the Baptist church until being introduced to the Episcopal Church at age seventeen. After participating in a citywide Episcopal youth group in the Diocese of Ohio, Francene and her five younger siblings were confirmed in the Episcopal Church. When she was a junior in college, she led a parish on Cleveland's near west side during their transition between vicars. In the church, she has served as Senior Warden, Treasurer, Head of Lay Ministries, Verger, Christian Formation instructor, and Lay Eucharistic Minister. Francene has a master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and an undergraduate in Social Services from Cleveland State University.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month at 12pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a contemplative practice focusing on different spiritual or faith traditions featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. This series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about specific spiritual and faith traditions and experience a contemplative practice.
11/29/18 Justicia climática: Este es el momento, este es el lugar con Elizabeth Yeampierre, directora ejecutiva de UPROSE en una conversación con Bryan Parras, co-fundador de Servicios de Fomento de Justicia del Medioambiente de Texas (T.E.J.A.S.)
Cátedra Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold sobre paz, justicia social y derechos humanos Patrocinada en conjunto Bernard y Audre Rapoport para los Derechos Humanos y la Justicia
Antena Houston estará en el evento asegurando un espacio bilingüe para hablantes del inglés y el español con interpretación simultánea.
Acompáñenos a pasar una tarde con Elizabeth Yeampierre donde explorará cómo comunidades vulnerables experimentan y responden a los efectos desproporcionados del cambio climático. Yeamierre recurrirá al trabajo de activistas de justicia climática en lugares que van desde Brooklyn y Houston a Puerto Rico para ayudarnos a considerar cómo podemos participar localmente en la creación de una sociedad más justa y equitativa.
También forma parte de la exploración de la Capilla Rothko sobre temas de derechos humanos relacionados al cambio climático, que incluye el simposio de tres días, “Hacia un futuro mejor: transformando la crisis del cambio climático”, que se realizará del 28 de febrero al 2 de marzo de 2019 en la Capilla Rothko y la Universidad de St. Thomas. Para aprender más información, haga clic aquí.
Sobre Elizabeth Yeampierre: Elizabeth Yeampierre es una líder de la justicia climática reconocida internacionalmente. Puertorriqueña de orígenes africanos e indígenas, nació y se crió en la ciudad de Nueva York. Elizabeth es co-presidenta de la Alianza de Justicia Climática, una organización nacional con liderazgo de primera línea, y directora ejecutiva de UPROSE, la organización comunitaria latina más antigua de Brooklyn. Yeampierre fue la primera presidenta latina del Consejo Asesor Nacional de Justicia del Medioambiente USEPA. En el 2010, Elizabeth fue la oradora principal del primer Consejo Asesor de la Casa Blanca para el Foro sobre calidad medioambiental sobre la justicia medioambiental bajo Obama y en el 2015 presentó en la Reunión sobre cambio climático del Papa Francisco en el National Mall en Washington DC.
Sobre Bryan Parras: Bryan Parras es uno de los más dinámicos organizadores de Justicia Ambiental en la Costa del Golfo, luchando por todo el Este y el Centro de los Estados Unidos. Bryan creció en una comunidad en el Este de Houston, Texas, cerca de las más grandes concentraciones de plantas petroquímicas, refinerías, y tanques de almacenaje del mundo. Él está profundamente involucrado en la documentación de el racismo ambiental vivido por las comunidades marginadas en Houston y a lo largo de toda la región de la Costa del Golfo. El continúa a ayudar a liderar el levantamiento del movimiento de justicia ambiental y actualmente está ayudando en Houston y el resto de la Costa del Golfo a luchar por una recuperación justa despues del Huracan Harvey.
Sobre la Cátedra Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold: Consistente con la misma historia de Sissy de exponer y responder a las injusticias tanto como servidora pública como ciudadana, este ciclo de conferencias inspira a las audiencias a responder creativamente a los desafíos más grandes en términos de derechos humanos del siglo XXI.
11/29/18 "Climate Justice: The Time is Now, The Place is Here" with Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director, UPROSE In conversation with Bryan Parras, co-founder of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (T.E.J.A.S.) and Dirty Fuels Gulf Organizer with Sierra Club
Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture Series in Peace, Social Justice and Human Rights Presented in partnership with the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at UT’s School of Law
Antena Houston created a bilingual space for Spanish and English speakers through simultaneous interpretation. Antena Houston crearon un espacio bilingüe para hablantes del inglés y el español con interpretación simultánea. Ver descripción del programa en español.
The Rothko Chapel and Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice presented the 4th Annual Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture Series in Peace, Social Justice and Human Rights, which honors Sissy for her relentless pursuit of social justice. We celebrated an evening with Elizabeth Yeampierre as she explored how vulnerable communities are both experiencing and responding to the disproportionate effects of climate change. She drew on the work of climate justice activists in places ranging from Brooklyn and Houston to Puerto Rico to help us consider how we might participate locally in the creation of a more just and equitable society. The lecture was a part of the Rothko Chapel's exploration of human rights issues surrouding climate change, culminating in a three day symposium "Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis," February 28 - March 2, 2019 at the Rothko Chapel and University of St. Thomas.
About the lecturer: Elizabeth Yeampierre is an internationally recognized Puerto Rican environmental/climate justice leader of African and Indigenous ancestry, born and raised in New York City. Elizabeth is co-chair of the Climate Justice Alliance, a national frontline led organization, and Executive Director of UPROSE, Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community-based organization. She was the first Latina Chair of the USEPA National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. In 2010, Elizabeth was the opening speaker for the first White House Council on Environmental Quality Forum on Environmental Justice under Obama, and in 2015 she spoke at Pope Francis’s Climate Change Rally at the National Mall in Washington DC.
In conversation with: Bryan Parras is one of the Gulf Coast's most dynamic environmental justice organizers fighting along the entire central and eastern United States. Bryan grew up in a community on the east side of Houston, Texas, near one of largest concentrations of petrochemical plants, refineries and storage tanks in the world. He is deeply involved in the documentation of environmental racism experienced by marginalized communities from Houston and throughout the greater Gulf Coast region. He continues to help lead the rising environmental justice movement and is currently helping people in Houston and the Gulf Coast fight for a just Recovery after Hurricane Harvey.
About the lecture series: In line with Sissy’s own history of exposing and responding to injustices and inequality as both a public servant and citizen, the lecture series brings to Austin and Houston internationally renowned scholars, activists and politicians who will inspire their audiences to think and act creatively to respond to some of the greatest challenges of the 21st century.
12/1/18 World AIDS Day Observance
In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Rothko Chapel hosted a morning observance to show support and solidarity with the millions of people living with and impacted by HIV/AIDS. This program was offered in partnership with The oH Project: Oral Histories of HIV/AIDS in Houston, Harris County, and Southeast Texas. The morning program included live music, personal testimonials, and guided reflection. Gregory Hamilton, a community educator and advocate working at ASP Cares Pharmacy shared information on the state of the battle against HIV in Houston and Texas. Isis Torrente, member of the Latino HIV Task Force, Greater Houston chapter of the Positive Women's Network, and Ryan White Planning Council spoke on her experience within the HIV community in Houston. Andrew Edmonson, board member of The oH Project, shared information about the oral histories they have been collecting since 2016. Moments of reflection were led by Reverend Diane McGehee, Senior Pastor of Bering Memorial UMC, and music was performed throughout by John Edward Ross on acoustic guitar.
Established by the World Health Organization in 1988 as the first ever global health day, World AIDS Day is an occasion to reflect on the more than 35 million people who have died from HIV/AIDS since the virus was first identified in 1984, and a time to consider how to better care for the 36.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS, and their families, friends and loved ones who have been deeply impacted.
The oH Project (The Oral History Project) was founded in 2015 to collect, preserve, and make available the painful, heroic, and inspiring experiences of people impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Houston, Harris County, and Southeast Texas. The organization is capturing the personal experiences of 100 long term survivors, physicians, activists, religious and political leaders and others in order to preserve the personal and institutional history of Houston’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. These important materials is available to all, including those who need source material for research and educational purposes, at Rice University’s prestigious Woodson Research Center, ranked among “the 20 most impressive special collections,” according to Open Education Database.
Special thanks to our promotional partners Ryan White Planning Council, Bering Memorial UMC, The Montrose Center, and Legacy Community Health.
11/15/2018 34th Annual Houston Interfaith Thanksgiving Service Theme: "Care for Creation"
Leading up to the 2019 Rothko Chapel Symposium on Climate Change, the 34th Annual Houston Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will focus on the environment. Leaders and members of nine different faith communities across the city will come together to share prayers, readings, chants and reflections on the theme of “care for creation.” This year's service will include Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Zoroastrian traditions. A reception follows the program.
The service started 34 years ago in response to the bombing of a storefront mosque. After helping to raise money to support the mosque's repairs, the Annual Thanksgiving Service co-founders George Atkinson and Garland Pohl wanted to find a way for different faith organizations to come together, as thanksgiving is a common value shared by all the major world religions. Initially, participants represented Judaism, Islam and Christianity, but within three years, Buddhists, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Baha’i, Hindus and Jains joined the service. The creation of the event is a milestone in the development of interfaith dialogue in Houston.
Participants: Nazli Masrour and Shahpour Masrour, Baha’i Faith Venerable Rong Tong and Charlene Chuang, Texas Buddhist Association Rev. William Lucas and Rev. Carol Bruse, West University United Methodist Church (Christian) Acharyaa (Dr.) Kavita Vachaknavee and Dr. Harish Chandra, Arya Samaj Greater Houston (Hindu) Samani Kanchan Pragya and Samani Pranav Pragya, JVB Preksha Meditation Center Houston (Jain) Rabbi Ariel Sholklapper and Rabbi Sarah Fort, Congregation Beth Yeshurun (Jewish) Mubarak Oladejo and Shazia Ashraf, Islamic Society of Greater Houston Professor Sukhchain Singh and Amrik Singh, The Sikh National Center of Greater Houston Ervad Yazad Sidhwa and Vehista Kaikobad, Zoroastrian Association of Houston
Houston Interfaith Thanksgiving Service Committee: George Atkinson, United Methodist Riaz Masrour, Baha'i Beth Kulkarni, Hindu Alok Jain, Jain Vehishta Kaikobad, Zoroastrian Charlene Chuang, Buddhist Garland Pohl, Catholic
Imam Dr. Wazir Ali, Islamic Tradition Wednesday, November 7, 2018
In a national climate of increasing anger and hate, how does one even begin to consider the concept of reconciliation? In response to the barrage of hate incidents occurring across the country, most recently at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Imam Dr. Wazir Ali (Masjid Warithud-Deen Mohammed and Masjid Al-Qur’an) reflected on forgiveness and reconciliation, and the many difficult questions we ask ourselves on this universal topic.
About the presenter: Imam Dr. Wazir Ali is the Imam of the historic Masjid Warithud-Deen Mohammed and Masjid Al-Qur’an in Houston, Texas. Imam Dr. Ali completed an eight year mentorship program in Islamic Studies, comparative religion and Masjid administration under the guidance of Imam Qasim Ahmed. Imam Ali is also a student of the preeminent American Muslim scholar, the late Imam Warithud-Deen Mohammed (may G-d have mercy on him).
Imam Dr. Ali, an entrepreneur, kinesiologist and registered dietitian nutritionist owns a private nutrition consulting firm in Houston. Imam Ali holds a Doctorate degree in clinical nutrition from Rutgers University, a Master of Science degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas Pan American, and Bachelor of Science degrees in nutrition and psychology from the University of Houston.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month at 12pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a contemplative practice focusing on different spiritual or faith traditions featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. This series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about specific spiritual and faith traditions and experience a contemplative practice.
Rabbi Dan Gordon, Jewish Tradition Wednesday, October 3, 2018
For the month of October, the Rothko Chapel presented contemplative storytelling on the topic of "Difference" in the Jewish tradition, led by Rabbi Dan Gordon of Temple Beth Torah.
