Christianity

Hostility at Missouri PTA Meeting Distresses Muslim Speaker and Students

February 17, 2002

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On February 17, 2002, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "Sheila Musaji and a group of parents in the Pattonville School District planned an evening to promote understanding of the Islamic faith. And they expected to find a sympathetic audience in the Pattonville PTA... But the evening took a hostile turn when some people who don't routinely attend PTA sessions showed up. One called Islam a violent religion and suggested Musaji was lying about her faith... Musaji is a longtime parent and volunteer in the district....

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Day of Interfaith Chanting Becomes Annual Event in Seattle

February 16, 2002

Source: The Seattle Times

On February 16, 2002, The Seattle Times reported that Joy Carey, a founder of Mystical Chant, expected about 400 people to attend the first daylong interfaith chanting event in 1999. However, "about 800 people came to St. Mark's Cathedral to watch and participate in Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist chants. "We were absolutely amazed at the number of people who showed up," said Carey, a counseling psychologist and Sufic Muslim. "I never expected this to be an annual event." Indeed, next Saturday marks the third...

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Ash Wednesday Takes on New Meaning

February 12, 2002

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On February 12, 2002, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "the ancient Ash Wednesday rite reminding Christians that their bodies are dust, or ash, and that they will return to dust may have new intensity Wednesday as Western Christians begin Lent... The ashes of those killed in the terrorist attacks Sept. 11 remind Americans how fragile and sacred life is, said Bishop Timothy M. Dolan, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis."

Naval Academy to Build Jewish House of Worship

February 10, 2002

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On February 10, 2002, The Baltimore Sun featured an article on Judaism at the Naval Academy. The history began to change when "a Supreme Court ruling in 1972 ended mandatory Sunday prayer. An All Faiths Chapel was built on campus nearly a decade after that. And before long, the academy hired a full-time Jewish chaplain... But the quest for Jewish belonging at the officer-training school will reach its largest milestone next year, when workers are to break ground for the first Jewish chapel in the academy's 157-year history...

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Jewish Congregation Sues for Right to Use Former Convent

February 10, 2002

Source: The Jerusalem Post

On February 10, 2002, The Jerusalem Post reported that "the state attorney general's office and the American Civil Liberties Union are asking a suburban community to let a congregation of Reform Jews turn a former Roman Catholic convent into a synagogue... Congregation Kol Ami has been trying to move into the Abington Township site for two years. The group hopes to start a synagogue and school in the community north of Philadelphia... Its efforts have been held up by neighbors and officials, who argue the plan would...

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Tennessee Schools Ordered to Stop Holding Bible Classes

February 9, 2002

Source: The New York Times

On February 9, 2002, The New York Times reported that "the Tennessee county where the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925 resulted in a verdict favoring the classroom teaching of biblical creationism over evolution was ordered today by a federal district judge here to stop holding Bible classes in its elementary schools... The classes, held in Rhea County for 51 years, violate the constitutional separation of church and state, said the judge, R. Allan Edgar...The 30-minute classes were held weekly for about 800 students in...

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Sept 11 Awakens America to its Own Religious Diversity

February 9, 2002

Source: Star Tribune

On February 9, 2002, the Star Tribune reported that "ever since Sept. 11 the United States has seen a resurgence of sensitivity to and expressions of civil religion - we value service, cooperation, equality of justice and opportunity, respect for diversity and national symbols and ideas... The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches, said, 'Part of what we're seeing is a firm commitment to the celebration of religious pluralism. In that it's a central value of a democracy'... Chemberlin said, '...

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Greek Orthodox Church Joins Massachusetts Council of Churches

February 9, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On February 9, 2002, The Boston Globe reported that "the Massachusetts Council of Churches, which for a century has been an exclusively Protestant organization, has welcomed the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Boston to its membership, marking a milestone for ecumenical relations here... The organization, which works toward unity of Christian churches and which lobbies the Legislature on behalf of its members, now represents every major Christian church in Massachusetts except the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic dioceses of...

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Utah Interfaith Council Unites for Olympics

February 9, 2002

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On February 9, 2002, The Houston Chronicle reported that "at first glance, Salt Lake City could seem a one-faith kind of town: Mormon... But as athletes, their families and spectators arrived from around the world for the Olympic Winter Games that began yesterday, other faiths are cooperating to make sure visitors find the religion of their choice in Salt Lake City, whether it be Catholic or Baha'i... the official Olympic organizing committee has gathered an interfaith council of 45 city religious leaders charged with...

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Children's TV Show Builds Bridges Between American Christians and Muslims

February 9, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 9, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported on "a special episode of the Noggin channel's empathy-building children's series, 'A Walk in Your Shoes,' [that] gives viewers a glimpse into the post-Sept. 11 life of a Muslim American teenager through the eyes of a Protestant teen... In the 30-minute show, which will be simulcast on Noggin and Nickelodeon... the cameras are running as Nancy, a 15-year-old Protestant from a Boston suburb, spends two days with 13-year-old Mariam, a Muslim teenager in New Jersey, during the...

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Controversy Over Participation in Interfaith Service

February 8, 2002

Source: The New York Times

On February 8, 2002, The New York Times featured the story "Seeing Heresy in a Service for Sept. 11." It reported on the controversy over Rev. David Benke's participation in the national prayer service with leaders from other faiths. The article explained, "Addressing his 'brothers and sisters,' he prayed: 'The strength we have is the power of love. And the power of love you have received is from God, for God is love. So take the hand of one next to you now and join me in prayer on this field of dreams turned into God's house of...

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Denver Neighborhood Protests Church Expansion

February 7, 2002

Source: Rocky Mountain News

On February 7, 2002, the Rocky Mountain News reported that "residents of The Meadows subdivision are battling the town's largest church over 53 acres that could be annexed into Castle Rock [CO] and transformed into a regional religious center... Neighbors say they don't object to a new $7 million Church Of The Rock being put directly to their west at the end of Cherokee Drive. They just don't want everything else that comes with it... "This isn't a church. It's a mega-church," said Jamie Kimbrough, a Meadows...

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