To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.

The late historian, Howard Zinn

Rev Barry Lynn, President of Americans United has written, “The goals of Christ and the goals of the Religious Right seem to have little in common. Christ did not spend his time trying to forge a faith-based government. He did not obsess over the sexual habits of people. Were he here today, I find it inconceivable that Christ would parade in front of abortion clinics screaming at teenage girls or picket a gay man’s funeral hoisting a sign with a hateful homophobic message.”

If your children see that you are seeking, they will seek—the finding part is up to God.
—Polly Berrien Berends

An old story about a student who came to a rabbi and said, “In the olden days, there were men who saw the face of God. Why don’t they any more?” The rabbi replied, “Because nowadays no one can stoop so low.” One must stoop a little in order to fetch water from the stream.

“Nothing worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing that is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing that we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we must be saved by love.”
Reinhold Neibhur