About the presenter: Rabbi Dan Gordon has been spiritual leader of Temple Beth Torah since 1998. He is involved in many interfaith activities, and has been part of four different interfaith tours overseas (three to Israel and one to Turkey). A chaplain for St. Luke’s Hospital, he teaches Sacred Vocations to hospital employees to help connect healing and spirituality. He is also a volunteer prison chaplain.
Rabbi Gordon has an international reputation as a maggid: a sacred storyteller. The Jewish tradition values “reading between the lines,” to find a soul within the story. Rabbi Gordon’s stories and presentational talents help connect with soul.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month at 12pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a contemplative practice focusing on different spiritual or faith traditions featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. This series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about specific spiritual and faith traditions and experience a contemplative practice.
9/21/2018 International Day of Peace with members of Silkroad Ensemble
In observation of International Day of Peace, the Rothko Chapel presented a performance by members of the Silkroad Ensemble, while in residency at Rice University, in collaboration with the Aga Khan Council. Performing artists included: Shawn Conley, bass; Nicholas Cords, viola; Sandeep Das, tabla; Maeve Gilchrist, harp; Kaoru Watanabe, shinobue flutes, taiko.
Set list: Taiko and Shinobue solo by Kaoru Watanabe Vaishanavi by Sandeep Das Harp Solo by Maeve Gilchrist Ostinato 4 ("Yellow Birds") by Maeve Gilchrist In Manus Tuas by Caroline Shaw Bloodlines by Kaoru Watanabe Tarang by Sandeep Das, arr. Silkroad In a Landscape by John Cage Waves of Rush by Aidan O'Rourke, arr. Maeve Gilchrist Together Alone by Kaoru Watanabe
The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") is observed around the world each year on the 21st of September. Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace. To learn more about International Day of Peace, visit internationaldayofpeace.org.
About Silkroad Ensemble: Silkroad creates music that engages difference, sparking radical cultural collaboration and passion-driven learning to build a more hopeful world.
Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998 as a reminder that even as rapid globalization resulted in division, it brought extraordinary possibilities for working together. Seeking to understand this dynamic, he began to learn about the historical Silk Road, recognizing in it a model for productive cultural collaboration, for the exchange of ideas and tradition alongside commerce and innovation. And in a radical experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a new artistic idiom, a musical language founded in difference, a metaphor for the benefits of a more connected world.
Today, these Grammy Award-winning artists seek and practice radical cultural collaboration in many forms, creating and presenting new music, teacher and musician training workshops, and residency programs in schools, museums, and communities. Silkroad has recorded seven albums. Sing Me Home, which won the 2016 Grammy for Best World Music Album was developed and recorded alongside the documentary feature The Music of Strangers, from Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville.
The Rothko Chapel presented a contemplative practice and invitation to share stories one year after Hurricane Harvey. Dr. Alejandro Chaoul of Mind Body Spirit Institute at the Jung Center led participants in a meditation, and Leslie Gauna of Houston Playback Theatre led participants in reflective story telling. Participants shared their stories with others who were impacted by the storm.
About the presenters: Dr. Alejandro Chaoul, the founding director of The Jung Center's Mind Body Spirit Institute (MBSI), holds a doctoral degree in religious studies from Rice University. He is a faculty member in the Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where, since 1999, he has used mind, body, and spirit techniques to facilitate healing in cancer patients and their families and reduce stress and promote work-life balance among support staff. Dr. Chaoul is on the Board and is a meditation and Tibetan yoga teacher of the Ligmincha Texas Institute for the Tibetan Meditative and Healing Arts. He is also an advisor for the Rothko Chapel.
Dr. Leslie Gauna, is an Assistant Professor in Bilingual and Multicultural Studies at the University of Houston Clear Lake and member of Houston Playback Theatre. She has extensive experience in teaching at all grade levels in multilingual schools with bilingual, dual language, and English as a Second Language programs in Texas. She has worked with urban schools and migrant populations in projects related to multicultural and bilingual education, violence prevention, gender, and community participation both in the U.S. and in Argentina.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month at 12pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a contemplative practice focusing on different spiritual or faith traditions featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. This series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about specific spiritual and faith traditions and experience a contemplative practice.
Stephen Findley, Laughter Meditation
The Rothko Chapel presented a laughter meditation tailored toward families and children. Led by MD Anderson Chaplain and Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher Stephen Findley, this session explored the history and role of laughter and silence in this experiential family-friendly meditation.
Together with Findley individuals of all ages used laughter in a joyful meditation--attending to the sound and feel of laughter, and experiencing the letting-go of hang-ups, inhibitions, and worries. Through laughter one experiences pure joy that is silly, open and honest, uplifting to the spirit, and healing for the body and mind. Laughter Meditation has two lovely and simple parts; First, we laugh together, then we sit together in silence and are lead into a guided meditation to deepen our inner world. This meditation doesn’t require sitting in lotus position, or breathing in special ways. All ages and experience levels welcome.
About the presenter: Stephen Findley serves as the Primary Chaplain for the Leukemia and Pediatric Services at the U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. His major focus is providing spiritual care and support to patients, caregivers, and staff. Stephen is a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains and is a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher through Laughter Yoga International. More recently Stephen has been named an Ambassador of Laughter for his selfless service to spreading laughter and wellness. Stephen holds the degree of Masters of Divinity from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Ministry from Abilene Christian University. Stephen also an Ordained Minister through the Nondenominational Agape Christian Center.
Stephen was instrumental in developing the Laughter for Health Program for outpatients and caregivers at the Integrative Medical Center at U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He shares his knowledge by speaking on topics related to Culture, Spirituality, Religion, and Wellness Issues.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, and more.
7/17/18
The Rothko Chapel and Houston Immigration Legal Services partnered to hold a thoughtful, non-partisan community gathering to educate the Houston community on why families are fleeing central America, the resulting separation of families when they arrive to the U.S border, and the issues around family detention and the criminalization of refugees. Program attendees heard first-hand accounts of what is occurring on the border and in Houston area immigration detention centers and learned about actions they can take on the local, state and national level to address this issue.
Program participants included: Kate Vickery, Executive Director of Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative; Rev. Alejandro Montes, Iglesia Episcopal San Mateo; Anne Chandler, Executive Director of Tahirih Justice Center’s Houston office; Lomi Kriel, Houston Chronicle Reporter; and Dalia Castillo-Granados, American Bar Association Children's Immigration Law Academy (ABA CILA); moderated by Zenobia T. Lai, Legal Director of the Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance of Catholic Charities.
The Rothko Chapel presented Mindful Moments for Parents and Families as a part of our summer series of family-friendly program offerings. Led by Simone Woodage from Dawn Mountain, this session offered busy parents some simple, sharable practices to promote mindfulness and full attention in the present moment. From mindful listening to mindful eating, to the gift of a simple, grateful pause, these tools are useful for adults and children alike, and can help add a beautiful new dimension to connections within a family.
About the presenter: UK-born Simone Woodage, RN, is a mother of three boys and a sought-after youth and family educator in the Houston area. On a personal mission to spread self-compassion and kindness in the world, since 2011 she has been the Family Educator at Dawn Mountain, leading mindfulness and compassion classes for children, teens, and parents. Simone holds a certificate in mindfulness fundamentals from Mindful Schools in Boston and completed the curriculum training program for educators. She has also trained as an Inner Kids instructor with Susan Kaiser Greenland, author of The Mindful Child.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, and more.
Satmitar Khalsa, Sikh Tradition Wednesday, June 6, 2018 Pay What You Can, suggested value $10
For the month of June, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Sikh tradition led by Satmitar Khalsa. We explored Guru Nanak's Mul Mantra, the origin, the root, of all Sikh teachings. When chanted, or preferably sung repeatedly, this mystical mantra provides a practical approach to achieving a stable, elevated Unity consciousness.
The presentation included: light history and story telling, brief intellectual review of the mantra, singing/chanting the mantra for personal experience, meditation/contemplation in brief silence and time for questions.
About the presenter: Satmitar Khalsa, a native Houstonian, became a certified Kundlini Yoga teacher in Portland, OR in the late 1990’s. By 2001, she began working for Yogi Bhajan in Espanola, NM. For 11 years, she lived in a spiritual community and served in the non-profits established and managed by Yogi Bhajan. Some of her duties included: Director of 3HO’s NGO/Representative to the United Nations, Director of International Peace Prayer Day and the Peace Cereal Grant Philanthropy, Director of Community and Public Relations, President and Vice President of Interfaith LEAP (a local faith based nonprofit) and other positions along the way. Recently, she created an eco-friendly design company and became a consultant for doTerra Essential Oils. Satmitar offers a transformational approach to teaching. She focuses a great deal on the breath, naad yoga (chanting) and meditation. She is grateful to return to her Texan roots and become fast friends with the unique and beloved Kundalini Yoga community in Houston. Satmitar means “True Friend.”
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. The Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, etc.
6/5/2018 Twilight Moments: World Environment Day Observation with Martha Serpas Pay What You Can, suggested contribution $15
In commemoration of World Environment Day, the Rothko Chapel will hold a Twilight Meditation led by poet Martha Serpas. Join as we unite in support of environmental justice around the world.
The paradoxes of water—conceived by death and love—may never have been as obvious as during Hurricane Harvey. Though we live alongside the unpredictable, life-giving, destructive Gulf, last August water was what we sought and what we cursed and wished away. In our meditations, water can be a teacher of receptivity and respect. Through focus on images, sound, walking, and poetry, we can reconnect with the intuitive space that rests amid water’s disparate forms and effects, which are the disparate forms of life itself. -- Martha Serpas
Attendees are invited to bring an image of water, open to their interpretation, to place inside the Chapel upon entering for the meditation. Images should be physical and/or printed (no digital images), maximum size 8.5x11 inches. Please do not bring any irreplaceable items.
About the presenter: Martha Serpas has published three poetry collections, The Diener, The Dirty Side of the Storm and Côte Blanche. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, Southwest Review, Image, and in anthologies such as The Art of the Sonnet and the Library of America’s American Religious Poems. She co-produced Veins in the Gulf, a documentary about coastal erosion in her native Louisiana. A graduate of Yale Divinity School, she serves as a trauma chaplain at Tampa General Hospital and is a member of the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program faculty.
The Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Islamic tradition led by Imam Dr. Wazir Ali of Masjid Warithud-Deen Mohammed and Masjid Al-Qur’an.
About the presenter: Imam Dr. Wazir Ali is the Imam of the historic Masjid Warithud-Deen Mohammed and Masjid Al-Qur’an in Houston, Texas. Imam Dr. Ali completed an eight year mentor-ship program in Islamic Studies, comparative religion and Masjid administration under the guidance of Imam Qasim Ahmed. Imam Ali is also a student of the preeminent American Muslim scholar, the late Imam Warithud-Deen Mohammed (may G-d have mercy on him).
Imam Dr. Ali, an entrepreneur, kinesiologist and registered dietitian nutritionist owns a private nutrition consulting firm in Houston. Imam Ali holds a Doctorate degree in clinical nutrition from Rutgers University, a Master of Science degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas Pan American, and Bachelor of Science degrees in nutrition and psychology from the University of Houston.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. The Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, and more.
Gaelyn Godwin Roshi, Zen Buddhist Tradition Wednesday, April 4, 2018
For the month of April, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Zen Buddhist tradition on the 50th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination. Led by Gaelyn Godwin Roshi of Houston Zen Center, this session explored the practice of allowing ourselves to be fully present with the moment and will lift up MLK’s profound impact on equity, peace and justice.
We enter Zen practice with awareness of our sensations, our breath, the sounds, the feeling of being a living body. In this simple yet profound meditation practice, the act of just sitting in the present moment can lead us to a sense of ease and release. Zen can be practiced by people of all faiths. It was originally taught by the Buddha as the method to live in awakening.
At 1:00pm, after the meditation, we had a moment of silence followed by an audio installation of MLK’s final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” played inside the Chapel and outside on the plaza.
