Source: The Plain Dealer

On December 31, 2002 The Plain Dealer reported that "the Plain Dealer asked Northeast Ohioans representing different faiths to share their thoughts and prayers for the new year. If there is one theme that runs through these reflections, it is a sense of hope amid despair. Religious leaders seek faith to not only be peacemakers and serve the poor and the homeless and others in need next year, but to do what they believe is God's work with a spirit of joy and peace... Ven. Shih Ying-Fa, Abbot, CloudWater Zendo, Zen Center of Cleveland, said, 'may our compassion, wisdom and loving kindness dissolve the poisons of greed, hatred and delusion.' Rabbi Stephen Weiss of B'nai Jeshurun Congregation, [said], 'In this past year we have been reminded that prejudice still thrives beneath the surface of our society. Grant us the vision to see that we are all your children, that Jew, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Baha'i and so many others are all threads in one magnificent tapestry of life. Nurture our hearts to recognize the good in all people and plant within us the courage to fight against even the most subtle forms of prejudice wherever they are found.'"