Religion

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...

Egyptians call it Om al Donia, the mother of all nations. If you ask an Egyptian why, he or she will give a full list from the oldest civilization to the best falafel sandwich you will ever have! Here is my interpretation why Egypt has...

July 28 used to be one of my favorite days of the year. On the Roman Catholic calendar, it is the feast day of a minor saint, Pope Saint Victor I, who was martyred by the Romans around the year 199 AD. Pope Victor...

What does freedom taste like? As Jews celebrate the weeklong holiday of Passover (Pesach) beginning this Saturday night (April 12), the interactive ritual of a Passover Seder provides a rich learning experience to literally taste freedom.  The book of Exodus details the story of Passover...

With all the excitement over the election of the American Pope Leo XIV, it is appropriate to ask: what does a pope do? While a pope has several titles, the two most important would be Vicar of Christ and Successor of Peter. A vicar in...

The Dhammapada, a collection of sayings of the Buddha, is one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. In the Dhammapada, Verse 277, we find this lesson: “All conditioned phenomena are impermanent;” when one sees this with insight-wisdom, one becomes weary of...

A special time of the year for millions of Muslims worldwide began in the first week of March 2024, the Islamic month of Ramadan.  Ramadan is the ninth month and holiest month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It is a time of festivity, community, charity and...

Last Tuesday, I was invited by some Muslim friends to their home for an Iftar, the meal that ends the fast each day of Ramadan. It was a happy event and it is a happy coincidence that this year the month of Ramadan, the...

On Friday, July 29, Muslims began the New Year of 1444 with the month of Muharram. Prophet Muhammad’s migration to Medinah from Mecca (the hijrah) was such a pivotal event for Muslims that the second Caliph Omar decided that it should mark the beginning of...

It was a joy and blessing to be able to attend PRIDEFEST 2023 in Morgan Hill on June 1! The Pride Month kickoff and flag-raising was exciting, inspiring and hopeful.   Exciting because of the energy in the air and on the lawn at the Morgan...