Double Vision: The Unerring Eye of Art World Avatars Dominique and John de Menil Lecture & Book Signing with William Middleton
A book signing and reception at the Menil Collection's Byzantine Fresco Chapel followed the program. This program was supported by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the US.
Co-presented by the Rothko Chapel and the Menil Collection, this special reading celebrated the launch of William Middleton¹s Double Vision. With exceptional access to family archives, Middleton has written a biography of this couple as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the art world of the twentieth century and the influence of the de Menils. Middleton is a journalist and editor who has written for the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, Vogue, House & Garden, Esquire, Texas Monthly, Travel & Leisure, Departures, and the International Herald Tribune. He will sign copies of his book following the reading, and a reception for registered guests will be held at the Byzantine Fresco Chapel.
About the book: Double Vision: The Unerring Eye of Art World Avatars Dominique and John de Menil is the first and definitive biography of the celebrated collectors Dominique and John de Menil, who became one of the greatest cultural forces of the twentieth century through groundbreaking exhibits of art, artistic scholarship, the creation of innovative galleries and museums, and work with civil rights.
Dominique and John de Menil created an oasis of culture in their Philip Johnson-designed house with everyone from Marlene Dietrich and René Magritte to Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns. In Houston, they built the Menil Collection, the Rothko Chapel, the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, the Cy Twombly Gallery, and underwrote the Contemporary Arts Museum.
Now, with unprecedented access to family archives, William Middleton has written a sweeping biography of this unique couple. From their ancestors in Normandy and Alsace, to their own early years in France, and their travels in South America before settling in Houston. We see them introduced to the artists in Europe and America whose works they would collect, and we see how, by the 1960s, their collection had grown to include 17,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, rare books, and decorative objects. And here is, as well, a vivid behind-the-scenes look at the art world of the twentieth century and the enormous influence the de Menils wielded through what they collected and built and through the causes they believed in.
About the author: William Middleton is a journalist and editor who has worked in New York and Paris. He has been the Fashion Features Director for Harper's Bazaar and the Paris Bureau Chief for Fairchild Publications, overseeing W Magazine and Women's Wear Daily.
Art & Activism: An Evening with Peter Sellars
The arts play an important connecting role in society in ways that other sectors cannot. Artists can move through a variety of environments using music, performance, visual arts and other media to address difficult topics, challenge cultural stigmas, bring diverse people together, and provoke new ways of thinking that can lead to powerful social and political changes. In a time of censorship, political bullying, and polarization between people, where do the arts stand today, locally and nationally? What is the role of the arts as commentator and catalyst for social justice? And what is the responsibility of cultural institutions and patrons for preserving the arts as a voice for the public?
In partnership with Houston Grand Opera and in conjunction with their initiative Seeking the Human Spirit, join the Rothko Chapel for a conversation exploring arts and activism in society today from the perspectives of the artist, cultural institution and funder.
The conversation participants include Peter Sellars, renowned opera and theater director and professor at UCLA; Debbie McNulty, Director of Mayor Turner's Office of Cultural Affairs; and Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director of Houston Grand Opera; moderated by the Rothko Chapel’s Executive Director David Leslie.
International Women's Day Observation The Monument Quilt display on Chapel grounds, 10am-8pm Twilight Meditation inside Chapel, 6-7pm
The theme for International Women’s Day in 2018 was “Press for Progress” – the worldwide campaign calls for changing stereotypes, promoting positive visibility of women and celebrating the achievements of women. Responding to this theme and the #MeToo movement, the Chapel hosted a small display of The Monument Quilt, a quilted collection of stories from survivors of rape and abuse. The Monument Quilt is organized by FORCE, a Baltimore-based activist collective dedicated to upsetting rape culture.
In the evening we hosted a Twilight Meditation facilitated by Claire Villareal from Dawn Mountain Center for Tibetan Buddhism, along with Shanti Flagg, FORCE's Studio Director, sharing quilting stories from the many woman all over the U.S. who are survivors of sexual and domestic abuse. Join as we unite in advocacy and support of women around the world.
Shanti Flagg was onsite before and after the meditation to answer questions about FORCE and The Monument Quilt project and to guide visitors in contributing a message to be added to the project.
About the presenters: FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture is a creative activist collaboration to upset the culture of rape and promote a culture of consent. FORCE designs communications campaigns to generate media attention and get millions of people talking. The organization gained national attention for their viral panty prank, where they pretended to be Victoria’s Secret promoting consent themed slogans on underwear. Today, FORCE is most widely known for The Monument Quilt, a quilted collection of stories from survivors of rape and abuse. Learn more at upsettingrapeculture.com
Shanti Flagg is an artist and has been a collective member at FORCE for 3 years. She directs the operations of their studio headquarters in Baltimore. The project Shanti primarily works on is the Monument Quilt. She coordinates volunteers in the studio to create the quilts, and she works with the Monument Quilt Leadership Team to plan the culminating display of the Quilt on the National Mall. The Monument Quilt creates public healing space for survivors of rape and abuse.
Claire Villarreal PhD, a native of Fort Worth, TX, has been practicing and studying Buddhism since 1997. She completed her undergraduate studies, including two years of Tibetan language study with Dawn Mountain co-founder Anne C. Klein, with a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies at Rice University in 1999. Next she traveled to Thailand, where she trained with Theravada Buddhist monastics, and she has spent time in India and Nepal practicing and studying Tibetan Buddhism. Returning to Texas, Claire has taught mindfulness in a variety of settings in Fort Worth and Houston since 2004. She defended her dissertation, on the interface between contemplative practice and philosophical developments in Tibet, at Rice with Anne as advisor in spring of 2015. She administers Dawn Mountain’s programs, teaches meditation, and practices kung fu.
Fali Engineer, Zoroastrian Tradition Wednesday March 7, 2018 Pay What You Can, suggested value $10
For the month of March, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Zoroastrian tradition. Led by Fali Engineer of the Zoroastrian Association of Houston, this session explored the contemplative practice of Ahura meditation.
At present the demands of life are greater than our ability to cope. This results in stress, anxiety, fear and worry, affecting our health and well being. The best antidote for stress is deep rest. This meditation gives rest twice that of sleep. It is easily learned, as it involves no concentration. The effortless process allows the mind to quiet levels, which is a welcome relief from incessant thinking. This quieting of the mind conveys deep rest to the body for stress relief and relaxation.
About the presenter: Fali Engineer is a Zoroastrian by birth and was educated in India, worked in Pakistan and retired in the US in 1987. He learned this style of meditation in 1975 and has since taught over two thousand individuals from Pakistan to Houston, Louisiana, Colorado, and even Mexico. He has been a member of the Theosophical Society since 1966 and served as the President of the 106-year old Houston Lodge for over 7 years. He is also a member of the Zoroastrian Association of Houston, established in 1976 to promote religious, social, and cultural aspects of the Zarathushti faith to members of the Zarathushti Community and interact with members of the greater Houston metropolitan area.
Concept of the Divine Series A Hunger for Wholeness Ilia Delio in conversation with Bill Kerley
Ilia Delio, a Franciscan Sister of Washington, DC, who bridges the spheres of science and religion shared her personal concept of the Divine and how that has changed over time, as she moved from a scientist in academia to a nun within the Catholic Church. She discussed how her spiritual belief system has informed her own evolution and contributions to her community. Following her lecture, Delio engaged in a rich conversation with Houston counselor and spiritual teacher Bill Kerley, as they delve into Delio’s most recent insights on the spiritual evolution of human beings in the age of technology from her forthcoming book A Hunger for Wholeness: Soul, Space, and Transcendence.
This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Program Participants: Ilia Delio, OSF is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, DC and American theologian specializing in the area of science and religion, with interests in evolution, physics and neuroscience and the import of these for theology. Ilia currently holds the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University, and is the author of seventeen books including Care for Creation (coauthored with Keith Warner and Pamela Woods) which won two Catholic Press Book Awards in 2009, first place for social concerns and second place in spirituality. Her book The Emergent Christ won a third place Catholic Press Book Award in 2011 for the area of Science and Religion. Her recent books include The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: God, Evolution and the Power of Love (Orbis, 2013), which received the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award and a third place Catholic Press Association Award for Faith and Science.
Bill Kerley is a psychological and spiritual teacher using Jungian insights to help achieve personal and relational growth. In addition to his private practice as a counselor and spiritual director, Kerley has been an instructor at Baylor College of Medicine where he taught "at risk" heart patients the beliefs and behaviors necessary to enhance and prolong their lives. Kerley is past president of both the Houston Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and the National Speakers Association, Houston Chapter. A great deal of his energy goes into writing and giving “life talks” designed to contribute to individual psychological and spiritual growth. He does this at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church where he has been on the staff for many years.
Brandi Beckett and Simon Cox, Daoist Tradition Wednesday, February 7, 2018
For the month of February, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Daoist tradition. Led by Brandi Beckett and Simon Cox of Wudang Houston, this session explored Daoist Inner Alchemy from the San Feng lineage. The Daoist Inner Alchemy is a form of Daoist meditation centered around becoming familiar with the energies and energetic pathways in one’s body, breaking down the barrier between body and mind.
About the presenters: Simon Cox and Brandi Beckett both spent six years living and training in China at the Wudang Daoist Traditional Kung Fu Academy. While there, they were part of an intensive Daoist studies program at the Jade Void temple, where they learned Chinese, Daoist meditation, Daoist music, kung fu, tai chi, and qigong. Simon and Brandi became lineage holders of the San Feng sect in 2012.
Simon Cox is pursuing his PhD in Chinese and Tibetan religions at Rice University under Jeff Kripal. He is currently writing an intellectual history of the subtle body, looking at how energy bodies have been conceived of and engaged in traditions from ancient China, Tibet, and Syria. Brandi Beckett began studying kung fu with her mom and sister at the age of 14. She began studying Daoism when she traveled to China in 2008. While there, she learned a body-centered method of connecting with the Dao and her practice continues that tradition to this day.
Brandi and Simon teach donation-based Daoist martial arts, Tai Chi, and meditation at Fleming Park through Wudang Houston. Classes are held Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 5:00 p.m., and Saturday Tai Chi at 10:00 a.m. For more information visit wudanghouston.com
Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration "Monumental Decisions: Art, Politics, and Social Responsibility" Conversation with artist Ed Dwight, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, and Texas Southern University Art Historian and Curator Dr. Alvia Wardlaw, moderated by ABC13’s news anchor Melanie Lawson
In honor of the life and work of the Rev. Dr. King, the Chapel held a lecture and conversation exploring the power of symbols in our society today.
Symbols hold power in our society. Flags, monuments, memorials…what story do they tell? Whose story do they tell? What is our collective responsibility to ensure that public space is available for all people, and how do we shape the narrative of the landmarks placed in the public sphere?
In the past two years, a critical narrative around public monuments’ histories and intentions has garnered national attention. Before June 2015, there were more than 700 confederate monuments in public places around the nation. Many of these pieces were purchased in part with public funds, yet their selection and placement were decided by a select group of people. These symbols communicated a narrow history and were used to promote racial division and elevate white supremacy. Since 2017, over 42 of these statues and plaques have been removed.
In contrast, when sculptor Ed Dwight began making public art in the 1970s, he travelled around the country and observed few monuments chronicling the history of African Americans. Over the past forty years he has created 128 monuments, memorials & public art installations around the U.S. depicting the contributions of African Americans to America’s landscape.
Ed Dwight shared his journey beginning as an Air Force Test Pilot and America’s First African American Astronaut Candidate to a proficient public artist. Following his address, Dwight engaged in conversation with Harris County Commissioner for Precinct One Rodney Ellis and Texas Southern University Art Historian and Curator Dr. Alvia Wardlaw, moderated by ABC13's news anchor Melanie Lawson, exploring the artistic, historical and political realities of monuments in this country, and discussing the fine lines between chronicling and sharing history, preserving works of art, and creating a space that promotes justice and peace for all people.
