“A manuscript which invites the reader to experience the beauty and truths of 20 different faiths” is how Rev. Dr. Stephen Albert, describes his newest publication, “A Rainbow for the World.”
The book released earlier this year is his 19th publication, and is a continuation of his book “Reboot to Interfaith,” which was released last year.
Religious interfaith is bringing together people or groups from different religious, spiritual, tradition and world views. It isn’t about combining all the religions, but instead, reinforces the idea that regardless of religion or beliefs, every person deserves respect.
“The book contains 20 different chapters, based on interviews with 20 different faith leaders,” Albert said. “It describes how they came into their faiths and what it means to each one to be respectful of people from other faiths.”
He added, “The book includes a ‘World Rainbow Meditation,’ so that the reader can continue to read and meditate.” Readers also have the option of going to a YouTube site where they can listen as Albert reads the meditation online.
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Albert wrote his latest pair of books due to a stroke he had in 2003.
“I wrote ‘Reboot to Interfaith’ as a way to help people going through the stroke experience, as I did. The idea of rebooting ourselves to health and wealth and whatever we want in life is a possibility,” he explained. “And I wrote the book to give people hope. We know this world is a little messed up.”
He described the Reboot book as a short, concise manuscript which invites the reader to experience the beauty and truths of interfaith.
“The book provides the reader with methods of finding personal peace, both within themselves and with others who may not be exactly like them,” he said.
But Albert said he was surprised when readers told him how much the book had improved other areas of their lives. He realized people were responding to the part of the Reboot book that covered “the beauty within religions that people don’t talk about.”
Those revelations led him to write “A Rainbow for the World,” he said.
“Just as a rainbow is not complete without the full spectrum of colors, we are not complete without the full spectrum of the many faiths, races, skin tones, cultures, creeds, etc.,” Albert said. “By blending the colors of the rainbow and the many faiths, we can have a peaceful, happy world.”
The Alberts have lived in Poway since 2004. After his 2003 stroke, he said they sold their two-story home in Newport, California. They chose to move to the Poway area as they already had a number of friends living here.
“We moved into a single story home here, which is just perfect,” he said. “Our north elevation looks out at the reserve and we have a labyrinth in our backyard and my wife hosts labyrinth walks.”
Albert and his wife, Rev. Dr. Abigail Albert, are the co-ministers of the All Faith Center in Poway. He is a past-president of the Poway Interfaith Team. He is also the organizer and director of the global organization, the World Interfaith Network, which connects Interfaith groups around the world.
Now semi-retired in terms of ministry, Albert said he and his wife no longer host regular Sunday services, but the pair continues to host special events throughout the year.
Albert also recently fully retired from teaching. With four college degrees, he taught college classes for 44 years, including comparative religion, futurism, communications, critical thinking and more.
“I really feel that I’ve actually done something when I tell people a true fact and they indicate their mind may have changed as a result of learning something new,” he said.
“Reboot to Interfaith” ($9.95 for paperback, $4.95 for Kindle version) and “Rainbow for the World” ($14.95 for paperback, $8.95 for Kindle version) are released by Watersides Productions and can be ordered through Amazon. To learn more about Albert’s publications, visit amazon.com/author/revalbert. To learn more about the World Interfaith Network, visit world-interfaith.com.