What does a minister do when she is not working on Sunday morning? Honestly, sometimes I take a bike ride with my husband. But whenever possible, I also attend religious services. One of the joys of my sabbatical in June was visiting different congregations.

I started with a Unitarian Universalist congregation nearby. A friend and colleague was delivering his last sermon there before moving on to something new. It was fun to note the ways their service was like ours and the ways it was different.

Next I attended services at one of the churches I attended as a child. The Falls Church has recently returned to the authority of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia (by the courts), so the service more closely resembled services I remembered from my childhood. Being in the familiar space, I was transported by memories of family warmth and connections.

In addition, my visits included Baptist and Lutheran services and a weekday visit to a synagogue.

I also am meeting regularly with a group of religiously diverse colleagues exploring the potential for interfaith cooperation. I believe interfaith work is some of the most important (as well as some of the most difficult) work we can do. I was inspired, along with many others, by Eboo Patel's Ware Lecture at the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly this June. I will share some of my own thoughts about this work in services this coming weekend.

Eboo Patel offered an interfaith literacy quiz from his group, Interfaith Youth Core. I invite you to test your own interfaith literacy. I'm guessing you will be surprised and inspired by some of the answers.

Yours,
Mary Katherine