Source: Beliefnet

http://www.beliefnet.com/frameset.asp?pageLoc=/story/121/story_12160_1.html&storyID=12160&boardID=52221

On February 25, 2003 Beliefnet printed an editorial by Sherna Hough Deamer, stating that "it’s hard to believe that I’ve come to love the Fast. In the Bahá’í calendar, the 19-day month of fasting comes between the hospitality of the Intercalary Days (February 26 to March 1) and the...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On February 24, 2003 the St. Petersburg Times reported that "church member Julia Forman, 85 and originally from Puerto Rico, organized the first Spanish Mass... at St. Cecelia the year before the Irigoyens moved to the United States. As Maria remembers it, about 100 people attended the services in those days... Lost in an unfamiliar country, adrift in a new culture, they were drawn to the only place they felt at home: St. Cecelia Catholic Church... in Clearwater [FL], where there was a Spanish Mass... 'I felt comfortable someone...

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

On February 24, 2003 the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that "Jews, Muslims and Christians are more similar than some may think, according to panelists at a program Sunday in celebration of the Muslim Festival of Eid... Program panelist, Rev. George Puthursseril from St. Andrew Catholic Church thought 'A Shared Holiday, Three Faiths, One Tradition' event should have been renamed... 'It should be one faith, three traditions,' he said. 'All three religions presented here are all monotheistic, all believe in one God. It'...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On February 23, 2003 the St. Petersburg Times reported that "Lakeview Presbyterian Church [in FL], which scoffed at white flight and stayed behind to minister in a changing neighborhood, now finds itself at odds with the people it befriended. At issue is a 145-foot-tall cellular phone tower... The church, which has 106 active members, wants to let Verizon Wireless erect a tower much taller than its 80-foot steeple as a way to bring in money for its ministries. Neighbors want no part of it... They say the towering structure would...

Source: Gwinnett Daily Post

http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/archive/article97AFAF0AFA724A0A8C29C754B2BD5D25.asp?printerFriendly=true

On February 23, 2003 the Gwinnett Daily Post reported that "more than 1 out of 10 Gwinnett residents are Hispanic or Latino. Eight out of 100 are Asian... Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and other faiths are practiced in more than 400 places of worship in...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On February 22, 2003 the St. Petersburg Times reported that "a pagan couple have sued school officials in Union County, Tenn., after they claimed their daughter was harassed for not playing the Virgin Mary in a school play... Greg and Sarajane Tracy say the school district promoted religion, denied their daughter's right to free exercise of her own religion and failed to protect her from verbal and physical abuse... The parents said their daughter, India, was reprimanded for not wanting to play the Virgin Mary in a school play,...

Source: The New York Times

On February 22, 2003 The New York Times reported that "on a bright, tropical Sunday, the pews at Kawaiahao Church are filled with the faithful: locals in suits or flowered muumuus, tourists in shorts, conspicuous with their name tags and camera bags... The Hawaiian rendering of the Lord's Prayer, with the soft, round vowels of the native language, tumble over the crowd like a wave coming in to shore. 'E ko makou makua iloko o ka lani...' But the tourists, many reading along from a program, are not the only ones who do not...

Source: Press Republican

http://www.pressrepublican.com/Archive/2003/02_2003/022120038.htm

On February 21, 2003 the Press Republican reported that "built in 1932 by P.J. Murtagh of Plattsburgh, the old-brick and slate-roof [World War I Memorial Chapel] is online to receive overdue attention... In December 2001, City of Plattsburgh Mayor Daniel Stewart appeared before the Interfaith Council of Plattsburgh and Clinton County to lobby for the chapel’s...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.fund21feb21,0,7364070.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines

On February 21, 2003 The Baltimore Sun reported that "a coalition of religious groups has started an interfaith community development fund that will lend money to developers who build businesses, housing and community centers in needy neighborhoods throughout the region... The nonprofit Faith Fund has...

Source: Episcopal Divinity School

http://www.episdivschool.org/whatsnew/peace%20pins.htm

On February 20, 2003 the Episcopal Divinity School issued a press release stating that "announced today the school's call to conscience action in response to the growing crisis between the United States and Iraq.  EDS has created a series of peace pins on which the name of an Iraqi child and a dove is printed. These pins are designed as a visible reminder of the human cost...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 20, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that "True Light's roots go back 126 years in Los Angeles, when the Rev. Ira M. Condit, a former missionary to China, founded it as Chinese Presbyterian Church. The ministry began with children whose parents worked in Chinatown's laundries, produce markets and restaurants, much as [Irvin] Lai's group does today... In 1996, it became Alhambra True Light Presbyterian Church after merging with a dwindling congregation in Alhambra... The True Light building in Lincoln Heights serves...

Source: The Denver Post

On February 20, 2003 The Denver Post reported that "a bill requiring public buildings in the state, including  classrooms, to post donated plaques bearing the national motto 'In  God we trust' passed the House on Wednesday morning by a vote of  36-28... Several Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Fran Coleman of  Denver, spoke out against the bill, saying it violates the  country's founding principles... 'I absolutely believe in the separation of church and state,' she  said. 'It's the very thing our country was founded on. Now we'...

Source: The Hartford Courant

On February 20, 2003 The Hartford Courant reported that "Minister Naeem Muhammad, spiritual leader of the Muhammad Mosque No. 14 in Hartford, is wondering where all the peacemakers have gone. Why aren't more people speaking out against the prospect of war in Iraq? he asks... 'There's been a great silence in the Christian religious community. There's also been a great silence in the Muslim community,' Muhammad said... As if he heard the words of Muhammad, the Rev. Stephen J. Sidorak said Christians, as well as religious leaders...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On February 19, 2003 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "Hasan Dede is the spiritual master of the Contemporary Lovers of Mevlana Society, which he formed in 1989. He leads a group of young Semazen --- more commonly known as whirling dervishes --- who recently journeyed from Istanbul, Turkey, to Atlanta to perform a Sufi concert and Sema ceremony at several venues, Agnes Scott College and Central Congregational United Church of Christ among them... The Rev. Gilbert Friend-Jones, pastor of the...

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/atlanta/0203/18protest.html

On February 18, 2003 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that "two hundred solemn faces -- some seasoned with age, others fresh with youth -- packed the pews at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday night as leaders from various faiths took to the pulpit to pray for peace... The choice of venue for the Interfaith Prayer Meeting for Peace was...