Faith

Barack Obama has been picked as the next president. Propositions have been approved or turned down. How can faith guide us in making decisions on future Election Days? While we talk about separation of church and state, I do think that our faith can play a part in helping us make good decisions in our election day choices. We should choose from our heart, from a place of love, compassion, justice and righteousness, seeking to include as many people as possible, seeking to raise up those people and initiatives that will better our nation, state and communities.

The Lord gained another angel as Marjorie Ann Illig died suddenly Friday evening, October 1, 2010, at Glendale Memorial Hospital. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Rita Knapp; grandson, Patrick Michael Liebelt and son-in-law, Robert Randall (Randy) Bush. She is survived by her devoted husband of fifty-five years, Edward Michael Illig; her three daughters, Rita Illig Liebelt, Katherine Schneider and Michaela Bush; her two sons-in-law, Klaus Liebelt and Charles Schneider; and her grandchildren, Adam, Megan and Anna Liebelt, John Schneider, and Dylan and Rachel Bush.

Barack Obama has been picked as the next president. Propositions have been approved or turned down. How can faith guide us in making decisions on future Election Days? How can faith guide us on election day? I suppose the place to start is by asking, faith in what and faith in whom? As a Christian, the Bible guides my values and choices regarding leadership, politics and civic affairs. I am not alone in this. George Washington said, “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.

The News-Press was entirely right in focusing on the secular celebration of Easter -- on the flowers, the bunnies, the eggs, the earthly happiness -- because Easter is a secular holiday. First, as a national holiday in a country founded upon the separation of church and state, Easter cannot be a "religious" holiday. Second, and more fundamentally, the origins of Easter do not rest in Christianity. They rest in early pagan celebrations of the coming of spring, as marked by the vernal equinox; hence, all the symbols of fertility.

Marshall Allen GLENDALE -- People of faith were issued a challenge at the Glendale Mayor's Prayer Breakfast: when interacting with one another, don't settle for mere tolerance and diversity. About 300 people attended the 39th annual prayer breakfast at Glendale Civic Auditorium early Wednesday morning. The program featured a patriotic spirit, with the recognition of the flag and a rendition of "God Bless America," and readings from the Bible, Koran and Torah.

Four chants of “om” and a song of “Glory, Glory Hallelujah” closed the Self Realization Fellowship’s first service at its new Glendale temple Sunday. The sacred Hindu intonation and Christian song were a part of the group’s inclusive practice, which is based on the idea that God exists within all beings, said the Rev. Brother Satyananda, the leader of the congregation. The fellowship, founded in 1920 by Indian theologian Paramahansa Yogananda, draws from a combination of religious teachings, focusing on meditative components of yoga while referring primarily to Christian and Hindu scriptures to highlight its message, Satyananda said.

On Friday night friends, family and community members joined together at the Roger Barkley Community Center to celebrate Ramadan with the La Cañada Flintridge Islamic Congregation. From Sept. 13 to Oct. 12, Muslims of the Islamic faith recognize Ramadan by fasting from sunrise to sunset. It is a time of retrospect and life renewing for the faithful, a time to look inward to reevaluate how they are helping others. It is also a time to gather with friends and celebrate their faith.

On March 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Holy Redeemer's Healy Hall, Gerard Straub will give a special talk and show excerpts from several of his compelling films. Since turning his back on a successful, lucrative, 30-year career in television producing soap operas such as "General Hospital" and "The Doctors," he has committed himself to putting the power of film at the service of the poor. Straub's work is an outgrowth of his spiritual pilgrimage, which led him from the Catholic faith of his childhood, through atheism, and back to faith through a profound encounter with Christ.

“Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us to do the opposite, that is to commence with experience and from this to proceed to investigate the reason.” — Leonardo da Vinci   Faith comes in many forms, I believe. And in my search to find it in places unexpected, I’m learning a lot. I sat down with Steve Hines at Shaker’s for breakfast one recent morning to further my exploration. Steve’s an inventor, and I asked him what he had faith in. He handed me a photocopied page from Webster’s Dictionary.

Deputy Public Defender Julia Dixon's determined efforts to uncover the truth in regard to police officials' withholding of records are highly commendable. It was only after her revelation that Court Commissioner Steven Lubell ruled that Glendale Police, namely Lt. Rick Young and Sgt. Darrell York, "willfully withheld information from a public defender" (News-Press, Dec. 7-8). In her response, Assistant City Atty. Ann Maurer states that Young was "possibly mistaken," but the mistake was made "in good faith."