Over the past several days I have been in Ottawa speaking with other faith leaders and political leaders about the moral and spiritual challenge of climate change. On Sunday evening I participated in such a panel at a fully public event hosted at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, and the following morning, in a full-day Interfaith Forum.

Hi everyone!

I need some networking help. I am a Secular Humanist (raised Catholic) and my fiance is Jewish. We both live in Ottawa, but plan to get married in Nova Scotia (near my family). Our families have been really loving and awesome with our interfaith relationship, and everyone is ok with our upcoming marriage.

This is a video from an American group called Common Ground.  It is, IMHO, a testatment to the hope and power of working together for peaceful resolutions.

http://www.commongroundcampaign.org/

“Do you have any balloons?” asked the little boy, looking directly at me. The women beside me would have looked far more familiar to him. Each was wearing a hijab as we chatted beside a display table at an Eid celebration last Friday. My head was uncovered and I was wearing my big beaded cross necklace.

A recent discussion about definitions got me thinking about this -

People describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious", which I understand as a phrase rejecting doctrine and dogma but not Christian faith.

The progressive Christian movement likewise seeks to get beyond doctrine and the baggage that Christian terminology carries with it to return to the Message that underlies.

 I'm looking for some advice from practicing Christians.

I'm a Christian, and come from a very strict Christian home. I've been dating someone outside my faith secretly for 2 months, because my family and church are openly against interfaith relationships.

My personal belief on this is that my boyfriend's morals and beliefs are similar to mine, but he has not attended a church since he was young and is not saved. But our beliefs are similar enough that the practical issues of inter-faith relationships are not really an issue.

Rev. Gretta Vosper wrote a book which included this in the title - why how we live is more important than what we believe. I've thought the same for many years, but last Saturday experienced what I think is the living embodiment of this. I was privileged to conduct a memorial service for the sister of a good friend. While the family was born Buddhist, they were not active in a congregation. Since I have also begun to practice Buddhism, the service combined Christian and Buddhist elements.

Good evening :)

I'm just wondering who else at the Cafe is in an interfaith relationship, or belongs to an interfaith family. I definitely know that there's some out there. I was just hoping we might be able to get a conversation going about some of the unique struggles you face in such a situation - and some of the perks it brings too.

 I've been receiving messages from Jewish groups who seem to believe that resolutions set to be discussed at GC would limit and reduce interfaith discussion and express unfair opinion, at least have bad optics, and at worst be anti-semitic! I can't imagine that this is so and the suggestions may be a hoax, but the community seems to be taking it rather seriously. What's up?

I've got a theory.

This theory, which is mine, is a theory.

And it goes like this:

Brontosaurs are thin at one end, thick in the midd--err, wait. That one's already been done :3

No, this is the theory.

Ok. So some of us, across the ages, have been having these really wicked mystical experiences. We stay up too late, or we die and have an NDE, or we take some really good drugs, or practice some intentional brain change techniques (like Meditation and Yoga), and then BAM!

We have...an experience.