Humans are relentless in their efforts to understand God. We can change the language (some say “God” is an over-used word), we can find new metaphors (poets are especially good at this),

We are all connected, not only across nations and cultures and religions, but across time. Even as we head into the future, we carry with us our ties to the past.

Being a father is one of the most challenging and most rewarding roles we may ever get to take on. Particularly in this day of self-help books and über-parenting, it is perhaps helpful to remember Clarence Kelland’s words about his father:

There is a story that connects the Lord’s Prayer with the six-petaled rose at the center of an eleven-circuit labyrinth, such as the famous one found at Chartres Cathedral. Each of the petals corresponds to part of the Lord’s Prayer,

Finding new words to express ancient wisdom is an essential part of progressive Christianity. Not only does such an effort put the fundamental ideas into modern language, but the very act of searching for the new words is part of coming to understand what you believe and how you want to share it with others.

“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they do not belong to you.” (Khalil Gibran)

Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Spirit on the followers of Jesus. It is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter, and derives its name from that interval. (In ancient Greek Pentēkostē means “fiftieth.”)

If you ask your mother for one fried egg for breakfast and she
gives you two fried eggs and you eat both of them, who is
better at arithmetic, you or your mother?

Celebrating the diversity of religious traditions. On the first Sunday in May- this year, May 5, 2013 (or other times during the year) – churches dedicate their worship to a celebration of our interfaith world.

The Blessing of the Taxes is a national effort initiated several years ago by Jim Burklo and adopted by various churches and temples around the country.

Earth Day reminds us that “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” (Chief Seattle)

The struggle for justice is never-ending, and it belongs to all of us. Joining forces in a fight for justice is often the most reliable common ground we have with people of very different creeds and cultures.

Christos Aneste! Christ is risen! The response is Alithos Aneste! He is risen indeed! Whether your interpretation of the resurrection is literal or metaphorical, Easter morning is always welcome.

Waiting… waiting… the images of waiting are everywhere just before Easter. Mary Magdalene at the tomb, the disciples wondering “what now?”, all of us in suspension after the events of Good Friday and before the release of Easter Sunday morning.

The symbols we choose to focus on become planted deep within us. In the liturgical season of Lent, and especially during Holy Week, we think primarily of the cross and crown of thorns… outward evidence of a humiliating and painful death. But other symbols appear during this time, like the towel and basin of water on Maundy Thursday.

When we read words written by others, we often don’t know the context in which the words were written. Sometimes the story behind the words is the best part.

One reason we search for new language, especially at this time of year, is that for many Christians, the traditional words have lost their ability to touch us. Repetition can bring the joy of the familiar, but it can also cause us to glaze right over….

Traditionally Lent is a time during which we “give up” something, but more recently many people have moved to “taking on” something during the Lenten season.