RNS starts off on December 12 with a feature on Jimmy Buffett‘s lead guitarist, Peter Mayer, who produces his own spiritual music when he’s not performing with Buffett. Evelyn Theiss writes: Pop guitarist and vocalist Peter Mayer was in India long before the Beatles made their famous trip there in 1968. Of course, his situation was different. Mayer was a child, living in Tamilnadu because his parents were Lutheran missionaries. Today, any self-respecting Parrothead, as devout Jimmy Buffett fans are known, can tell you that Mayer is the lead guitarist of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. He’s been playing and touring with Buffett for 17 years. But memories of his childhood in India’s far southern region and his parents’ work there are two things that infuse Mayer’s second career as an artist in his own right. He puts out CDs with a spiritual bent, and his latest is “Musicbox.”
Renee K. Gadoua reports on a rabbi who says Jews can make room for gays: When Rabbi Steven Greenberg attends synagogue with his male partner, the two do not sit together to worship. That’s one way Greenberg deals with the seeming contradiction of being a gay Orthodox Jew. Respecting the Orthodox Jewish tradition of separating husbands and wives during prayer services allows him to honor his religious convictions while acknowledging his partner’s role in his life. Greenberg is thought to be the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi in the world. He recently spoke at Ithaca College and Cornell University about his experiences, some of which are outlined in his 2004 book, “Wrestling With God and Men: Homosexuality and the Jewish Tradition.”
Religious cartoons and jokes are now featured on RNS in “A Joyful Noise,” a unique column of religious cartoons and humor with a holiday theme. As a gift for December, RNS subscribers can use free samples. Just download as you normally would, but we won’t charge your account. A new column will be posted each week this month. The text (jokes) are moving on the wire today. The cartoon AND the jokes are on our photo Web site, with an easy-to-use link on our home page. We ask that you package the cartoon and jokes together, and credit Joyful Noise, which wants your readers to send in their jokes. Let us know if you’d like us to continue this feature when the new year begins.
