Religion

In the San Francisco Bay Area, we seem to be in a bubble of more open-minded thinking and inclusion. There are other places, regions and states that seem to be filled with fear of the outsider and suspicion of neighbors of different ethnicity, national...

The meaning of a name is more important in some cultures than others. In Scripture, the meaning of a name can tell you a lot about a person’s character over their story.  Yahweh (or Jehovah) is the personal name of God in Judaism, derived from...

Members of the faith community of South County were disturbed, saddened and angered when we were made aware of a hate incident against our brothers and sisters in the Muslim community. For Muslims, this is the holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting and...

P.T. Barnum famously said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” What he meant by that was that it doesn’t matter as much what people are saying about you as long as they’re talking about you. The worst feeling is not when someone speaks...

A few of you may have noticed the curious-looking structure that popped up outside my home recently. No, we did not embark on an overnight house expansion project. What you saw is our sukkah—a temporary structure that is the highlight of the weeklong holiday...

I like etymologies, the origin of words. I like to play with words, especially in different languages. I think we often use words without really thinking about what they really mean and what they imply. “Thanks” is one of those words.  In English, the word...

This time of year, many of us think about going back to school, for ourselves or for our children or grandchildren. There are all sorts of questions: Who is taking children to school? Do we have the correct supplies? Who is making the lunches?...

Before the Fourth of July celebrations are in the rear-view mirror, I offer a religious perspective. The United States of America's Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 (declared in 1776, achieved in 1783, after an eight-year war), is a date we celebrate with enthusiasm...

The Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County, whose members provide these articles each week, includes Jews, Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. All but the Buddhist share a common scriptural text, what Christians call the Old Testament and what Jews call the Tanakh.  In this, they are...

Everyone in South County is invited to Faith of our Neighbors, an educational program presented by the Interfaith CommUNITY of South County (ICSC) and the Interfaith Clergy Alliance.  In this series, the focus is on the ways different faiths acknowledge and celebrate lifecycles, including birth,...