Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 12, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the Supreme Court strengthened the free-speech rights of religious groups...ruling that a Christian youth group must be permitted to hold an after-school Bible study class in a public elementary school...The court's opinion stressing the rights of religious advocates should give a boost to President Bush's 'faith-based' initiative...In dissent, Justice David H. Souter said the ruling appears to stand 'for the remarkable proposition that any public school opened for civil...

Source: The Washington Post

On June 10, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "A baccalaureate will be held...for graduating seniors of Gar-Field, Hylton and Potomac high schools, as well as for private school and home-schooled students, at Christ Chapel" in Woodbridge. "The baccalaureate, a religious service for graduates, will include participation by Christian, Jewish and Muslim speakers."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 10, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on Iranian immigrant and Muslim Dariush Farshidian, who was "weary of four years in INS detention both on Terminal Island and in Bakersfield, [California]...He needed $5,000 to post bond." In a letter to fellow Iranian Pooya Dayanim, Farshidian asked for help, conveying his "anger at U.S. treatment of INS detainees and his fear of imprisonment, if not execution, by Iranian officials...Several members of the Iranian Jewish community [including Pooya] quickly rallied to Farshidian's...

Source: Newsday

On June 9, 2001, Newsday reported on The Faith Science Gospel Home in New York. "The church, which was started less than eight months ago, doesn't have a permanent meeting place." The congregants "are Jews, Muslims and Christians...They are from Long Island, Queens, Staten Island, Bergen County, N.J., even as far away as Baltimore...They are African-Americans, Hispanics and whites...The informal services are more like graduate-level college seminars, with congregants discussing and debating scriptural ideas, finding common ground in their...

Source: The New York Times

On June 9, 2001, The New York Times reported that a number of Protestant and Catholic churches and synagogues have been facing a shortage of clergy in recent years. "The problem's roots include the attraction of more lucrative careers..., a wide variety of choices in religious life for seminary graduates and escalating retirements from a demanding job in which the pay is often modest and the hours are long."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 9, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that 20 Orthodox Jewish young men are about to complete their yearlong study of Talmudic teaching on property rights. They have studied the sacred scriptures for 14 hours a day, six days a week since September. The young men "say the daily study regimen has given them a deep personal satisfaction they cannot find anywhere else...Rabbi Avrohom Stulberger, principal of Valley Torah High School, developed and launched the program last September."

Source: The New York Times

On June 9, 2001, The New York Times reported that Protestant congregations are facing a shortage of ministers. "For Protestant denominations, religion officials say, the problem's roots include the attraction of more lucrative careers in what long was a booming economy, a wide variety of choices in religious life for seminary graduates and escalating retirements from a demanding job in which the pay is often modest and the hours are long. [In addition] diminishing membership within the larger denominations has meant that a growing...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On June 8, 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "clergy, law enforcement officials and families of gunshot victims [will] try to bring home the hard realities of violence by mounting Milwaukee County's first 'Ceasefire Sabbath.' More than 60 churches, synagogues and mosques will hold services or events where lay and ordained speakers will talk about the need to curb gun violence."

Source: The Morning Call

On June 8, 2001, The Morning Call reported that "the Bnai Abraham Synagogue in Wilson [Pennsylvania] is host to a guest Sabbath service. The program gives [seven Lutheran pastors] the chance to participate in the synagogue's weekly service and for members of local Jewish and Lutheran congregations to learn about each other's faith."

Source: The Daily News of Los Angeles

On June 8, 2001, The Daily News of Los Angeles reported that "plans for a day-care center and religious school at a local synagogue may be in jeopardy after neighbors complained to the City Council that the project was inappropriate for a residential area." The City Council is waiting for the presence of all five members to take a vote.

Source: District Extra

On June 7, 2001, District Extra reported that the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington is staging a reenactment of the Adas Israel synagogue in 1876. "The event...is intended to highlight the evolution of Washington's Jewish community and to launch a complete restoration of the synagogue, the first built in the city."

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

On June 7, 2001, The Christian Science Monitor reported that "religious groups are responding [to Bush's policies] in active voice...seeking to bring shared moral concerns to bear on a range of public issues...A group of 165 Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist clergy recently formed Religious Witness for the Earth to urge action on global warming, oppose drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and seek a conservation-friendly energy policy."

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On June 7, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on "the Davis Academy students who held a rally last week to protest a Taliban requirement that minority Hindus wear yellow armbands to distinguish them from Muslims." Davis is a Reform Jewish school in Atlanta.

Source: The Star-Ledger

http://www.njo.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/elections/ledger/137a647.html

On June 7, 2001, The Star-Ledger reported on Bret Schundler, a Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey. "Schundler was the keynote speaker at an April 28 gathering of the American Muslim Alliance's New Jersey chapter...He shared the podium with AMA President Agha Saeed...In addition to Saeed, several other...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 6, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "a landmark Muslim-Jewish dialogue group in Los Angeles has stopped meeting after Islamic leaders requested a freeze amid outrage in their community over Israeli behavior in the Mideast...Muslims complained that they felt they were expected to...condemn Palestinian violence without Jews doing the same for Israeli excesses. Jewish leaders expressed frustration that Muslims were not self-critical enough." Five Jewish leaders sent a letter to the senior advisor to the Muslim council...