June 28, 2018 Yesterday I woke up in the middle of the night. Insomnia. I was awake and worrying about drought. The local water board asked all of the church congregations in our area to talk about water cutback issues due to drought. Bishop Watson is a man of few words, a traditional sheep farmer,…
On any warm morning almost year-round, you could possibly find Jennette Jenkins hiking in the hills around Gilbert, Arizona. Jennette loves to be outside, and describes herself as athletic and enthusiastic. “I feel like I was blessed with a strong body, and I try to take advantage of that. I play basketball several times a…
We believe in God, and our faith in a higher power grounds us in hope for a better world. We understand that our faith allows us the internal power and influence to effectively impact our external surroundings and world. It gives us a mentality of abundance (unity, purpose, and a positive outlook etc.) as we…
Ko Netzler beams from her hospital bed in the humble bedroom where she has spent most her days for the past 15 years. Surviving a car accident that she did not cause left her body partially paralyzed, but her soul and her faith suffered no lasting ill effects. Family and friends stop by hoping to…
In 1996, artist Kathleen Peterson and religion reporter Peggy Fletcher Stack embarked on a project to create a children’s book about world religions. In the early stages of the project they recognized a gap in children’s books on world religions. Those books that included non-Christian faiths would lump together all of the Christian denominations, whereas…
Resources on Freedom of Religion I recently read several articles about freedom of religion and pulled important references and quotes from them to share with Big Ocean Cottage Leaders as part of our January 2017 campaign. Hope some of these are helpful to you as you plan your cottage discussion. -Alicia Moulton Big Ocean…
Here are some suggestions on preserving religious freedoms that have been condensed into a few categories that cottage leaders can explore further. Have a strong knowledge: In private and personal ways, learn and live your religion and or belief system well. Have a wellspring of knowledge that is easily accessible to you – like an…
Big Ocean was invited to attend the Ethics of Reciprocity: United Nations Dialogue of LGBTI Religious Leaders, held on October 26, 2017 in NYC. My responsibility as the Global committee head is to attend these events and analyze them with a focus on language and potential philosophical trends that will bump up against or support…
Photo by Gwen Hawkins A happily married mother of four, Linda had her world thrown into chaos when her husband suffered a painful herniated disc. His doctor prescribed Vicodin, reconnecting him with the drinking and drug use that he had abandoned over fifteen years before when he joined Linda’s church and married her. He became…
