Violence and God

Please join us on Tuesday, January 23rd at 7:30 PM in the Parish Hall at St. Paul's, Chatham for a fascinating discussion on "Religious Extremism and Violence" presented by the Rev'd Masud Ibn Syedullah, TSSF.

Rev'd Masud directs "Roots and Branches: Programs for Spiritual Growth" and is a professed member of the Third Order of the Society of St. Francis (TSSF). He will talk about the history of violence from the perspective of religious extremism, its association with economic conditions and desire for safety, the root causes in all religions and identify trends and patterns among them all.

The wider community is invited to attend.

An Episcopal priest, musician, and educator, the Rev. Masud I. Syedullah, TSSF integrates resources of the Christian spiritual tradition, the arts, and liturgical worship to create experiences that facilitate spiritual growth. For more than twenty-five years he has designed and led numerous conferences, retreats, and workshops to strengthen the people of God, nationally and internationally.

Born into an interfaith family (Christian and Islamic), and a professed member and pastoral officer of The Third Order, Society of Saint Francis (TSSF -- an international religious community in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion), Father Syedullah has acquired a profound appreciation for the many ways people experience and relate to God. His work invites persons to discover the everywhereness of God – the ways God can be experienced in persons and places beyond ones expectations.

Father Syedullah creates and presents diocesan events for clergy and lay people, retreats for religious orders, and conferences, lectures, workshops, and retreats for parishes and other faith-based organizations. His ministry has taken him throughout the United States, to Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East. The General Theological Seminary in New York City, The United States Military Academy at West Point, The School for Ministry of the Diocese of Southwest Florida, and The New York Open Center are representative of the range of organizations and institutions for which he has provided lectures and other programs. He has served as a Field-Site Supervisor for seminarians engaged in Theological Field Education for the General Theological Seminary and has created an Intensive Theological Field Education Program for Ministry among Youth and Young Adults in conjunction with the Ecumenical Community of Taizé, France. Throughout his ministry he has served as a spiritual director for both clergy and lay persons. He has led retreats and workshops on The Spirituality of Work for the Salvation Army, and is a consultant to congregations of several denominations in the fields of music, worship, faith formation, and ministry development.

Pastor of the Church of the Atonement, Bronx, New York, and member of the Liturgical Commission and the Episcopal-Muslim Relations Committee of The Episcopal Diocese of New York, his ministry encompasses the concerns and realities of both the local congregation and the broader faith community.

Joined by a team of gifted associates, he now offers Roots & Branches.