Durga is a goddess with the power to triumph over evil and Durga Puja is the biggest fall festival in the Bengali region of India.
With that in mind, Durga will be revered during three days of religious and cultural celebrations that begin Friday at the Hindu Temple of Delaware, 760 Yorklyn Road, Hockessin.
As many as 400 people connected with the Bengali Association of the Delaware Valley will arrive with food and flowers to show their love for the divine, which they personify as the goddess Durga, says Subhas Mazumdar, one of the organizers.
The object of the worship is to reignite one's love for the goddess as an all-loving mother and maiden, taking her into one's heart.
The puja is a festive time, and Bengali-Americans will turn out to reconnect with their cultural heritage, too.
On Friday, worship will start at 5:30 p.m., followed by music from Usha Uttup at 8 p.m.
On Oct. 4, services will begin at 11 a.m., followed by lunch at 3 p.m. A program of local talent will start at 7:30 p.m.
On Oct. 5, worship will be at 11 a.m., followed again by lunch at 3 p.m. and a cultural program at 5 p.m.
Newark blessing of the animals
It is customary to remember the love that St. Francis of Assisi showed all creatures on his feast day. And with the feast falling on Oct. 4 there will be many blessings of the animals in churches next weekend.
At St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Newark, 276 S. College Ave., a two-hour St. Francis Day Festival is planned on Oct. 4 in the grove adjacent to the church, starting at 2 p.m.
There will be several stations at which people can learn about St. Francis, telling the story of the San Damiano Cross, the cross St. Francis was praying before when he felt called to rebuild the church, and his creation of the first nativity scene.
There will be a blessing of all creatures great and small at 3 p.m., with the Rev. Sarah Brockmann doing the honors.
Organ recital in Unionville, Pa.
Paul Fleckenstein, longtime director of music at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, will present an organ recital at St. Michael Lutheran Church in Unionville, Pa. on Oct. 5 at 3 p.m.
His program will include music by J.S. Bach, Louis Vierne, Camille Saint-Saens and other composers.
This is the opening event of a music series at St. Michael. The suggested donation is $5, $2 for those 11 and younger.
The church is on East Doe Run Road, just east of the new traffic circle on Pa. 82.
An apology for the slave trade
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who heads the Episcopal Church USA, will apologize for the denomination's role in the slave trade at a 10:30 a.m. service Oct. 4 at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia.
The Very Rev. Lloyd Casson, acting dean of the Philadelphia Cathedral and a retired rector in the Diocese of Delaware, will be master of ceremonies.
The day complies with a resolution passed at the 2006 General Convention in which the church called for a day of reconciliation for its role in Colonial-era slavery.
At St. Thomas on Friday, there will be talks on three subjects: "Revisiting the Past", "Taking Action in the Present" and "Charting a Course for the Future." The talks are from 1-5 p.m.
Presenters will include the Rev. Dr. Harold Lewis, author of "Yet With a Steady Beat", the foundational book about African-Americans and the Episcopal Church; the Rt. Rev. Chip Marble, assisting bishop in the Diocese of North Carolina; Dr. Anita George, chairperson of the Executive Council Anti-Racism Committee; and state Sen. Byron Rushing of Massachusetts.
The church is located at Lancaster Avenue and Overbrook Street.
Pro-life forum in Hockessin
A panel will address "The Five Non-Negotiables in Catholic Moral Tradition" at a forum to be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Mary of the Assumption parish hall in Hockessin.
The event is billed as the second annual pro-life summit and will deal with abortion, euthanasia, homosexual marriage, human cloning and embryonic stem cell research.
On the panel are Dr. Michael DePietro, director of the intensive care unit at Christiana Care; the Rev. Edward Fahey, associate pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption; and Steve Jenkins, a board member of A Rose and a Prayer.
Admission is free. The parish hall is located at 7200 Lancaster Pike.
Lecture on pre-'Code' da Vinci
On Monday at 7:30 p.m., scholar and humorist Elliot Engel will give a free presentation called "Leonardo da Vinci: Before the Code" at Lower Brandywine Presbyterian Church near Greenville.
A writer and lecturer based in Raleigh, N.C., Engel is an expert on Charles Dickens as well as da Vinci.
The church is located at 101 Old Kennett Road.
Contact Gary Soulsman at 324-2893 or gsoulsman@delawareonline.com.
source: http://www.delawareonline.comvisit: www.madurgapuja.com
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