Source: News Observer

http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2366598p-2207123c.html

On March 23, 2003 the News Observer reported that "the United States is waging a war fraught with religious overtones, but leaders of Triangle churches, synagogues and mosques [in NC] are steering far clear of the fray. On the first weekend of war in Iraq, they are sticking to eternal themes of peace and love, saying the politics of war have no place in the pulpit. The reasoning is...

Source: Boston Globe

On March 23, 2003 the Boston Globe reported that "At Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, 90 miles west of Boston, a rally of 2,000 antiwar protesters included three-dozen who locked arms to block the main road leading into the base... Organized by the Western Massachusetts American Friends Service Committee, protesters entwined themselves in yellow, red, and blue yarn, to symbolize the "web of justice," they said. Committed to civil disobedience, they ignored the police countdown that gave them 2 minutes, then 1 minute, then 30...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/la-me-religreact22mar22,0,436663.story

On March 22, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that "prayers go out for civilians and for the U.S. troops in Iraq. But some from various denominations oppose Bush's actions... Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles: 'With American troops in harm's way, let us pray earnestly for a quick resolution to the present conflict in Iraq with a minimum...

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 22, 2003 The Boston Globe reported that "the protesters who gathered on City Hall Plaza for the city's first interfaith antiwar march yesterday joined hands and prayed aloud to Jehovah, to Allah, to Jesus, and to Buddha for peace in Iraq. Then, in unison, they condemned the man they say is the real ultimate power behind the war: George W. Bush... Led by four Buddhist monks, nearly 200 protesters chanted songs, banged drums, and stuck daffodils in their hair as they walked from Cambridge to Copley Square, past the State...

Source: Buffalo News

On March 22, 2003 the Buffalo News reported that "in the nearly five years that the Rev. Stepan Kuklich has donned his gold-embroidered robe to stand behind the wooden screen and sing Sunday Mass in Ukrainian, his unusual American congregation has pleased and surprised him. 'They don't speak Ukrainian at all and they come and they pray,' Kuklich said at the end of one service with air scented with incense and the sound of bells from the altar. 'I'm just glad that they find a way to be part of the church...' When Kuklich first arrived...

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On March 21, 2003 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "with war under way it is no longer time for debate but for prayer, Bishop Donald Wuerl told Catholics gathered for noon Mass at St. Mary of Mercy Church, Downtown... Later in the day, flanked by Muslim, Jewish and Protestant religious leaders, he would issue an interfaith statement with similar themes, which also warned the community against falling into religious or ethnic bigotry... About 350 people attended the noon Mass, slightly more than usual but not enough...

Source: WMTV

http://www.wmtw.com/Global/story.asp?S=1192106

On March 21, 2003 WMTV reported Interfaith Maine's statement that "the beginning of military action against Iraq fills us all with a sense of dread and apprehension... We fear for the combatants themselves, young men and women of various races, religions, and geographic backgrounds, who must face their mortality at time when they should be living their life to the fullest... We fear for the mothers and fathers who...

Source: Newsday

On March 20, 2003 Newsday reported that "Bruce Feiler is an unlikely evangelist. Not five minutes into a conversation, the best-selling writer of Walking the Bible, and Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths pronounces that the media have missed the most important religion story of our time... And no, he does not mean the much-hyped clash of civilizations between Islam and the West... Feiler is referring to a story unfolding quietly and off the radar screen from Peoria [IL] to Patchogue [NY]: people of different faiths...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On March 20, 2003 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "after meeting for six years in the old VFW building on Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro [GA], the Southern Korean Baptist Church hopes to celebrate Thanksgiving by moving into a 14,000-square-foot building adjacent to the current facility... The church will break ground for the project at 12:45 p.m. Sunday. The building will include a 228-seat sanctuary, fellowship hall and 11 classrooms and offices."

Source: The Associated Press

On March 20, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "each Wednesday, four veterans of the U.S. military kneel and offer prayers for peace - using words of the faithful from all over the world - at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in the Yakima Valley... There are Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Bahai and even Zoroastrian prayers... 'We just don't think we have an exclusive voice to heaven,' said Bill Flower, 66, an Army veteran and a lifelong member of Holy Trinity... The idea came from the church's Spokane Diocese, which...

Source: Tolerance.org

http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_print.jsp?id=731

On March 20, 2003 Tolerance.org reported that "suspicion, backlash, anger and fear... are the homeland insecurities that surround us in times of war... Muslims will feel it. Arab-Americans will feel it. Peace activists will feel it. The divides that separate us will be drawn into sharper relief... If 9.11 taught us anything, it taught us that our biases are emboldened in times of stress and...

Source: The Hartford Courant

On March 20, 2003 The Hartford Courant reported that "more than 25 churches in Connecticut have declared themselves "sanctuaries for peace" and will open their doors starting today for people to gather and pray... While congregations' opinions may be divided about the war, religious leaders say it's important that people have a place to go at such a crucial time... But the peace sanctuaries are not just a place for anti-war people to gather, Hughes said... 'Families may be coming from different perspectives -- some may be very...

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.Beliefnet.com/story/124/story_12435_1.html

On March 20, 2003 Religion News Service reported that "Buddhists and Roman Catholic bishops sat down at a California retreat center recently for their first round of official dialogue... The March 20-23 talks were the first for the two sides, organized by the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, the San Francisco Zen Center and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The 14 Buddhists...

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On March 19, 2003 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "it is hard to define where the song, dance and food -- the culture of the Lebanese community -- end and the role of the Maronite church begins. 'The church is the sign of the unity of our people. It's what keeps us together,' said Joseph Anthony, who in 1936 was born into the first Lebanese Maronite Catholic church in Pittsburgh. 'And it's as important now as it was then...' Now, as Our Lady of Victory Church in Scott, the congregation is celebrating it's 100 th...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=61962

On March 18, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "having had months to focus on the buildup toward conflict, America's anti-war activists say they are ready to mark the first days of war with protests in dozens of cities coast to coast... They vow to block federal buildings, military compounds and streets in a rash of peaceful civil disobedience....