Religion

As many around the world celebrate New Year’s Day with fireworks, parties and resolutions, Muslims mark the beginning of their calendar year in a very different way: through quiet reflection, spiritual renewal and remembrance of profound historical events. The Islamic New Year, also known as...

In November, I attended a lovely interfaith Thanksgiving service at Congregation Emeth in Morgan Hill. It was a gathering of clergy and laity from the many faith communities in Gilroy and Morgan Hill. In addition to the hosting Jewish congregation, there were representatives from...

I’m extremely impressed with the youth in our community. I see immense potential in them and hope that they see that potential in themselves. I am grateful for all those who raise, teach, coach, mentor and bring out the best in them. I recently had...

What if churches around the Bay Area decided to work together across denominational lines to help people explore some of the big questions of faith and life? Thankfully, it is no longer a “what if,” but a reality.  Currently, more than 150 churches around the...

There are lots of signs of Halloween around our communities. Ghosts, skeletons, Jack-O­ Lanterns, gravestones and the like. Americans spend more money on Halloween decorating than any other holiday except for Christmas. In the growing darkness of our daylight hours diminishing, we seem to...

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...

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...

In the innovation-driven culture of Silicon Valley—where breakthroughs are currency and knowledge is power—Psalm 19 offers a surprisingly relevant and timeless reflection on the nature of wisdom and understanding.  C.S. Lewis once described it as “the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the...

There are times in life when we find ourselves called from seasons of relative peace and tranquility into what we know will be a time of unknown storm. Sometimes the storm chooses us. Sometimes we choose the storm.  As we navigate our way forward, we...

On Oct. 7, 1885, a 16-year-old German barber named Friedrich boarded a ship for New York.  Fleeing the military service then required in Germany, he became one of more than 1 million German immigrants who flooded these shores between 1880 and 1885.  Once he had...