Josh grew up in the Midwest before completing a B.A. in Theatre at Northwestern College [IA] and a Masters of Divinity [M.Div.] at Princeton Theological Seminary [NJ]. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ [UCC], Josh has lived and worked in the Midwest, East Coast, Hawai’i, and Mexico. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of The Welcome Project PA, host of the Bucks-Mont PRIDE Festival, and he is Pastor of Love In Action UCC, an open and affirming congregation featured in a Vox Media episode of Divided States of Women with Liz Plank and in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Josh has 20+ years of nonprofit experience, including leading workshops and training in corporate, medical, and academic settings, focused on diversity & inclusion, grant writing, fund raising, and program management. Josh is a fellow of Interfaith Philadelphia, and designs and coordinates HS and University student groups for interfaith immersion service-learning weeks. Josh also co-facilitates Ally trainings for LGBTQIA+ inclusion and interfaith cooperation. He is a founding member of The Society for Faith & Justice, and a Collaborator for Nurturing Justice, and a member of the Driving PA Forward team via New Sanctuary Movement. He also performs regularly with the dinner theatre company, Without a Cue Productions, and has developed theatre arts curriculum for use in religious and secular settings. Josh also enjoys running, singing, traveling, learning languages, or making strange and funny faces. He lives in Center City Philly.
Monday Eve On Monday night we headed to Center City Philadelphia for a visit to the Church of Latter Day Saints [Mormons]. We started out at their meeting house where many meetings, classes, and other organizational business take place. There were also rehearsals going on for the upcoming theatrical performance of “Savior of the World.” […]
Monday In the morning we began our first service-learning project in West Philly at Ahimsa House. The Ahimsa House is a center for practices of peace & mindful living and a center for conscious consumerism. Their pillars [in Sanskrit] are: Ahimsa (non-violence) Dana (generosity) Metta (unconditional love), and mindfulness. The residents of Ahimsa House really […]
Sunday Our week began with a visit to the very active Sikh community in Upper Darby. There are over 20 million Sikhs around the world today. Sikhism began over 500 years ago in the Punjab area of South Asia, which now includes the vast territories of Northern India and eastern Pakistan. Guru Nanak, born in […]
March 11-17 I am spending my days and evenings with students and faculty from Jefferson University and Ohio Wesleyan University as part of the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia’s Interfaith Encounters Alternative Break program. The two groups represent various traditions, including but not limited to: Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Secular. The Ohio Wesleyan students range […]
Mark 1:9-15 It’s not popular to take a break. Is it? Really, it’s not. I mean, you’re tired, burned out, mentally exhausted at work, and so you think—I should—take a break, right? And so, when you do, to recharge, to find your strength again, are you met with approving looks and applause? Most likely, NO. […]
Mark 9:2-10 Many Christians observe what is called Transfiguration Sunday, just before Ash Wednesday. Transfiguration is not a word we say a lot. It comes from the Greek word for metemorphothe, what we pronounce “metamorphosis.” Ongoing change. Of course, maybe you’ve heard or used the word transfiguration as it pertains to the spells of the […]
Mark 1:29-34a 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, […]
Mark 1:21-39 Let’s talk demons, afflictions, identity and love. Cool with you? Okay, first, a story about Jesus of Nazareth. He’s making his way to Capernaum–perhaps the most important and well-connected community in the region of Galilee. There was a temple there, and Jesus was about to darken its door. Mark’s Gospel is the speed […]
Mark 1:14-20 Sometimes we see ourselves as only what others tell us, or what the world tells us. Are we just our jobs? Are we just defined by appearance? Are we meant to fit into other people’s boxes? Or, are we invited to be ourselves in a free-flowing, surprising way? Are we invited to follow […]
John 1:43-51 What things do you notice in everyday life? Which things do you often miss, go unnoticeable? When you notice something you didn’t before, how does that change things for you? I think there is a difference between being noticed and being seen, would you agree? For example, you go to a social gathering: […]