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Zoroastrian Association
of Metropolitan Chicago
Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd

Archive for Newsletters

Posted by ZAMC 
· January 28, 2021 
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Dec 2020 – Jan 2021 Newsletter

Happy New Year!

Dear community members and friends,

Wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy and Peaceful 2021!  May this New Year bring us all together ‘in person’ very soon!!

The year was kicked off with our first ever virtual Humbundagi by Ervard Jamshed Ravji and it was successfully attended by over 50 member families.  We have planned an exciting year full of activities and events for all age groups and varied interests.  Our events will be an assortment of virtual and live events (following CDC guidelines and whenever possible). The desire is to keep our community always connected, especially during these challenging times.  Ideally we would like to have some event every week and welcome any suggestions for new programs or events.  We encourage our community members to  reach out to Jamshed Rivetna or any Board member to share your ideas or also if you’re interested in volunteering to host an event.

We are always grateful to our community for their continued engagement, through membership, donations and constant support to our center.  As you all are aware that there weren’t any events hosted at our center since March last year thus limiting our ability to raise funds.  So we strongly urge everyone to become members and request you, that along with your membership dues, please consider a kind donation to any of ZAMC’s many funds, towards our capital projects or donate to our Ava Project, which still needs to be paid off to replenish the loan from our General Fund.

We would like to thank you all once again for everything you do for ZAMC and hope you continue to do so in 2021!!

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd! May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Atha Jamyad Yatha Afrinami! May we achieve what we have prayed for.

~ZAMC Board of Directors

Read more in the complete January 2021 newsletter

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Posted by ZAMC 
· November 18, 2020 
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Aug-Nov 2020 Newsletter

An Attitude of Gratitude Brings Great Things!

Dear community members and friends,

It’s hard to believe it has been over 3 months since our virtual AGM, where our community ‘virtually’ connected for the first time ever. I am grateful to everyone who was able to attend. It was a grand success as we had over 75 members participate, the most I have experienced in my 15+ years of being involved with ZAC. I am thankful to our past and continuing board members for their selfless commitment towards serving our community, and am excited to welcome our newly-appointed board members. We are fortunate to continue to have a magnificent group with bright ideas, high energy, and great dedication to ZAMC!

The pandemic slowed our ability to host events earlier this year and we greatly appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding. In the spirit of maintaining an attitude of gratitude, I would like to point out that though there have been many challenges in this past year, there is still a lot to be grateful for.

After the virtual AGM, regained momentum by hosting our first-ever virtual Muktad Prayers. The prayers were well-attended by our community members (50-75 attendees daily!) and it was exciting to see our children participate too. We would like to thank all our Priests for conducting these prayers. Similarly, virtual Jashans and Gambhars have also been conducted and we are grateful to the leadership of Ervad Pesi Vazifdar in orchestrating these ceremonies. Ervad Jamshed Ravji and Ervad Pesi Vazifdar continued the Daily Priest services despite our center being closed due to the pandemic. We thank them for their dedication to the spiritual well-being of our community.

On the education and social fronts, our monthly Children’s Religious Class is still being virtually conducted and we are grateful to Zenobia Damania, Persis Driver, Persis Guard, and Khursheed Ichaporia for their continued leadership with this initiative. We also thank Yazmin Rustomji for organizing and facilitating the Bingo event for our Senior citizens and the Kids Game Night.

As we understand the importance of community connectedness, especially during such challenging times, ZAC now has our own Zoom subscription which allows us to maintain regular community connections. We are working diligently to find ways to virtually connect and engage our community more frequently. I urge and encourage all of you to share any event ideas that will bring our community together and keep us connected during these unprecedented times.

While we are certainly experiencing some challenging times, I truly believe that tough times don’t last forever, but the tough do! Let’s stay positive, cherish every moment, and never forget to offer our gratitude to Ahura Mazda!

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd! May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Atha Jamyad Yatha Afrinami! May we achieve what we have prayed for.

~ Afshan Barshan – ZAMC President

Read more in the complete August-November 2020 newsletter

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Posted by ZAMC 
· July 1, 2020 
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June/July 2020 Newsletter

Believing in the Promise of a Brighter Tomorrow

Dear community members and friends,

As we journey through 2020, easily one of the most challenging years we have ever faced, we write to you with the promise of a brighter tomorrow. Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana each have opened their economies with precaution, and we are pleased to announce that we are actively reimagining and planning the reopening of our beloved ZAC in the coming months.

Your board of directors is working hard to enable a gradual and safe reopening of ZAC that is in keeping with State of Illinois guidance. In the coming weeks, we will announce new standard operating procedures and a lineup of activities – mainly outdoor – that will help us reunite safely with the implementation of temperature scans, facial coverings and social distancing as core tenets of our new normal. 

In August, we will hold our first virtual AGM and Muktad prayers, and will begin live streaming our daily prayers. The collective ‘we’ have proven that our resilience and religiosity can not be deterred by a virus, and have provided a hand up to those struggling through our welfare fund. Until a vaccine is available, we will be challenged to balance in-person and online programming to help stay safe, connected and united. 

Until then, be aware, stay smart, and always believe in the promise of a brighter tomorrow. 

