Religious Faith / Diversity

Religious Faith/Wedding/Yorba Linda Friends Church/Marriage times seven/Orange County Register/Yorba Linda/CA/USA/11-Feb-07//…So for the first time, the Yorba Linda couple wed during an afternoon ceremony Sunday at Yorba Linda Friends Church, which was packed with applauding friends and family members.

"We were not thinking about it until God put it in our hearts," said Josefina Guzman, 54.

But like their union, the ceremony was far from conventional. The couple shared the altar with six other couples who, one by one, lit candles, exchanged vows and rings and shared a beso, or kiss.

Applause broke out as 35-year-old Gaby Leon, seven months pregnant with her third child, teetered down the aisle towards her husband, Miguel, 37.

"We feel different than before," Miguel Leon said of renewing his vows. "We were married, but getting married in the church is not the same. I feel wonderful now." ….

Religious Faith/Religious Diversity/Christian//Shared faith is the heart of the matter for Christians looking for .../Inspire Magazine/London/England/UK/13-Feb-07//…
Jackie Elton, Managing Director of Christian Connection, says: “We don’t ask people to sign statements of faith. Most members prefer to describe themselves as ‘just Christian’. While the second largest group are Anglicans, we have people from a wide range of traditions including Evangelicals, Liberals, Pentecostal/Charismatic, Catholic, Quaker and Orthodox.” ...

Religious Faith/Quaker Schools//Faith Notes / New Brighton / Scrapbooking fundraiser for ailing baby/Pioneer Press/Minneapolis/MN/USA/10-Feb-07//Quaker-Christian Worship, part of Friends Worship Group, 9:30 a.m., Friends School of Minnesota, 1365 Englewood Ave., St. Paul. Not sponsored by Friends School of Minnesota. 651-695-1304. ...

Religious Faith/Gay-friendly/Arts/Theater/Some Tormented by Homosexuality Look to a Controversial Therapy/New York Times/New York/NY/USA/12-Feb-07//… Peterson Toscano, 41, spent years in ex-gay ministries, including LIFE, during the 1980s and 1990s and eventually got married, only to see his marriage fall apart after he was unable to keep his homosexual urges in check.

He finally decided: “If you keep trying this, you’re fooling no one.” Now openly gay, Mr. Toscano lives in Hartford, attends a gay-friendly Quaker meetinghouse and performs solo comedy sketches around the country, including one that pokes fun at his experiences in the ex-gay movement. ….

Religious Diversity/Quaker History//A sign of the times marks First Parish/Bolton Common/Bolton/MA /USA/1-Feb-07//Since 1931, the town’s oldest church had been known as the Bolton Federated Church, the result of the town’s three churches — Unitarian, Baptist, and Quaker ...

Religious Diversity/Emmi, Elaine//Faith Groups Foster Friendship/BYU Newsnet/Salt Lake City/UT/USA/1-Feb-07//As one of 100 Quakers in Utah, Emmi, chair of the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable, said everything Quakers do as a Quaker is interfaith. ...

Religious Diversity/Ben Lomond Quaker Center/Religion/Spirituality Calendar/Santa Cruz Sentinel/Santa Cruz/CA/USA/10-Feb-07//FRIENDLY ZEN: BEING WITH WHAT IS': Practice zazen, kinhin, bowing and chanting. With Catherine Lucas. $110-$190 sliding scale $160 standard rate. Feb. 16-18. Quaker Center, Ben Lomond. Call 336-8333 or visit www.quakercenter.org. ...