Rothko Chapel

Poetry Reading and Conversation

Willis Barnstone, Aliki Barnstone, and Tony Barnstone

Presented in partnership with Saint Julian Press

Poetry offers a window to the Holy that dialogue cannot, reflecting essential human truths in artful form. Join a unique opportunity to engage with three acclaimed and evocative poets from the Barnstone family in a sacred place that is also rich with family history. The Rothko Chapel was designed, in part, by the architect Howard Barnstone, Willis’ brother. Each of the poets will read from their collections, examining their concepts of the Divine and challenging our own, as well as engage in conversation with each other and the audience.

Music will be performed before and during the program by Max Dyer, cellist. A reception and book signing follow the program.

About the poets:

Willis Barnstone is a poet, memoirist, translator, Hispanist and comparatist, who has written more than 70 books of scholarship and poetry. A New Testament and Gnostic scholar, he published “The Restored New Testament,” including the Gnostic gospels of Thomas, Mary and Judas. He is a Guggenheim Fellow, the distinguished professor of Comparative Literature Emeritus and senior scholar in the Institute of Biblical and Literary Studies at Indiana University. He has also received the Emily Dickinson Award, the W.H. Auden Award and a special citation for translation from the Pen/Book of the Month Club.

Aliki Barnstone is a poet, translator, critic, editor and visual artist. She is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently “Dwelling.” Her first book of poems, “The Real Tin Flower,” was published when she was 12 years old with a forward by Anne Sexton. She has been awarded a Senior Fulbright Fellowship, the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Literature Fellowship in Poetry and a residency at the Anderson Center at Tower View. She serves as Poet Laureate of Missouri and is Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Missouri.

Tony Barnstone is a poet, author, essayist and literary translator. In addition to his 18 published books, his work has appeared in dozens of American literary journals. His latest work, “Pulp Sonnets,” is a book of illustrated poetry based on 20 years of research into classic pulp fiction, Gothic literature, B movies and comic books, illustrated by Iranian artist Amin Mansouri. He is the Albert Upton Professor of English at Whittier College.

About the Series:

Concept of the Divine series provides a unique opportunity for speakers to share how their personal concept of the Divine has changed over time and shaped their lives, their service to the community, and views about their place in the cosmos.

Alejandro Chaoul, Ph.D led a meditation in the ancient Bon-Buddhist tradition of Tibet, showing how it can be a "medicine" for our mind-wandering and emotional entanglements. Participants practiced simple techniques of "Meditation Precious Pills" for every day life, and focused on the importance of community support.

Dr. Alejandro Chaoul is an assistant professor and director of education at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center's Integrative Medicine program, where he conducts research using mind-body techniques with cancer patients, holds group and individual meditation classes, and directs the education initiatives on integrative medicine. He is also an associate faculty member at The McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at University of Texas Medical School, where he teaches medical students in the areas of spirituality, complementary and integrative medicine, and end of life care. Alejandro is also on the Board and is a meditation and Tibetan yoga teacher of the Ligmincha Texas Institute for the Tibetan Meditative and Healing Arts as well as an advisor for the Rothko Chapel.

The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.

To celebrate the Houston Museum District Association's Museum Experience, the Rothko Chapel hosted a day full of events in conjunction with The Menil Collection and Houston Center for Photography.

The Da Camera Young Artists - a group of emerging professional vocalists, instrumentalists, and composers - descended on the Museum Experience in Zone 1 to present nine concerts in the span of two hours. Visitors traveled between the Menil Collection, the Rothko Chapel, and the Houston Center for Photography to hear each program. The concerts began simultaneously in each venue at 2:00, 2:45, and 3:30 and the music reflected the unique character of each space.

Da Camera Young Artists (Callie Denbigh, voice; Stephanie Gustafson, harp; Amelia Love, voice; Sonya Matoussova, cello; and William Shaub, violin)

Johann Sebastian Bach

Sonata in G Minor,

I. Adagio

William Shaub, violin

John Cage

In a Landscape

Stephanie Gustafson, harp

Morton Feldman

Voices and Cello (1973)

Amelia Love, voice

Callie Denbigh, voice

Sonya Matoussova, cello

Johann Sebastian Bach

Sonata in G Minor,

III. Siciliano

William Shaub, violin

In honor of the life and work of the Rev. Dr. King, our Annual Celebration began with a ceremony on the plaza to welcome the return of the Broken Obelisk by Barnett Newman after a year away for conservation. The event included words by Rev. Dr. Marcus Cosby, Wheeler Baptist Church Senior Pastor; Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis; Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee; Gary Tinterow, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; a capella performances by Edwina Hubbard; and original poems performed by Jackson Neal, 2016 Meta-four Houston Youth Poetry Slam team member, and Fareena Arefeen, City of Houston's second Youth Poet Laureate, an initiative led by Writers in the Schools, the City of Houston, and the Houston Public Library.

