We have to really think like human beings. And, just accept the reality of now.

The 43rd annual Paul Winter Consort Winter Solstice Celebration, in the form of a video retrospective, is now available to watch for free on YouTube.

Looking for a spiritual retreat to tide you over in quiet contemplation during the holy days leading up to Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year's Day, and Epiphany? Here are many choices — some Christian and inclusive, others multifaith — from which you can find a perfect match for your needs.

The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity.

LBGTQI Resources

You can “walk” these stations by practicing one station per day, from March 20 through Good Friday, April 2 – or at any other time or manner during Lent (Ash Wednesday, February 17, until Easter Sunday, April 4).  

When we are mindful, we will not only see the true outcomes and impact of behavior that is not kind compared to behavior that is kind, but that knowledge will be present with us in each moment guiding our every action.

The whole message of the Christian Scripture is based in the idea of metanoia,

Christianity has a long history of oppressing women, but the Easter story shows us how inauthentic that is to the Gospel.

The gnostic understands Christ's message not as offering a set of answers, but as encouragement to engage in a process of searching

Jesus was not killed by atheism and anarchy. He was brought down by law and order allied with religion - which is always a deadly mix. Beware those who claim to know the mind of God and are prepared to use force, if necessary, to make others conform. Beware those who cannot tell God's will - from their own

Traditional Christianity has missed the point of the Easter story.  The miracle on Easter wasn’t that Jesus was physically or spiritually raised to sit at God’s right hand until he could one day return to judge humanity.  The miracle was his followers recognizing that they could continue to proclaim the message of God’s Reign on this earth even once Jesus had been crucified.

Our Earth is sacred and does not belong to us.  When we recognize that we are merely stewards of creation which has been entrusted to our care, it shifts our outlook.  We cannot continue to ravage the earth, deplete its resources, and consume without restraint while claiming to be faithful to our God.  The Gospel is one of interdependence.  All of creation is woven together in a delicate web that we must nurture faithfully.

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.” Mark 14:1-2.

That is precisely when we recognize our common humanity

The Unity Flag was first flown by College Park Baptist Church at the FaithAction Unity Walk in Greensboro, NC on August 5, 2017 and symbolizes a commitment to basic human and civil rights for all people.

Ignorance will never be defeated with judgment.

When you have an experience and tell the story of that experience to someone, something sacred happens inside of you. That experience doesn’t have to be an extravagant moment, but it can be beautiful, nonetheless. And as you store up all those stories and share them, you grow your world’s boundaries. You build community and remind yourself that every moment of your life counts for something holy, good, and glorious.

There are choral anthems, congregational hymns and songs and instrumental music for progressive faith settings. The website’s blog, “Resonate!” will offer thoughts on communal music and music-making.

We knit our hearts and intentions together in this solemn moment to resolve individually and as family, friends, and community to honor and support these two in the vows they now make.

This special 4-week Advent Study offers an exploration of the season using rich visual art and music. Many congregations choose to mark these Sundays with the lighting of candles in the Advent wreath, balancing the dark days of winter with the promise of a coming spring.

Home is more than a house. It is a sacred location, a place of aspirations and dreams, of learning and habit, of relationships and heart. Home is the geography of our souls.

Seasons and Self is a courageous exploration into religious naturalism - sometimes called the 'forgotten alternative' - as well as contemporary critical biblical studies by one of Australia's leading progressives, Rex A. E. Hunt. A self-professed religious naturalist, progressive liturgist, and social ecologist., he belongs squarely within a post-liberal/ 'progressive' orientation. Rex A E Hunt acknowledges the principle attributed to the Brazilian theologian Rubem Alves: "I am not after conclusions... Conclusions are meant to shut... Every conclusion brings the thought process to a halt." The present collection is an invitation to readers to become curious and excited about what they read, and to explore further - beyond the tyranny of clear and distinct ideas! The author is concerned about 'likelihoods' and being 'open-ended' rather than closing any discussion with persuasion by argument. The intent is to strike a chord rather than 'shoehorning' something - ideas, answers, doctrine, correct belief - into people, often challenging the parochial and limited claims of traditional religions, or so-called pious biblical argument based on a proof-text zeal. While both science and progressive religion are to the fore in the topics and chapters of the collection of sermons, addresses and keynote presentations, there is also a strong hint of the poetic - all evoking a sense of awe and wonder at nature and the natural, rather than the supernatural. A radical theo-eco-logy! Themes addressed include evolution, earth, cosmos, food and wisdom, as well as Autumn, children, celebration and humour. All grounded in the Ordinary... in the hope that, collectively, they will stir one's own imagination. "Nature and naturalism are for us today the main game for any progressive spirituality," writes the author. "We are fully linked with our surroundings in time, space, matter/energy, and causality, and where the metaphor of 'web' is used to describe this interrelatedness - we create the web and the web creates us..."

Like many people, I am absolutely appalled by the ugly, hateful and destructive chaos emerging in this country. I have also wondered what I, a retired Oakland High School English teacher and Berkeley pastor, now living in a small town on the Oregon coast, could do to somehow change the dialogue and direction as to where the nation is going. I hope to do so through … Christmas carols!

What is coming we yearn to know As fallen leaves herald winter snow Will what comes be worth the wait ? Will past hungers our future sate?

Be completely humble and gentle Be patient forgiving one another in love

Allison Rossiter is making her "Gratitude Design" available to churches and other non-profit organizations for free.

As a peace activist opposed to war, and later as a bagpiper serving with the Vietnam Vets honor guard in Florida and Texas, I played at many military funerals. None is a happy occasion. The saddest moment, for me, was the flag folding ceremony. This reflection is drawn from those rituals. Sam Gould's poem, Don't Stand to be Recognized, comes to mind.

ver the last few years, I have collected a number of quotations that relate directly or indirectly to the field of interfaith dialogue. These are attached. You may find various ways to use these quotations.

GPSA Founder Steve Robertson stated, "We've had so many amazing music and video submittals. What an honor its been to be exposed to such music and videos and then be able to share this music with our world. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that we announce the 2017 GPSA WINNERS