new moon on monday

I’m not deliberately trying to reference Duran Duran here. But it is Monday, and the new moon hits as of 11:51 p.m. PDT. So there you go.
The New Moon is a time for tying up loose ends and rounding out the release of the waning moon, in preparation for putting plans into action during the waxing moon.
Much of the world jolted to a standstill yesterday with the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed. For some, this is a huge morale boost after a long hunt and several long wars that will continue. For others, this is a huge [...]

making Passover personal

Passover begins tonight at sundown, and Jews — and non-Jewish family and friends — will gather around seder tables to share maztoh and recount the Exodus story.
One of the things I love most about Passover — also called Pesach — is the tradition of keeping the story of freedom alive and making it relevant to us today. We can see the liberation of the Hebrews in Egypt reflected in the democratic movement sweeping North African and Middle Eastern countries, and we can lament the continued modern-day slavery of sweat-shop workers, women and children caught in the sex trade and other [...]

Mabon / Fall Equinox 2010

The Autumnal Equinox comes as something of a relief to me this year. While Mike contents himself that the winter solstice (when daylight starts lengthening) is only three months away, I’m happy to be entering the dark half of the year.
Fall and winter are when I recharge. I’m not opposed to daylight, but being out in the sun too long does wipe me out. The dark half of the year — between the autumnal and vernal equinoxes (Mabon to Ostara) — is generally when I feel the most comfortable. Maybe it’s because my birthday falls during this time, or that [...]

Interfaith event and reading list

We had a very good discussion group under the trees in Gabriel Park yesterday for the “Sharing Our Texts” interfaith event. Represented were Islam, Paganism, Judaism, Universalism and Agnosticism/Atheism. It looks like we may be planning an Interfaith Picnic for the spring!
One of the resources I brought to the conversation was an interfaith reading list I’d put together in August 2001 for one of the courses on religious diversity I led in Richmond, Virginia. A request was made to share this online, so in addition to e-mailing the original document, I figured I’d share this here as well.
This is not [...]

Interfaith event is a go for September 12, and thoughts on the current controversy

It’s unclear now as to whether Rev. Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, intends to proceed with his earlier plans to burn copies of the Qur’an on September 11th.
Regardless of what decision Jones makes — nor why he makes it — we’re continuing with our plans to meet at Gabriel Park in SW Portland on Sunday afternoon (1 – 3 p.m.), to share texts from a variety of faith traditions and to simply sit down and talk to one another.
I’ve gotten lots of emails and phone calls about this event. Unfortunately, I’ve not been able [...]

September 12: Sharing Our Texts

In addition to my work as a writer/journalist I am a seminary-trained interfaith minister and religious diversity teacher.
Naturally, I was outraged when I heard about a Florida pastor calling for a “Burn a Qur’an Day” on September 11 of this year. The Dove World Outreach Center plans to host a bonfire on the evening of 9/11 to burn copies of the Qur’an.
In an attempt to counteract prejudice and hatred, I contacted some of the people I know in Portland’s Muslim community about hosting a “Read a Qur’an Day” instead. These friends improved upon the idea by suggesting an interfaith [...]

fasting is not for sissies

I fasted yesterday for Tisha B’Av. And it kicked my ass.
I’ve had problems with hypoglycemia since I was a teenager, so I allowed myself some juice and tea during the fast, but I was still feeling dangerously spacey as the day wore on. Amazingly, I managed to cook dinner for Mike — a non-Jew who was definitely not fasting — even though I still had a few hours to go. The only real difficulty there was that I couldn’t taste the meal as I was preparing it, so had no idea if I’d gotten the spices right until Mike dug [...]





Now available!

VALHALLA by Jennifer Willis

Valhalla: A YA urban fantasy romp through the Pacific Northwest with Norse gods, hungry Berserkers, a teenaged witch, a mystical tree and even some Voodoo Doughnuts!

"Jennifer is a dream to work with. I've worked with her on myriad assignments and I've always been delighted with her writing. She's creative at coming up with her own ideas as well as excellent at taking direction and suggestions. Her work is crisp, clean and delivered on time and in the correct format and she responds quickly and professionally to any questions. I highly recommend her for any sort of writing project."

Audrey Van Buskirk
Former Editor, The Portland Tribune
Former Editor, The Portland Physician Scribe

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