Interfaith

Parking Lot Shared by Methodists and Muslims Represents America's Religious Diversity

June 10, 2001

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."

Iranian Jew Helps Iranian Muslim Despite Political Differences

June 10, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 10, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on Iranian immigrant and Muslim Dariush Farshidian, who was "weary of four years in INS detention both on Terminal Island and in Bakersfield, [California]...He needed $5,000 to post bond." In a letter to fellow Iranian Pooya Dayanim, Farshidian asked for help, conveying his "anger at U.S. treatment of INS detainees and his fear of imprisonment, if not execution, by Iranian officials...Several members of the Iranian Jewish community [including Pooya] quickly rallied to Farshidian's...

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Baccalaureate to Be Held with Christian, Jewish and Muslim Speakers

June 10, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On June 10, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "A baccalaureate will be held...for graduating seniors of Gar-Field, Hylton and Potomac high schools, as well as for private school and home-schooled students, at Christ Chapel" in Woodbridge. "The baccalaureate, a religious service for graduates, will include participation by Christian, Jewish and Muslim speakers."

Florida Church Attracts Diverse Group, Including Many Filipinos

June 9, 2001

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."

New Church Combines Different Faiths in Common Quest

June 9, 2001

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...

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Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee Finds New Executive Director

June 9, 2001

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...

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Poll Measures Public Opinion on Hiring in Government-Funded Religious Programs

June 9, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On June 9, 2001, The New York Times reported that "a poll this spring by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that while three-quarters of those polled supported [Bush's faith-based initiative], 78 percent said that religious organizations getting government dollars should not 'be allowed to only hire people who share their religious beliefs.'...The Supreme Court has upheld the Title VII exemption allowing primarily religious groups to hire on the basis of...

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Church Movement Tolls Bells in Protest of Death Penalty

June 9, 2001

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.'"

Two Utah Universities to Jointly Host International Conference on Religion

June 9, 2001

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...

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Synagogue's Service Brings Together Lutherans and Jews

June 8, 2001

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."

Clergy and Law Enforcement Officials Unite to Fight Gun Violence

June 8, 2001

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."

ACLU Will Not Take Ohio State Motto Case to Supreme Court

June 8, 2001

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."

Students Hold Rally to Protest Taliban's Discrimination Against Hindus

June 7, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On June 7, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on "the Davis Academy students who held a rally last week to protest a Taliban requirement that minority Hindus wear yellow armbands to distinguish them from Muslims." Davis is a Reform Jewish school in Atlanta.

Candidate for New Jersey Governor Prevails Despite Islamophobia

June 7, 2001

Source: The Star-Ledger

http://www.njo.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/elections/ledger/137a647.html

On June 7, 2001, The Star-Ledger reported on Bret Schundler, a Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey. "Schundler was the keynote speaker at an April 28 gathering of the American Muslim Alliance's New Jersey chapter...He shared the podium with AMA President Agha Saeed...In addition to Saeed, several other...

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New Interfaith Group: Religious Witness for the Earth

June 7, 2001

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."

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