St. Paul's Episcopal Church - Salt Lake City, UT - March 18th, 2014

     What an amazing adventure and experience my exploration of St. Paul's Episcopal Church was. I came here for the evening prayer that was going to be happening as a way to partially commemorate my job success, but it turns out the event was canceled since the man who hosts it is also a coach. This ended up being an awesome chance to explore the church and find my own ways of meditation and gratitude.

      First, the church is beautiful. It is a huge building made up of the Chapel, sanctuary and also a preschool and a pantry that serves the hungry and homeless. My appreciation of the Episcopals has grown even more since coming to Utah. I have not attended a church that did not provide food and resources to the community that the city is in. There were also flyers that provided information to people who experienced abuse and how to get help. Sadly, abuse seems to be ignored by so many organized religions. Power is seen as justification in and of itself and authority is to to be obeyed not questioned...which leaves the door open for a person to use that power to abuse (and later cover it up or victim blaming) as we have seen happen in many religious communities, but especially the conservative ones that have been in the news.

     My journey to the chapel started out with me running into a kind woman and her daughter who directed me to the chapel area where Evening Prayer and morning Mass are hosted. Here there is a candle lit for all those who have been abused. I lit one for the victims and survivors before talking briefly to a woman who might have been the priest and after read a prayer out loud in the prayer book before taking a moment of silence.

      The silence, sometimes there is nothing more prefect and beautiful. It was there I was able to reflect and simply be while resting after the walk it had taken to get there. Afterwords I found a library, with a ton of books. Every church should have a library...scratch that, any community should have a library. The potential to learn so much is just a flip of a page away.

      I was impressed with what I saw and plan on attending a service. It was nice being able to explore at my own leisure though, and to be welcome. I was a stranger and was treated kindly by every person I met here.

Lunar New Years Part 2 - Dajia Wunchang Shrine - Dajia, Taiwan - February 2nd, 2014

       One of the best things about getting lost is you'll never know what you'll find. In the case of today I was fortunate to discover the Dajia Wunchang Shrine. The Shrine was donated by a wealthy man in Dajia and it was originally both a shrine and a school built in the late 1800's, being eventually made a historical cite in 1985 by Dajia's local government. The location was on a corner next to a hamburger joint a new friend I made here is opening...so the location is inconspicious. This was one of the many ways it differed from Zhenlan Temple.

      Another difference was how uncrowded and peaceful it was. At Zhenlan it was too overwhelming to even say a prayer, much less buy incense...but here, incense was based on how much you chose to donate and there were only a few family present performing the rituals for the new year. It was here I got three incense and said my prayer as well. For virtue, fortune and luck...

     It was my first time being in a place where I could reflect on my time here so far and the possibilities of the year to come with all its trials and possibilities. Suffice to say, I plan on returning here again. It was the first and only place I stopped to stay at after Zhenlan Temple, though I did discover many more places I plan on visiting.

     The day ended with success and I found where I was soon after the Shrine. Here is to the coming year and the final days of this Lunar New Years.

12th Day of Advent - University of Washington Prince of Peace Catholic Newman Center - Seattle, WA - December 12th 2010

        Do you want to know one of the most peaceful experiences in religion? Try a candlelight Mass. There are few better places for thinking about the big questions and feel peace from a physical location. The Mass I would be attending with my girlfriend was the last Mass of the day. Outside it was completely dark and the darkness complimented the candles that were around the alter and the walls.

    First, what is Advent? Advent is the countdown to Christmas day and the birth of the mythical birthday Jesus Christ. Advent literally means arrival or coming. The coming of God to the Earth. Effectively it's the lead-up to the Nativity, when Christians believe God humbled himself into the form of baby in order to understand and be a part of his creation in order to save it. The countdown is a time to reflect on that birth on the idea of God becoming a child and baby and being completely dependent on his children to care for and raise him to adulthood.

    The readings were Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10, and Matthew 11:2-11. The first reading is Isaiah describing that the Lord will heal the sick, cause the lame to leap like a stag, the mute to sing and the deaf will hear. It is one of the times Isiah is speaking of hope to Israel about God and that God loves them and those who the lord has ransomed will enter Zion. This passage is seen in Christianity as a preview to Jesus which Matthew plays upon in the next reading.

    In Matthew the reader is with John the Baptist and he tells his apostles from Prison to ask if Jesus is the Messiah. To which Jesus replies that he has performed the miracles that Isiah described (without mentioning Isiah) and says that his coming was foretold and that he is more then a Prophet.

    The readings compliment Advent extremely well. Isiah is used in Christianity to tell of the coming of God to Israel and then Matthew is used to say that he has come.

    As I meditated the psalms that spoke of the weak being protected and God watching over the people I couldn't help but be at peace. My heart beat became the rhythm I would focus on and in that focus and moments of silence during the Mass I saw the heartbeat as a metaphor for the "First Cause" the sound of the Universe coming into existence and the sound of so many forms of life.

    This would be one of the more powerful sermons I've attended and most of that power came from the imagery of candles and the sound of quite song and silence.