Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On June 10, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on a parking lot that lies below St. Paul's United Methodist Church and Al-Masjid Ul-Jame, "a bustling mosque run by the Islamic Society of the East Bay [California]...The landscaped lot is shared by the Methodists, who use it Sunday mornings, and the Muslims, who fill it up for Friday prayers...This island of interfaith real estate found its way into a new book by Harvard University professor Diana Eck, titled A New Religious America."

Source: The New York Times

On June 9, 2001, The New York Times reported that a number of Protestant and Catholic churches and synagogues have been facing a shortage of clergy in recent years. "The problem's roots include the attraction of more lucrative careers..., a wide variety of choices in religious life for seminary graduates and escalating retirements from a demanding job in which the pay is often modest and the hours are long."

Source: The New York Times

On June 9, 2001, The New York Times reported that Protestant congregations are facing a shortage of ministers. "For Protestant denominations, religion officials say, the problem's roots include the attraction of more lucrative careers in what long was a booming economy, a wide variety of choices in religious life for seminary graduates and escalating retirements from a demanding job in which the pay is often modest and the hours are long. [In addition] diminishing membership within the larger denominations has meant that a growing...

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

On June 9, 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune reported that "vandalism of churches...is increasingly becoming a fact of life for Utah congregations of all faiths." Catholic churches, Mormon chapels, and Muslim mosques have all been victims of vandalism. Religious leaders have speculated that the cause is boredom, a grudge, "an increasing sense of adolescent alienation from religion in general," or "society's moral and spiritual erosion."

Source: The Tampa Tribune

On June 9, 2001, The Tampa Tribune reported on the International Christian Fellowship church. "Filipinos from as far as Orlando, Winter Haven and Tampa attend services at the church, which has grown from two couples holding Bible studies together to about 60 members...People from diverse religious backgrounds also are attracted to the nondenominational church."

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On June 9, 2001, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that about 30 St. Louis area churches tolled their bells during the executions of Timothy McVeigh and Juan Raul Garza, as a "'reminder to all who hear them that all of us are diminished by continuing acts of murder in our names.'...Some Catholic, United Methodist and United Church of Christ churches in this region are joining a nationwide grass-roots anti-capital punishment movement called 'For Whom the Bells Toll.'"

Source: Newsday

On June 9, 2001, Newsday reported on The Faith Science Gospel Home in New York. "The church, which was started less than eight months ago, doesn't have a permanent meeting place." The congregants "are Jews, Muslims and Christians...They are from Long Island, Queens, Staten Island, Bergen County, N.J., even as far away as Baltimore...They are African-Americans, Hispanics and whites...The informal services are more like graduate-level college seminars, with congregants discussing and debating scriptural ideas, finding common ground in their...

Source: The Deseret News

On June 9, 2001, The Deseret News reported that "the University of Utah and Brigham Young University are working together to bring an international conference to Utah next year" called "Minority Religions, Social Change and Freedom of Conscience." At the conference religion scholars from around the world will "share their insights and perceptions concerning the reaction and adaptation of individuals, religions and secular institutions to the growing diversity in many countries...The thrust behind the international nature of the...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On June 9, 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee has announced that Marcus White has succeeded Jack Murtaugh as executive director...11 different denominations and faith groups collaborated through the Interfaith Conference to address social concerns and promote understanding among faith traditions...White's goals include building on interfaith relations, creating opportunities for congregations to address racism, and providing new ways for people to learn about...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On June 8, 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "clergy, law enforcement officials and families of gunshot victims [will] try to bring home the hard realities of violence by mounting Milwaukee County's first 'Ceasefire Sabbath.' More than 60 churches, synagogues and mosques will hold services or events where lay and ordained speakers will talk about the need to curb gun violence."

Source: The Morning Call

On June 8, 2001, The Morning Call reported that "the Bnai Abraham Synagogue in Wilson [Pennsylvania] is host to a guest Sabbath service. The program gives [seven Lutheran pastors] the chance to participate in the synagogue's weekly service and for members of local Jewish and Lutheran congregations to learn about each other's faith."

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On June 8, 2001, The Columbus Dispatch reported that "the American Civil Liberties Union said...that it won't take its challenge of Ohio's motto -- 'With God, All Things Are Possible' -- to the U. S. Supreme Court. Winning the 4-year-old case, ACLU officials said, seemed improbable...The ACLU sued the state in 1997 on behalf of the Rev. Matthew Peterson, a minister of Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, charging that the motto improperly links government with religion."

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

On June 7, 2001, The Christian Science Monitor reported that "religious groups are responding [to Bush's policies] in active voice...seeking to bring shared moral concerns to bear on a range of public issues...A group of 165 Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist clergy recently formed Religious Witness for the Earth to urge action on global warming, oppose drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and seek a conservation-friendly energy policy."

Source: The Washington Post

On June 6, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "President Bush today struck back at critics of his plan to fund religious charities, saying that opponents 'don't understand the power of faith' and suggesting that they would cut off popular efforts such as the Habitat for Humanity home-building program...The targets of Bush's criticism reacted angrily...And Habitat for Humanity's founder and president...said...that his organization is thriving under current law," which allows the organization to use government funds to buy...

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On June 5, 2001, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "worn down by eight months of violence that shows no sign of easing, many Israelis and Palestinians [and Arab Christians] are packing their bags for the United States or Canada... Many of the people leaving are moderates who want peace... The Jews who are leaving [reportedly] feel guilty...that they are abandoning the country that was created to provide Jews a safe haven."