Suzanne Benally, the first Indigenous Executive Director of Cultural Survival, shared her personal spiritual journey as a Navajo and Santa Clara from New Mexico and how this shapes her understanding of the concept of the divine. Benally explored the meaning of the Navajo concept “Hozho,” which is centered on living responsibly in a web of relationships emphasizing reciprocity with and reverence for all beings.
About the presenter: Suzanne Benally is the first Indigenous Executive Director of Cultural Survival, an organization that advocates for Indigenous Peoples' rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience since 1972. She is Navajo and Santa Clara Tewa from New Mexico.
Benally was the Associate Provost for Institutional Planning and Assessment and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She was a core faculty member in environmental studies and a member of the president’s cabinet. Before starting at Naropa in 1999, she was Deputy Director and Director of Education Programs at the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and Director of the Institute on Ethnic Diversity at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. She has worked extensively with American Indian communities and her interests, teaching, and passions are focused on the relationship between land, spirituality, and people as reflected in stories, and in environmental issues and Indigenous rights.
About the series: Concept of the Divine series provides a unique opportunity for speakers to share how their personal concept of the Divine has changed over time and shaped their lives, their service to the community, and views about their place in the cosmos. As an organization committed to interfaith dialogue and engagement, this series offers an excellent opportunity to hear from people representing diverse faith communities and other sectors of society about this important topic.
Hector Monterosso and Sandra Montes, Christian Tradition Wednesday, December 6, 2017
For the month of December, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Christian tradition with the theme "Search for a Place of Rest." Partnering with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, Bishop Monterroso provided a reflection in English on Posadas, a Latino tradition during Advent which involves re-enacting Mary and Joseph’s search for a place of rest in Bethlehem. Sandra Montes taught participants the traditional song used in Posadas in Spanish through call and response. Francisco Guevara accompanied the meditation on the guitar.
About the presenters: Bishop Héctor Monterroso was born in Guatemala and for the last 14 years, has served as Episcopal Bishop of Costa Rica. He recently joined the Episcopal Diocese of Texas as an assistant bishop. The son of a professional soccer player, Bishop Monterroso used his own soccer prowess to help plant new churches. In addition to other duties at the Diocese he will help encourage and build the growing Latino population of the Episcopal Church in Texas. He and his wife Sandra have two grown children, María Beatriz, a medical doctor in Costa Rica, and Héctor Ramón, a civil engineer.
Sandra Montes was born in Perú, grew up in Guatemala and settled in Texas. Her passions are God, family (especially her son), writing, music, and education. She has been an active member of the Episcopal Church since 1986 where she often serves as musician, translator, speaker, consultant and writer. Sandra has a doctorate in education and taught for 21 years in public elementary schools before becoming a full-time independent consultant and musician.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. The Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, and more.
World AIDS Day Observance 8-8:30am Pastries and Coffee outside on the Chapel Plaza 8:30-9:30am Meditation, music and conversation inside the Chapel
In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Rothko Chapel held a morning conversation and meditation offered in partnership with Montrose Center and Legacy Community Health. Attendees gathered to show support and solidarity with the millions of people living with and impacted by HIV/AIDS.
The morning observation included live music, community conversation, and guided meditation. Venita Ray, policy manager at Legacy Health, shared some important facts on the current state of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the citywide campaign she’s running to end HIV. A moment of silence, prayer and guided reflection was led by Reverend Laura Mayo, Senior Minister of Covenant Church, and music was performed throughout the experience by Michele Thibeaux (vocals), Denis Cisneros (guitar), and Jason Mitchell (cajón).
Established by the World Health Organization in 1988 as the first ever global health day, World AIDS Day takes place on the 1st day of December each year. It is an occasion to reflect on the more than 35 million people who have died from HIV/AIDS since the virus was first identified in 1984, and a time to consider how to better care for the 36.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS, and their families, friends and loved ones who have been deeply impacted. World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.
33rd Annual Houston Interfaith Thanksgiving Service "Helping Each Other"
Leaders and members of nine different faiths across the city offered prayers of thanksgiving and read sacred texts on thankfulness. A reception followed the program.
The service started 33 years ago in response to the bombing of a storefront mosque. After helping to raise money to support the mosque's repairs, the Annual Thanksgiving Service co-founders George Atkinson and Garland Pohl wanted to find a way for different faith organizations to come together, as thanksgiving is a common value shared by all the major world religions. Initially, participants represented Judaism, Islam and Christianity, but within three years, Buddhists, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Baha’i, Hindus and Jains joined the service. The creation of the event is a milestone in the development of interfaith dialogue in Houston.
Participants in this year's service included representatives from Houston Baha’i Center, Texas Buddhist Association, Arya Samaj Greater Houston, JVB Preksha Meditation Center Houston, Congregation Or Ami, Islamic Society of Greater Houston, The Sikh National Center of Greater Houston, Zoroastrian Association of Houston, and Faith Lutheran Church.
2017 Rothko Chapel Óscar Romero Award Pre-Program Double Jeopardy: Women and the Criminal Justice System Conversation with Julie Bindel and Dr. Andrea Link, moderated by Lise Olsen
Women of sex trafficking face the dual realities of being victims while also being prosecuted as offenders. Julie Bindel was joined in conversation with Houston advocate Dr. Andrea Link and Lise Olsen, investigative reporter with the Houston Chronicle as they explored this topic from both local and global perspectives. The local awardee for the 2017 ORA, Kathryn Griffin Griñán, provides direct service and counseling to victims of sex trafficking in Houston.
In her most recent book “The Pimping of Prostitution,” Bindel takes the debate on prostitution legislation head-on, exposing the lived realities of women in contrast with the dominant discourse in current academic and liberal feminist debates. Based on more than 250 interviews with people involved in and affected by prostitution around the world, Bindel exposes the harms of the global sex trade and documents the emergence of the exciting and vibrant survivor abolitionist movement – leading us to question when the policy makers, politicians and international human rights organizations will start to reject the mythology around prostitution, hold sex buyers accountable for the damage that they do, and truly begin to fight for the human rights of women around the world.
This program was followed by a public reception and book signing with Julie Bindel on the plaza.
About the program participants: A renowned investigative journalist, Julie Bindel has written extensively on a range of topics including violence against women, the international surrogacy trade, mail order brides, trafficking, and unsolved murders. She writes regularly for The Guardian, New Statesman, The International Business Times, and The Spectator, and frequently appears on the BBC and Sky News. She was Visiting Journalist at Brunel University, UK (2013 - 2014) and is now on the Advisory Board of Byline.com.
Dr. Andrea Link is a physician who did her medical training and residency at Stanford University School of Medicine. She developed and implemented Healthcare for the Homeless Houston’s award-winning Healthy and Whole program at Angela House, which provides women exiting prostitution and incarceration with comprehensive trauma-informed health and wellness programming. Dr. Link also researches the psychosocial and medical issues involved in street-level prostitution and lectures on the subject at both the local and national level. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and is the Program Manager for Healthy and Whole.
Lise Olsen is deputy investigations editor and senior investigative reporter at the Houston Chronicle. Olsen has more than 20 years' experience specializing primarily in crime, corruption, worker safety and human rights. Her work also has appeared in documentaries “The Eleven” (A & E -2017); “Ruben Cantu: The Wrong Man?”(CNN-2015) and in Texas Monthly. Her series on a Houston-based human trafficking ring that for years kept importing girls from Mexico and selling them in local cantinas was published in the Chronicle and in Borderline Slavery: Mexico, United States and the Human Trade.
2017 Rothko Chapel Óscar Romero Award Pre-Program Silencing Opposition: Human Rights Violations in Burundi
Former US Ambassador to Burundi, Robert Krueger in conversation with Tony Tate, Program Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Fund for Global Human Rights and Dr. Methode Butoyi, Alliance for Multicultural Community Services, moderated by Dr. Kerry Ward, professor of history at Rice University, exploring the social and political dynamics of Burundi, east Africa. The international awardee for the 2017 ORA, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, works with wrongly incarcerated individuals in Burundi.
About the presenters: Mwalimu Methode-Alain Butoyi, PhD was born and raised in the Cibitoke province of Burundi. Butoyi came to the US in July 1971, on a Fulbright scholarship to pursue his studies at UCLA. In April 1972, two months before he was to return home, selective genocide started in Burundi. The US State Department renewed scholarship and he completed an MA and PhD in French and African Studies at UCLA. He taught French for 30 years at the university and high school levels and served international refugees for over 18 years in California and Texas. He is currently a Family Wellness Instructor and Training Specialist in Houston at the Alliance for Multicultural Community Services. His services include Cultural Orientation, mentoring and vocational ESL.
Robert Krueger is a former US Representative and US Senator from Texas, and served as US Ambassador on three occasions: to Mexico, Burundi, and Botswana; and additionally as US Special Representative to the Southern African Development Community. During his service in Burundi, Krueger’s outspokenness on human rights issues provoked an ambush of his convoy in which two persons were killed and eight grievously wounded. His book on living amid genocide in Burundi, From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi, was published in 2007 by the University of Texas Press. Krueger holds a Ph.D. from Oxford University, and served as a Professor of English and as Vice Provost and Dean of Arts and Sciences at Duke University. He currently lives with his family in New Braunfels, Texas.
Tony Tate began working with the Fund for Global Human Rights as the program officer for Sub-Saharan Africa in October 2010. He oversees the Fund’s grant making programs in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Tony worked for seven years as a researcher at Human Rights Watch, first as their in-country researcher in Burundi, later as the Africa researcher in the Children’s Rights Division. At Human Rights Watch, he investigated and published reports on human rights violations in numerous countries in central, eastern and southern Africa. He has a J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law, an M.A. in international affairs and African studies from Columbia University, and a B.A. from the George Washington University. Tony is a member of the advisory committee of the Children’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch and is fluent in French and conversant in Swahili.
Dr. Kerry Ward is Associate Professor of world history at Rice University and the author of Networks of Empire: Forced Migration in the Dutch East India Company published by Cambridge University Press. She directs the African Studies Program and co-directs the Minor in Museums and Cultural Heritage at Rice. Her current research is on the British suppression of the maritime slave trade in the Indian Ocean during the emancipation era and on the long history of unfree maritime labor.
2017 Rothko Chapel Óscar Romero Award Ceremony Keynote address by Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis French Translation Services sponsored by Master Word Services, Inc.
Rothko Chapel's biennial Óscar Romero Award--named after Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador who was assassinated on March 24, 1980, because of his vocal opposition to the violent oppression of his fellow citizens--has been given every two years since 1987 in recognition of courageous, grassroots human rights advocacy. Building upon the topic of ending mass incarceration addressed at our 2017 Spring Symposium, the Chapel will honor two recipients, one internationally and the other locally selected, for this year's recognition.
The international awardee is Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, Executive Director of Association for the Protection of Prisoners and Human Rights in Burundi, east Africa. The local awardee is Kathryn Griffin Griñán, a Recovery Coach & Peer-To-Peer Counselor at Been There, Done That in Houston, Texas. The public award ceremony took place on November 12, 2017 at 3pm in the Rothko Chapel, including a keynote speech by Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis. This ceremony honored both recipients' courage while recognizing the vital importance of their work.
About the Awardees: Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is Executive Director of Association pour la Protection des Droits Humains et des Personnes Détenues (Association for the Protection of Prisoners and Human Rights), an organization that documents and reports on human rights violations with an emphasis on those committed against incarcerated people. APRODH provides legal advice and judicial accompaniment, monitors prisons and jails, fights against torture and sexual violence, and publically and vocally condemns human rights violations regardless of who commits them. Pierre Claver is referred to as the grandfather of Burundi’s human rights movement. He was one of a few activists who, despite the country’s insecurity, not only remained in Bujumbura but also continued to denounce human rights violations and the harassment of human rights defenders. In remaining outspoken, he knowingly put himself in danger and has been attacked, imprisoned and faced assassination attempts. In 2015, his son-in-law was killed and his son shot, and still, he has never stopped condemning human rights abuses committed by the government. Pierre Claver remains commitment to the fight for justice and basic freedoms in Burundi.
