Bainbridge Island/North Kitsap
INTERFAITH Council
Different faiths seeking understanding and common good
Meeting monthly on First Thursdays, September-June
See CALENDAR for our latest activities!
Next INTERFAITH COUNCIL gathering is MARCH 1 (Thursday): 6:30 pm sharing and snacks, 7 pm meeting, hosted by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
at 8677 Madison Ave N., B.I., (206) 780-2932
ph: (206) 842-4657
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Interfaith Reflections 2003-2008 Archive
It’s a time of renewal and repair | Interfaith Column
Oct 08, 2008 — By Jeff Brown, member of Chavurat Shir Hayam
A Hasidic rabbi once said that the soul is like a rare and valuable coin that can become tarnished and lose its luster without proper care. However, if we shine and polish it, it becomes brilliant again. And when our soul – our true self – shines, we are happy.…
YOUTH IN A CARING COMMUNITY
August 2008
by Richard Goff, Member Eagle Harbor Congregational United Church of Christ
Most of us care deeply about the welfare and futures of our community's youth. We want ours to be a community where all young people receive the attention, respect, opportunities and supportive relationships they need to be happy and grow up healthy, caring and responsible. more...
FORGIVENESS
September 2007
By Zann Jacobrown
Chavurat Shir Hayam
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement, teaches that what connects the people of the world is far greater than what separates us. At a time when world events remind us daily of our differences and stories of war and discrimination threaten to strengthen them it seems fitting to contemplate that truth. One way to do so is to consider the concept of forgiveness. Not as you would expect, the forgiveness of others but, rather, forgiveness of ourselves. Because the rabbis teach us, one must start with oneself if one is to heal the world. more...MAKE ROOM FOR GOD IN THESE DAYS OF PREPARATION
March 2007
By Father Donald Maddux, Interim Priest
Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church
Many Christian people and denominations are currently observing a forty day season (exclusive of Sundays) of preparation for Easter, known as Lent. The name has origins in Old English, and refers to the lengthening of the days in spring. A clearer name is used by Spanish speaking Christians who refer to Cuaresma, the forty days. more...LIGHT IN THIS SEASON
December 2006
By Steve Ekholm,
Suquamish United Church of Christ
Hello Father,
I have been thinking a lot about light in
this season of light. And especially I have thinking about your love for us that so often comes to us as light. more...FAITH AND WORKS
September 2005
By Nancy Quitslund
Seabold United Methodist Church
I am constantly in awe of the Spirit of love that that transcends personal, religious, and political differences.
The human and physical devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina has touched enormous numbers of Americans and many foreign citizens and governments, propelling them to action. Offers of aid have poured in from most of our allies, the United Nations, and even our competitors including China, Cuba, and Venezuela. Sri Lanka, which suffered so much from the tsunami eight months earlier, donated to the American Red Cross. more...CALLING ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE WALL OF FAITH
April 2005
By Bishop F. Ross Boundy
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Martin Luther, the inspired Reformer, once wrote:
The kingdom of God is like a besieged city surrounded on all sides by death. Each man (and woman) has his place on the wall to defend, and no one can stand where another stands, but nothing prevents us from calling encouragement to one another. more...FAITH TRADITIONS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
February 2005
By Sharon Rutzick
Chavurat Shir Hayam
At this time of year when buds begin to swell with the flow of life, our Jewish chavurah (gathering of friends) celebrates the Tu B'Shvat seder. With the Tree of Life as an overarching theme, we travel through the four seasons eating fruits that symbolize the processes of creation - action, emotion, thought, and spirit. more...NA MU MYO HO REN GE KYO
A PRAYER FOR WORLD PEACEJanuary 2005
by Rev. Senji Kanaeda
Nipponzan Myohoji Temple, Bainbridge Island
It is now the fifth year after the beginning of the new century, and unfortunately we cannot say it has been a good beginning. We closed the curtain on the last year with an unprecedented natural disaster, the Indian Ocean Tsunami, which killed over 150,000 people and created many more homeless and sick victims. I think we should all pray for the quick recovery of the victims and the places affected by this tragedy. more...RELIGION, CAUSING DIVISION OR HEALING IT?
December 2004
By Rev. Dee Eisenhauer
Eagle Harbor Congregational United Church of ChristA smile came over the radio recently in this joke: Have you heard that two out of three Americans agree that rudeness is on the rise in our nation? And the third person is just a stupid jerk who doesn't know what he's talking about. more...
THE LITTLE HOUSE THAT'S NOT SO LITTLE
November 2004
By Rabbi Mark S. Glickman
Congregation Kol Shalom
In the outskirts of Winslow, in a clearing at the end of a long gravel driveway, sits a small building that used to be an old house. Enter through the heavy glass doors in front, and you will find yourself in a room with a low ceiling, wooden floors, and several rows of chairs. more...THE WAY
October 2004
By Kent Chadwick
Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church
For me, the most compelling description of the early Christian community was “followers of the way.” The way they followed was one of hope, reconciliation, empowerment and love, a way both ancient and startlingly new. more...PEACE IS INEVITABLE!
