Religion: A Thanksgiving invitation
All of South County is invited to the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, held Nov. 20 at Congregation Emeth, 17835 Monterey Street, Morgan Hill, beginning at 3pm. Clergy and lay leaders in the interfaith community who live in both Morgan Hill and Gilroy will participate....
Religion: Quieting distractions and reorienting the heart
As the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar begins, nearly two billion Muslims around the world enter a sacred season known as Ramadan. From bustling cities in the United States to villages across Africa, Asia and Europe, the rhythm of daily life shifts.
For neighbors,...
Religion: Season of creation
The beginning of the Liturgical Year for Eastern Orthodox Christians is Sept. 1. In 1989, the Patriarch of Constantinople declared it the Day of Prayer for Creation and asked people throughout the world to observe it as such. It was later extended to an...
Religion: The importance of friendship
I had a call a few nights ago from a good friend. She had just heard some news and she needed a person to listen while she talked and processed what she had heard. We have been friends for many years and this was...
Religion: The Jewish New Year
P.T. Barnum famously said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” What he meant by that was that it doesn’t matter as much what people are saying about you as long as they’re talking about you. The worst feeling is not when someone speaks...
Religion: A burned down treehouse and forgiveness
In the summer of 1975, my friends and I built a treehouse in a large tree located in an open field near our homes. This was the best place to be a kid. All of the neighborhood hung out there.
During that same summer, there...
Religion: A taste of freedom
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...
Religion: A changed nation with the same struggles
At the Bible Museum in Washington DC recently, several high-profile political types spent time reading their favorite Bible passages as a celebration of America’s 250th birthday and its spiritual beginnings. President Trump read 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my...
Religion: Why I believe in God
Although serving as the Bishop for the Gilroy congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints keeps me quite busy, it’s not my day job. I have worked for over 30 years in the tech industry as a software engineer. Over those...
Religion: Celebrating Thanksgiving in difficult times
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...











