my52wow

My Mormon Sister’s Big Fat Turkish Muslim Wedding

  Elna Baker found headscarves, henna, and smuggled hooch at her sister’s multicultural nuptials—not to mention a whole new sense of what family can be. Because my older sister Tina was marrying a Turkish Muslim instead of a fellow Mormon, the Mormon bishop at the microphone had been instructed not to use religious words in … Continue reading →

Next Up…Everyday Enlightenment

On Father’s Day, I finished the last installment of the “My 52 Weeks of Worship Book Club”- Strength for the Fragile Spirit. It was a book that came from my father’s library. When I searched my bookshelf for the next book I would read, I  found a book that my sister gave me in November, 2000. … Continue reading →

Remembering My Father on Father’s Day…and Happy Father’s Day to all dads!

A main motivation for My 52 Weeks of Worship Project, was remembrance– honoring my father, my hero, Dr. Ephraim Nseabasi Bassey. Indeed even his very name, Nseabasi means “I am looking to God.” In this journey, I am living a truth that was encompassed in his very name. Searching for God, and looking everywhere, and in the … Continue reading →

A place of worship as a witness

In the course of some business travel, I found myself at the World Trade Center PATH station in Lower Manhattan. As I exited the train station, in the middle of the throngs of people – all moving quickly in whatever direction they were headed, it was hard not to think about September 11th, and how crazy … Continue reading →

For Franciscan Twins, Simple Lives Had Depth

ST.   They were like paired birds of Franciscan brown. If Brother Julian was gardening in front of the friary, Brother Adrian weeded in the back. If Adrian was driving the van, Julian sat by his side. Preparing the altar for chapel, chopping wood for kindling, exulting in ice cream at the Twist & Shake, … Continue reading →

Holy Groupon

Interesting Photo Gallery – Muslims in America, a search for identity a decade after September 11th.

Caption from one of the pictures says: Ismail with his son, Talal, 20. Talal is what his father sees for the future of Islam in this country, a thoroughly American kid who barbecues burgers with his dad and then stops off for prayer on his way to work. Interesting stuff. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/for-muslims-in-america-a-search-for-identity-a-decade-after-sept-11/2011/06/11/AGlEWtQH_gallery.html#photo=1

Tahara: Respect for the dead and comfort for the living

Traditional Jewish ritual of preparing a body for burial is making a comeback with liberal congregations Hands join in to tie the garments on a volunteer at a training seession for a group learning to perform the ritual bathing and dressing of a body before a Jewish burial, called tahara. (Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune / … Continue reading →

Muslim lifter tries to compete and remain faithful

In this March 13, 2010, photo provided by Kulsoom Abdullah via her website on Thursday, June 9, 2011, Abdullah competes in the 2010 Open Champs at the Branch weightlifting event in Flowery Branch, Ga. Abdullah, a 35-year-old Atlantan, has been barred from entering the U.S. senior nationals in Iowa next month because her Muslim faith … Continue reading →

Flashback to August, 1989 – Wisdom from my father’s journey

One of the things that I inherited after my dad passed away was alot of books. He, like me, was a voracious reader, and had a very large and diverse book collection. Many of his books were of a spiritual nature, and one of the books I inherited from him caught my eye, and has … Continue reading →