A person is a puzzle. Sometimes from the inside, it feels like some pieces are missing. Perhaps one we love is no longer with us. Perhaps one talent we desire eludes us. Perhaps a moment that required grace found us clumsy. Sometimes, from the inside, it feels like some pieces are missing....

Here in this church, human beings have gathered for centuries seeking a higher purpose and deeper life than they could find alone. We are grateful today for each one of you, that you have found your way here, and that you have decided to make a commitment to this faith community. We hope that as...

I pledge allegiance to the earth on which I stand, and to the environment of which I am a part, one planet in a Process, with soil, water and air like one body, indivisible, with resources to be cherished and protected by all.

The most important thing that I’ve learned in traveling to more than twenty countries is the art of being a guest. And I’m a particularly fine visitor at the supper table. I’ve consumed live fish in Inner Mongolia, not-quite-coagulated blood sausage on the Tibetan plateau, shredded pig’s ear...

Looking at the overflowing cup, Seeing from another perspective, Witnessing life in all its fullness, We share from a place of hope and dedication And put our love into tangible form.

Congregation starts, reading the words in italics. They say I am “illegal”; But so is anyone who ever rolled through a stop sign, jaywalked or threw trash on the ground. Not having a visa is a civil infraction, not a federal crime. They say I am here to take your jobs; But the jobs are often...

Leader (L): When there was a need, you came forward. Congregation (C): And so we thank you. L: In the nighttime or daytime, on weekends and even in the coldest, darkest part of the year, you helped. C: And so we thank you....

When we scale, at last, the walls...

On Mother's Day, one expects to read about the wonder and glory of motherhood....

My friend Marcy and her boyfriend Brian recently ate dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. As they enjoyed a plate of lo mein, engrossed in conversation, a hand reached down and ushered away their platter of noodles....

I pledge allegiance to the earth and all life: the fields and streams, the mountains and seas, the forests and deserts, the air and soil, all species and reserves, habitats and environments; one world, one creation, one home, indivisible for all, affected by pollution anywhere, depleted by any...

I [do not] mean to present myself as some kind of bodhisattva of compassion. However, in my better moments—at least in my more conscious moments—while I’m eating, I do try to imagine the lives and even the deaths of the creatures who nourish me. I try to think of the freedom and exhilaration...