Kathryn Griffin Griñán is the Human Trafficking Director for the Precinct One Constable’s Office in Harris County, the creator and Director of a re-entry program in Harris County Jails called “Been There, Done That,” and the Program Coordinator at the Texas Department of Correction’s Plane State Jail (Henley Unit) for her program “Our Road to Freedom.” In addition to rehabilitating women who have been victims of human trafficking and prostitution, she also serves as an airline ambassador, training others on how to spot sex trafficking victims. Kathryn’s no nonsense approach in healing and rehabilitating victimized women, children, and men, and her ability to reach the hearts of those she helps is a result of her personal experiences with childhood sexual abuse and the harsh world of prostitution until the age of 43. After a long a long battle with drug abuse resulting in incarceration in numerous jails, prisons and over 22 rehab centers, today Kathryn is beginning her 15th year of sobriety and has committed her life to saving the lives of others.
Dr. Harish Chandra, Hindu Tradition Wednesday, November 1, 2017
For the month of November, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Hindu tradition. Led by Dr. Harish Chandra of Arya Samaj Greater Houston, this session explored the philosophy and methods written by Patanjali in Yoga-Sutras, defining Yoga as cessation of mental transience that leads to self-realization. Dr. Chandra described three different methods of Yoga and then practiced Ashtanga Yoga.
About the presenter: Dr. Harish Chandra was academically trained in engineering sciences with BTech from IIT Kanpur (India) and PhD from Princeton, specializing in theoretical combustion sciences. He engaged in engineering research from 1974-1996. He has completed intensive self-study of the Vedic concepts through wide ranging literature that includes the Vedas, Upanishads, Six Books of Vedic Philosophy, and other modern commentaries. He is an authority on the Vedic concept of mind and its control, particularly in the treatises of Samkhya (by Kapila) and Yoga (by Patanjali). Since moving to Houston from London in 2015, he has been a spiritual guide with the Arya Samaj Greater Houston.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. The Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, and more.
10.12.17 Art and Incarceration: Poetry, Theatre and Music in and about Captivity Concert, Ensemble Pi
For this interdisciplinary performance, Ensemble Pi presented music, text, and theater works that focus on the rise of mass incarceration, the racial disparities it reveals, and the emotional toll it takes on inmates and their families. The evening started with the world premiere of Rikers Island by New York composer Eleanor Cory, inspired by the anthology These Are Hard Times for Dreamers. Followed by Rzewski’s minimalist masterpiece, Coming Together, composed in the wake of the 1971 prison riots in upstate New York and powerfully expressing the frustration of life behind bars and anger about injustice. Joseph Assadourian, the narrator for Coming Together, will also perform an excerpt from his tragi-comic play, The Bullpen, based on his own incarceration. The performance closed with the sublime Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time (1941), composed and performed in the prisoner-of-war camp in Gorlitz, Germany, capturing the hardship and sadness of being in prison, while still conveying optimism.
About the presenters: Ensemble Pi is a new music collective that uniquely connects pressing social and political issues and the idioms of classical contemporary music. They began a Peace Concerts series 10 years ago in response to the invasion of Iraq, and have since presented annual chamber music concerts giving voice to the struggle for peace. Every concert includes at least one commission, as well as contemporary classical masterpieces to address the historical tradition of “socially conscious” compositions. In the past, the group has collaborated with visual artists, writers, journalists and actors – including South African artist William Kentridge and American journalists Naomi Wolf and Jeremy Scahill – and have featured the music of John Harbison, Frederic Rzewski, Shostakovich and Penderecki. The Peace Concerts series has also protested the censorship of media, fracking, the Apartheid, and more. Performers include: Alexis Gerlach, cello; Moran Katz, clarinet; Idith Meshulam Korman, piano; Airi Yoshioka, violin; and Joseph Assadourian, actor and narrator. The group is joined by local Houston musicians Craig Hauschildt, percussion and Daniel Egan, trumpet.
Abbas Mahvash and Luke Slott, Baha'i Tradition October 4, 2017
For the month of October, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Baha'i tradition. Led by Abbas Mahvash of the Bahá'í Community of Houston, accompanied by Luke Slott, singer, songwriter and composer from Dublin, Ireland, this session explored a Baha'i perspective on the purpose of religious practice through prayer and meditation. The meditation also addressed individual and community healing after Harvey as a part of the Chapel's weekly Wednesday gathering series.
Slott performed songs and prayers, then participants read Baha'i scripture on prayer and meditation, discussing how these contemplative practices lead to individual and collective development. Mahvash provided a reflection on these prayers, and consulted on their practical implications for personal and societal advancement. The group then practiced Metta Bhavana, a Buddhist method that helps cultivate loving-kindness, to help put into practice inner and external transformation.
About the presenters: Abbas Mahvash is a native Houstonian, whose work in law and international development has allowed him to participate in Baha'i communities across North America, Europe, and Africa. He spent recent years volunteering at the Baha'i administrative and spiritual center in Haifa, Israel.
Luke Slott is a composer and singer-songwriter from Ireland. Born into a musical family in Dublin, he began playing music at an early age, learning guitar and trumpet from his father and studying piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He has released 5 CDs of both vocal and instrumental music and has toured extensively as a solo artist, giving concerts and music workshops in over 20 countries. At the age of 21, Luke embraced the Bahá’í Faith and began incorporating the Bahá’í Sacred Writings into his music. In honor of the Bahá’í Community’s 2017 celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’ï Faith, Luke has released a new album entitled Year of the Nightingale. He is spending 2017 on tour in various parts of the world giving special concerts about the history of the Bahá’í Faith and the inspiration behind his music. For more information visit lukeslott.com.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. The Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, and more.
2.21.17 SOME LIGHT EMERGES artist talk and performance Presented in partnership with HGOco
In collaboration with Houston Grand Opera (HGO), and in conjunction with the world premiere of SOME LIGHT EMERGES, the Rothko Chapel will present an artist talk and performance. Join composer Laura Kaminsky, librettists Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed, and others from the creative team in conversation with Rothko Chapel’s Executive Director, David Leslie, to discuss the inspiration and process behind the making of this new chamber opera. Hear never before performed excerpts from the opera by two of the cast members (and HGO Studio Artists), Yelena Dyachek and Zoie Reams. The program will be followed by a reception on the plaza.
Karim Sulayman, cast member of Some Light Emerges, will be on the Plaza from 6-6:45pm to present the performance and social experiment “I trust you,” addressing the recent rise of division, fear, and hatred in our nation. View a past performance here: https://vimeo.com/193125533
About the Opera: SOME LIGHT EMERGES is a chamber opera created by the acclaimed team of composer Laura Kaminsky and librettists Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed and will be performed March 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m., at the Ballroom at Bayou Place. This new opera was inspired by the Rothko Chapel SOME LIGHT EMERGES will be HGO’s 63rd world premiere and is presented under the auspices of HGOco, which connects the company’s creative resources with the diverse and vibrant Houston community.
Based on an original concept by Mark Campbell, SOME LIGHT EMERGES is set mostly within the Rothko Chapel and chronicles the direct and tangential intersections of five people across four decades who visit the chapel as well as the struggles and triumphs of Dominique de Menil in realizing her dream. Through the personal stories of its characters, both moving and humorous, SOME LIGHT EMERGES reveals how political and spiritual conflicts can be better understood and ultimately resolved through art while honoring the people who create and support such art.
Cantor Rollin Simmons, Reflection and Renewal in the Wake of Hurricane Harvey September 6, 2017
For the month of September, the Rothko Chapel presented a meditation in the Judaic tradition with the theme of "Reflection and Renewal in the wake of Hurricane Harvey." Led by Cantor Rollin Simmons of Congregation Emanu El, this session explored prayer, song, and meditation and addressed individual and city wide healing after the storm.
About the presenter: Cantor Rollin Simmons received a B.A. with a major in Art History and a minor in Italian from Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, NY and an M.Ed in Special Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. While in Cambridge, she was a soloist with the Zamir Chorale of Boston, performing locally and internationally. Inspired and encouraged by her cantor, Roy Einhorn at Temple Israel Boston, and her experiences with Jewish music in the Zamir Chorale, Cantor Simmons decided to pursue cantorial school. As a student at The Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, Cantor Simmons was honored to serve as the Student Cantor at Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, TX; Hebrew Tabernacle in Washington Heights in New York City; and The Community Synagogue in Port Washington, NY.
After being ordained in 2010, Cantor Simmons moved to Aspen, CO, where she served as co-clergy with her husband for seven years at the Aspen Jewish Congregation. During her time in Aspen, Cantor Simmons transformed the worship experience through creative uses of music and liturgy. In February 2016 Cantor Simmons was invited by JEWISHcolorado in Denver to open for Itzhak Perlman for a sold out crowd. In 2013, Cantor Simmons was featured as a soloist on Noah Aronson's album The Left Side of the Page. She was the featured soloist in the Aspen Choral Society's performance of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. She is now the cantor at Congregation Emanu El in Houston.
About the series: Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. The Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, and more.
Ann Friedman, Mindfulness for Parents and Children August 2, 2017
"We are told in school to pay attention! Yet, nobody ever teaches us how to do this. Like the adults around them, children's minds wander. Their thoughts often create anxiety: What if I fail the test? What if mom is late to pick me up? Why are mom and dad arguing? Nobody likes me."
Mindfulness is a training to let go of these unhelpful thoughts and to pay attention to the present moment with kindness and curiosity. This meditation led by Ann Friedman, Ph.D., included experiential exercises that children can do with their parents at home to focus on the present moment. Learning mindfulness has been shown to help children focus their attention. It can decrease stress, anxiety and depression in both children and adults and create a sense of well-being.
About the presenter: Ann Friedman, Ph.D., is a Licensed Psychologist who served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Counseling Psychology Graduate Program for over ten years. Ann holds both a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston. She completed her Residency in Clinical Psychology at U.T. Medical School and her Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at Baylor College of Medicine.
Since 2007, Ann has studied mindfulness intensively with various national teachers. Over this time, she has attended annual 7-to-10 day silent retreats and worked with national teachers on a monthly basis. In 2015, she received a Certification in Mindfulness Facilitation from the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) of the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine at UCLA. She is now in a program to become an affiliate teacher with UCLA. Ann has also completed courses on teaching children and teens, including Sitting Like a Frog with Eline Snell and The Still Quiet Place by Dr. Amy Saltzman.
Ann currently teaches mindfulness classes for adults, teens, and for caregivers and their children through her company, Mindful Being, P.C. at The John McGovern Houston Health and Medical Science Museum and Rothko Chapel, as well as in her private office. Ann is available to teach mindfulness to social and civic groups, schools, businesses, and healthcare organizations. She can be reached at ann@mindfulbeinghouston.com or by calling (713) 443-6273. For further information, please see her website at mindfulbeinghouston.com.
Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. This series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, and more.
Presented in partnership with MasterWord Services, this program featuring Alejandro Chaoul and David Leslie explored techniques, tools and resources to create balance and minimize or mitigate the effects of vicarious trauma.
MasterWord Services, a leading provider of language support solutions, sponsored this event as part of their third annual Wellness Connection Workshop for interpreters and anyone who experiences vicarious trauma in the course of their work.
This was a special presentation by Dr. Alejandro Chaoul, Associate Professor and Director of Education at the University of Texas MD Anderson’s Friends of Integrated Medicine Program as well as a regular presenter at the Rothko Chapel, and David Leslie, Executive Director of the Rothko Chapel.
This presentation introduced participants to techniques, tools and resources—including the healing space of the Rothko Chapel—to create balance within, help you adhere to professional standards or ethical requirements, and minimize or mitigate the effects of vicarious trauma.
About the presenters: Dr. Alejandro Chaoul is an assistant professor and director of education at MD Anderson's Integrative Medicine program where he conducts research using mind-body techniques with cancer patients, holds group and individual meditation classes, and directs the education initiatives on integrative medicine. He is also an associate faculty member at the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Medical School, where he teaches medical students in the areas of spirituality, complementary and integrative medicine, and end of life care. Alejandro is also an advisor for the Rothko Chapel and lectures regularly at The Jung Center of Houston, the Asia Society, and the Esalen Institute.
