Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Post on faith

I have not always had faith. In high school, I was an atheist for a while. My parents raised me culturally christian, but chose not to impose any kind of religious belief on me as a child.

I converted to Catholicism as a teen and have wavered in my allegiance to the Church. Right now, knowing that the Church has opened its doors to the homophobic wing of the Anglican church makes me question how long I can continue to support this institution. My social convictions, which are based on liberation theology, and my multiple identities lead me to sharply disagree with some of the social positions that the Church has taken. I believe in change from within and this is why I stick with the Church...but I wonder if my conscience will overtake my desire to be part of this religion.

On a more metaphysical level, I adore Catholicism. The devotion to Mary, the rich lives of the saints, the holy trinity, the belief in transubstantiation (yeah, that wafer is actually a piece of god), heaven, the scriptures...all of it feeds my soul. There are also important movements within the Church that have inspired me, such as liberation theology, Catholics for Choice, the Catholic LGBT organizations, the Catholic Worker movement, Pax Christi, and all of the social justice work done by the Church. These are the things that tie me to the Church, that stop me from converting to something else...

Faith has helped me throughout my adult life, nourishing my desire for social justice, providing a sense of peace during Mass, and helping me cope with the loss of my grandfather.

I struggle with the contradictions involved in my faith.

United to Heal activity

There were lots of people at the United to Heal service activity (most weren't from our group). If you missed this activity, they sort medical supplies there most Sundays. You can go whichever week you want. Just check out the website: united2heal.org

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

What faith means to me

Faith is knowledge of things that are not seen but that are true. For example, if I have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow (something I haven't seen) I will live my life accordingly. I may plant a seed or plan on spending time outside. Likewise, if I have faith in the existence of God I will act with the knowledge that he exists even though I have never seen him.

Faith grows as we act on it. If we don't act on our faith it will die (see James 2:14-20 in the Bible).

I have faith in Jesus Christ: that he died and then conquered death. I have faith that because of Jesus Christ I will live again after I die and that I can live with my Heavenly Father. I have faith that God communicates with us though a living prophet, through scriptures like the Bible and The Book of Mormon, and through our prayers.

Because I have faith in these things I try to live my life in a way that shows I know they are true. I don't always succeed, but I do the best I can. I feel my faith grow the more I try.

Faith Activity

On November 6 from 12:30-2pm in room 2752 we will be having a discussion on what faith means to the ssw students. The goal is to get perspectives on the concept of faith from students of different belief systems. Hopefully we can get representatives from several different religions and beliefs to participate because it will make for a more interesting dialogue.

I want to encourage you to send in your thoughts on faith to swinterfaithalliance@gmail.com so that they can be posted on a powerpoint for the activity. I will take any idenitfying information off of the e-mails before I put them on the powerpoint. If you would also like me to post your thoughts on the blog, please let me know.

If you prefer you can also write your thoughts directly onto one of the posters for the activity down by the student mailboxes.

By contributing your comments early, you give us a starting point for our discussion and it is a way to participate for those who might not be otherwise able to.

By the way, there will also be treats at the activity. Don't miss out.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

United to Heal’s Interfaith Sorting Day

My name is Nargis Rashid and I am a representative of United to Heal’s Outreach Committee. We are an interfaith humanitarian aid organization on campus that works to send donated medical supplies from local hospitals to countries that need them, and in order to do this we have to sort and inventory the supplies at our warehouse on south State St.
I’m writing to invite your organization to collaborate with us on an event that we have coming up on Sunday, October 25th from 12-3: Interfaith Sorting Day! The event will begin with normal sorting (we’ll explain everything at the warehouse!) and end with half an hour to an hour of interfaith discussion, which your group can choose to participate in or not (we’ll be providing rides to and from the warehouse, and if necessary we can send a car back at 2).
Sorting is a great way to enjoy some community service with other members of your group and (if anyone’s pre-med) a fantastic opportunity to get some hands-on experience with medical supplies that will soon be put to use in under-resourced hospitals in Ghana.
Please let me know if you have any questions. If this date doesn’t work for you, we also sort every other Sunday and would love to have you at our warehouse whenever you’re available! Also, be sure to check out our website (www.united2heal.org) for more information.
Sincerely,
Nargis Rashid
U2H Outreach Rep

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

My Faith as Process

Much like the previous writer's journey from doubt to conviction, or reaffirmation, I sincerely believe that spirituality is both a gift and a responsibility. A gift in the face of adversity, prone and bent on destroying that which we were lead to believe as truth, that can lead us through weakness and times of hardship. Responsibility due because it's up to us, as individuals who carry the faith, to test, question and look closer into this dynamic,to have honest answers to tough questions. We need to own our faith; that which our "fathers" passed down to us is wasteful and detrimental to us unless we are willing to own it. For if we have not
struggled, wrestled or otherwise tossed about thinking and contemplating, sweating and reflecting what our faith is then how do we expect to have a positive dialog with our brothers and sisters? There's no pulse in a rote regurgitation of what we have been led to believe and even less of a chance of defending that faith when confronted or questioned. And God is BIG enough to handle a prayer that confesses doubt in spiritual matters. God will answer that prayer according to each's needs. Proof that God exists? For me, most certainly! And it's me, after all, that needs to know if God really exists.

