Christianity

Dispute Over Los Angeles Conference Center's Fee Waiver

January 16, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On January 16, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that "two Los Angeles officials Tuesday sought to reconsider a $30,000 fee waiver granted to the Nation of Islam for use of the Convention Center, following a challenge by the Anti-Defamation League... Under city policy, a waiver can be granted if the event is beneficial to the community... The event, called Saviors Day 2002, has an anti-gang focus, with workshops on community organizing, gang intervention and family relationships, said Tony Muhammad, western regional...

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Leaders Reach 'Common Ground' Inspired by September 11

January 16, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On January 16, 2002, The Boston Globe reported that "religious and civil rights leaders who battled each other over President Bush's faith-based initiative in 2001 said yesterday they had reached consensus on a number of ways government and the private sector could aid religious charities without violating the US Constitution's separation of church and state... The 33-person group, with members ranging across the political spectrum from the American Civil Liberties Union to Evangelicals for Social Action, agreed that government...

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Mosque Vandalized in Columbus, Ohio

January 15, 2002

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0115/p2s2-ussc.html

On January 15, 2002 The Christian Science Monitor featured the article "Tides of support buoy a city's displaced Muslims." The article reported, "Here in Columbus, Ohio, a displaced Islamic school has found an unusual new home - a Congregational church. For the next several months, nearly 130 young Muslims will learn about the Koran and the prophet Muhammad in the same place where...

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Controversy Over Participation in Interfaith Service

January 15, 2002

Source: Newsday

On January 15, 2002, Newsday reported that "after Sept. 11, many turned to God for comfort and hope. Prayer took on greater significance. But two religious leaders have come under attack by their own brethren for praying in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks... Rev. David Benke is president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's Atlantic District... and is pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Brooklyn... Benke participated in 'A Prayer Service for America' at Yankee Stadium with politicians, celebrities and representatives from...

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Editorial: "American Dream" Explores Spirituality and Commercialism

January 14, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On January 14, 2002, The Boston Globe featured "American Dream," an editorial about America's search for meaning. "Considered a sacred object in [Native American] culture, the web-like dream catcher - which is supposed to hang above a baby's cradle to trap nightmares and let good dreams into the soul - has become a staple in mall trinket stores... But while this popularization of the spiritual can be written off as the co-opting and secularizing of a belief system, it is, at its heart, a search for meaning... Our society is a...

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Utah LDS Churches Evacuate Due to Bomb Threats

January 14, 2002

Source: The Deseret News

On January 14, 2002, The Deseret News reported that "three meeting houses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were evacuated Sunday following separate bomb threats." The incidents are being investigated by Sandy, Utah Police Lt. Kevin Thacker. "In each incident, a male with a young sounding voice called to express his dislike for the LDS Church and then said there was an explosive device in the building, Thacker said. In each case, the meeting house was evacuated and closed for the day while police went through each...

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Federal Court Stops Govt. Funding for Christian Rehab Center

January 10, 2002

Source: The New York Times

On January 10, 2002, The New York Times reported that "in a case widely seen as the first legal challenge to the constitutionality of President Bush's religion-based initiative, a federal court in Wisconsin has ordered the state to stop giving money to a drug and alcohol addiction program that relied heavily on Christian spirituality in its approach to treatment... Faith Works has received nearly $1 million from Wisconsin, much of it during the tenure of [former] Gov. Tommy G. Thompson... In a decision made public late Tuesday,...

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Interfaith Gathering for Peace Held in Orlando, Florida

January 7, 2002

Source: The Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locinterfaith07010702jan07.story?coll=orl%2Dnews%2Dheadlines

On January 7, 2002, The Orlando Sentinel reported "World's faiths converge to urge peace, harmony." The article noted, "In the ballroom of the Rosen Plaza Hotel on International Drive in Orlando, the faces and families reflected the changing religious complexions of Central Florida...

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US Catholics Pray the Rosary for Peace

January 1, 2002

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On January 1, 2002, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "Catholics throughout the United States have been asked to pray the rosary today for peace... The U.S. bishops called for the special day of prayer at their national meeting in mid-November, which left little time for dioceses or parishes to organize special events. But the rosary -- a series of prayers counted on beads as people meditate on the lives of Mary and Jesus -- is a devotion that can be prayed anywhere."

Interfaith Walking Meditation for Peace in Seattle

December 31, 2001

Source: The Seattle Times

On December 31, 2001, The Seattle Times reported that "several hundred people are expected to gather at Seattle's Green Lake for an interfaith Walking Meditation for Peace. They will say goodbye to a year they say was filled with too much blood spilled, and they'll pray for peace among religions in 2002... This will be the third annual walk and the first one featuring prayers from seven faiths... This year, more local religious institutions are involved, representing Quakers, Catholics, Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists,...

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Renewed Hope for Jewish-Muslim Relations in America

December 30, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 30, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "as 2002 dawns, relations between Jews and Muslims... in the United States are tense at best, murderous at worst... In this country, the Jewish community has been resentful at the failure of Muslim organizations to condemn terrorist attacks in Israel, and these groups are angry that U.S. Jewish groups haven't spoken out about the plight of the Palestinians. In the midst of this grim standoff, at least a few hopeful signs exist that relations between Jews and Muslims in...

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Religion Reporters Identify Sept. 11 Terror Attacks as Top Religion Story

December 29, 2001

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On December 29, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath dominated the Top 10 religion news stories of 2001 in a survey of religion reporters... The Islamic terrorist [Osama bin Laden] showed 'how easily religion and religious fervor can be hijacked to serve political ends, substituting hatred and intolerance for the compassion encouraged by all of the world's religions,' one voter stated... [In the survey], the top story selected by newswriters was the attack and the...

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Stories of Religious Conversions in Queens

December 29, 2001

Source: Newsday

On December 29, 2001, Newsday featured an article on three stories of religious conversion. Harpritam Kaur describes her spiritual journey to her conversion to Sikhism. "One Sunday morning in 1997 as she walked past a gas station on her way to church, she saw a young man wearing a turban pacing back and forth and praying. 'You could see the love of God in this man,' she recalls. Kaur says she thought he was a Muslim - at the time she didn't know who the Sikhs were - until she stopped to talk to him... Kaur began attending the Sikh Cultural...

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