David Leslie joined the Rothko Chapel as Executive Director after serving for 18 years as Executive Director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. Leslie received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Texas at Austin before attending Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where he earned his Masters of Divinity. Throughout his career, Leslie has been devoted to human rights, interfaith relations, immigration reform, ending homelessness and addressing the societal impacts of climate change. He was recognized for this work with the Eugene Carson Blake Award for Ecumenism given by the National Council of Churches and Church World Service. He has published articles and spoken at international conferences on topics related to public policy, organizational development and cross-sector relations.
About MasterWord: MasterWord Services, Inc. (MWS) is a woman-owned global language services provider founded in 1993. MWS supports over 300 clients, in over 250 languages, in projects touching over 50 countries worldwide. We offer translation, interpretation, language training and assessments, cultural intelligence training, and language compliance consulting. MWS is the first language service company in the region to obtain certificates of compliance to ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 13611:2014 standards and is WBEA / WBENC certified by Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. We serve the world’s leading businesses, government entities, healthcare institutions, academic organizations, and non-profits across the globe. MasterWord’s mission is to connect people across language and culture.
Stephen Findley, Laughter Meditation July 5, 2017
During the months of July and August, the Twelve Moments Series will be tailored toward families and children. Join MD Anderson Chaplain and Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher Stephen Findley for an exploration of the history and role of laughter and silence in this experiential family-friendly meditation.
Together with Findley individuals of all ages will use laughter in a joyful meditation--attending to the sound and feel of laughter, and experiencing the letting-go of hang-ups, inhibitions, and worries. Through laughter one experiences pure joy that is silly, open and honest, uplifting to the spirit, and healing for the body and mind. Laughter Meditation has two lovely and simple parts; First, we laugh together, then we sit together in silence and are lead into a guided meditation to deepen our inner world. This meditation doesn’t require sitting in lotus position, or breathing in special ways. All ages and experience levels are welcome.
About the presenter: Stephen Findley serves as the Primary Chaplain for the Leukemia and Pediatric Services at the U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. His major focus is providing spiritual care and support to patients, caregivers, and staff. Stephen is a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains and is a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher through Laughter Yoga International. More recently Stephen has been named an Ambassador of Laughter for his selfless service to spreading laughter and wellness. Stephen holds the degree of Masters of Divinity from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Ministry from Abilene Christian University. Stephen also an Ordained Minister through the Nondenominational Agape Christian Center.
Stephen was instrumental in developing the Laughter for Health Program for outpatients and caregivers at the Integrative Medical Center at U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He shares his knowledge by speaking on topics related to Culture, Spirituality, Religion, and Wellness Issues.
About Twelve Moments series:
Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions is a monthly series presented in partnership with Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. This series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, etc.
Ryan Makhani and Shaida Adatia, Sufi meditation Wedensday, June 7, 2017
Ryan Makhani and Shaida Adatia discussed and led participants through a diverse range of Sufi meditative traditions with an emphasis on spiritual and mystical practices from around the world, highlighting the ideas of compassion and prayer. Participants were exposed to Islamic traditions from countries as far ranging as Turkey, Tajikistan, India, Indonesia, Iran and Morocco.
The meditation was in three parts: -An introduction and brief on the richness of poetry and the oral tradition in Mecca in the 7th century. -Islamic Music as sung and played in public places or private devotions. Due to Islam being a multi-ethnic religion, the musical expression of its adherents is vastly diverse. The indigenous musical styles of these areas have shaped the devotional music enjoyed by contemporary Muslims. -The esoteric form of prayer known as Dikr, which is a Quranic term used for remembrance of Allah or repeating His name.
About the meditation leaders: For the last decade, Ryan Makhani has served as a Religious Education Teacher for Ismaili Muslim youth focusing on ethics and humanities. Inspired by students in his Ethical Pathways to Human Development course, he founded BuildMyIdea.org, which aims to enable young people to be innovative leaders. As a teacher educator, Ryan has led sessions on mindfulness, self-awareness and servant leadership. He completed a Masters in Teaching and Masters in Muslim Societies and Civilizations from University of London's Institute of Education and the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Ryan has a keen interest in Sufism and mysticism.
Shaida Adatia is a professional educator with more than two decades of experience in Central Africa, Canada and the United States. She is involved in work around the world that promotes empowerment in youth through education. She is also involved in Houston’s interfaith community circles focusing on bridge building. In her spare time she loves to read about and research various faith traditions.
The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, generally known as the Ismailis, belong to the Shia branch of Islam. The Shia form one of the two major branches of Islam, the Sunni being the other. The Ismailis live in over 25 different countries, mainly in Central and South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as in Europe, North America and Australia.
About Twelve Moments series: Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions is a monthly series presented in partnership with Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
Since September 2005, on the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm, the Rothko Chapel hosts a meditation or contemplative practice focusing on a different spiritual or faith tradition featuring teachers and religious leaders from throughout the greater Houston community. This series provides opportunities for visitors to learn more about a specific spiritual or faith tradition, and experience a related meditation or contemplative practice, such as prayer, chanting, etc.
Twilight Meditation for World Environment Day Natasha Burrowes
"Connecting People to Nature" is the theme nations throughout the world will explore in honor of World Environment Day 2017. Science has confirmed that our connection to Earth is ancient and many of the world’s wisdom traditions have taught that our connection to Earth is sacred. Much of our work in this post-industrial era is to cultivate a relationship with the Earth that is mutually enhancing and beneficial. How do we use our power as human beings to be good stewards of Earth and what responsibility do we carry uniquely as a species for the well-being of all Creation? This twilight meditation explores our sacred connection to the Earth and our call to action for environmental justice through mixed media and meditation.
Natasha Burrowes is a trained spiritual director, workshop leader, retreat facilitator, educator, and writer. Rooted in a deep belief that Spirit calls each person to a greater purpose to bring about the common good and to be in more alignment with the spiritual path, she journeys with individuals, groups, and organizations to connect to a deeper purpose, to elevate consciousness, and to create meaningful and spirit-filled action and expression in the world. Natasha's educational, professional, and ministerial pathways have led her to the intersections of spirituality and justice making. She has over 20 years of experience working in nonprofit, higher education, community-based, and faith-based settings. She earned her Masters of Arts Degree in Transforming Spirituality (MATS) with an emphasis in Spiritual Direction from Seattle University’s School for Theology and Ministry and also earned her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Ethnic Studies and African American Studies from Macalester College. She currently serves as the Program Director at the Earth & Spirit Center located in Louisville, KY. www.natashaburrowes.com
Conversation with Asma Uddin, moderated by Nabila Mansoor
How does a Muslim woman's perspective of the Divine shape a person's faith and commitment to religious liberty and social equity? Asma Uddin is at the forefront of this conversation, creating the space for women to make their faith their own. Uddin is the Director of Strategy for the Center on Islam and Religious Freedom. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of altmuslimah.com, a highly praised web magazine dedicated to issues on gender and Islam. Uddin speaks and publishes widely on issues of national and international religious freedom, as well as gender and faith. Her work has been published by numerous law reviews and prominent university presses. She guest-edited a special issue of The Review of Faith & International Affairs and is co-editing a forthcoming book of essays by women who have faced religious persecution. She also serves on the Advisory Council for The Institute for Global Engagement's Center for Women, Faith and Leadership. A reception follows the program.
Moderator Nabila Mansoor works with EmergeUSA, a civic engagement organization helping minority communities become politically active. Prior to joining EmergeUSA, Mansoor had a private law practice in the Sugar Land-area specializing in family law. Mansoor has been active in the community on several volunteer fronts – she currently serves as Secretary of AADT, Asian American Democrats of Texas and is on the board of Everest Academy, a Muslim school in the Southwest area. Mansoor is also a Muslim Leadership Initiative Fellow under the Shalom Hartman Institute, a program that invites American Muslims to explore how Jews understand Judaism and Israel. She is the Southwest co-lead of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, a women’s group working to build bridges and fight hate through a sisterhood of Muslim and Jewish women.
Concept of the Divine series provides a unique opportunity for speakers to share how their personal concept of the Divine has changed over time and shaped their lives, their service to the community, and views about their place in the cosmos. As an organization committed to interfaith dialogue and engagement, this series offers an excellent opportunity to hear from people representing diverse faith communities and other sectors of society about this important topic.
The Menil Collection and surrounding nonprofit organizations presented their annual Menilfest community arts festival, a free afternoon of exhibitions, performances, and readings that extends across the Menil neighborhood.
In collaboration with Menilfest, the Rothko Chapel activated the Chapel and the plaza between the hours of 11am-6pm with a music performance, interactive labyrinth dance, on-site tours, and refreshments by SweetCup Gelato.
3-4:30pm Anecdote of the Spirit Music created by Misha Penton, soprano, and Thomas Helton, double bass
Misha Penton, soprano and experimental vocal composer, and Thomas Helton, composer and double bassist, created music through spontaneous and improvised compositional techniques, yielding quiet, spacious, beautiful and intense sounds, in keeping with the sacred environment of the Chapel.
The audience was invited to wander in and out of the Chapel for a quiet, introspective, and contemplative experience. “Anecdote of the Spirit” is a direct quote from Mark Rothko, and in full reads: “Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit, and the only means of making concrete the purpose of its varied quickness and stillness.” Rothko’s quote speaks to the inarticulable in art and music: the essential and transformational experience of the work not communicable with descriptive words.
About the performers
Misha Penton is a contemporary opera singer, experimental vocal composer, and writer. Her work explores the intersection of new music performance; new opera theater; soundscape composition; and classical and extended vocal techniques. She is the founder, artistic director of Divergence Vocal Theater, a Houston-based opera, new music and multi-performing arts ensemble. Misha's performance work has appeared at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, Menil Collection, University of Houston Center for Creative Work, and DiverseWorks Arts Space Houston; organizations and ensembles she has sung with include Houston Grand Opera, Mercury, and Foundation for Modern Music. Misha's recordings include Selkie (2013, composer Elliot Cole), ravens & radishes (2014, composer George Heathco), and The Captured Goddess (2015, composer Dominick DiOrio). www.mishapenton.com
Thomas Helton is a composer and bassist who writes and performs music in both solo and ensemble settings. As a composer Mr. Helton was awarded a Houston Arts Alliance Individual Artist Fellowship Grant in 2007. He was awarded an artist residency for the commission and premiere of Pride from DiverseWorks ArtSpace in Houston in October 2004 in collaboration with video artist Maria del CarmenMontoya. Other new music commissions include 5 works for the Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble. His work, Black Rain (2005) was chosen to be performed as part of FotoFest’s 2006 Biennial dedicated to the themes of The Earth and Artists Responding to Violence. As a bassist, Thomas Helton performs with his own ensemble, The Core Trio, as well as with many celebrated jazz and free improv artists. www.thomashelton.org
Concert Chamber ensemble Loop38
Described as a “masterpiece” and “monumental work” by the New York Times and The Guardian, respectively, Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas’ hour-long work for twenty-four musicians, in vain (2000), creates an unforgettable listening experience. Just as “the natural light that illuminates the murals...accurately show the nuances and subtleties of [Rothko’s] color palette” in Rothko Chapel, the absence of light is used in Haas’ in vain to create an experience of “waves of opulently strange, beautiful sounds”. With most of the music performed in complete darkness as the performers play from memory, the sounds are liberated, and “the focus lies on what is trapped under listening habits”.
While many works of Haas have been performed to great acclaim in New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, and London, he has yet to be discovered in Houston. With an emphasis on achieving artistic excellence and a passion to create unique aural experiences for the community, Loop38 is excited to include the Texas premiere of this demanding work in their first season.
