Source: The New York Times

On December 3, 2000, The New York Times reported that "Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Buddhists and Bahais prayed together. An American Indian dance troupe shared the stage with a lesbian and gay men's gospel choir. And a former New York City police officer, Steven McDonald, a paraplegic since he was shot by a teenager in 1986, talked about learning to forgive. It was a lovefest at Convent Avenue Baptist Church, at 145th Street and Convent Avenue, last Monday night, as hundreds of people gathered for a service to help New...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 3, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Biola University in La Mirada is set to hold the region's first major town hall meeting on the crisis Monday with Jews, Muslims and Christians. The Christian university's forum--expected to draw 3,000 people under the eyes of extra security guards--will attempt to move beyond finger-pointing to discuss concrete peacekeeping ideas. It reflects what organizers say is the small beginning of a return to dialogue, two months after the outbreak of violence that froze the peace...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On December 2, 2000, The Houson Chronicle reported that "six-year-old Alie Oshkoohi raced to a Santa Claus costume and quickly draped himself in the seasonal red cap and long white-trimmed coat. He gazed at his St. Nick-self in a mirror...It was Alie's first glimpse of the Children's Museum of Houston's Festivals of Light, an exhibit of seven seasonal religious and cultural holidays including Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan and Diwali. All seven holidays feature lights in some form, from the star marking Jesus' birthplace and the...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On December 2, 2000, the St. Petersburg Times reported that "the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish group that advocates strict separation of church and state, has issued a 'December Dilemma' pamphlet warning public schools about observing Christmas and other religious holidays. Pamphlets are being sent to schools, and the league posted the text on its Web page. The U.S. Constitution, it says, prohibits 'school-sponsored endorsement or promotion of religious beliefs of any kind.' Because the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on...

Source: The New York Times

On December 2, 2000, The New York Times reported that "among Buddhist teachers well known in the West, the Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh holds a special prominence. Living in France as an exile from his native Vietnam, he is the author of many books and a regular visitor to the United States, where he lectures and holds retreats. His central mission is to encourage people to work toward 'mindfulness' -- that is, a process of personal and social transformation through the development of self-understanding and compassion. As he teaches...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On December 2, 2000, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "it is Sunday morning at Atlanta Friends Meeting House on Howard Street in Decatur. The Friends, better known as Quakers, gather here each week for their special form of worship, a comfortable togetherness interrupted only if the Spirit moves someone to talk. Some weeks no one speaks at all. As churches across the country begin the almost constant activity of Advent and Christmas from musical programs to pageants to parties, the Quaker...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

http://libpub.dispatch.com/cgi-bin/documentv1?DBLIST=cd00&DOCNUM=38352&TERMV=264:8:272:8:

On December 1, 2000, The Columbus Dispatch published an article entitled "December Holidays Multiply."

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On December 1, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "Dr. Salma Ahmad serves on the emergency room staff of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and on the faculty of the Washington University School of Medicine. Despite a busy life as an emergency room physician, university professor and president of a small company, Dr. Salma Ahmad takes time to share facts and dispel myths about her Islamic faith. Ahmad is chairwoman of the organizational committee of the Women's Interfaith Conference in St. Louis-an annual...

Source: Star Tribune

On December 1, 2000, the Star Tribune reported that "Christmas is so big that at times it's hard to see around it. With effort, though, it's possible to glimpse a wealth of activity beyond the boom and bustle of real and virtual card-sending, gift-shopping and feast-planning. Hundreds of thousands of people in the Twin Cities area do not celebrate Christmas. They revel instead in the joys of such observances as Hanukkah, Eid ul-Fitr, Kwanzaa and Hmong New Year. Corresponding events are frequently open to the public, and all the...

Source: The Times-Picayune

On November 30, 2000, The Times-Picayune reported that "Gov. Foster and the American Civil Liberties Union are at odds again, this time over plans to build chapels at state prisons. Foster and his wife, Alice, held a news conference Wednesday as honorary co-chairs of the Louisiana Prison Chapel Foundation, an organization that has raised $1 million to build chapels at penitentiaries around the state. The Fosters announced that construction will begin soon on new interfaith chapels at Avoyelles Correctional Center in Cottonport, C...

Source: The Denver Rocky Mountain News

On November 28, 2000, The Denver Rocky Mountain News reported that "Ramadan began Monday for the 1.1 billion followers of Islam - 15,000 of whom who live in Colorado. But Ramadan has another side - after dusk. That's when Muslims break each day's fast with a feast. The Jodehs decided to end the first day of Ramadan with four special friends, all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 'The first night of Ramadan is special, and the tradition is to invite your most dear family and friends. I can't...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On November 27, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "in a heartfelt letter to his congregation at Temple Israel of Hollywood, Rabbi John L. Rosove described the first stage of the breakdown. One of the members of the Jewish Muslim peacemakers group he belongs to had just resigned. He spoke of being deeply disappointed about prospects for peace in the Middle East and recognized that many in his congregation felt the same way. He wondered what the future can possibly hold for Israeli-Palestinian relations and feared that years...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On November 25, 2000, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "Miguel and Lydia Ayala are co-pastors of a small church in Canton called Iglesia Pentecostal El Faro (the Lighthouse) whose members are mostly Latinos. 'For many, this is the first time they hear of it (Thanksgiving),' said Lydia Ayala. 'It is something we have to do. And they are very happy that the nation gives thanks together,' she said. 'It is very American, and it's something that's very important.'Miguel and Lydia and their four sons...

Source: The Denver Rocky Mountain News

On November 24, 2000, The Denver Rocky Mountain News reported that "Denver's Interfaith Thanksgiving service began Thursday with a phrase that's been in cold storage for almost a year: 'Welcome to the last Thanksgiving service of this millennium,' said the Rev. John D. Spangler, as chuckles rose from about 750 people gathered at Congregation Emanuel. Last year's millennial fever notwithstanding (technically, the new millennium begins the first day of 2001), a historic reference fits this annual Thanksgiving event. It...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On November 22, 2000, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "a mosque and 12 Christian congregations on Milwaukee's southeast side will enter into a covenant of national significance at an interfaith Thanksgiving service tonight. Representatives will sign their names on a brief statement that includes this pledge: 'Within the unifying love of God, we commit ourselves and communities to the exercise of understanding, cooperation, and growth in unity through faith.' Told of the covenant Tuesday, Diana Eck, director of...