Faith

With Or Without Religion

VOL. 4 ... No. 144. April 8, 2026

Howdy Humpsters!

Easter Sunday is a religious holiday that conjures happy memories from my childhood. Along with Halloween and Christmas, the Easter egg hunt was high on my list for binging candy. As I grew older, I tolerated my mother and grandmother’s efforts to dress me properly. As a confirmed “wallow in the mud” feral child, this gave them hope that I would one day clean up enough to be considered female. Each year, my sisters and I received a new Easter hat, gloves, dress, and black patent leather shoes. We were to NEVER wear white shoes. Granny said people who wore white shoes were trashy. I have no idea where she came up with that.

This past Sunday, Stu, Cady, and I walked to the city center to watch the the Procession of the Resurrection (Procissão da Ressurreição) in Tavira. The procession began at the Church of St. Paul (Igreja de São Paulo) on one side of the River Gilão that divides the city, and ended at the Church of St. James (Igreja de São Tiago) on the other side, not far from our apartment.

The procession began with a police escort, which consisted of one rotund uniformed man perched on and over-lapping a small, three-wheeler motorcycle. He had the look of a man sweating out the early morning heat beneath his starched uniform. Next came boys and girls dressed in their neatly pressed immaculate scout uniforms. They carried the weight of their participation with dignity and solemnity. Probably just the way their moms and dads had insisted — or there would be a price to pay. Next came the Three-Priest Posse, paving the way for the Big Cheese, who strolled under a canopy carried by six parishioners.

For my Catholic readers, please excuse me if Priest Posse and Big Cheese are not the correct titles. I was raised Southern Baptist. We rated our religious leaders by the height of their hairdos.

Finally, the band marched by. Stu and I were impressed with how good they were — the music was tight, together, and respectfully performed, befitting the story of the resurrection. I imagine most of them perform whenever they can for the love of music, but make their livelihoods some other way.

It occurred to me that the families and friends watching from the sidelines — as well as the people participating in the procession — were doing what people everywhere do. They were participating in their community’s rituals. Expressing pride in their children and loved ones, and openly professing their faith in God and their commitment to a religious organization.

I had an awakening a couple of days before the Easter Procession. I decided to embrace faith as a modus operandi for my life. Not blind faith, indifferent to the suffering of others or crimes committed by the powerful. Not faith that lives in LaLa Land, but faith that recognizes that my power lies in a connection to something bigger than myself.

Stu says I have been a person of faith for as long as he has known me, but for years, I’ve been saying to folks who are having troubles “You are in my thoughts. I’m sending love and light your way.”

God became a dirty word.

I have been reluctant to say, “You are in my prayers or I will pray for you,” because those phrases have been co-opted by the most cynical, vile, power-hungry, financial opportunists I have ever had the misfortune to witness. As they had already done with the American flag and patriotism, U.S. religious leaders and politicians — each with their bully pulpits and toadying masses — claimed prayer as if their group invented it. People who didn’t agree with their political agenda were demonized. I did not want to be associated in any way with THAT!

The truth is — I have missed feeling like I am having a dialogue with God. I have felt my prayers hit the ceiling for years and fall flat back down upon me because I have been unwilling to “personalize” a God that lives both within and outside of myself. Visualizing loved ones surrounded by Divine Light seemed less fraught with religious landmines than praying to a benevolent God.

I watched a snippet of an interview with Oprah the other day. She said that from a young age she has had faith in God and prays regularly. Dolly Parton does the same. Two of the most successful and inspiring American women we know believe that they are guided by a Divinity that cares for them and cares for us all. Oprah believes that God has a bigger plan for our lives than we could ever imagine for ourselves. She said over time, her views about God have changed to include all religions and no religion, but that God is faithful to us at all times. We have access to God through prayer.

In a recent interview, Dolly Parton said, “Stand back and let the magic happen. I’m open to God every day.” She sees God as her writing partner and co-creator. She focuses on what she has been given to do in this life, and the rest is not her business.

That’s how I see life too. When I worry about the behavior of others — especially people I have zero ability to influence — I become bound up with worry and the fear that can be paralyzing. But there is a higher power that works with me, for me, and through me. I am connected to it. I plan to strengthen that connection.

It has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with loving and embracing life as it presents itself to me. What else could be more important?

Until next time, my friends, I send you love and gratitude for all the ways you enrich my life.

You are in my prayers.

Janna

Quote Of The Week:

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength. ― Corrie Ten Boom, Clippings from My Notebook