As we go forward into this frightening, exhilarating, confusing, miraculous world, may we offer our comfort to the afflicted our love to those who are lonely and our wish for all to be safe.

Would you be with me in a spirit of meditation, reflection, and prayer. Friends, it has been another challenging week in our world. I want to invite us to start with some silence, time to reconnect with our breath and reground ourselves. Let’s be in silence together. Silence... ring bell. This...

Have you ever wondered how it came to be that churches are known as places where you can get a helping hand when you need one? It seems to me that a key source of the charitable nature of churches goes all the way back to the time of Jesus. You see, in the society in which Jesus lived—in his time...

Suppose you scrub your ethical skin until it shines, but inside there is no music, then what? —Kabir Suppose you cried a thousand years for a child who died when she drank bad water. Suppose you organized a great movement to clean the water. Suppose you carried the first filled glass to the...

Bass/Low: Let us love; let us serve; let us honor one another, Yes! Melody: Love one another; serve one another; honor one another, together hand in hand. Love one another; serve one another; honor one another, that's how we understand. Descant: Let us love! Let us love, love, love. Additional...

This pastoral prayer is adapted from the prayer of Shantideva, an 8th century Buddhist monk and major source of inspiration to the Dalai Lama, who references the original prayer often. There are many translations, some of which contain the whole text; some of which do not....

Gathered in our varied faiths, We give thanks for the blessings of world community As we share our common dream: Homes and schools where children thrive, Neighborhoods that are safe and clean, A city rich in colors and cultures, An economy where no one is expendable, A beloved community where ric...

A tale of salvation, ecology, and sharing. Characters Narrator Noelle Voice in a dream Noelle’s sisters Jane, Rain, and Elaine Friendly farmer(s) Ship builder(s) Numerous animals: dogs, cats, mice, cows, horses, frogs, etc. Act 1 (Noelle at center stage, sitting, covered in blanket and appearing...

Spirit of life, help me remember that all animals belong. Bless the bats for eating mosquitoes. Bless the crows and buzzards for cleaning up the dead, and bless even the snakes, who keep the mice out of the rice. Each of them is important. And each does good in its own way. Blessed be.

The human spirit has enormous resilience. But it is pushed to the limit by grief following the tragedy we have witnessed: sudden and unexpected death, the loss of so many lives. These vicious attacks defy our understanding. It hurts. We grieve. We do not understand, nor do we accept the logic of...