A friend was visiting Cape Cod recently and brought me a most unusual gift. It was six inches in diameter and formed from two concentric disks, the top disk slightly smaller than the bottom disk. The two disks were held together by a rivet which allowed the disks to turn freely, either clockwise or counter clockwise. The top disk bore the title: CHOOSE YOUR RELIGION: A GUIDE FOR THE SAVVY CONVERT. A large red arrow enabled the top disc to point at any one of thirty “religions” by name. The reason I put the word religions in quotes is because some readers would be quick to declare one or two of these as, “not religions at all.” Consumerism is on the chart, along with Atheism, and Psychoanalysis.

Cut into the top wheel are six openings which are labeled: Description; Accessories/Paraphernalia; Afterlife Promises; Potential New Friends; Drawbacks; and finally, Perks. The device is…

So, a few nights ago I did something I had never done before. I watched a full episode of Desperate Housewives from start to finish.

The re-run hooked me in because one of its central plot-lines concerned faith and religion (”Sunday” was the title). After enduring several traumas in her life, Lynette (Felicity Huffman) decides to coerce her family into joining Bree (Marcia Cross) at church. And in the process, the episode took up a fundamental question: What is church for?

The crux of the drama was whether church was for “questions” or “answers.” Ultimately, of course, church is all about both. But in trying to answer the question, Housewives touched on many of the reasons many of us religious types find ourselves – in more ways than one – within religious communities.

Tradition and community. Forgiveness and reconciliation. Friendship and meaning. And a source for trust. This last value is particularly important…

Did you feel the earth shake?

I grew up in California, I have felt several earthquakes, so when it hit us last week I knew what it was. But I wondered if my Midwestern native friends knew what hit them. Some thought it was a tornado…maybe some thought the sky was falling. It is a scary thought to think we are not only in for tornadoes in the Midwest, but we live close to an active fault line.

At times like these, emergency preparedness comes to the forefront of our minds.

Are we prepared?

My church takes a special interest in emergency preparedness. We have a website — providentliving.org — with resources that can be used by any church or group.

We are not, by any means, the only church preparing its flock for disaster or those events like loss of job or illness that can set a family back.

Recently…

My last post received a comment that was so important, I thought it deserved a whole post. A person asks about a Catholic friend who seems to have a mistakenly optimistic belief about his own chances for salvation. Here is the comment:

This person does not even attempt to lead a Holy life, much intentional lack of self control and mortal sin in his life. The danger I feel for this person is that he in all sincerity feels that he will receive salvation if he were to die in this state of his life.

He says, he realizes that he is living a life of sin, but as long as he repents before he dies, or even on his death bed that he will just have to spend some time in purgatory, but he will receive salvation (Heaven).

The reader asked about about both “salvation” and “purgatory” and I want…