“There’s a yearning in them, and that all wants to be expressed in terms of the sacred and the holy and within the context of God’s presence,” says Rev. Ann Abernethy, a United Church of Christ pastor.

Watch more of our interview about religious services of commitment with UCC minister and retirement community chaplain Ann Abernethy, who says, “One of the great gifts of being a clergy person is that we are really invited into people’s lives at a time of blessing.”

In a video inspired by the Buddhafest Short Films Showcase, watch everyday people saying what they believe it means to be “awake.”

Listen to this week's show.

"There seems to be a theme in the album, not intentional, and it’s funny because for somebody who is not a religious person, God comes up a lot in my songs," says legendary singer/songwriter Paul Simon.

"To know that someone is there, that someone that comes from home to take care of you makes a tremendous difference for our warriors," says Judith Markelz, director of the Warrior and Family Support Center in San Antonio.

Listen to this week's show.

Catholic groups, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan's archdiocese of New York, filed lawsuits in federal courts on May 21 to stop the Obama administration from implementing a mandate that would require them to cover contraceptives in their health plans.

"To have a situation in which we recognize the full equality of women changes everything,” says Union Theological Seminary president Serene Jones.

“There is a whole historical world of women who have risen as leaders in religious communities because they were called to do it, not because someone said they could,” according to the first woman president of Union Theological Seminary.