Source: Akron Leader

http://www.akron.com/20031218/FPAGE/spread.htm

On December 18, 2003 the Akron Leader reported on the Akron Area Interfaith Council (AAIC), an organization of leaders and lay people representing 20 houses of worship that promotes understanding and religious tolerance.Christians from Unitarian Universalist, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and Baptist churches are represented, as are members of Islamic, Jewish and Buddhist houses of worship and the Akron Area Association of Churches. AAIC made headlines Oct. 28 when a flier from a local church that is not a member of the AAIC advertised a class to ultimately convert Muslims to Christianity. The AAIC responded with a letter stating, in part:"We are members of the AAIC, and we believe our religions are different branches of the same tree of life. God, who goes by many names, lives within all our religions; and, when we honor this reality, we are one...There are many paths to God, and one of the tests of good religion lies in respecting those who believe differently."