When you ask a question be prepared to accept the answer.

Dani Lugo

Monday, October 12, 2009

Answer to prayer

I grew up in a religious household and my faith wasn't really challenged until I got to middle school. In middle school I had a friend who was extremely intelligent and really enjoyed debating. When my friend learned that I was a person of faith, he started to debate with me about the existence of God and an afterlife. I tried to debate back, but he was a lot better at arguing than I was.
For a couple of days I felt that my friend was probably right. The more I thought about it, the more meaningless life seemed to me and the more hopeless I felt. Eventually, I came to the point that I needed to know, without any doubt, whether or not God exists and whether or not there is a life after this one.
I decided to say a prayer and ask God whether he was there and if I would exist after I died. As I started praying, a sudden feeling of peace, hope, and comfort rushed into me. All the hopelessness and despair I had been feeling before vanished.
I didn't see any angels or have any visions, but after that prayer I knew that God existed and that life does not end at death. The feeling of hope that I felt was a direct answer to my prayer. I am very grateful that God answered when I asked.
That experience has always been very sacred to me and is a large part of who I am. It is impossible to describe everything I have thought or felt about it since, but I know that I would be a very different person than I am now had I not experienced it.

Spiritual Journey

A lot of people have many misconceptions about the Christian faith. Christianity involves a triad based belief, called the Holy Trinity. I involves three different avenues towards its foundational faith system: The Father (God), The Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. You have to find Jesus to get through God. However, there are several way to find Jesus.
The information above is what I have been taught, and you could probably find a lot of this stuff if you google Christianity. However, I feel the best way to understand my faith is to see it from my point of view. I was 'raised in the church', as many people say. I can remember church being a part of my life since I was able to form memories. My family moved around to different denomination, Methodists, Baptist, non-denominational, until my dad was led to pastor his own church, ultimately non-denominational. So yes, I am a PK = preacher's kid. Throughout my childhood I believe in God and in Jesus Christ, however, until I got to college was my faith truly challenged, reborn and developed into who I am trying to be today.
The biggest thing I have learned about my faith is that it's a relationship. Many people focus on the acts in their life that makes them a good christian, and become somewhat 'functional', but are still immature or carnal in their spiritual walk with God. Christian mean to be 'Christ like', meaning that your life should mimic the live Jesus led. I'm not saying people should go into the wilderness and fast, eating nothing but fruits and berries for 40 days. I'm saying that because Jesus was 1) listened and talked to God 2) walked in love during his life and 3) and was selfless.

Believing that God and Jesus are real is is the first step in Christianity. When you do that one starts developing their faith life. The next step is to study the word (Bible), pray and listen from God's word, and begin to develop a relationship with God. All of this can include going to church, bible study or what have you. This is critical, because as one studies the bible and prays to God, they will strengthen their spiritual walk and become sensitive to what God has to say to them. I can personally say that as I have redeveloped my faith, I have began experiencing this. It might sound crazy that I'm 'hearing from God' but I look at it like this. I wake up everyday knowing that 1) I am loved no matter what with a love that surpasses anything that I will truly understand and it brings me peace. 2) God has my back. Jeremiah 29:11-13 says "for I know the plans I have for you," declares the lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." This is one of my favorite scriptures because it tells me that despite what I may go through, despite what people say, and despite what my mind may tell me, God is here to make sure I am okay, successful, happy, fulfilled, and that he loves me.



Everyday I wake up, I have thoughts constantly running in my mind about how I can incorporate the word into my daily life. I ask myself am I truly making God top priority in my life? Am I examining my life daily to see if it lines up? These are some of the things I have learned are a must in Christianity in order to grow and connect with God on deeper and deeper levels.There is no limit to this depth.



Now I can't speak for all Christians and say that experience this, or even truly understand of believe this as Christianity. However, guidance from my church members back home, through reading the word, and through praying, listening, trusting, and submitting to God, I have been to experience these things and have found Joy, Peace, Comfort, and happiness in them.


One thing I should add to this. When someone decides to become a Christian and begins their spiritual walk, many don't understand that persecution comes along with this walk. Yes, God has always been there in your life protecting you and watching over you, and waiting for you to seek him out. Now that you have decided to start listening to him, you must understand that this road may sometimes be a difficult journey to becoming stronger in him and receiving the blessings he has for you. Persecution is defined as "the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group." This means to be that some people will hold it against me that I am a Christian.

