Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Checking my email on this cool rainy morning, this headline stood out: “Top 10 Things Religious Leaders Say about Happiness” published on The Huffington Post. I clicked through not quite knowing what to expect. 

Here’s what I learned:

• Emory University’s Center for the Study of Law and Religion hosted a “Summit on Happiness” attended by spiritual leaders from around the world, representing the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist traditions.

• The author, Mary J. Loftus, who attended Christian Sunday school as a child, believed that “happiness was selfish.” She learned that religion was all about self-sacrifice, caring for starving babies across the world, fighting our own sinfulness, and guarding against “greed, pride, sloth, lust, and gluttony (i.e., cool stuff, bragging, hanging around, casual sex, and cookies)?” She attended the summit wondering, “Can I really ditch the guilt and go for the gusto?”

Click here to read the top ten things she learned about true spiritual happiness.

In what ways does your congregation cultivate true spiritual happiness?