Mabon is the pagan holiday of the autumnal equinox, a time both to celebrate and to stop and reflect. It’s a time to be thankful for the present, and also to take stock of it.
Mabon is a harvest festival that dates back to the ancient Celts. Their Druids hono…
Yom Kippur for Jews and Gentiles
Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is a very holy day for Jews. Its purpose is to recognize the wrongs one has done, and make amends for them.
Judaism, and other religions as well, have ways of expressing remorse and seeking reconciliation with God. On the day of…
Beheading John the Baptist Again
A man lives out in the wilderness. He survives on a diet of bugs and honey. He fashions his clothes out of the hair of animals and claims to speak the word of God. By any standards, we might consider this man to be crazy, but this is a description of Saint John the…
Read MoreBridging Jainism, Old and New
Members of Jainism emphasize the importance of all life, including plants and micro-organisms. This informs their beliefs of non-violence and self-control. While older members embrace the importance of spiritual traditions such as prayer to idols and honoring of mo…
Read MoreInterfaith Minister Training: Ramadan
The Islamic observance of Ramadan is a time of sacrifice, devotional activities, worship, and reflection for Muslims worldwide. The lunar month of Ramadan is an annual marking of when Mohammed received revelations that would become the Qur’an. During the mont…
Read MoreInterfaith Minister Training: Lailat al Miraj
As an interfaith minister in the Universal Life Church, it’s important to have a basic fluency in the holidays and traditions of the major world religions. Such fluency is necessary to fulfill the Universal Life Church’s mission of providing spiritual s…
Read MoreInterfaith Celebrations from Shavuot to Pentecost
It is a time-honored practice for one religion to “borrow” practices from another in order to make their practice more palatable to practitioners of said religion. This may be for purposes of conversion or interfaith relations or simply because one grou…
Read MoreDenominations: Unitarian Universalism
This is the first in a new series of interfaith minister training to introduce readers to different religious denominations. Many of our ministers are interested in attaining at least a general understanding of the differences in people’s beliefs and this ser…
Read MoreInterfaith Minister Training: Mahavir Jayanti
You may want to consider minister training and get ordained through the ULC if you are interested in a variety of spiritual traditions, and the important role these traditions play in people’s lives. Minster training through the ULC will give you a broad back…
Read MoreCelebrating Spring as an Interfaith Minister
An interfaith minister, ordained through the Universal Life Church, might be interested to learn of the different holidays celebrated throughout spring by different religions. It is a joyous time of year where each faith adds its own unique celebratory ritual. Thos…
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