Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On March 25, 2001, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "a survey conducted last year found that 92 percent of black churches offer youth programs and 86 percent provide cash assistance to needy people...The survey was part of the larger 'Faith Communities Today' study...76 percent of black congregations were involved in voter registration or voter education efforts. A total of 75 percent of the black churches had a food pantry or soup kitchen."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 23, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "President Bush is reaching out to Roman Catholics, courting one of the most important groups of swing voters whose support has gone increasingly to Republican presidential candidates in the last three elections." At the same time, he is losing support among evangelicals, who are partly upset by his focus on Catholics.

Source: Omaha World-Herald

On March 22, 2001, the Omaha World-Herald reported that "the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrated the completion of its new temple in Omaha...Named the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple, it is... one of a new generation of smaller temples that the church is building to accommodate the needs of its rapidly growing membership...The Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple will serve more than 35,000 Latter-day Saints living in Nebraska, Iowa and parts of South Dakota, Kansas and Missouri."

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On March 21, 2001, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Americans United for Separation of Church and State "filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court in Pittsburgh yesterday, trying to force the removal of a Ten Commandments display from the Allegheny County Courthouse...The lawsuit...asserts that the plaque violates the First Amendment's establishment clause, the basis for the country's separation of church and state."

Source: The Denver Post

On March 21, 2001, The Denver Post reported that "the Grand Junction City Council [in Colorado] voted 5-2 this week to keep a granite monument depicting the Ten Commandments at city hall" and also to post a disclaimer on the commandments stating in part, "This display is not meant to support any particular religious belief." The display is intended to avoid a lawsuit. "The council also will create a cultural heritage plaza around the Ten Commandments."

Source: The Denver Post

On March 21, 2001, The Denver Post reported on the Rev. Jose Gomez from Houston, who is about to become auxiliary bishop of the Denver Catholic Archdiocese. "He said his main goal involving the more than 120,000 Hispanic Catholics in the Denver archdiocese 'is to make them feel welcome in the Catholic Church.'...Over the past few decades, thousands of Hispanic Catholics have left to join evangelical Protestant churches, saying they find those congregations more welcoming."

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 18, 2001, The Boston Globe reported on the hundreds of Latino immigrants who attend the Most Holy Redeemer Church in East Boston. The church "strains to accommodate everyone. [Rev. Robert R.] Hennessey estimates that 3,200 come to Spanish Masses each weekend...The church has been helping immigrants ease into American life for years."

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On March 18, 2001, The Columbus Dispatch reported that "a movement to display the Ten Commandments in public has found an ally in a second Ohio judge...Judge Nelfred Kimerline said he hung a framed poster depicting the commandments in his courtroom in support of a...judge being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio...The ACLU suit says that DeWeese's poster violates the constitutional separation of church and state." Kimerline insists they are simply good rules to live by and are not shoved "down anyone's throat...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On March 18, 2001, The Columbus Dispatch reported on "a controversy that erupted at recent meetings of the Marion City Council [in Ohio], where the Lord's Prayer is recited before every meeting...City law requires that a prayer be read." One citizen suggested a silent or nonsectarian prayer be read so as not to exclude non-Christians. "From now on, various ministers will be on hand to open the meeting with a nonsectarian prayer." Most residents nevertheless support the use of the Lord's prayer.

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 17, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that, "to repair the rift with the Christian right, White House officials privately have repudiated critical remarks that the director of the office of faith-based initiatives made about evangelicals, and have assured conservative leaders their concerns will be addressed." Some of these leaders asked for DiIulio's resignation, while others merely see him as a political liability for Bush. In a recent speech DiIulio "accused conservative Christian leaders of lacking commitment to the poor...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On March 17, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported on Sister Carletta LaCour, who teaches Tai Chi at the Christian Renewal Center in Dickinson, Texas. "Though part of the benefit of practicing the moves is physical, LaCour also emphasizes the spiritual." She sees no incongruence between Catholicism and Tai Chi.

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On March 17, 2001, The Columbus Dispatch reported that the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals "ruled 9-4 that Ohio's 42-year-old state motto -- 'With God, all things are possible' -- is constitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, which challenged the motto on grounds that it is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by the state, said it is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court." The circuit court majority agreed that "Ohio's motto did not have the primary purpose of advancing religion."

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

http://www.signonsandiego.com/

On March 16, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center is about to open in Washington, D.C. It "is slated to become a combination research center and interactive museum, art gallery and a bit of a presidential library." According to the cardinal who came up with the idea, the center is "designed to bring about a dialogue of cultures, to encourage ecumenical and interfaith activity...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 15, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on the annual Return of the Swallows festival at Mission San Juan Capistrano in Capistrano, California. "Today, the event has grown far beyond bird watching, with three days of festivities that also commemorate the 200-year history of the mission...Members of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, whose ancestors helped build the mission," play a significant role in the festivities.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On March 15, 2001, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on "Willow Creek Community Church, one of the largest congregations in the Midwest, [which] attracts between 17,000 and 20,000 worshippers each weekend...Willow Creek leaders want to build a new 7,200-seat sanctuary as part of a $70 million expansion." Many of the church's neighbors in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, oppose the expansion because of the traffic it would cause.