Religion

Members of the Sri Balaji Temple on Elizabeth Avenue June 4 held a ceremonial groundbreaking for their proposed permanent temple. The temple is in the process of securing Franklin Township approvals for the temple, said Vijayaraghavan Poondi, Sri Balaji’s president. He said that if everything goes as planned, the proposed 2,500-square-foot temple should be inaugurated on May 27, 2020. The …

International Peace Day was celebrated May 20 at the NJ Buddhist Vihara on Route 27. The event is an annual one, in which members of different faith traditions are invited to the temple to pray and meditate. We were live from the event for a short time: https://www.facebook.com/franklinreporter/videos/1169906573121053/ The event was co-sponsored by NJ Rotary, the NJ Lions, the Somerset …

Cedar Grove Lane got a new, albeit honorary, name on May 4: Interfaith Lane. The action reflects the large number of houses of worship located on the roughly 3-mile road, between its intersections with Easton Avenue and Amwell Road. The honorary name was the brainchild of Alex Kharazi, president of the Franklin Township Interfaith Alliance and one of teh founders …

Members of some of the township’s faith-based communities came together May 4 to commemorate the National Day of Prayer. Organized by the Franklin Township Interfaith Council, the group gathered at the Veterans Memorial on DeMott Lane, in front of the Municipal Building. Members took turns reading prayers from a variety of religions. Below is a sample of the day’s event. …

The Franklin Township Interfaith Coalition will observe the National Day of Prayer with two events on May 4. First, at 12:30 p.m., representatives from various houses of worship in the township will gather at the township’s Veterans Memorial on DeMott Lane for their annual prayer service. Then at 7 p.m., the group will gather at New Brunswick Road and Cedar …

The Balaji Temple on Elizabeth Avenue on April 29 held one of 10 days’ worth of cultural events to celebrate the millennial birthday of Sri Ramanujar, a teacher revered by temple members. The birthday celebration was to conclude on April 30 with prayers in the temple, then a ballet depicting Ramanujar’s life, which was to be performed at the township …

It began as a small coffeehouse concert and has grown six years later into an event with a national recording artist as headliner. The event was the 6th annual “Into His Fields” benefit concert for Miriam’s Heart, a township-based organization that acts on behalf of orphaned and abandoned children. The concert was held April 29 at the Zarephath Ministry Center …

Representatives of a handful of faith traditions in the township showed their support for one another March 11 in a “Solidarity and Brotherhood Prayer” held at Temple Beth El on Hamilton Street. The idea of leaders at Masjid-e-Ali Mosque, the event was held during the synagogue’s Shabbat Zachor, or “Sabbath of Remembering,” an observance held yearly before the Purim holiday. …

Catholics must use the current political and social climate to reclaim the Church’s original “counter-culture” role and “engage the structures of injustice,” a group of St. Matthias parishioners was told Feb. 11. Speaking to the group of about 50 parishioners in a special Black History Month program, Fr. Aniedi Okure, executive director of the Africa Faith & Justice Network of …

Chanting, the ritual bathing of a Hindu god’s idol and the lighting of 21 oil lamps highlighted the Srivari Sri Balaji temple’s first New Year’s Day observance. The 2,000-square-foot prayer hall, located on Elizabeth Avenue, was packed Jan. 1 with members of the temple who had come to pay respects to the idol of their god, Lord Srivari, and deliver …