The Sacramento region LGBTQ community, family, friends and allies are invited to gather at Congregation B’nal Israel (3600 Riverside Blvd, Sacramento, Ca 95818), Sunday, November 6, 2011 beginning at 4:00pm to remember people who have died violently because they identified themselves as LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender, Questioning) or were perceived to be LGBTQ, as well as countless others whose names are not known. "Their deaths have placed a spotlight on the terrifying magnitude of hatred directed towards gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex people, those who are perceived to be so, and those who care about them. Sadly, they have joined a lengthy rol

It’s a church. No, it’s a rock concert. It’s a church. No, it’s a rock concert. Actually, for tonight, it’s a rock concert in a church. Grammy nominated Christian singer/songwriter Jennifer Knapp’s lyrics soared with spine tingling, melt your heart, open your soul to true, goddess-like quality of Aphrodite truth - giving the audience chills and a shot at their own authenticity. What better place to test the acoustics than St. Marks United Methodist Church, though Knapp really didn’t need the microphone to amplify her strong powerhouse of a voice. In fact, the audience didn’t even notice until she alerted the sound booth that she had forgotten to turn on the acoustics on the guitar for t

Before a packed room of Co-op Members, shoppers and others at its June 7 meeting, the Board of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op considered three items for the upcoming September ballot. A Bylaws amendment, proposed by Board President Steve Maviglio, would prevent the Co-op from making purchasing decisions on the basis of “political opinion” or “national origin.” Some members voiced support and several raised objections. One concern was that the proposed amendment could be used to prevent the Co-op from making purchasing decisions related to environmental or social concerns, since these are a matter of “political opinion.” For example, distributors of non-organic produce, Coco-Cola, or

Q: I feel so old-school even asking this, but do couples need to have the same religious beliefs anymore to make it work? My boyfriend and I don't really believe the same spiritually and I wonder if it will become an issue for us in the future. Does he need to convert to Catholicism before I can consider settling down with him? A: There is no right or wrong answer to this question, nor is there one answer that is going to work in every situation. Religion and spirituality means different things to every person, and how that effects your intimate relationships really depends on you. For instance, are you a weekly, daily or holiday Mass attendee? Do you go to confession? Do you pray the ro

In a tiny, 12-by-10 room cluttered with microphones, headphones, soundboards and telephones, a message will soon escape from the confines of the small studio suite and spread throughout Sacramento and its surrounding regions. A message that, according to its messenger, transcends its own transmission. Robert Briggs, 43, a pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in midtown Sacramento, burns the candle at both ends with one end in mind: that the kingdom of God be furthered in the souls of men and women unfettered. On this particular December, Wednesday morning, Briggs prepares to record a pair of 24-minute messages from the book of Romans that will subsequently air two consecutive Friday aftern

Arco Arena was bursting at the seams on Friday night, but it wasn’t for a Kings game or a rock concert. Instead, people from all walks of life were gathered for “A Night of Hope” with Joel and Victoria Osteen, a touring event featuring worship music, testimony by church leaders and a sermon from the charismatic megapastor Osteen. Named by Barbara Walters in 2006 as one of the year’s “Ten Most Fascinating People,” Osteen, 47, is a bestselling author and pastor of the enormous Lakewood Church in Houston. As the largest congregation in the U.S., it averages more than 43,500 in attendance per week and is housed in the previous home of the Houston Rockets professional basketball team, the for

Tuesday night was the premiere showing of the one-rabbi performance, “I caused the Big Bang.” Full of humor and exploration, it asks and answers the confessions of a young rabbi. With facts, fictions, and puns, it was surely a piece of its own. Beginning with golf clubs and ending with the desire to golf, it weaves us through the off-kilter sermon from Rabbi David Wechsler-Azen. Clothed in loose prayer shawls, loose ties and a backup band to perform the occasional pop tune, each piece plays into the meanderings of a single question, “How do we make sense of this?” Rather than providing an answer, Wechsler-Azen leads the audience with commentary through the cultural, religious and ethni

Sacramento’s faith community will be providing shelter for the homeless this winter season, as government funding falls short of providing enough resources. Funding has steadily been falling as the poor economy has necessitated cutbacks, with more than $700,000 coming from Sacramento County in 2008 dwindling to less than $200,000 this year. Mayor Kevin Johnson said shelters and motel vouchers can provide overnight housing for about 300 homeless, and he is looking for the faith community to supply shelter for another 100 people for the winter season. “During the warm months, it’s less of an urgency, but when the temperature drops and the rain falls, it’s even that much more of a challeng

Wednesday, Sept. 8 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Training Toward Self-Reliance will be hosting “Celebration of International Literacy Day” at the new rose garden, where volunteers will distribute information from various educational groups and feature on-site book reading. About 40 people are expected to attend. Thursday, Sept. 9 9:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. The Arc of California will host a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome rally on the West Steps of the Capitol. Around 150 people are expected to attend. 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. The State Capitol Museum will host Admission Day Celebration on the North Steps of the Capitol where birthday cake and ice cream will be served to celebrate California’s 160th year of Statehood.

Mayor Kevin Johnson gave full endorsement of the 47th annual Sacramento Greek Festival on Friday, its opening day. In his address to festival-goers, Johnson shared his appreciation of the great music, art and food provided by the Greek community over the course of the weekend’s festivities, which took place at the Sacramento Convention Center. “It’s all about the gyros for me,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot of great Greek restaurants in Sacramento, but what’s neat about this event is that they all come here.” With more than 10,000 people attending the three-day event, Johnson clearly isn’t the only Sacramentan in support of celebrating all things Greek. Chefs from some of the best Gree

Saturday, Sept. 4 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. TheCall Sacramento will have a prayer gathering and rally with “worship, fasting, prayer and repentance” beginning at the Capitol Mall and finishing on the West Steps of the Capitol. About 50,000 are expected to attend.

