Religion

Every year the Interfaith Clergy Alliance (ICA) and Interfaith CommUNITY of South County (ICSC) host a Thanksgiving service on the Sunday before the Thanksgiving holiday. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for those who live in the southern parts of Santa Clara County...

In my experience with my colleagues who are faith leaders in the Interfaith Clergy Alliance, I have come to learn that each faith expression has some kind of sacred writings. These give guidance as to how we are to live out our faith in our...

The Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County, whose members provide these articles each week, includes Jews, Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. All but the Buddhist share a common scriptural text, what Christians call the Old Testament and what Jews call the Tanakh.  In this, they are...

This weekend we observe two cultural/religious days: Halloween and All Souls’ Day (Día de Los Muertos in Spanish). The celebrations are related but not identical.  Día de Los Muertos, observed on Nov. 2, is a day to remember loved ones who have died. In Mexico...

Deep in the faith of most Americans is the belief that there is a “Just God,” regardless of which religious faith one follows.  Even those who approach this universe primarily from a scientific view, note that “how things work” points to an order that must...

Most of us have seen a caricature artist at a fair or amusement park. In just a few minutes, they can draw a face that looks familiar but exaggerated. The nose is bigger, the smile wider, the eyes brighter. It’s recognizable, but not quite...

Are we making it all up? My three-year-old has an imaginary friend. They play, laugh and explore together. But that’s not what’s supposed to happen in our faith traditions—right? Too often, my childhood picture of Jesus behaved more like an imaginary friend than the risen...

The Gospel writers often describe Jesus as rich in compassion. In a world often marked by division, busyness and indifference, his example reminds us that compassion is not just an emotion—it’s a way of life.  Jesus modeled compassion in three powerful ways, and those who...

Do you have a song that takes you back in your memory to a different time, a different place? Sometimes the melodies are so deeply entwined in our emotional psyches that we recapture the feelings, as if the event is happening right now.   Liturgy, the...

While on vacation this summer, one morning my husband and I awoke to a loud alarm. Within seconds we realized the sound was coming from outside and was a fire alarm. We quickly left our room and went to the hotel front desk. We...