(UNDATED) Here is the RNS calendar of major religious holidays, denominational meetings and other events for December and January. It will be updated monthly.
Dec. 2-4
U.S. Conference of the World Council of Churches: annual meeting, Washington. Contact: Philip E. Jenks at 212-870-2228, e-mail: NCCnews(at)ncccusa.org; Web site: http://www.wcc-usa.org/events/annual-meeting-2008.html
Dec. 3
Heritage Foundation: “Religious Practice and Health: What the Research Says” conference, Washington. Contact: Jessica Prol at 202-608-1544; e-mail: Jessica.Prol(at)heritage.org; Web site: http://www.heritage.org/ReligionResourceConference
Dec. 7-8
Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations: annual meeting, Fairfield, Conn. Contact: Funda Alp at 203-396-8241; e-mail: alpf(at)sacredheart.edu
Dec. 8
Bodhi Day (Buddhist celebration of the Buddha’s attainment of enlightenment.)
Dec. 9
Eid al-Adha (Muslim holiday celebrating the culmination of the hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca. Actual start date may vary depending on the sighting of the moon.)
Dec. 21-25
Muslim American Society: annual convention, Chicago. Contact: Imam Mahdi Bray at 703-998-6525; e-mail: mas4freedom(at)aol.com; Web site: http://www.masnet.org
Dec. 22
Hanukkah (eight-day Jewish festival of lights; begins at sundown and ends at nightfall on Dec. 29.)
Dec. 25
Christmas (Christian, including Eastern Orthodox)
Jan. 6
Feast of the Epiphany (Christian celebration of the arrival of the Magi to visit the infant Jesus. Eastern Orthodox churches call it Theophany to mark the baptism of Jesus and his first miracle at the wedding at Cana.)
Jan. 7
Ashura (Optional fast day for Muslims. This marks the creation of the world, Noah’s departure from the ark, and Moses’ flight from Egypt. Actual start date may vary depending on sighting of the moon.)
Jan. 16
Religious Freedom Day
Jan. 17
Stellar Gospel Music Awards: annual show, Nashville, Tenn. Contact: Jalila Larsuel at 626-398-5028; e-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) //’;l[1]=’a’;l[2]=’/’;l[3]=”;l[22]='”‘;l[23]=’ 109′;l[24]=’ 111′;l[25]=’ 99′;l[26]=’ 46′;l[27]=’ 108′;l[28]=’ 111′;l[29]=’ 97′;l[30]=’ 64′;l[31]=’ 114′;l[32]=’ 112′;l[33]=’ 97′;l[34]=’ 105′;l[35]=’ 100′;l[36]=’ 101′;l[37]=’ 77′;l[38]=’ 76′;l[39]=’ 74′;l[40]=’:’;l[41]=’o’;l[42]=’t’;l[43]=’l’;l[44]=’i’;l[45]=’a’;l[46]=’m’;l[47]='”‘;l[48]=’=’;l[49]=’f’;l[50]=’e’;l[51]=’r’;l[52]=’h’;l[53]=’a ‘;l[54]=’= 0; i=i-1){ if (l[i].substring(0, 1) == ‘ ‘) output += “&#”+unescape(l[i].substring(1))+”;”; else output += unescape(l[i]); } document.getElementById(‘eeEncEmail_9qgFt9bgrj’).innerHTML = output; //]]> ; Web site: http://www.thestellarawards.com
Jan. 18-25
World Council of Churches and the Vatican: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, worldwide: Contact: Juan Michel at 011-41-79-507-6363; e-mail: media(at)wcc-coe.org; Web site:www.oikoumene.org/?id193
Jan. 22
March for Life: annual anti-abortion rally, Washington. Contact: Nellie Gray at 202-543-3377; Web site: http://www.marchforlife.org
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