Shem is an Aramaic word expressing the Divine radiance and splendor in all of creation.
SHEM Center for Interfaith Spirituality offers the sojourners of all spiritual paths and faith traditions, as well as those who claim none, a sacred space where all are respectfully welcomed to encounter the wisdom found in the sacred traditions of the peoples of the world.
A Challenge Grant to Shem Center
Once again The Wolcott/Ebbeler Foundation, our supportive friends of many years, is offering you a way to have your donations to Shem Center increase by way of their matching gift.
Shem Center Programs
Shem Center offers experiences of the prayer, meditation, rituals, and the wisdom of the peoples of the world. In doing so, each takes a place at the table with others whose spiritual tradition may be similar to or different from one’s own.
Martin Luther King Jr.
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (1929-1968)
An Interfaith Greeting of Peace
SHALOM - SHLAMA - SALAAM
These three words in Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic are used in turn as greetings of peace by Jews, Christians and Muslims, the followers of the three Abrahamic religions.
Inter-Spirituality
Recognizing that the Divine Reality is not limited to any one expression of our journey with God, Shem Center takes its place with many others committed to the task of bringing peace into the world through understanding, respect and friendship.
News
Letter From Ukraine, June 27, 2022
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers,
It’s been over two weeks since my last letter from Ukraine. This longer period between correspondences might give the impression of a return to normalcy. If one of you arrived now in Kyiv or Lviv not knowing a war has been going on for over four months, you might not see at first glance that not all is in order. Obviously apart from the sight of many women and men in military uniforms on the streets, everyday life seems to be following its normal course. But this is just an illusion.
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Letter From Ukraine, June 11, 2022
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers,
Today I made a phone call to an older woman whose son fights on the frontlines. “Good morning, this is Father Jarosław…” On the other end: silence. I introduced myself again and explained why I’m calling. After a while, she told me that the unfamiliar male voice in the receiver had surprised and frightened her. How true; during wartime a phone call like this could have brought bad news about her son. Mrs. Nadia isn’t the only mother though, or wife or daughter, who picks up the phone with apprehension.
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Letter From Ukraine, May 16, 2022
Dear Friends of Shem Center, Here is another letter received from my Dominican brother in Ukraine. Fr. Jaroslaw Krawiec, OP, the Vicar Provincial from Poland ministering in Ukraine. His account of life there reports on details not seen on our news accounts. Should you feel moved to support his work in Ukraine with those displaced…
Read MoreWelcome to Shem Center. Contact Us!
Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
708 North Harvey Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 848-1095
shemcenter1993@gmail.com
Photo Credits: Emory Mead, Stephen B. Starr, Joseph Kilikevice