John 15: 18-21 states "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the wolds I spoke to you: 'no servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me." This means that when you accept God, not everyone will accept you. However, though these trials may come to pass, God is still there protecting me, watching over me and being their for me through this growth process. Isaiah 43:2 "when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you [meaning you will not drift away or be drowned]. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." This scripture tells me that God will be there for me and won't let me get burned WHEN I go through hard times. It might get hot, but I won't burn up.

I can probably approach this in several different ways and talk about my love for Christ and to live by his teachings for a pretty long time, but I hope that I was able to give you a glimpse to how I live my daily life.



Patrice French
frenchpb@gmail.com

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Spiritual Journey

I am fairly new to my current spiritual journey. I had no religion in my life as a child growing up and it wasn't until I was battling a dangerous and life threatening illness that I began to embrace christianity. I cannot say that I know everything about Christianity, or know much at all, but I do believe. I rely on God now and I try to pray as much as possible. It is rare, if not impossible, to feel the unconditional and unwavering love that God has for me and for all who have faith in Him and his word. The journey I am currently undertaking is exciting, new, and often times somewhat scary. But, I am loving it and I am loving God.
I am not a bigot and I do not preach about my beliefs. I am very open to all of the different interpretations of religion, spirituality, and faith. I am fascinated by all of these things. I look forward to reading other posts and learning more about others' beliefs.
Kendra Heeder

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Latter-day Saint Stereotypes

In the spirit of opening up the blog to counter misperceptions and stereotypes, I would like to counter a couple of stereotypes I heard about my religion (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) the other day on NPR.

Talking about the conservative commentator Glenn Beck, one caller mentioned that he (Glenn Beck) is Mormon and, since African Americans could not hold the priesthood in the Mormon Church until 1978, is racist.

This caller presented two stereotypes I often confront as a Latter-day Saint: That we are ultra-conservative and that we are racists.

The ultra-conservative stereotype is false. While prominent political conservatives like Glenn Beck and Mitt Romney are Latter-day Saints, so are prominent Democrats. For example Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate Majority leader, is also a Latter-day Saint. There are also both Democrats and Republicans among the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The racist stereotype is also false. While there are racists in any church, the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is clearly not rascist. The Book of Mormon says: "...he [Christ] invited all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile." (2 Nephi 26:33)

Regarding the problem of racism, Gordon B Hinckley, a former prophet of the Church said, "Now I am told that racial slurs and denigrating remarks are sometimes heard among us. I remind you that no man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ. Nor can he consider himself to be in harmony with the teachings of the Church of Christ." (The Need for Greater Kindness, Liahona Magazine, May 2006)

I hope this post can help clear up some of the misperceptions that are out there. If you have questions leave a comment and I will try my best to answer it. If you would prefer to contact me privately, you can e-mail me at dawacu@umich.edu or call me at (801)309-3892

Friday, October 2, 2009

Activity Plans

At yesterday's meeting we discussed activity plans and we would like everyone's ideas and comments. Especially, we want to see if anyone has suggestions that would help include a broad array of belief systems. We want to make sure that our group helps people of all belief systems express and dialogue about their convictions. Your perspective is appreciated!

We are going to do an activity designed to get social work students to share their thoughts on faith and hopefully generate some dialogue on the subject. We will do this by putting up a poster a few weeks before the activity asking students to write their thoughts about faith directly on the poster. We will also send out an e-mail asking the same thing that they can reply to. Any identifying information will be removed from the entries and there will be a disscussion about them at an actual activity as well as on the blog. We plan on giving specific invitations to other school of social work organizations to come and discuss faith with us at the activity to help insure that many viewpoints are represented. Below is a draft e-mail created by Jenn to help give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Certain specific information in the e-mail (activity date, poster location, etc.) is subject to change. Let the group know what you think!

-Daniel
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The SW Interfaith Alliance wants to know what you think about:

FAITH

What does faith mean to you?
How does faith play a role in your life?
Is faith synonymous with religion? Culture?

There is a message board in the SW Commons for your thoughts. Please make any comment you would like regarding your thoughts on faith or respond to a question above. We hope that this will allow us all to better understand each others perspectives and open channels for dialogue.

If you would prefer to email a comment to be posted anonymously, please send it to swinterfaithalliance@gmail.com.

On October 30th from 1-2pm we will be hosting a dialogue to discuss submissions. Hope to see you there!

Ballot

The people who applied for officer positions are as follows:

President- Daniel C.
Secretary- Adriel E.
Treasurer- Jennifer G.

Since there is only one person applying for each position these people are running unopposed.