Neighbors in Religion: Chabad to hold High Holy Day services at Coral Gables Country Club

With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur just around the corner, Chabad of Downtown Coral Gables wants the community to know that its High Holy Day services will be at the Coral Gables Country Club, 990 Alhambra Circle.

To welcome the New Year, Chabad will host a Rosh Hashanah New Year’s Eve dinner at the Coral Gables Country Club at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 13. If you go, you must make reservations by Sept. 7 at www.ChabadGables.com. Rosh Hashanah services will be Sept 13-15.

Services will also be held for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on Sept. 22 and 23. Tickets and membership are not required to attend the services. “All are welcome, free of charge, regardless of background or affiliation,” said Chabad co-director Chany Stolik.

Rabbi Avrohom Stolik said, “The services will be friendly, inviting and open to all. The English-Hebrew prayer book, helpful insights and commentary, will make everyone an active participant. The kids will enjoy an interactive children’s program.”

“According to tradition, at the new year the doors of Heaven are open; God accepts all prayers, from anyone,” the rabbi explained. “We are pleased to announce that our doors are open as well, to the entire community. All are invited to feel connected, enriched and inspired.”

The services are free, but you should RSVP, the rabbi said.

Also, at 7 p.m. Thursday, all women are invited to join the women’s circle for an evening entitled, “Cleansing Ourselves Spiritually and Physically for the New Year.” The event will be hosted by Bibi’s Beauty Bar, 2030 Douglas Rd., Suite 118, in Coral Gables.

The program includes making your own aromatic creations with Bibi, who will discuss the meaning and inspiration behind the holiday of Rosh Hashana. Refreshments will be served. The cost is $15 per person and RSVP is required by calling Chany Stolik at 305-301-9460.

Chorale in concert

The internationally known Bethune-Cookman University Concert Chorale will appear in concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at The Church of the Open Door (Congregational) United Church of Christ, 6001 NW Eighth Ave. in Liberty City.

The concert is presented by the church’s music ministry and women’s circle II. Directed by Damon H. Dandridge, the concert will feature a program that will include a variety of music selections, from Broadway musicals to spirituals.

The community is invited. The Rev. Dr. R. Joaquin Willis is pastor.

Church anniversary

Congratulations to the congregation at Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 8100 NW 17th Ave., on the occasion of its 48th anniversary.

Gospel recording artist Debra Snipes and The Angels will kick off three months of celebrations with two concerts on Sept. 12 at the church. The first concert will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, followed at 7:30 p.m. by the second.

Tickets are $30 each for adults and $10 each for children, and can be purchased by going online at www.christianfellowshipmbc.org. You may also contact Anna Jackson at 305-626-8189.

Watch this column for more 48th anniversary celebrations at Christian Fellowship MBC.

School renamed for Ayers

The rain held up just enough Saturday for the community to honor the late Georgia Jones Ayers at the renaming ceremony of Allapattah Middle School.

Ayers came full circle. It was about 66 years ago that her family, along with many other blacks who lived in the area, then called Railroad Shop Colored Edition, were evicted from their homes. The area was later called Allapattah, and the middle school was built on property that was once owned by her parents.

On Saturday, the school at 1331 NW 46th St. was officially dedicated and renamed the Georgia Jones Ayers Middle School. It was the right thing to do.

The festivities started at 10 a.m. with a parade from Charles Hadley Park at 1350 NW 50th St. to the school.

It was a beautiful ceremony, with soloist Sarah Anderson setting the pace with a powerful rendition of The Star Spangled Banner that, said poet Rebecca “Butterfly” Vaughns, “left me with goose bumps.”

The program included various speeches from dignitaries that included Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalno; retired Congresswoman Carrie Meek; and the singing of a medley of Ayers’ favorite hymns, led by recording artist A. Randolph.

Deborah Taylor, Georgia’s daughter, recited her mom’s favorite poem, What a Black Man Needs.

Later, we moved outside where, beneath low-hanging clouds, the sun peeked out long enough for the unveiling of the logo above the entrance of the school.

It was, indeed, a glorious day. And I want to personally thank School Board member Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, who led the process of getting the school renamed.

‘Peruvian Shamanism’

Diane Dunn will be the guest lecturer at the Dianne Collins and Alan K. Collins Distinguished Speaker Series at 7 p.m. Thursday at Florida International University Modesto A. Maidique Campus, in the Deuxieme Maison Room, 302, 11200 SW Eighth St.

Dunn, a spiritual seeker since childhood, will speak on “Peruvian Shamanism: Gateway to Inner Wisdom”.

It was her relentless quest for deeper understanding and love that led her through a circuitous, magical adventure into the land of the Incas, where she met two Andean masters who taught her to know and live in a new way.

Dunn, who currently runs the Paz y Luz Hotel and Healing Center in Pisac, Peru, will ll share her adventure and the teachings of the Andean spiritual tradition as they were taught to her.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call 305-348-7266.

Free family festival

Palm Springs United Methodist Church, 5700 W. 12th Ave. in Hialeah, invites the community to a free family festival 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 12.

Sponsored by the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida. the festival is called, “Swap Extravaganza Under the Stars” and will feature a children’s workshop headed by the Hialeah Gardens Home Depot and Miami-Dade Commissioner Estaban Bovo Jr. Build-a-Bear of Pembroke Pines will also be there.

Attending will be troops representing areas from North Dade, Hialeah, Miami Lakes, Hialeah Gardens, Miami Gardens, Aventura and Sunny Isles. There will be a booth to explain to attendees what scouting is about: building courage, confidence and character in future leaders.

The day will include singing, crafts,. and roasting marsh mellows. If you need more information, contact Deborah at debcorriveau@hotmail.com or call the church at 305-821-3232.

Belen alumni takes vows

Warm congratulations to Michael Martinez, a Belen Jesuit Prep School alumni who took his first vows to the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) at a Mass on Aug. 28.

The Rev. Javier Vida, Provincial of the Antilles Province and the Rev. Pedro Suarez, the school’s president and both Jesuit priests, were the main celebrants.

Martinez, 24, is a Miami native and a 2009 Belen graduate. He studied at Fordham University in New York where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology with a concentration in American Catholic studies. After graduating from Fordham, he entered the Society of Jesus in the Antilles Province and began his formation as a Jesuit in the novitiate in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Belen Jesuit Prep School is at 500 SW 127th St.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Neighbors in Religion: Chabad to hold High Holy Day services at Coral Gables Country Club."