For the first time, the annual convention of Jehovah's Witnesses is happening at Sacramento's Convention Center on J Street. For eight weekends, including Fridays, the 134,000 square feet Convention Center Complex is filled with Jehovah's Witnesses.  Over each 3-day weekend, over 12,000 Jehovah's Witness have/will attend the event. Their annual convention runs until Aug. 22nd. There are concurrently 57 conventions in 90 USA cities. I dropped by Friday morning and discovered this weekend is devoted to Spanish speaking folks. It was all spoken in Spanish. The two men who showed me around laughed when I told them I flunked Spanish in Junior High. Even the signs were in Spanish as seen belo

About 800 people cheered speeches, clapped to music, and celebrated a new era of Christian - Jewish relations on Sunday night. Eager African-American children and elderly Jewish Holocaust survivors waved Israeli and American flags. Whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics basked in a glow of brotherhood. (See the previous story in this storyline.) The event was Sacramento’s fourth annual Night to Honor Israel, sponsored by Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and held at the Radisson Hotel. CUFI rejects anti-Semitism, and specifically abhors the Church-sponsored anti-Semitism of the past, such as the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms, and the Holocaust. As the audience took their seats, a s

"Sacramento became an epicenter for a new millennium."   Ten years ago, Randy Neal and Victor Styrsky didn’t know each other. What they did know, however, was that Christianity should reject part of its past and move in a new direction. Neal had founded Bridges Ministry and was reaching out to Native Americans, Jews, and other ethnic communities. Pastor Styrsky had co-founded a church that rapidly grew to 325 members. Most dear to these religious leaders, however, were Jews — the apple of God's eye, the very people who gave Christians their savior. Accordingly, what most tormented these men was the long, sad record of Jewish persecution. Finally, what most galled them was that 2,000 yea

       The cheeseburger.  Is there anything so uniting and yet polarizing at the same time?  Everybody loves cheeseburgers.  What about the tree-hugging vegans, you ask?  They love cheeseburgers too, but the burger is made of bulgur and whey and twigs, and the cheese is made of soy, whatever that is.  The top-selling vegan product today is the veggie burger.  That's a fact.  Look it up. And when you do, let me know what you find out, because I'm using the word "fact" very loosely here.   The point is, everyone loves burgers. There you go, we're united. So if we can agree that everyone loves burgers, why are they so polarizing? Because your favorite burger probably isn't my favorite bu

Chocolate seders on Passover are growing in popularity.   The traditional Passover seders on the first and second nights of Passover will always be an important time for families and synagogues to gather around the dinner table to celebrate the ancient Jews' exodus from Egypt after 400 years of slavery.   Not so traditional is the chocolate seder, a great alternative and festive way to commemorate this holiday.  Instead of the traditional foods found on the seder plate--usually a hardboiled egg, a shankbone or drumstick, horseradish, parsley, and a fruit and nut mixture called Charoset--each item will be replaced with a different kind of chocolate.   Chocolate eggs, white chocolate for t

  I had meant for my second article to be an ode to my new neighborhood, Midtown.  In my brief time here, I have found a lot to love about the area around my 1 bedroom on 18th and G.  I would love to wax poetic about the virtues of having two dope, locally owned, coffee shops within a five minute walk (Butch and Nellies, Old Soul at the Weatherford).  There's nothing I'd rather do than tell you about the lovely dining experience I had my first night here at Michealangelos, a little Italian Trattoria a stones throw from my front porch (Thanks Sara Jean!).  If I could, I'd spend an entire paragraph extolling the virtues of "Streets of London", a British style pub that has "football" on the

What do a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist and atheist have in common? Besides the fact that they all perform stand-up on the "Coexist? Comedy Tour," they are all from Northern California and have spent time in the same Prius while on the road. Saturday night, the Coexist Tour will stop at the Crest Theatre for a live taping. The show features Tissa Hami (the Muslim), Mike Winfield (the Christian), Tapan Trivedi (the Hindu), Moshe Kasher (the Jew), Keith Lowell Jensen (the atheist) and Sammy Obeid (the Buddhist) performing stand-up about their religious differences. It started a little over two years ago, with a conversation between Jensen and Trivedi about God. Jensen told Trived

Move over, Jonas Brothers. There’s a new boy-band in town and they’re determined to save the souls of Sacramentans. The off-Broadway musical hit "Altar Boyz" opened last Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Pavilion and kept the audience laughing and toe-tapping the entire 90 minutes. The comedic story of five Catholic boy-band members, as passionate about saving souls as they are about their clothes being glitzy, will run through Sunday. The group leader Matthew (Devin DeSantis), "sensitive" Mark (Jamison Scott), street-smart Luke (Ryan Nearhoff), "Latin lover" Juan (Andres Quintero) and the Jewish, yarmulke-sporting Abraham (Tim Dolan) are a talented cast that keep the audience laughing,

City of Man, City of God: The Catholic Church and the Shaping of Sacramento On Friday, June 12, 2009, SAMCC will unveil a new photographic exhibit, City of Man, City of God: The Catholic Church and the Shaping of Sacramento. The exhibit depicts the role that people of faith played in shaping Sacramento’s urban agenda, from the 1850s to today. The evening will include an address by Dr. Steven M. Avella on his recently released book, Sacramento and the Catholic Church: Shaping a Capital City. The event is free and open to the public. It begins at 7:00 p.m. at SAMCC, 551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd, Sacramento. The Catholic Church, present in Sacramento from the city’s beginnings, has had an impo