Dana Shamas, New Year's Day Crystal Bowl Meditation

Sunday, January 1, 2017

The Rothko Chapel honored the start of the New Year with the sound of crystal bowls resonating throughout the Chapel, led by yoga teacher and Bayou Bliss Yoga founder Dana Shamas.

Twelve Moments: Experiencing Spiritual and Faith Traditions is offered monthly and is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.

How can a shared concept of the Divine inspire faith leaders to collaboratively address issues of social justice in Houston? The “three amigos” Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, Rabbi Samuel Karff, and Rev. William Lawson (who was unable to attend due to a recent surgery) share their interfaith work and how it’s influenced their own spirituality and ministry in service to the community, moderated by Melanie Lawson, award winning journalist. Rabbi Karff is Rabbi Emeritus at Congregation Beth Israel; Archbishop Fiorenza is Archbishop Emeritus of Galveston-Houston; and Rev. Lawson is the founding pastor of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Working together they have tackled some of Houston's most challenging problems, including homelessness, juvenile incarceration, and fair housing.

Concept of the Divine series provides a unique opportunity for speakers to share how their personal concept of the Divine has changed over time and shaped their lives, their service to the community, and views about their place in the cosmos.

Sister Mary Adeline O'Donoghue, Christian Tradition

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

An act of contemplation, Centering is a way to open oneself to the active presence of God within.

Sr. Mary Adeline O’Donoghue, CCVI was born in Ireland to a family of farmers. From an early age, she had a deep sense of God’s presence and spiritual gifts that led to her vocation. She came to Houston to enter the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, at Villa de Matel. She was instrumental in opening the Ruah Center in 1987, an oasis of intentional silence and prayer whose mission is the renewal and healing of the human spirit. For more than 28 years, she has invited individuals burdened by the pressures of modern life to simply enter the quiet depths of their own being.

The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Rothko Chapel held a Twilight Meditation, offered in partnership with Avenue 360 Health and Wellness, formerly known Houston Area Community Services and Bering Omega. Join us in showing your support and solidarity with the millions of people living with and impacted by HIV/AIDS. Listen to a guided meditation led by local meditation facilitator Gabriel Clark.

This annual service brings together leaders and members of nine faiths including Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Baha’i Faith, Hinduism and Jainism to offer prayers of thanksgiving and read sacred texts on thankfulness. This year, the theme of the service is “Building Relationships,” which was inspired by Mayor Sylvester Turner, who said of Houston, "In this city, we do not build walls, we build relationships. We recognize that in our diversity is our strength." All are welcome. A reception follows the program.

Participating Communities Include:

Covenant Church

Congregation Emanu El Houston

Islamic Society of Greater Houston

The Bahai’s of Houston

Jade Buddha Temple/Texas Buddhist Association

Zoroastrian Association of Houston

Arya Samaj Greater Houston

JVB Preksha Meditation Center Houston

The Sikh National Center of Greater Houston

This annual event was organized by the following committee members:

George Atkinson, United Methodist

Ajit Giani, Baha'i

Beth Kulkarni, Hindu

Phyllis harris, Jewish

Swatantra Jain, Jain

Vehishta Kaikobad, Zoroastrian

Judy Jeng. Buddhist

Garland Pohl, Catholic

SriNithya Muktiroopananda, Hindu Meditation

Wednesday November 2, 2016

Suggested donation $10, click here to make a donation ahead of time

Join us for Nithya Dhyaan, a meditation from the Hindu tradition designed to cleanse the mind of negative energy and energize the body. Nithya Dhyaan involves breathing, humming, and building chakra awareness to balance the body, spirit, and mind.

Jayaraman Thiaga (rajan), known as SriNithya Muktiroopananda (Muktiroopa) was born and raised in India and currently lives in Sugarland, Texas. He is the city lead of the Nithyananda Aadheenam of Houston, part of a worldwide organization of Hindu temples established by the Avatar, Swami Nithyananda. Once opened, the temple will offer Puja, Yoga, and meditation workshops to contribute to the raising of consciousness and prosperity of all Houstonians.

The series is co-sponsored by Ligmincha Texas Institute, The Jung Center of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Rothko Chapel.