Source: Omaha World-Herald

On April 1, 2000, the Omaha World-Herald reported that "compiling church statistics is a maddening task. Denominations count members in different ways. Some go years without updating their figures. The National Council of Churches, however, has considered the compilation of available statistics so important to the understanding of religion in America that it took on the task 68 years ago in spite of the difficulties. Its Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, published annually by Abingdon Press in Nashville, Tenn...

Source: The Denver Post

On March 25, 2000, The Denver Post published an article about a panel discussion on women in ministry at the Denver Area Interfaith Clergy Conference in Colorado. Rev. Cindy Cearley, co-pastor of Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, stated: "I've learned the art of restraint...Women ministers hear comments such as 'you don't look like a minister'." Cearley continued to say that male clergy are given "automatic" authority while her "authority has to come from who I am and how I do my job." In Reform Judaism, even though 10 to 15...

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 19, 2000, the Boston Globe reported on the growing clout of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO). This group, who is being "recognized as the strongest grass-roots political force this area has seen since the 1970s," has a diverse membership and a twofold mission that transcends geographic divisions: funding for housing and funding for education. A petition drive that aims for 100,000 signatures suggests a strong voting presence to which politicians will pay attention. Recent community meetings with...

Source: Star Tribune

On March 18, 2000, the Minneapolis Star Tribune printed an article outlining the Jewish resolution to the difficulties that arise from the religious prohibition (shared by Jews and Muslims) of payment of interest. The concept of "Heter Iskah" requires that both parties to the financial transaction agree to be "partners in a joint venture" and to share the profits rather than structure the relationship as "lender-borrower" with interest payment. Muslims have arranged formal joint ventures, but this has often proven cumbersome without...

Source: The Plain Dealer

A March 18, 2000, article in the Plain Dealer reports that results from a new study predict that "Islam will become a major new force on the American Religious scene, presenting new challenges to Christian and Jewish institutions." Kenneth Briggs, the study's author, says the " public square of the future has mosques and various kinds of temples along wtih its array of churches and synagogues." Overall, the influence of religious institutions may be declining as religion in the American context becomes more of an individual...

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 14, 2000, The Boston Globe reported that the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC), an umbrella organization for many local and statewide groups, wrote to Cardinal Bernard Law about the apology he offered on March 11th for sins committed by Catholics. The letter, written by Donald Siegel, president, and Nancy K. Kaufman, executive director of the JCRC, praised Law and pledged to move forward in their joint fight against discrimination: "Jews and Catholic together know much needs to be done to fulfill...

Source: The Detroit News

On March 13, 2000, The Detroit News published an article entitled, "Pope's Apology to Jews Ranks as Most Significant for Church."

Source: New York Daily News

On March 13, 2000, the Daily News of New York reported the reactions of several Holocaust survivors to the Papal apology. Saul Klausner, who lost dozens of family members in the Holocaust, stated: "What he did is noble. It's an acknowledgment...But he left out an important segment." Nellie Schreiber of Brooklyn, NY whose parents and 13 siblings died in Polish concentration camps, stated: "He should have apologized a long time ago...But the apology is accepted. It is never too late." Schreiber continued: "It makes me feel better...

Source: The Detroit News

On March 13, 2000, The Detroit News published an article entitled, "Maida Joins Pope in Asking Forgiveness: Catholic Clergy Apologizes for Sins Dating to Crusades."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 13, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that Pope John Paul II asked for God's forgiveness for sins committed or condoned by Catholics over the last 2,000 years in a homily on Sunday, March 12th from St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The Pope divided the sins into seven broad categories: sins "in the service of truth", sins against Christian unity, sins against Jews, sins against other religions and cultures, sins against women and the unity of the human race, sins against individual rights, and sins in general. In...

Source: The Detroit News

On March 9, 2000, The Detroit News published an article entitled, "Authors Go in Search of Ethnic Detroit: 'Global Journeys' Gives the Goods on 30 Cultural Communities."

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On March 4, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that representatives of 30 congregations in the St. Louis area are planning to meet regularly, possibly even monthly, to focus their efforts on combating racism in order to inform everyone in the region of the other's activities and to avoid duplicate efforts. The first meeting, sponsored by Rev. Martin Rafanan, who is the executive director of the National Conference for Community and Justice in St. Louis, convened representatives from the Interfaith Partnership of St....

Source: The Seattle Times

On February 26, 2000, The Seattle Times published an article entitled, "Chanting Crosses All Lines of Faith."

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On February 25, 2000, The San Diego Union-Tribune published an article entitled, "Success is in the Air for Teacher of Breathing."

Source: The Seattle Times

On February 24, 2000, The Seattle Times published an article entitled, "Required Session was a Sermon, Sailors Say"