Judaism

Jewish Humanist Congregations Are a Growing Trend

June 17, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On June 17, 2001, The Washington Post reported on Beth Chai, which "is a Jewish humanist congregation, providing a home for Jews who want a quasi-religious setting to celebrate their cultural identity and heritage -- except for the part about God. It is one of two such congregations in the Washington area. The other is D.C.-based Machar... Both groups are part of a movement of Jewish humanist communities that is growing increasingly organized in a country where 60 percent of Jews are unaffiliated with a mainstream synagogue...

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Houses of Worship Offer Relief to Flood Victims

June 16, 2001

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On June 16, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "as the water from Tropical Storm Allison began to recede...a flood of donations and volunteers rushed into the fellowship hall of St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church [in Houston] to help a trained troupe of parishioners activate a shelter for the American Red Cross...This 'miracle' was repeated throughout the Houston area last week as houses of worship became sanctuaries for residents fleeing the floods...Organizations such as churches, mosques and synagogues are...

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Panel Discusses Interfaith Marriages

June 16, 2001

Source: Newsday

On June 16, 2001, Newsday reported on an interfaith marriage panel, "which brought together four interfaith couples and four clergy members earlier this month at Huntington Congregational Church in Centerport [New York]." Among other things, the panelists discussed wedding ceremonies, raising children, cultural differences, and all that interfaith marriages can teach a couple.

Orthodox Jews Face Prejudice In New Jersey Town

June 15, 2001

Source: The Record

On June 15, 2001, The Record published an opinion piece about statements made by opponents of the construction of an eruv in Tenafly, New Jersey. Eruvin are symbolic walls that allow the Orthodox to carry things out of their homes on the Sabbath. "The comments are...us-versus-them comments...The comments are cloaked in code words: about how these 'other people' are so different, and about what their moving in might do to schools, property values, and the town's identity...Getting to know people makes all the difference. It does away...

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Holocaust Survivor Finds Faith in God and Becomes Rabbi

June 15, 2001

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On June 15, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Helga Newmark, who played with Anne Frank as a girl and who, along with her family, was taken to a concentration camp. "She lost her father, her grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and...she lost her faith in God...[But] when she was in her 50s, [she began a] journey [that] led her to want to be a rabbi...In May 2000, she was ordained in the Reform movement, the first female Holocaust survivor to be a rabbi."

Supreme Court Ruling Permits Religious Groups to Use Classroom Space

June 12, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 12, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the Supreme Court strengthened the free-speech rights of religious groups...ruling that a Christian youth group must be permitted to hold an after-school Bible study class in a public elementary school...The court's opinion stressing the rights of religious advocates should give a boost to President Bush's 'faith-based' initiative...In dissent, Justice David H. Souter said the ruling appears to stand 'for the remarkable proposition that any public school opened for civil...

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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."

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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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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Orthodox Jews in Valley Program Study Daily for 14 Hours

June 9, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 9, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that 20 Orthodox Jewish young men are about to complete their yearlong study of Talmudic teaching on property rights. They have studied the sacred scriptures for 14 hours a day, six days a week since September. The young men "say the daily study regimen has given them a deep personal satisfaction they cannot find anywhere else...Rabbi Avrohom Stulberger, principal of Valley Torah High School, developed and launched the program last September."

Protestant Congregations Face Shortage of Clergy

June 9, 2001

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...

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Supply of Clergy for Churches and Synagogues Running Low

June 9, 2001

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."

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."

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."

Town Residents Object to Synagogue's Expansion Plans

June 8, 2001

Source: The Daily News of Los Angeles

On June 8, 2001, The Daily News of Los Angeles reported that "plans for a day-care center and religious school at a local synagogue may be in jeopardy after neighbors complained to the City Council that the project was inappropriate for a residential area." The City Council is waiting for the presence of all five members to take a vote.

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