Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche, Daisy Khan And Rabbi Burton Visotzky Engage In Discussion On Water And Liturgy At The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine Thursday, March 8 March 8, 2012

From baptism to funerals to ritual cleansing, water is used in most religions to signify passage – into life or into death, from the everyday to the sacred. Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche, Daisy Khan and Rabbi Burton Visotzky, will join The Rev. Tom Miller for a discussion about how the theme of water is represented in specific liturgies and in what manner liturgy might point to advocacy on Thursday, March 8th at 7:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), Manhattan. The discussion is being hosted in conjunction with the Cathedral’s art and programming initiative The Value of Water.

Gelek Rimpoche, distinguished teacher and founder of Jewel Heart, a Tibetan Buddhist Center; Khan, Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA); and Visotzky, Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies, Jewish Theological Seminary and Director, Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue; will be joined by The Reverend Tom Miller, Canon for Liturgy & the Arts at the Cathedral, to examine how water is used and understood in the Abrahamic and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. The Very Reverend Dr. James A. Kowalski, Dean of the Cathedral, will moderate.

The Value of Water art exhibition features the work of over 40 contemporary visual artists, including Jenny Holzer, William Kentridge, Kiki Smith, Bill Viola, Pat Steir, Dixie Peaslee, and others whose work focuses on depicting and reflecting on water. Works from the artists, including paintings, sculptures and multi-media pieces, are currently on display in all areas of the Cathedral, from the Great Crossing to the Nave, Chapels, Bays and other intimate areas. The exhibition will be on view until March 25, 2012.

“Enter the Conversation” is an ongoing series of programs at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine that encourages individuals to be agents of positive social change.

For more information please visit http://www.stjohndivine.org/WaterLiturgy.html.

The event is free and open to the public. Contributions are appreciated.