Bainbridge Island North Kitsap Interfaith Council 

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...

October 2005
By Rev. Tom Thresher, Pastor
Suquamish Community Congregational United Church of Christ

A friend just returned from a trip overseas.  While there, she attended a variety of church services, where she sat with the elderly as they watched the slow but steady demise of their church.  This is true of Western Europe and the Seattle metropolitan area as well.  If the Western public is saying that church is no longer relevant or interesting, what is the point of keeping them alive?
At a recent workshop I heard some of the most insightful reasoning about the importance of religion I have heard to date. The primary insight comes from a developmental perspective which states simply that our awareness, and our way of understanding, continue to develop well beyond adolescence. In fact, if we allow ourselves, our awareness can expand throughout our lifetime. This expansion of awareness is at the core of spiritual development and the importance of the church. more...

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...

July 2005
By Rev. Richard Middleton, Senior Pastor
Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church

In a few short weeks I will end a nearly 26-year ministry at Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church due to retirement. Therefore, I am grateful to have been asked to share some of my thoughts about the Bainbridge Island/North Kitsap Interfaith Council (IFC) with the larger community.

Due to the farsighted vision of several people involved in the former Bainbridge Island Inter-parish Council, a plan to include faith traditions other than explicitly Christian came to fruition.  I believe this was and is a great benefit, which helps us gain understanding of one another, appreciate faith traditions other than one’s own, and realize that various truth claims can be affirmed without compromising one’s own.  In a world grown smaller, the IFC provides opportunity to enlarge one’s heart towards those who trade under different banners than one’s own. more...

June 2005
By Bob Satterwhite
First Church of Christ Scientist, Bainbridge Island

Spring and early summer is traditionally the time for new beginnings: cleaning out the accumulation of last years trash, planting new gardens, couples beginning new lives together, graduations from formal education, and the start of new careers. more...

March 2005
By the rev. Canon Curtis Zimmerman
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church

Soon Christians, Jews and Muslims will be celebrating events important to each faith.  March 20 – 27 Christians will be celebrating the dying and rising of Jesus during Holy Week and Easter.  April 21 Muslims observe Mawlid al-Nabi celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.  On April 24 Jews celebrate Passover marking the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt and Moses leading them across the Red Sea. more...

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...

January 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...