News from Interfaith Resources

This week we are excited to share with you a guest post by one of our favorite authors, Patrick E McLean. With so many sources of stress bombarding us from every side, he offers Hope as the tool that will get us through to the other side. In the United States, the richest country in the world, every measure of mental health is plummeting. And has been before the pandemic. In a recent survey CDC entitled, "Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic" a full 10 percent of the U.S. population had seriously considered suicide in the month [...]

Interfaith Window Decal Interfaith Window Decals Promote a Positive Social Norm of Inclusion A few weeks ago I wrote about the value of creating a "social norm" that encouraged people to lean towards unity and inclusion. One of the tools I suggested was our popular "No Room in My Heart for Prejudice" window decals. So many people took me up on the idea of buying them in bulk and giving them out to friends that I decided to do the same thing with my Interfaith Window Decals. This design has attracted many people to the idea of interfaith fellowship. The only problem [...]

Whether we do it consciously or unconsciously, most of us try to abide by what we perceive to be the social norms of our group. The more localized or personal the group we identify with, the more strongly we are influenced by their norms. For hundreds of years, the social norm of white people was to consider themselves superior. Depending on where you lived, that norm might have been expressed subtly, or it might have been expressed overtly through blatantly racist statements and actions. Over the course of my lifetime, I've seen that social norm shift. Even when it was still a [...]

The news these days is heartbreaking. Like you, I continually ask myself what more I could be doing to promote racial harmony and understanding. Many of you must feel the same. Sales of our No Room in my heart for prejudice items have been high. Few anti-prejudice designs make as clear a statement or offer an image whose meaning is as instantly understood. The message is so simple and clear that even young children have “explained” to me that the prejudice “doesn’t fit inside the heart.” And yet, the big red heart is inviting and non-confrontational. It is a perfect balance of [...]

As much of the country reopens, we are staying vigilant about cleanliness and keeping to an every-other-day shipping schedule to reduce outside exposure. We know that the comfort our materials bring to people who are under stress is valuable, so we will continue to serve hospitals, schools, care facilities, churches, and everyone else as safely as possible. We are here to serve you in your service to others.  Let us know how we can help.

In January, we sent out 2,000 free samples of our Comfort and Healing booklet along with a coupon code for 25% off, expiring May 1st. Little did we know that by May 1st, the need for them would be astronomical. Consequently, we are extending the sale for another two weeks.  (Since our 3rd printing was more expensive, we can't keep this up forever.)

Lately I've been thinking to myself that everything will be all right in the end. If everything is not all right - this must not be the end. I don't know who said that first. One thing I'm trying during these plague times is to do a little better job of maintaining my own positive attitude. I'm finding three things helpful: 1 -   I'm more grounded on days I have a purpose, someone to help or at least a list. Today, I'm writing this post. 2 -   I feel gratitude when I remember to pray for at least a few of the [...]

Providing spiritual care is being responsive to the religious needs of patients, families and those you serve. This post is a sample of well-known prayers for healing from a diverse group of religions. They are from our Interfaith book of Comfort & Healing , which is organized by topic, and many are also in the Interfaith Prayer Book, which is organized by religion. 

Providing spiritual and emotional care to others in a valuable service. This post is a compilation of prayers to help you connect and comfort healthcare workers who are feeling great stress in theses troubled times.

The Spring Equinox is March 19th. It marks the midpoint between the longest and shortest days of the year. This falls just around the time that many religions, cultures and national groups are holding celebrations. We are celebrating by making our spring Everyone Welcome Flag free shipping. If you want to pick up the door or the thicker garden version, this is the time to do it.

Dear Friends!  I forgot to remind you all about the beautiful 2020 Multifaith Calendar. Consequently, I have more left than I expected. That means I'm putting them on sale for 20% off for the next week (while supplies last). 2020 Multifaith Calendar This Year's Multifaith Calendar is Lovely.  Both beautiful and educational, the popular Multifaith Calendar carries you through a year of celebration, remembrance and reverence by highlighting the holidays and holy days of 14 different major religions. In addition to listing each special day on the calendar day itself, the publishers have added brief descriptions of each day along the left side of [...]

This week many of us will take time out of our busy schedules to feel grateful for the many good things in our lives. Soon afterwards, we will begin to think about how generous we want to be towards the people in our lives. These two virtues — gratitude and generosity — form a cycle of virtue that can attract love and happiness into our families, or can become an endless cycle of obligation, disappointment and resentment. It all depends on whether you focus on the value of the THING being given and received, or the value of the PERSON who is [...]

In the next two months there will be multiple opportunities to get family and friends together. Life Dice is a great way to get conversations rolling between generations. Two dice, six questions and six ways to answer create dozens of combinations to get you thinking, talking and laughing together. This is a nice alternative to the annual "what are you grateful for this year."Of course, they are also great ice breakers for office parties, group therapy sessions, and any other time people need a non-threatening way to get to know each other better. All of the questions relate to meaningful experiences and will help people get [...]

Interfaith Lapel Pin Our Interfaith Lapel Pins make dignified graduation gifts for both men and women.  Right now, they are on sale for less than $5 each in quantities of 20. We also have gift editions of three interfaith collections of prayers and writings that make are both lovely and make useful reference tools for anyone serving people of diverse faiths. These include the Expanded Interfaith Prayer Book, The Book of Comfort and Healing, and Meditations on the Life to Come.  They are each only $6 a piece at our 20-pack price. Expanded Interfaith Prayer Book Gift [...]