Admin Raph @raphael@interfaith.masto.host

#introduction
hello all I am Raphael and I am the admin of interfaith.masto.host, an interfaith instance that welcomes all faith/religion/spirituality/term of your choosing backgrounds and people to come and discuss their beliefs in a respectful and fun manner.

I myself consider myself a Christian and am currently in seminary getting my Masters of Divinity. I am still exploring the bounds of my faith as a queer latine Christian and what that means for me.

I hope you may join me in your journey

correct me if im wrong but i read this and thought of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEkREWMt6Ds

If Jesus was alive today what music would he listen to?

Hope everyone is holding onto hope in some way during this uncertain time

my beloved is
the most beautiful
among thousands
and thousands
yeshua
ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD342Gik0X4

*crawls out of the books and papers* hi its finals and im still here haha

As for the sermon, I guess that will have to be another post. Thanks for reading.

There's so many ideas to what I could do for lent and i'm getting overwhelmed but like, maybe it's not that big a deal but I want it to be that big a deal?? I'm still trying to grapple with the significance of it.
"The preparation of easter"
Easter is when Jesus came back to life, right?
I am just going to stick to a devotional on my bible app and maybe a morning/nightly prayer in my prayer journal (maybe both?) and tuna fridays

i have like 30 tabs open on different things about Lent and maybe that's why i feel overwhelmed right now and I'm trying to wrap my head around it.
I just had an idea but I don't think it would work because lent ends in easter.
I was told i could do a sermon sometime in mid march and I've been procrastinating on it like no end. I was thinking 40min working on the sermon and I will have it done by easter I'm sure, but then it would be too late

Lent just feels like it's supposed to be a time to look down on our own selves, to look down on our human ways and put down our selfishness in our human ways. Lent in it's encyclopedia wikipedia dictionary definition feels like it's supposed to be some sort of 'I am a horrible being because I am human' and like NOOO Jesus did not Die on that cross for you to do that?? But, is that what Lent is??

I was getting overwhelmed because I was thinking of reading the bible and writing in my prayer journal for 40min for 40 days and then i read that there's actually 46 days in lent and that sundays don't count and i got overwhelmed at that...
and then i thought, maybe God wants me to be kinder to myself as I saw some images on tumblr about giving up unkind words to oneself for lent. That has been a constant message in my recent days.

sorry my last cw's are misleading, lent is still in 2 weeks!

celebrate it as seriously as others do? In any case, as I researched traditions and talked with others to what they do, I indulged myself in what I could do. Give up social media for lent? Sounds reasonable! But I am not sure I could do that given my only support is in social media.
I decided on a tradition that is very much Catholic and because I am not the biggest fan of fish, tuna sandwich friday for 40 days it is! That starts...the 28th?

Lent is a time where Christians and Catholics have a time of repentance and solemn contemplation. From what I've learned, we think about Jesus's life and death, our own mortality, our sins, and what we can do to reconcile ourselves. It seems like a very, how do you say, forgiving of the self thing, because my theology is that Jesus, in dying on the cross, has washed our sins away. Despite that, we have Lent. Maybe that's why some Christians don't

Lent is in 2 weeks!

Apologies to those who had applied for an account recently, I have been traveling all week and have been very busy in seminary!

when peace like a river attendeth my way
when sorrow like sea billows roll
whatever my lot thou hath taught me to say
it is well
it is well
with my soul

Rapha here, with the ugly Garrish book, at the sleep study clinic!

my denomination is so graciously offering housing for gathering days and the director of the denomination for my school is like hey who wants this??? im like sign me TF UP!!! and now he sends and email saying,,,,,,,,,,,,,uhhhhhhh only one person has signed up so,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,speak now or forever hold your peace,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

am i the only one????