Tag: interfaith

For Christi and Fernando Ortiz, living close to God — what they now often refer to as the divine, a higher reality or the mystery — continues to draw them. And this pull inspired them to open the retreat center so others can experience their own communions with the sacred.

As faith leaders and members in the community, we stand together in support of transgender rights. We are open and affirming people of faith who value all human beings and their identities.

As someone who loves to travel, I was ecstatic when I received an email from my professor inviting me to a five-day conference in Provo, Utah, in February 2023. Without really investigating the nature of the conference, I immediately accepted the offer. And boy am I glad I did. In the blizzardy mountains of Aspen Grove, I took part in an incredible, life-changing experience.

I grew up in a Punjabi household while living in one of the whitest towns in California. I was raised knowing and believing in Sikhism. I spent Sundays going to the gurdwara, a place of worship for Sikhs, and learning about the history from my uncles and dad.

As I look back on my childhood, I realize how lucky I am that my parents gave my brother and me the choice. We were able to choose what we believed in and how we believed in it.

Religious practices are based on man’s imperfect understanding of observations about what a messenger of God said or did, tales changed in the telling over generations throughout millennia.

We sit across from them, face-to-face, not to convert them to our denominational brand, but because one of the worst storms in human history is brewing, and each one is already (as per the Book of Jonah) crying out to their own gods.