September 2004
By Olga Ruys
Baha'i Faith on Bainbridge Island
From the reality that fills our media and from the history of mankind this belief seems disconnected. However, it is a vital Baha'i concept that world unity is the next stage in the evolution of mankind. Humanity has developed through stages of social organizations: families, tribes, villages, cities, states and nations, always moving toward a greater unity. Progress to date has been reached through warfare and consultation of world leaders. What path will mankind use to achieve the next level, world peace? more...WHO WILL TEACH OUR YOUTH TO CARE?
August 2004
By Pastor Marty Dasler
Bethany Lutheran Church of Bainbridge
Talk about the heat. Several weeks ago I was in Tecate, Mexico not far from San Diego but in a world rarely seen by the 13 teens and four adults from Bethany and Port Madison Churches. It was a good thing most of the youth did not know that they were working in heat that exceeded 100 degrees. I thought this is a tough way to build basic housing - the last thing Mexico needs is imported cheap labor. But these youth spent a good deal of their winter fundraising for their summer servant trip and they were determined to complete their portion of two houses before handing the project over to the next church group. more...HOW DO YOU VOTE?
July 2004
By Bob Satterwhite
First Church of Christ, Scientist
Personal voting has been the foundation platform for representative decision making since the beginning of democratic government. However it doesn’t necessarily result in the best leaders or the best form of government. The basic assumption is that in a democratic election those voting have a clear idea of what they are voting for, but unfortunately in our modern society there is less and less an opportunity to know what are the hidden agendas behind the issues. more...THE SPIRAL GOSPELS AND THE SEASONS OF OUR SOUL
June 2004
By Rev. Dr. Tom Thresher
Suquamish Community Congregational, United Church of Christ
In 1999 I attended a seminarians’ retreat with the national leaders of the United Church of Christ. One of those leaders shared the story of a young man who had approached him and asked how he could develop his spiritual life. The minister asked whether he attended church. The young man responded with evident sincerity, “What does church have to do with my spiritual life?” more...HOME: WHERE LIFE IS FORMED
April 2004
By Rev. Dan Sailer, Pastor
Seabold United Methodist Church
If it’s been awhile since you took stock of where you are going, join in with me. And how about an evaluation of the kids? Or your marriage? Or your own future? You know what I mean, trimming off the fat of lazy thinking and taking a lean, hard look at the years remaining. more...JESUS: A DEATH AND LIFE MATTER
March 2004
Rev. Dee Eisenhauer, Pastor
Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, U.C.C.
The now-defunct Bear Country Jamboree at Disneyland used to feature a large animatronic bear singing in an exaggerated country twang, “There was BLOOD on the saddle, and BLOOD all around, and one great big PUDDLE--of BLOOD on the ground.” The song rose in my consciousness again after recently seeing Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ. The film focuses on the blood of Christ from the depiction of Jesus sweating blood in the first scene through the gory punishment and crucifixion of Jesus near the end; the camera lingers over more than one great big puddle of blood on the ground. more...FAITH AS A PARADE
February 2004
By Joseph Hickey Tiernan, Rector
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church
I grew up going to parades. Living in Philadelphia in the 1950s, I was exposed to dozens of them, small and large. The New Year’s Day Mummers Parade, in which neighborhoods competed for the most imaginative and spectacular costumes, was my favorite. The holiday buying season began with the Gimble’s Thanksgiving Parade, with the first appearance of Santa Claus for the year, surrounded by floats and horse brigades and high school bands. more...APPRECIATING THE GOOD AROUND US
January 2004
By Bob Satterwhite
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Bainbridge IslandNow that the traditional Holiday Season is behind us and some of us have perhaps already forgotten our New Year’s Resolutions, wouldn’t it be a good time to review just what this special season has meant to us, and our families. What can we carry forward that will continue to bless and sustain us? The most important idea that comes to my mind is Gratitude! more...GIVE RELIGION ANOTHER LOOK
December 2003By Bishop F. Ross Boundy
Several recent surveys have concluded Washington State has one of the lowest percentages of regular religious service attendance in the nation. Some of the reasons may include our happily frenetic lifestyle in a wonderfully mild climate makes attendance at weekend religious services a challenge; an ethic of integrity and community service that substitutes for purely religious institutions; or a secularly educated adult population that finds spiritual issues largely irrelevant or no longer vital. There is not much we can do about the weather, and I would never discourage our community or educational ethic. However, I would like to challenge the notion that education and adulthood obviates the need for organized religion in our modern lives. more...
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Interfaith Reflections
These articles, written mostly monthly by members of various IFC faith groups, appear in the Bainbridge Island Review and on this web site. They offer spiritual and faith-inspired perspectives on matters and issues that touch our lives and our society. Click on the blued link to read full piece.Upcoming Events
Please check our Calendar for more events and details.
The IFC meets on the first Thursday of the month - September through June. Check calendar for details.
ph: (206) 842-4657
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