Har Shalom announces events
Congregation Har Shalom, 2537 County Road 203, will host these events:
A presentation called “Last Friday – Climate Change; its indicators, causes and mitigation” will be held Friday. A gathering and blessing will take place at 6 p.m.; a catered dinner will take place at 6:30 p.m. with a free-will offering accepted but not required. The presentation with questions and discussion will take place at 7:15 p.m. Ike Turiel will lead the presentation with examples in Colorado.
The sixth annual Har Shalom Shavuot Campout b’midbar with Rabbi Eliot Baskin will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. June 7 at Chris Park. The topic will be “Relationships: Connecting to nature, community and God.” A schedule is available at www.harshalomdurango.org. To get to Chris Park from Durango, travel north on U.S. Highway 550 for about 18 miles and turn at the Haviland Lake sign. Continue for a half-mile, and turn right at the intersection.
For more information, email programdirector@harshalomdurango.org.
Catholic Daughters pick Mother of the Year
Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court St. Anthony No. 1248 announced that Nancy Sofka is this year’s Mother of the Year. The court includes members from St. Columba and Sacred Heart Catholic churches.
Sofka has been a member of the Catholic Daughters since 1992 and has been active in the organization and the community.
State Department notes rise in anti-Semitism
WASHINGTON – The State Department has appointed a special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism as a new report documents a global increase in incidents of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
Ira Forman, former CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council, was chosen as special envoy as the State Department released its annual report on religious freedom around the world. The report said expressions of anti-Semitism by government officials, religious leaders and the media were of great concern, particularly in Venezuela, Egypt and Iran. At times, the report said, such statements led to desecration and violence.
Secretary of State John Kerry called the report a “clear-eyed, objective look at the state of religious freedom around the world” and said that in some cases, the report criticizes U.S. allies and would-be allies.
Atheists object to creationism teachings
MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State University is investigating an atheist organization’s complaint that one of the professors at the Indiana college is teaching religion rather than science.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a formal objection to Eric Hedin’s teaching with university officials. Hedin teaches an honors class called “Boundaries of Science,” which the foundation maintains teaches creationism rather than science. The foundation is dedicated to “nontheism” and separation of church and state.
Hedin is listed on the Ball State website as a member of the department of physics and astronomy, not biology. The faculty directory says he teaches classes in nanoscience and cosmology.
Herald Staff and Associated Press
