Of the many issues that divide people around the world, one of the most challenging is the relationship between faith and culture. In order to maintain a sense of their culture, the French have instituted laws banning people from wearing particular items of religious clothing in specific public places. Similar… Read More »Faith and Culture
It’s easy for me to associate Easter with new life. Living in the northern hemisphere, my experience of Easter is associated with the budding of trees and blooming of flowers. Having grown up in Western Pennsylvania, there were some years when Easter mornings came blanketed with snow. But even then,… Read More »Easter and New Life
Over the last few weeks, a new activity has become part of my daily routine. Around six o’clock in the evening, I step out the back door of my home and walk through the back yard to inspect the condition of the garden. It would actually be more accurate to… Read More »Lessons from the Garden
Because I spend time with people from a variety of spiritual and religious traditions, I often hear people say, “I respect all paths.” Respecting all paths is an interesting concept. It conveys an acceptance of beliefs that differ from one’s own — a kind of affirmation of the universality in… Read More »Respecting All Paths
When I was young, I remember going out at night to the backyard of my family’s home and staring up at the sky. It seemed as though I could stay there for hours just gazing into the heavens. In one of my grade school science classes, we learned about stellar… Read More »Darkness
The movement started when Christianity could be legally practiced in the Roman Empire. Those in serious pursuit of a way of life that could be called “Christian” left their towns and cities and headed to remote places to live alone or in small groups. The most notable were the ones… Read More »Becoming Fire
I came across a prayer today that led me to think about spirituality, what it means to be human, and the nature of the Divine. The words were written by John Wesley: “I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom… Read More »God on the Inside
Dusk had fallen as I drove the residential street and turned into the parking lot. I carefully parked my car between two others. I walked to the front of the building and entered the door that led into the dimly lit church. Around the communion table, 30 or 40 candles… Read More »Sharing in Silence