Co-founded by conductor Jerry Hou and pianist Yvonne Chen at the Shepherd School of Music in 2016, chamber ensemble Loop38 is comprised entirely of Houston transplants, bringing their unique musical experiences from all over the world to share with the Houston community. Its members hold degrees from The Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, Yale University, University of Michigan, University for the Arts in Bremen, Germany, and Oberlin Conservatory. Members of the group have worked with composers such as Steve Reich, Pierre Boulez, Gyorgy Kurtag, Helmut Lachenmann, Bernard Rands, Unsuk Chin, and Mark-Anthony Turnage. www.loop38.org
Myokei Caine-Barrett, Shonin, Buddhist Meditation Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Current Bishop of the Nichiren Order of North America, Myokei Caine-Barrett is also Resident Priest and Guiding Teacher of the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Texas and Myoken-ji Temple. She is the first Western woman in the world, and first person of African-Japanese descent, to be ordained in the Nichiren Shu tradition as well as the first female Bishop in NONA. She is engaged in spreading the Dharma behind bars at TDCJ, as well as supporting the healing of emotional issues of military service with Vets Journey Home.
The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
Adam Tendler shared an ambitious program of works that provoke, challenge, thrill, and ultimately move the listener. The program included works by Nico Muhly, Earle Brown, Marina Poleukhina, Charlie Sdraulig, Morton Feldman, and Philip Glass.
About Adam Tendler: Adam Tendler has been called "an exuberantly expressive pianist" who "vividly displayed his enthusiasm for every phrase" by The Los Angeles Times, a “quietly charismatic...intrepid...outstanding...maverick pianist” by The New Yorker, a "modern-music evangelist" by Time Out New York, and a pianist who "has managed to get behind and underneath the notes, living inside the music and making poetic sense of it all," by The Baltimore Sun, which continued, "if they gave medals for musical bravery, dexterity and perseverance, Adam Tendler would earn them all." London critic Frances Wilson described Tendler's memorized performance of Morton Feldman's Palais de Mari as "a concentrated listening experience...meditative, intense and beautifully poised." And New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini wrote that Tendler played an outdoor performance of John Cage's music "captivatingly," and that "the wondrously subdued sounds silenced many, who listened closely even as street bustle and chirping birds blended in."
Tendler lives in New York City and serves on the faculty of Third Street Music School Settlement, the country’s first community music school.
Father Serge Veselinovich, Serbian Orthodox Tradition Wednesday April 5, 2017
Father Serge Veselinovich was born on October 5th, 1968, in Frankfurt, (West) Germany. He moved to Australia in 1969 with his parents Elijah and Bojka née Matovich whereupon he graduated Fairfield High School in 1986 in the western suburbs of Sydney. He moved to Chicago in 1987, where he entered into seminary at Saint Sava, and after four years of study, was ordained into the holy priesthood. He served briefly in Australia for a total of two years and then moved back to the States.
He is currently the parish priest of Saints Constantine and Helen Orthodox Church in Galveston, Texas. Although records show that the Orthodox peoples of the Balkans, Middle East, and Russia had started congregating in the 1860s, Saints Constantine and Helen is the oldest Orthodox church in the state of Texas, dating back from 1895 when it was officially consecrated. Father Serge has served this small but ever faithful community for the past twenty-two years.
The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
“Dismantling the System: What Juvenile Decarceration can Teach us About Undoing Mass Incarceration” Keynote address by Vincent Schiraldi, Senior Research Fellow, Criminal Justice Policy and Management at Harvard University
Using the Juvenile Justice System as a starting point, Schiraldi will uncover why the number of young people locked up has declined by more than 50% since the beginning of this millennium while adult incarceration has only flattened out. Through this exploration, Schiraldi will share some of the key elements and actions needed to decrease mass incarceration in America, and the significant role that citizens are playing to dismantle the system.
Vincent Schiraldi is a Senior Research Fellow directing the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. Schiraldi has served as founder of Justice Policy Institute, director of juvenile corrections in Washington, D.C., and Commissioner of the NYC Department of Probation. Most recently, Schiraldi served as Senior Advisor to the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. For Schiraldi, making communities safer and reducing crime means improving fairness in the system and developing opportunities in poor communities. He pioneered efforts at community-based alternatives to incarceration with the YouthLink initiative in D.C., and in NYC with the NeON network and the Close to Home program.
An Act of Justice: Undoing the Legacy of Mass Incarceration Symposium "Decriminalization and Decarceration: Getting There from Here” Keynote Address by Margaret Burnham, Northeastern University School of Law Professor
Welcome and Overview by Daivd Leslie, Executive Director, Rothko Chapel.
Poetry performed by Audrey M., Writers in the Schools.
Burnham explores the legacy of mass incarceration in the United States: how we became the most incarcerated nation in the world and what it would take as a society to undo this complex system. Burnham discusses the realities that race, class and economics play while also lifting up some of the visionary reform efforts that are underway.
Margaret Burnham is a Professor of Law and African-American Studies at Northeastern University School of Law. Focusing on the history of mid-20th century racial violence in the US, she studies and pursues legal and political initiatives to remedy past racial injustices, with special attention to criminal justice institutions. She is the founder and director of Northeastern’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, which has compiled the most comprehensive archive on mid-20th century racially motivated murder cases in the US. In 1993, Nelson Mandela appointed Burnham to an international human rights tribunal investigating violations in South Africa. In 2016, Burnham received the prestigious Carnegie Fellowship, awarded to “the nation’s preeminent scholars and thinkers.”
Join us for a Twilight Meditation honoring International Women's Day, with a focus on the unique challenges that displaced refugee women face throughout the world. Women who are refugees and immigrants will share their personal stories and testimonies. The evening will close with a community conversation about the importance of individual and collective efforts to advocate for and support just and equitable policies in support of refugees and immigrants.
Musical performance by Mohammad Sheikh Horo, Saz player
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
About the Presenters Wafa Abdin is Vice President for Immigration and Refugee Services at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. She oversees the Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance, the largest non-profit provider of immigration legal services for low-income and indigent non-citizens as well as the Refugee Resettlement Program. Ms. Abdin has more than sixteen years’ experience in representing vulnerable immigrants and refugees including detained adults and children, asylum seekers, victims of human trafficking and other crimes.
The Rev. Hannah E. Atkins became Trinity's fifteenth rector in September of 2007. To prepare herself as a third generation Episcopal priest, the Reverend Atkins earned a bachelor of arts degree in history at Douglass College, Rutgers University and a masters degree in divinity at the General Theological Seminary in New York in May 1996, with additional studies in theology at Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Canas in El Salvador. The Reverend Atkins previously served as Senior Assistant Rector at St. John's Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. Before joining St. John's Church, she served as Director of Theological and Christian Education in the Diocese of the Episcopal/Anglican Church of El Salvador, Associate Priest at St. John the Evangelist San Salvador, Priest-in-Charge at Holy Trinity Church Santa Teresa in San Martin, and as Interim Priest-in-Charge at St. Andrew's Church in Amatepec, Soyapango.
Asinja Bedeel was born and raised in the small Northern Iraqi village of Behzani. Badeel had been living with her husband and two children in Baghdad when they received word in 2003 that her husband was in danger because he was working for an American company. Since Badeel and her family arrived in Houston in 2008, she has accomplished not only academic accolades at Houston Community College and University of Houston, but has also been pro-active on issues facing the refugee population and refugee women in particular. Badeel currently works as a medical-case worker in Refugee Services at Interfaith Ministries and she is engaged with YAZADA – A Global Yizidi Organization. You can read more about her story by visiting www.imgh.org/our-blog/our-blog/refugee-spotlight-asinja-badeel
Chloe Krane worked as a reporter in the Middle East for many years and moved to Houston from England for her husband’s job. Jim Krane, Ph.D., is the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Chloe is passionate about refugees and is the lead volunteer for the Interfaith Ministries Women’s Initiative Project, a group of Arabic-speaking refugee women that meet on a weekly basis for networking and support. Chloe is an active and well-informed voice in the community - advocating for refugees and engaging the local community in supporting refugees in Houston. She has two young children, and prior to being a mom she was a TV Producer for about 10 years. Based mainly in the Middle East, she worked on hard news, documentaries, investigative programs and commercials.
Imam Mohammad Khan, Muslim Meditation Wednesday, March 3, 2017
Join us for an Muslim meditation with a focus on "Oneness." The meditation will include a recitation and discussion of verses, and instructions for prayer.
Mohammad Ahmad Khan was born and raised in Houston, Texas. In 2007, he memorized the Qur’an. He then went on mastering the recitation and articulation of the Qur'an under the tutelage of the distinguished Reciter Muhammad Siddique. After learning the fundamentals and the art of Qur’anic recitation, He accepted the position of primary Imam at a local mosque and began teaching the principles that he appropriated from his teachers.
After working closely with the community for many years, in 2012, Mohammad enrolled at Zaytuna College to further his studies in the Islamic Sciences. Zaytuna College has given him a holistic understanding of both the the Islamic and Western traditions. He seeks to be a dynamic community leader and a professor of Islamic Studies who engages with both the Muslim community and the greater community here in the West by presenting the Islamic sciences in a manner that gives access to the laity, Muslims, traditional students of Islam and Western academics alike.
He is currently the Director of Religious affairs at ISGH Mercy Islamic Center in Baytown. The central focus of his mission is the enfranchisement of the disenfranchised, particularly women and young professionals.
The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
Imam Mohammad Khan, Islamic Meditation Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Join us for a Islamic meditation with a focus on "Oneness." The meditation will include a recitation and discussion of verses, and instructions for prayer.
Mohammad Ahmad Khan was born and raised in Houston, Texas. In 2007, he memorized the Qur’an. He then went on mastering the recitation and articulation of the Qur'an under the tutelage of the distinguished Reciter Muhammad Siddique. After learning the fundamentals and the art of Qur’anic recitation, He accepted the position of primary Imam at a local mosque and began teaching the principles that he appropriated from his teachers.
After working closely with the community for many years, in 2012, Mohammad enrolled at Zaytuna College to further his studies in the Islamic Sciences. Zaytuna College has given him a holistic understanding of both the the Islamic and Western traditions. He seeks to be a dynamic community leader and a professor of Islamic Studies who engages with both the Muslim community and the greater community here in the West by presenting the Islamic sciences in a manner that gives access to the laity, Muslims, traditional students of Islam and Western academics alike.
He is currently the Director of Religious affairs at ISGH Mercy Islamic Center in Baytown. The central focus of his mission is the enfranchisement of the disenfranchised, particularly women and young professionals.
The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
Poetry Reading and Conversation Willis Barnstone, Aliki Barnstone, and Tony Barnstone Presented in partnership with Saint Julian Press
Poetry offers a window to the Holy that dialogue cannot, reflecting essential human truths in artful form. Join a unique opportunity to engage with three acclaimed and evocative poets from the Barnstone family in a sacred place that is also rich with family history. The Rothko Chapel was designed, in part, by the architect Howard Barnstone, Willis’ brother. Each of the poets will read from their collections, examining their concepts of the Divine and challenging our own, as well as engage in conversation with each other and the audience.
Music will be performed before and during the program by Max Dyer, cellist. A reception and book signing follow the program.
About the poets: Willis Barnstone is a poet, memoirist, translator, Hispanist and comparatist, who has written more than 70 books of scholarship and poetry. A New Testament and Gnostic scholar, he published “The Restored New Testament,” including the Gnostic gospels of Thomas, Mary and Judas. He is a Guggenheim Fellow, the distinguished professor of Comparative Literature Emeritus and senior scholar in the Institute of Biblical and Literary Studies at Indiana University. He has also received the Emily Dickinson Award, the W.H. Auden Award and a special citation for translation from the Pen/Book of the Month Club.
Aliki Barnstone is a poet, translator, critic, editor and visual artist. She is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently “Dwelling.” Her first book of poems, “The Real Tin Flower,” was published when she was 12 years old with a forward by Anne Sexton. She has been awarded a Senior Fulbright Fellowship, the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Literature Fellowship in Poetry and a residency at the Anderson Center at Tower View. She serves as Poet Laureate of Missouri and is Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Missouri.
