Source: The Courier-Journal

On October 13, 2000, The Courier-Journal (Louisville) reported that "the Utica Town Council is considering posting the Ten Commandments in the board's meeting room along with other historical documents. Town Council President Glenn Murphy Sr. said yesterday that the issue will be placed on the agenda for the Nov. 14 meeting. 'I would like to see it, personally,' he said, adding that it would emphasize right and wrong to those who see it. Similar postings in Indiana are being challenged by civil liberties attorneys, but Utica...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On October 13, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Ventura County residents and elected officials said they were concerned Thursday about events in the Middle East after an apparent terrorist bomb killed six crewmen aboard a Navy destroyer in Yemen and rioting mobs killed two Israeli soldiers in the West Bank...Ventura County's military base, the combined station at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme, has not been put on alert since the explosion next to the Cole, a destroyer that was pulling into port in Aden, Yemen, said a...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On October 13, 2000, The Baltimore Sun reported that "Mark Hughes was a sixth-grade teacher at Lombard Middle School in 1995, watching the Million Man March on CNN with his pupils. Hughes resolved that if a similar event were to happen, he would be there in person...'I'm looking to be inspired to action,' said Hughes, 28, who now works for a Sandtown public health agency. Hughes and several other Baltimoreans have engaged in plenty of action on behalf of the Million Family March, with a local committee meeting every Tuesday since...

Source: The Denver Post

On October 12, 2000, The Denver Post reported that "Rabbi Steven Foster is not alone in protesting the Boy Scouts' policies of discrimination against homosexuals and atheists. Financial support has been dropping, and concerned parents have withdrawn their children from troops in Denver and many other cities. The Boy Scouts' leadership stubbornly insists that the only way the organization can promote morality is through exclusivity. The Girl Scouts of America disagree. 'The Girl Scouts is open to all girls between the ages of 5...

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On October 12, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that St. Louis area Jews and Muslims are responding to the crisis in the Middle East. The Jewish Federation of St. Louis Communities held a rally in support of "the people and government of Israel." Area Muslims are saying "special prayers of petition for peace and for the victims of the recent violence in Israel."

Source: The Washington Post

On October 12, 2000, The Washington Post reported that "members of Evergreen Church, a new United Methodist congregation in Leesburg, helped out the Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation during the recent Jewish High Holy Days, watching young members while their parents worshiped at the Ruritan Club in Sterling. The Rev. Chip Giessler, Evergreen's pastor, said he proposed the swap last year when his church was about to celebrate its first Easter service. 'We didn't want to have to pull anyone out of services to care for the...

Source: The Denver Rocky Mountain News

On October 11, 2000, The Denver Rocky Mountain News reported that "Rabbi Steven Foster of Temple Emanuel returned his Boy Scout medals Tuesday in protest over the group's ban on gays. 'I felt it was appropriate to resign from the Eagle Scouts because of the discrimination against atheists and gays,' he said. 'It's a simple matter for me. I don't think it's appropriate to be associated, for myself, with an organization that chooses discrimination.'

"Tom Fitzgibbon, chief executive director of Boy Scouts of...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On October 10, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the quest for a politically correct Christian mascot for Wheaton College has ended. The former Crusaders are now...the Thunder. The decision concludes two years of soul-searching and debate at the conservative Illinois college, whose alumni include evangelist Billy Graham. A few months ago, Wheaton's president sacked the Crusader emblem, saying it was too barbaric for modern times and offensive to Muslims and Jews. A committee was appointed to find a 'gender-neutral,' '...

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On October 9, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on the prayers of the Jewish and Muslim communities of St. Louis for peace in the Middle East. In the wake of Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, 84 people have been killed in renewed violence beween the Israelis and the Palestinians. "On Friday, the Muslim Sabbath, congregations at mosques on Weidman Road in St. Louis County and West Pine Boulevard in the city said special prayers for those killed in the latest spasm of rage in the Holy Land."...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On October 9, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported on Karen Armstrong. It explained that, "for years she was tagged the 'runaway nun,' the rebellious ex-Catholic with outspoken opinions about religion--comparing, for example, Pope John Paul II to a Muslim fundamentalist. Now, with her 12th book, "Islam, a Short History" (Modern Library), Karen Armstrong has changed her image. She can still be sharp-tongued, inclined to draw conclusions that get a rise out of critics. But something closer to reconciliation, rather than anger, is...

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On October 9, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the St. Charles County Social Justice Alliance, "an organization of faith-based and civic-minded residents working for equity regardless of race, gender, economic status, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity appearance or ability," held a Stop the Hate vigil and interfaith service on Thursday night. The community recognizes that it is probably entering a period of rapid growth which will likely increase its diversity. Some members of the alliance described the...

Source: The Plain Dealer

On October 7, 2000, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) reported that "about 700 Arab-American demonstrators marched from the Federal Building to Public Square yesterday afternoon, chanting 'Stop the killing, stop the crime, our children are dying in Palestine.' As nine more Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire yesterday and a 10th died of previous injuries, the political positions of the Barak-Sharon coalition appeared intractable. And so did the feelings of the Muslim and Christian Arab communities in Cleveland. 'We're here to...

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On October 7, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "during the Jewish High Holidays, members of the youth committee of Congregation Temple Israel in Creve Coeur are collecting hundreds of pairs of shoes - one pair for each Missourian who was killed by gun violence this year. The youths will focus on children killed...The youth committee will display the "silent march" shoe exhibit as part of an Interfaith Forum for Sensible Gun Laws at the temple on Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m."

Source: The New York Times

On October 7, 2000, The New York Times reported that "On Sept. 5, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who heads the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a document titled 'Dominus Iesus' ('The Lord Jesus') that condemned certain 'relativistic Theories' of religious pluralism. A month later, the dust has still not settled. In some eyes, Cardinal Ratzinger was only saying the obvious and doing his job. Haven't Christians always believed that it is through Jesus Christ and the church of the Gospel that salvation has...

Source: Star Tribune

On October 7, 2000, the Star Tribune reported that "the sign has gotten bigger and the word 'God' has shrunk, but Shawnee County Treasurer Rita Cline still faces a lawsuit over a sign at her office proclaiming, 'In God We Trust.' The American Civil Liberties Union last month filed a petition in U.S. District Court in Topeka, asking the court to force Cline to take down the sign. The ACLU accused Cline of inappropriately using her office to push her religion. The ACLU had said the message went beyond the national motto because the...