Several tattered and dog-eared books rest on my shelves that have been pored over time and again for their guidance, inspiration, and comfort. Two in particular have been indispensable on my spiritual journey, The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila and Amazing Grace (A Vocabulary of Faith) by Kathleen Norris. These authors, with their voices ancient and modern […]
Sometimes it feels like the “world is too much with us”. It’s a busy time of the year and I, for one, start to get to feeling like a hamster on a wheel. Graduations, weddings, end of the year concerts and recitals, and their attending to-do lists can leave little time for the prayer and meditation that helps to […]
I know, I usually end the post with a book and quote of the day, but today I’m switching things up a bit. I’m beginning with them. This one’s from Annie Dillard’s For the Time Being: “Does God stick a finger in, if only now and then? Does God budge, nudge, hear, twitch, help? Is heaven pliable? Or […]
Today we celebrated Mother’s Day. In our culture, like many other occasions and events, it is a holiday that has become a commercial windfall. Cards, flowers, chocolates, clothing, and jewelry sales all get a boost. It is the busiest day of the year for restaurants. But it’s beginnings come from the suffering of the working poor […]
When I was a kid, my parents used to play a game with my brother, sister, and I on long car rides. It was called “Quaker Go To Meeting”. Whenever the three of us were either arguing or just being rowdy and rambunctious, my Mom would lean over into the back seat and call, “It’s Quaker […]
I ended yesterday’s post with a thought from Forrest Church, who in his full life of serving as the senior minister for All Souls Church in NYC, as the author of a host of spiritual books, and as a committed and articulate champion of Unitarian Universalism, was also able to say yes to Jesus without acquiescing to any of […]
The Unitarian and Universalist movements are quintessentially American in their ideals. In fact, Thomas Jefferson predicted that “Unitarianism, ere long, will be the religion of the majority from north to south, I have no doubt”. (Oops, Thomas.) In addition, during the late 17th and early 18th century, the Universalists were the 6th largest denomination in the […]
Several months ago, I was casually listening to a piece on NPR when I was stirred, no, perhaps more accurately shaken, out of my decidedly complacent Unitarian Universalist perch. A fellow on the airwaves had lost his religion and feeling very happy and free about it, wanted to share his experience with the rest of us, in the […]
Here is the final of three posts on a brief bird’s eye view of the sects within the Muslim faith. For the Shi’a, it is important to recognize that they have always been somewhat of an underdog to the Sunnis. That is why a Shi’a movement of considerable note was Isma’ilism, as it gave rise to the major dynasties […]
Following my last post on the difference between the Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, I have decided to delve a little deeper into the wide variation of belief (and practice) within the sects of these branches of Islam, starting with the Sunnis. There are four major schools of thought within the Sunni population. The most widespread of […]