Tony Barnstone is a poet, author, essayist and literary translator. In addition to his 18 published books, his work has appeared in dozens of American literary journals. His latest work, “Pulp Sonnets,” is a book of illustrated poetry based on 20 years of research into classic pulp fiction, Gothic literature, B movies and comic books, illustrated by Iranian artist Amin Mansouri. He is the Albert Upton Professor of English at Whittier College.
About the Series: Concept of the Divine series provides a unique opportunity for speakers to share how their personal concept of the Divine has changed over time and shaped their lives, their service to the community, and views about their place in the cosmos.
Alejandro Chaoul, Ph.D led a meditation in the ancient Bon-Buddhist tradition of Tibet, showing how it can be a "medicine" for our mind-wandering and emotional entanglements. Participants practiced simple techniques of "Meditation Precious Pills" for every day life, and focused on the importance of community support.
Dr. Alejandro Chaoul is an assistant professor and director of education at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center's Integrative Medicine program, where he conducts research using mind-body techniques with cancer patients, holds group and individual meditation classes, and directs the education initiatives on integrative medicine. He is also an associate faculty member at The McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at University of Texas Medical School, where he teaches medical students in the areas of spirituality, complementary and integrative medicine, and end of life care. Alejandro is also on the Board and is a meditation and Tibetan yoga teacher of the Ligmincha Texas Institute for the Tibetan Meditative and Healing Arts as well as an advisor for the Rothko Chapel.
The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
To celebrate the Houston Museum District Association's Museum Experience, the Rothko Chapel hosted a day full of events in conjunction with The Menil Collection and Houston Center for Photography.
The Da Camera Young Artists - a group of emerging professional vocalists, instrumentalists, and composers - descended on the Museum Experience in Zone 1 to present nine concerts in the span of two hours. Visitors traveled between the Menil Collection, the Rothko Chapel, and the Houston Center for Photography to hear each program. The concerts began simultaneously in each venue at 2:00, 2:45, and 3:30 and the music reflected the unique character of each space.
Da Camera Young Artists (Callie Denbigh, voice; Stephanie Gustafson, harp; Amelia Love, voice; Sonya Matoussova, cello; and William Shaub, violin)
Johann Sebastian Bach Sonata in G Minor, I. Adagio William Shaub, violin
John Cage In a Landscape Stephanie Gustafson, harp
Morton Feldman Voices and Cello (1973) Amelia Love, voice Callie Denbigh, voice Sonya Matoussova, cello
Johann Sebastian Bach Sonata in G Minor, III. Siciliano William Shaub, violin
In honor of the life and work of the Rev. Dr. King, our Annual Celebration began with a ceremony on the plaza to welcome the return of the Broken Obelisk by Barnett Newman after a year away for conservation. The event included words by Rev. Dr. Marcus Cosby, Wheeler Baptist Church Senior Pastor; Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis; Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee; Gary Tinterow, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; a capella performances by Edwina Hubbard; and original poems performed by Jackson Neal, 2016 Meta-four Houston Youth Poetry Slam team member, and Fareena Arefeen, City of Houston's second Youth Poet Laureate, an initiative led by Writers in the Schools, the City of Houston, and the Houston Public Library.
Dana Shamas, New Year's Day Crystal Bowl Meditation Sunday, January 1, 2017
The Rothko Chapel honored the start of the New Year with the sound of crystal bowls resonating throughout the Chapel, led by yoga teacher and Bayou Bliss Yoga founder Dana Shamas.
Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions is offered monthly and is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
How can a shared concept of the Divine inspire faith leaders to collaboratively address issues of social justice in Houston? The “three amigos” Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, Rabbi Samuel Karff, and Rev. William Lawson (who was unable to attend due to a recent surgery) share their interfaith work and how it’s influenced their own spirituality and ministry in service to the community, moderated by Melanie Lawson, award winning journalist. Rabbi Karff is Rabbi Emeritus at Congregation Beth Israel; Archbishop Fiorenza is Archbishop Emeritus of Galveston-Houston; and Rev. Lawson is the founding pastor of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Working together they have tackled some of Houston's most challenging problems, including homelessness, juvenile incarceration, and fair housing.
Concept of the Divine series provides a unique opportunity for speakers to share how their personal concept of the Divine has changed over time and shaped their lives, their service to the community, and views about their place in the cosmos.
Sister Mary Adeline O'Donoghue, Christian Tradition Wednesday, December 7, 2016
An act of contemplation, Centering is a way to open oneself to the active presence of God within.
Sr. Mary Adeline O’Donoghue, CCVI was born in Ireland to a family of farmers. From an early age, she had a deep sense of God’s presence and spiritual gifts that led to her vocation. She came to Houston to enter the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, at Villa de Matel. She was instrumental in opening the Ruah Center in 1987, an oasis of intentional silence and prayer whose mission is the renewal and healing of the human spirit. For more than 28 years, she has invited individuals burdened by the pressures of modern life to simply enter the quiet depths of their own being.
The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Rothko Chapel held a Twilight Meditation, offered in partnership with Avenue 360 Health and Wellness, formerly known Houston Area Community Services and Bering Omega. Join us in showing your support and solidarity with the millions of people living with and impacted by HIV/AIDS. Listen to a guided meditation led by local meditation facilitator Gabriel Clark.
This annual service brings together leaders and members of nine faiths including Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Baha’i Faith, Hinduism and Jainism to offer prayers of thanksgiving and read sacred texts on thankfulness. This year, the theme of the service is “Building Relationships,” which was inspired by Mayor Sylvester Turner, who said of Houston, "In this city, we do not build walls, we build relationships. We recognize that in our diversity is our strength." All are welcome. A reception follows the program.
Participating Communities Include: Covenant Church Congregation Emanu El Houston Islamic Society of Greater Houston The Bahai’s of Houston Jade Buddha Temple/Texas Buddhist Association Zoroastrian Association of Houston Arya Samaj Greater Houston JVB Preksha Meditation Center Houston The Sikh National Center of Greater Houston
This annual event was organized by the following committee members: George Atkinson, United Methodist Ajit Giani, Baha'i Beth Kulkarni, Hindu Phyllis harris, Jewish Swatantra Jain, Jain Vehishta Kaikobad, Zoroastrian Judy Jeng. Buddhist Garland Pohl, Catholic
SriNithya Muktiroopananda, Hindu Meditation Wednesday November 2, 2016 Suggested donation $10, click here to make a donation ahead of time
Join us for Nithya Dhyaan, a meditation from the Hindu tradition designed to cleanse the mind of negative energy and energize the body. Nithya Dhyaan involves breathing, humming, and building chakra awareness to balance the body, spirit, and mind.
Jayaraman Thiaga (rajan), known as SriNithya Muktiroopananda (Muktiroopa) was born and raised in India and currently lives in Sugarland, Texas. He is the city lead of the Nithyananda Aadheenam of Houston, part of a worldwide organization of Hindu temples established by the Avatar, Swami Nithyananda. Once opened, the temple will offer Puja, Yoga, and meditation workshops to contribute to the raising of consciousness and prosperity of all Houstonians.
The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
Music from and inspired by sacred music traditions. Bethany Baxter, a soprano and young artist with Da Camera, presented a concert of chants from many faith traditions as well as classical chamber pieces inspired by sacred practices.
This program included an Islamic call to prayer, recitation of the Qur’an, classical songs composed on medieval Christian texts, a solo bass piece inspired by Indian meditative instruments, songs from the Santeria faith, and Jewish sacred songs.
It is an opportunity for music lovers and the community at large to express openness and welcome to people of all traditions and beliefs.
Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation in conversation with Sarah Lewis, Harvard professor and best selling author 2016 Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture in Peace, Social Justice in Human Rights presented in partnership with the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at UT’s School of Law
Darren Walker examines the intersection of the arts and human rights, and the need for artists and non-artists alike to engage more fully with the power of artistic expression in the instigation of social change. Darren Walker is the President of the Ford Foundation, the nation’s second largest philanthropy, and for two decades has been a leader in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Prior to joining Ford, he was Vice President at the Rockefeller Foundation where he managed the rebuild New Orleans initiative after Hurricane Katrina. He had a decade long career in international law and finance at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and UBS. Educated exclusively in public schools, Darren received the “Distinguished Alumnus Award,” the highest honor given by his alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin. In 2016, TIME magazine named him to its annual list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” Growing up in Texas imbued in Darren a pride in the state and a commitment to closing the gap between the privileged and those who are excluded and live on the margins of society.
Congruent with Sissy’s own history of exposing and responding to injustices as both a public servant and citizen, the 2016 Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture in Peace, Social Justice in Human Rights inspires audiences to act creatively in response to the greatest human rights challenges of the 21st century.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016 6:00 PM Father Tullio Proserpio, Christian Tradition Suggested donation $10, click here to make a donation ahead of time
Join a contemplative practice of music, readings, and silent reflection to commemorate International Day of Peace. Ordained in 1996, Father Tullio Proserpio has served since 2003 as Chaplain at the National Cancer Institute in Milan, Italy, and is currently doing research at the Methodist Research Institute on hope in cancer patients. He has authored scientific articles on the topics of hope and bioethics.
Joining Father Proserpio is harpist Pat Flores. Pat has performed publicly as a harpist for over four years. She is a member of the Greater Houston Chapter of the American Harp Society, Gulf Coast Harpers, and Houston's Orchestra On Call. A reception follows the program.
Rabbi Scott Hausman-Weiss, Jewish Tradition Wednesday September 7, 2016
Change is one of the most ubiquitous calls of our time, but rarely are its concomitant requirements: presence, patience and love. Join Rabbi Scott Hausman-Weiss in a guided, silent, and reflective meditation on learning to love where we are now in order to love ourselves into the place we wish to be. Rabbi Scott Hausman-Weiss is the Spiritual Leader of Congregation Shma Koleinu. He served as Senior Rabbi of Congregation Emanu El, Houston, from 2009 to 2011. Rabbi Scott was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and received Masters Degrees in Hebrew Letters and Jewish Education. The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.
Interview with 2015 Óscar Romero Awardee Berta Cáceres, with translation by Ana Paula Hernandez.
Cáceres shares her involvement in Consejo Civil de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras, activism for campesino and indigenous Lenca descendant FPO communities of western Honduras. The 2015 Awardee discusses government corruption & economic investments (mining, energy, tourism, etc) that threaten Indigenous people; and how the US, Israel, & Honduras military were involved in the 2009 coup, among other examples of corruption.
Cáceres explores the relationship between Honduras Indigenous activism and international solidarity with other human rights movements, and their complex relationship with the Catholic Church.
Interview with 2015 Óscar Romero Awardee Miriam Miranda, with translation by Ana Paula Hernandez.
Miranda discusses her involvement with the Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña: a group that protects the land, civil, and cultural rights of 47 indigenous Garifuna communities. The 2015 Awardee shares the history of Indigenous people in Honduras and their relationship to the environment & natural resources, as well as how Honduras’ political turbulence & structural violence have impacted Indigenous communities.
Discussion with Michelle Ashton, ACLU-TX Executive Director Terri Burke and Rev. Lisa Hunt of St. Stephens Episcopal Church about HERO(Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.
Speakers discuss the proposed ordinance and its opposition, in relationship to the current state of civil rights law, including those not protected under Texas law (veterans, LGBTQ people). Burke & Hunt discuss the relation between faith and human rights, and the future of HERO & human rights in Texas
Michelle Ashton (Rothko Chapel Programs Director 2012-2016) talks with Kerry Kennedy talk about the relationship between spirituality & social justice, & how Catholicism impacted Kennedy’s activism.
Kennedy shares her connection to Óscar Romero & El Salvador, and discusses the impact of the Óscar Romero Award.
Michelle Ashton (Rothko Chapel Programs Director 2012-2016) & Frances "Sissy" Farenthold (Rothko Chapel Honorary Director) talk about their trip to see the Beatification of Archbishop Óscar Romero in San Salvador.
Sissy Farenthold discusses the origins of the Rothko Chapel Óscar Romero Award and past recipients.