NINTH GRADE EMBARKS ON ANNUAL TOUR OF LEHIGH VALLEY WORSHIP SPACES

The ninth grade embarked on a journey to visit three religious worship spaces on Friday, December 1.

 

The first stop was the Hindu Temple Society, where students met with a resident Hindu priest who explained and demonstrated a ritual 'aarti' or prayer with fire. Students were able to view not only the Hindu sanctum, but the other sanctums this sacred space holds, which are dedicated to Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism - all religions founded in India.

After lunch and some yummy samosa generously offered by the community at the Hindu Temple Society, students then headed to two separate mosques to observe the Islamic tradition of Friday midday prayer. Prayer spaces at the mosque were filled with locals who leave work and school to attend this important moment in the Islamic weekly schedule. One group of Moravian Academy students chatted with three students from Whitehall High School, who walk over to the Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley every Friday to observe prayer.

Our last stops were St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and the Lehigh Valley Quaker Friends Meeting House. Students commented on the ornate paintings adorning the ceiling and walls of the Cathedral and the stark open space of the Meeting House. Class discussions on Monday were filled with stories comparing the contrasts and similarities of the places we visited. As School Chaplain, Rev. Jennifer Nichols commented in her latest blog, "Our students bring the gift of curiosity and wonder... How beautiful it is that we can be Architects of Belonging, even beyond our own campus."