Faith

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."

- Jesus in the gospel of St. Matthew

"From man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world."

- St. Arnold of Metz, patron saint of brewers

Mauritania is a land of striking beauty, with sand dunes lined against the sky, Bedouins riding camels in the countryside, and flying beetles that look like they come straight from the abyss of the Apocalypse. Mauritania is also a land of extremes-extreme beauty, extreme hospitality, and lately, extreme religion.

"I do the work of justice not out of a disdain for the privileged but out of a love for Life." - Womanist Theologian Dr. Kelly Douglas Brown

You can't do church in the 21st century without a vision for cultural diversity, says author and theologian Soong-Chan Rah.

Last Sunday I got a call at 11 a.m. It was Rachel Pater calling from her home town church (denomination to remain unnamed). It took several minutes before she could form a proper sentence through her sobs. Finally in a shaky voice, this came out: "I'm at my parent's church ... they are doing communion ...