In my work as a hospital chaplain I never know from day to day what I may be called upon to work with as I step into a patient’s room. Huntsville, Alabama is a religiously diverse community which includes Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Christians of many denominations, Pagans, Baha'i and others. While most of my patient encounters to date have been with Christian families, I have also been called upon to act as chaplain in grief work with other faiths as well. Such encounters demand that … [Read more...]
Military Chaplaincy – Interfaith at Risk
September 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
“As long as armies have existed, military chaplains have served alongside soldiers, providing for their spiritual needs, working to improve morale, and aiding the wounded. The Bible tells of the early Israelites bringing their priests into battle with them. Pagan priests accompanied the Roman legions during their conquests; as Christianity became the predominant religion of the Roman Empire, Christian chaplains administered to Roman soldiers. In fact, the word chaplain is derived from the Lati … [Read more...]
Religious Leadership Diversity Workshop at Hartford Seminary: a Review
June 25, 2013 by 1 Comment
As I mentioned briefly in my prior post, I spent the week of June 8 through June 14 at Hartford Seminary attending the Religious Leadership Diversity Workshop. The workshop has been running for a few years, and the seminary works to bring together people of various faiths to try and create an experience for attendees that both allows for the sharing of personal stories and points of view and helps to educate them on various faiths and faith practices as well as multifaith chaplaincy, conflict … [Read more...]
My Long Strange Journey to the World of Interfaith
June 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I am a relative newcomer to the world of interfaith work, but the idea of involving myself in this area of practice has been with me for a long time. When I received my Third Degree initiation in the Oak, Ash, and Thorn Tradition of Wicca in 1996 my goal was to become active in interfaith work and start trying to build bridges of understanding with those of other religions. Unfortunately for my stated purposes the Gods had other ideas and within three months of my initiation I was running a b … [Read more...]
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