Houstonians from different walks of faith turned to corners of their home to practice their faith when the world shut down.
n Houston, families of different faiths have carved out a space to worship at home, whether that means lighting shabbat candles or meditating in front of a shrine.
While house-hunting, she searched for just the right space for a shrine– and found a place with a bedroom ripe for transformation.Partha and Arpita Chatterjee stand in the doorway to their prayer room in their home Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Houston, Texas.Arpita Chatterjee places images of important religious figures and deities in her prayer room in her home Sunday, May 22, 2022, in Houston, Texas.
“I’ve practiced various faiths,” he said. “But I found myself really drawn to the Quaker path. It’s an open path, rooted around silence.” “There’s always sound,” Lane said. “Within silence, there is still sound, unless you’re in a vacuum.”In Quaker meetings, congregations sit in silence as a practice, Lane said. “You’re listening for God,” he added. “And you’re listening within yourself.”
Estes devotes an area of his home office this holy pursuit: a shelf contains his prayer books; on a desk rests his shtender, a prominent piece of furniture in a Jewish home, which is like a book holder. In the midst of COVID, Estes said a number of Jewish families created a space at home that could serve as their sanctuary for Friday night services.Jainism – Nikhil Jain
Ritu Jain, her husband, Nikhil, and Nikhil’s father, Virendra, inside the family’s kitchen where they keep a sacred space, a small temple in their home, Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Katy.A likeness of Lord Mahavir, one of 24 liberated souls venerated in Jainism, sits in the sacred space, a small temple in the Katy home of the Jain family, Tuesday, May 31, 2022.
The carpet was just right – and set the stage for daily Muslim prayers, Farid said. In 2008, when he moved to a new home in Richmond, he cut out the carpet and installed it into a new prayer room.Maqsood Farid examines one of his Qurans in his family’s prayer room in his home Saturday, July 2, 2022, in Richmond, Texas.Maqsood Farid holds one of his Qurans in his family’s prayer room in his home Saturday, July 2, 2022, in Richmond, Texas.
The Realtor pointed to a small, corner room with a lot of windows and said, “I don’t know what that was for.”“This was the prayer room,” she said. “And as soon as I saw it, I wanted stained glass in here.” Finally, Cossio drove to her parents’ home in Mexico and had the stained glass custom-made. Then, she very gingerly drove back to Texas with the windows in the bed of her truck.
Cossio explained that the concept of having space at home dedicated to worship is more common in Mexico. If the house is large, it’s an entire room, while a smaller home may still have an altar and candles for the saints. Judy Wang in a part of her home her family uses to worship Buddhism Friday, July 1, 2022, in Missouri City, Texas.