Three Village Interfaith Clergy Association

At last night's community forum,  Belief and Truth from a Multifaith Perspective: Finding Unity in Diversity , many expressed a desire to continue these kinds of conversations and to take action together for building bridges in our community. These are some of the ideas that were shared for next steps: Find something concrete that we can work on together in our community Come out with a statement to the community about this gathering Have clergy visit other houses of worship for teaching and conversation  Invite people of other faiths or no faith traditions into our houses of worship Bring younger people into our interfaith programs Ask elected officials to talk about this kind of work Identify root causes of hatred and address them Encourage media coverage of our programs What other ideas do you have for next steps? Please share them in the comments.

In just one week most Christian churches will be moving into a penitential church season called Lent.   It is a six-week time of reflection on our spiritual life.   This is a time to take a spiritual inventory of our lives. This time of reflection would be beneficial for any faith.   There seems to be an internal battle going on in many of us that is similar to some earthly skirmish.   We are not immune to conflicts and disputes, whether internal or external.   The conflict between people is often preceded and caused by some kind of internal conflict within.   This is certainly the case with such phenomena as “road rage” and “murder in the workplace” perpetrated by former employees with various grievances.   I believe it is fair to say the chief interior desire “fighting inside” each of us is the desire of the ego to take control of the soul, or true self.   The ego is our conscious identity, everything we mean when we say “I” as we so f...

First I thought I would write about love,  given that Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. Then I thought, write about … violence in our schools, streets, and homes, given that tomorrow is a terrible anniversary and last year was the worst in forty years for number of gun deaths … climate change, given the rate at which the glaciers are melting, the seas are rising, and extreme weather events are increasing in frequency … food insecurity, given that some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life … everyday dangers for people of color in our country, given the effects of prejudice and structural racism … greed and injustice threatening peace everywhere in the world, given … well, given everything above, except Valentine’s Day. So I came back to love. Will love end violence, save the planet, cure poverty, guarantee justice and equality for all, and create a fair distribution of world resources? No. Not love alone. But love is the root and the g...

First let me be clear. I am far from being a surfer, but I enjoy seeing someone ride on a wave at the shore. On the first day in 2019 I drove to Montauk to see the New Year’s sun rising on the Atlantic Ocean. To be exact, I hoped to, but I couldn’t because the sun was already above in the sky by the time I got there. On my way to the iconic lighthouse, I spotted a sign that read ‘Camp Hero State Park.’ I followed the entrance all the way to its parking close to the cliff shore line. There were many people who were doing beach trekking. You can see a breathtaking view from there of the Montauk lighthouse at a distance. A perfect spot to take pictures. There was something else there that caught my eyes. There were scores of surfers. Yes, you read it right. There were surfers who were riding on the waves of the Atlantic Ocean in January! I’ve never known before that Montauk is a popular destination for winter surfers. For example, Camp Hero is open for the...