Though far removed from this chilling winter, my husband and I spent a delightful week on the Rhine River in September, visiting and viewing cathedrals, castles, and monuments representing a variety of faiths. To my knowledge, we were the only passengers on the ship who were members of our particular church, but we still found a rich community of faith.
The first night we arrived late, because of a canceled flight. We entered the dining room and the response to our hesitant request to join another couple was warm and sincere. The group grew to a table of eight as other passengers looked for a place among strangers. We came from various locations, bringing different ideas and viewpoints, yet there was an underlying goodness, concern, and kindness that emphasized how similar our lives and values are.
The members of this group, which expanded to include others of many spiritual persuasions, all valued families, honesty, decency, and concern for others. Our shared experiences and conversations transformed those who were strangers into an inclusive community of faith. As we disembarked, we shared contact information because we did not want this community we had built to fade away.
In a like manner, Big Ocean Women is a vast community of faith. We espouse and practice various religions, but the first thing we stand for is faith. Through the miracle of technology, including this newsletter and blog, we meet virtually and share our faith and love for God and each other. Just as the passengers on our ship, we are more alike than different. We can embrace shared values and faith with open hearts and eagerly enrich our lives with the beliefs and practices of all God’s children on earth. We are all family.
This month, Lisa talks about what we can do with our faith and includes a helpful link about practicing charity in various religions, Kaylee comforts us with the power our faith gives us to overcome difficulties, I talk about the power of merely desiring to believe, and Shelli uses winter and snow angels to teach about patient faith. We also review her earlier article about the power of one family’s great faith and courage in bringing about change. We hope you will also enjoy videos of the Jos, Nigeria WAVE (formerly cottage) sharing the joy in their faith and a young man whose life is being blessed by the fruits of good works by Big Ocean Women.
May we gather and include every person in our path to join our community of shared faith.
