Religion

Through my Interfaith work with the Interfaith CommUNITY of Santa Clara (ICSC) and the Interfaith Clergy Association (ICA) I have many opportunities to engage with many aspects of Interfaith life—its celebration of the diversity of culture, faith expressions, food, music, art and more.   Recently in...

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...

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...

I am fascinated by etymologies, the origins of words. As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m thinking about the origin of our English word “thank.” It comes from the P.I.E. (Primitive Indo-European) root tong, to think. Thank is related phonetically to think, as sang is to...

With the football season coming to a close, it’s a great time to apply the wise Jewish teaching that everything one encounters can teach us a lesson in how to serve G-d. Here are four lessons I learned: Every Player is Crucial The star quarterbacks, wide...

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…...

The Jewish High Holidays begin at sundown Wednesday, Oct. 2, with the onset of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It continues until sundown Oct. 12, with the conclusion of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  While we value all of our senses, we have...

What is happiness? We all look for happiness, but happiness is in our own actions, not in our possessions.  Happiness is about what we do every day. Happiness is not just about being a good person and doing nothing, but about doing good, doing the right thing,...

Whenever I feel like life is difficult or my circumstances are less than desirable, I think of the story of the ancient Israelites, led by Moses out of Egypt into the wilderness as found in the Holy Bible.  They wandered from land to land for...

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...