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd!
May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Read more in the complete June/July 2020 newsletter

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Posted by ZAMC 
· May 3, 2020 
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April/May 2020 Newsletter

Stay Home, Stay Safe, Stay Well!

Social distancing, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and a little Faith and Patience are Keys to Survival in the ‘New Normal.’ 

Dear community members and friends,

We write to you with hope, belief and faith as the world and life as we once knew it has changed with the onset and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This ‘new normal’ of life is with us until the global community of scientists, doctors and public health leaders produce a vaccine. Even then, the economic, psychological and emotional toll of this pandemic will take years if not decades to heal. 

Before we heal, however, we take a moment to feel the weight and gravity of the lives lost both around the world and here at home. As of this newsletter’s publication, more than 211,000 souls have been lost to COVID-19. 

We take this moment to mourn their loss, honor their lives, and send our deepest condolences to their families.

“There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lose sight of this force when there is suffering, too much pain. Then suddenly, the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call and answer in extraordinary ways.” ~Mother Theresa

Until there is a vaccine, we will likely see our children continue eLearning from home; those in non-essential jobs will continue to work from home; the demand for PPE and health care workers will continue to skyrocket; and social distancing will remain the norm. 

The impact from jobs lost, businesses bankrupted, and the looming threat of an anticipated resurgence of COVID-19 this fall/winter, will continue to slow the economy’s return and markets will open gradually. 

What we have is each other. We have our Vohu Mana, our good mind, and are empowered now more than ever to use our head to make righteous and purposeful decisions. The power of Good Words, Good Thoughts, and Good Deeds has never shone more brightly as mindfulness, kindness and self-sacrifice emerge as part of a new norm for our sensibilities and the way we treat one another. 

Our air is cleaner, our environment is greener, our family units are stronger, our health is front-and-center, and our wellbeing is dependent on our ability to work together – to cooperate and to build bridges for a better tomorrow. 

Thanks to modern technology we remain more interconnected with one another than ever before. Our re-awakening as a society means we will: 

  • improve our preparedness for future pandemics; 
  • build more effective crisis and contingency plans; and 
  • honor and care for our front line work force. 

Specifically: doctors, nurses, patient care technicians, janitorial staff, paramedics, police officers, mass transit workers, trash haulers, and postal and grocery store workers, to name a few true heroes.

Despite rescue lifelines from federal governments, many businesses will sadly go bankrupt; new markets will be created; new skill sets will be learned; and yes, PPE will continue to be in very high demand.

Our children will be shaped, motivated, educated and  impacted by these events. Many of our children will look back at this time and say they found their calling in life following the events of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we should be honored when they tell us they want to serve on the front lines. 

In the true Zarathushti spirit of philanthropy, we are pleased to report our Welfare Committee has raised more than $7,000 to aid and assist those in our community who are economically disadvantaged from the pandemic’s dangerous impact on the economy. 

We also have a team of volunteers ready and able to assist those in need, particularly our elderly, in getting groceries and performing tasks to help ease their burdens, driven mainly by anxiety and isolation. 

Through it all, we will continue to focus on WE and not ME, strengthening our interconnectedness and being there for one another. TOGETHER we will realize our common calling: to spread light and goodness throughout an increasingly complex and challenging world.

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd!
May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Read more in the complete April/May 2020 newsletter

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Posted by ZAMC 
· March 7, 2020 
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March 2020 Newsletter

Nowruz Pirooz!

Wishing each of you, your family and loved ones a very happy Nowruz! March is our busiest ZAC month of programming, and with it each year comes the joy of Nowruz, a New Day. We usher in the Spring equinox during this special time, we begin to watch flowers bud, foliage come to life, birds chirping, sunnier days, and the renewal of personal resolutions as a new year unfolds. 

This month’s newsletter is packed with a variety of events and we sincerely hope you will get involved. From gahambars and the Dar ni Pori Bake-a-thon, to our sponsorship of the Oriental Institute’s Persian Nowruz Celebration, our annual Nowruz celebration, and ZAC Clean-Up Day. 

March is about participation and getting involved in whatever capacity you can. It’s also a popular time to renew your membership to our beloved ZAC. So let’s join together this month to usher in a new year of growth and interconnectedness. On behalf of the entire board of directors, thank you for your participation, for your ideas, for your generosity, and for building the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd!
May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Read more in the complete March 2020 newsletter

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Posted by ZAMC 
· February 6, 2020 
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February 2020 Newsletter

2020: The Year of Vision

For decades, the Zoroastrian community in North America has advanced thanks to the energy, foresight, and ultimately, having a vision for the future. The ‘Pioneer’ generation as they are appropriately referred to, have sewn the seeds for future generations by building community, from physical structures to constitutions, that ultimately paved the way for organizations to manage themselves, grow their memberships and thrive in a new diaspora.

This year, 2020 for obvious literal reasons represents the year of vision, and we use this opportunity to redouble our efforts to chart a course for the future; to ask ourselves questions focused on where we want to be in 2050, how we get there, what we envision for our children and our children’s children. Last month, ZAC started this process attracting members 50 years of age and under. As you’ll read in the newsletter on page 3, we will be holding another for those aged 50+.

Our special thanks to Zinnia Elavia for leading the way on this critical series of important focus groups! Our vision is our future. We look forward to your input!

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd!
May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Read more in the complete February 2020 newsletter

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