Religion

Growing up, I treated being grateful like a chore. You know the drill: “Remember to thank the host.”
 “Thank your brother for sharing that toy.”
 “Did you write a note for all the presents people gave you?” It always felt a lot like being told to clean...

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...

Lifetime friends and Catholic Saints Francis and Clare lie entombed in their charming hilltop hometown of Assisi, Italy. Saint Clare, dead more than 700 years, lies incorrupt in a glass coffin inside a church built in her honor. Meanwhile Saint Francis lies in a...

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 over a million German immigrants who flooded these shores between 1880 and 1885.  Once he had accumulated...

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...

“There is no peace on earth,” I said, “for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men!” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned these words in a poem written during the Civil War in 1863. The poem was later set...

St. Matthew’s Gospel records a very quiet and subdued version of the birth of Jesus. Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married. The marriage would be consummated when Joseph took Mary to his home. That would happen after about a week of celebrating...

2026 is trying to be a New Year, but two weeks in, are you feeling hopeful? Where do you find places of solace that bring you hope in the midst of a dark geo-political world? How can all who are here on United States’...

In a recent article in the New York Times (Dec. 12, 2025), the columnist Thomas L. Friedman said this: “If you ask me what’s the most dangerous statistic in the world today …the Gallup Poll that said fewer people than ever are going to church. Because…...

In this space in the last month, colleagues from different traditions have written about positive actions one may take in these times that are so challenging. They have expressed a moral urgency regarding our nation’s military moves and threats against other nations, and the...