The Faiths Act Fellows were invited to privately tour Westminster Abbey. Before our tour we attended Saturday Evensong in the cathedral. We sat right next to the choir, which for all intents and purposes was a squad of angels. I’ve never experienced sound, in any setting, like I did in Westminster. The organ and the [...]
Archive for the ‘faiths act’ Category
The feeling of common prayer
August 9th, 2009
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I was speaking with a friend about prayer in Islam. For him, praying was a way to put the world and all else out of mind – represented in a somatic sense by the placing of one’s hands to either side of the head as if to say, “Get behind me, world”. Then he would [...]
I don’t mean to brag…Part Deux
August 8th, 2009
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The other day, I wrote about how strange it is that charity workers must be exceptionally vocal about their good works in order to affect policy and, more importantly, fundraise. I sensed an inherent contradiction between selfless service and active self-promotion. The post attracted a number of opinions, and I engaged in a few protracted [...]
Finding a purpose
August 6th, 2009
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There comes a time in the life of a person where they decide that their existence is intimately bound up with all the other people and things on this planet. This is the time when a person becomes more self-aware; it’s the point where people decide that they cannot simply walk through the world without [...]
The world doesn’t think we exist…
August 3rd, 2009
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There’s an attitude that we confront pretty often in our discussions of what it means to be a person of faith these days. I’d call it the “religions are stupid and kill people and make everything suck” argument. It’s assumed that religious people are holding the world back. Not everyone feels this way, of course, [...]
Charitable activities
August 2nd, 2009
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During yesterday’s visit to London’s Central Synagogue, we had a meeting with Rabbi Marcus to discuss a few of the things that our team saw during the Shabbat service. One of the Faiths Act Fellows asked the rabbi what manner of charitable activities the synagogue engaged in. Rabbi Marcus paused and inhaled with great gravitas [...]
Faiths Act Fellows Training – Day 2
August 1st, 2009
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For some unknown reason, I’m sleeping absolutely terribly. I won’t blame the mattress – it’s only doing its job – and I have no idea what could be the problem. I woke up this morning difficultly and in pain. That being said, I’m ready for more action! We headed out as a team to London’s [...]
Faiths Act Fellows Training – Day 1
July 31st, 2009
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The Faiths Act Fellows met for our first day of training this morning. We’ve spent the last three months getting to know each others’ bios and pictures, discussing the Fellowship over conference calls, and in some cases, chit-chatting through Facebook. It was the first time that all thirty of us were in the same room. [...]
Landing in London
July 29th, 2009
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My plane from Denver took off about three hours late due to mechanical failures, general delays, and harsh rains – pretty much the three main reasons (not counting geese) that can screw up air travel. That being said, I also screwed up my seat assignment by not checking in early. They settled me in the [...]
Interfaith Youth Core and Tony Blair Faith Foundation
July 23rd, 2009
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Well, it’s come down to it. I leave next Tuesday for six weeks of training for my new job (my first day is October 1st) and I couldn’t be more excited. A bit of background: A year ago, an encounter between Eboo Patel, the Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core, and Tony Blair, former [...]
