Based on a 2011 interview with Reverend Howard Dana, who has been the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg’s minister since August, 2000. When you were a child, did you have a favorite toy? Maybe it was a stuffed animal, doll, or toy truck. Did it go everywhere with you: to the market, in the tub, to bed?

A retelling of a Buddhist Jataka Tale. Once there was a village that was prosperous. The wealthiest of the villagers was afraid that the town’s reputation would attract thieves, so they buried a huge lump of gold in a field for safe keeping. Many years passed and the village lost much of its…

This is the story of Azim Khamisa. His decision to forgive deeds many would consider unforgiveable has inspired and transformed people all over the world. Azim, an international investment banker, lived in San Diego, with his two children, a son, Tariq, and a daughter, Tasreen. One night in 1995,…

When Joseph Jordan (pronounced Jerden) was born in Virginia in 1842, slavery was still legal. Most people of African descent were treated as property, like horses or dogs. They were bought and sold; they had no rights. Whether enslaved or free, people of color were not treated with respect….

A retelling of a European Jewish wisdom tale.Once there was a man whom the entire village knew to be a gossip. He could not wait to share the juiciest piece of gossip with whoever would listen. It did not matter to him if the stories he spread were true, or not—he never stopped to ask. One day,…

A century ago, when Lotta Hitschmanova was young, she lived with her sister Lilly and their mother and father in a spacious home in the ancient city of Prague….

The ban started in 2006, on Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago. The Zanzibar islands on the Indian Ocean are famous for their pristine beaches and their history of trade in spices and slaves. Today, Zanzibar depends on tourism for most of its income. One month after this island paradise was named as…

A retelling of stories from the Ramayana, an ancient Hindu text. Perfect daughter, perfect wife, perfect mother. This is the way Hindus revere Sita. How could she not be virtuous and noble? Sita was the reincarnation of the goddess, Lakshimi. Hindus pray to Sita for moral strength, loyalty, and…

Based on Aesop’s “The Belly and the Other Members of the Body.”Once upon a time, the various parts of the brain got together to discuss their contributions to the uniqueness of the human being….

A wisdom tale from many cultures, including Buddhist.A wise woman, a teacher, was passing through a forest. There, among the leaves, was something shiny. She wiped away the leaves and dirt and beheld a beautiful, large gem. “My, this is pretty,” the wise woman said. She put the jewel in her pouch…

Hannah Salwen looked left. She saw a man who was homeless, sitting on a fence. She looked right, at the Mercedes beside them at the intersection. “Dad,” she said, “if that man”—she pointed to the Mercedes—”had a less nice car, that man there” —she pointed to the man who was homeless—”could…

From Christian scripture, Luke 15:11-32 (New Revised Standard Version). Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the…

What is the value of a gift given? Is it just the dollar amount on the price tag or are some gifts worth much more? Let me tell you about a gift that was not worth much monetarily, but which made a wealthy woman richer than she could have imagined….