ICON

Paul was a dear friend and ardent supporter of ICON. He will be sorely missed.

Japanese Obon Festival at Santa Maria Veterans Memorial featuring Japanese food. Obon Dancing, Taiko Drumming, Martial Arts, Bonsai Demo, Arts and Crafts for kids and Lots of fun.

ICON friends and family, Obon is here again

Remember, friends, we do NOT have a meeting scheduled tonight. But please check out this great event by our friends at the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. These food faires are how they fundraiser for their beautiful iconography, so please consider supporting them. Thanks!

Fr Peter Kang will speak about the beliefs and practices of the Episcopal Church.

Dear ICON Friends and Family This has been a difficult message to compose, but with deep regret, I must inform you that. due to various reasons, ICON will suspend regular monthly meetings. Dues for 2019 will not be collected, and we will not be continuing in our regular programs. However, we do not want to give up on the wonderful energy of sharing our thoughts and perspectives, so your outgoing executive board has suggested the following activities: 1) We would very much l...ike to continue with our annual Forum on Faith. This event has felt like a blessing in our local community, allowing us to share more with the people of the Santa Maria Valley about other faiths. If you are interested in helping with that event, usually held in October, please comment and mention Forum on Faith. 2) Fr Peter Kang of St Peter's Episcopal Church is willing to facilitate a Scriptural Reasoning group. Scriptural Reasoning is the process of reading sacred texts from different faiths and sharing thoughts and reactions as a tool for interfaith dialog. No times or dates have been set yet, but if you are interested in participating, please comment and mention Scriptural Reasoning. 3) We are considering forming a book club, to read independently and meet to discuss, perhaps over a potluck meal. Suggested texts include My Name Is Mohammad by our own Mohammad Mohabbat, and Toward A True Kinship of Faiths by the Dalai Lama. If you are interested in participating, please comment and mention Book Club. We talked at length Tuesday night about what led to our decision to suspend regular meetings. Part of the issue is simply natural attrition. We have lost several vibrant, active member to moves, worsening health, and the inevitability of time. But at the same time, we have not been able to attract new members to continue to fill out our ranks. We know many of you are very busy, but we wanted to put the question out; Is the "Interfaith" part of Interfaith Community Outreach Network a stumbling block toward growing our group? Would a name change help us to attract new members? If you have thoughts you'd like to share about the future of ICON, please reply. We are still committed to maintaining our relationships with each other that would not have been possible without ICON, and perhaps revitalizing our group sometime in the future. Thank you for your time and attention. Thank you to everyone who has attended our meetings, who has shared their perspectives and practices. Thank you to those who have just come and listened to what was said. You have all brought us a little closer together, and we are all grateful. Respectfully submitted Marianne Shade Secretary, ICON

Mark your calendars for January 19th and get ready to MARCH! Right here in Santa Maria.

Here are the Drepung Gomang Monks who represent the Sacred Arts Tour who will visit the Central Coast this Winter (2019). Led by Geshe Monlam, the tour will inc...lude Mandalas at Templeton's Central Coast Center for Spiritual Living (February 7-9) and The Foxworthy Gallery at Alan Hancock College (February 11-15, 2019). See more

Come one, come all to our Annual Winter Holiday Potluck, Sunday afternoon, Dec 16! Cliff and Pam have graciously offered to host us at their home. Details will follow, but if you think you can make it, please email [email protected] or [email protected] to confirm. Hope to see you there!

Fun event hosted by our friends at the Orthodox Church. Food involved? Say no more! See you December 1st.

Wanted to share this clip of Mohammad, our local Imam, from our recent Forum on Faith event. It was so neat to see him perform. Enjoy!

St Peter’s Episcopal Church invites you: Sunday Nov 11, 9:30 a.m. We will be joined by The Rt. Rev. Samuel Sammy Azariah, Moderator (aka Archbishop) of Pakistan and Bishop in Raiwind, currently serving as Bishop-in-Charge at St. Peter’s, Rialto. In addition to his years of experience in ministry and church governance, Bishop Sammy is also a world leader in ecumenical and interfaith relations. He serves on the executive committee of the World Council of Churches and in 201...7, he was awarded the Huber Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Bishop Sammy will preach and celebrate at our regular service of Holy Eucharist at 9:30 am. Please join us - and stay for the reception afterward to ask questions and speak with the Bishop. St Peter’s Episcopal Church 402 S Lincoln St Santa Maria, CA