Christianity

Faithful Diversity Displayed in Boston's Immigrants

August 19, 2000

Source: Patriot-Ledger

On August 19, 2000 the Patriot-Ledger reported, "If you want to learn about a community, visit the place where people worship. But most of us don't do that. We feel like an intrusive outsider and don't understand the religious service unless we're accompanied by a congregation member. So it's a treat to find a new exhibit that introduces us to Buddhists and their temple in Quincy, as well as to five other religious groups in the Boston area. 'Faithful Boston: The Religion of Boston Immigrants' is on view in the changing gallery of...

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Buddhism Gains Popularity

August 19, 2000

Source: The Plain Dealer

On August 19, 2000, The Plain Dealer reported on cultural and religious identity in an article entitled, "Religion is Deeper than One's Culture." In it, M. Lavora Perry talks about the joy and peace she has gotten from Buddhism since she turned to its teachings thirteen years ago. Yet, as an African-American woman, she is often chastised by others for choosing a religion that is not "black enough." Perry says that, "When I'm labeled a cultural sellout for not being Christian, I reply that, like many blacks, I believe Jesus may...

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Churches Influence Banking in Baltimore

August 19, 2000

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On August 19, 2000, The Houston Chronicle reported that in "Baltimore, a growing number of black churches are asking members to open accounts in area banks that have pledged to invest in the city's black community. The concept, called collective banking, has netted $ 1 billion in assets for 110 black churches and nonprofit organizations that have joined the program, ministers say. The Collective Banking Group of Baltimore and Vicinity recently renewed its three-year contract with four banks: Bank of America, First Union Corp.,...

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Mass Announcements End at Denver Airport

August 17, 2000

Source: The Denver Post

On August 17, 2000, The Denver Post reported that "Catholic Masses are no longer announced over the public address system at Denver International Airport because a traveler complained that the reminders were a violation of the separation of church and state...No other religious group that shares the two-room chapel - Protestants, Jews or Muslims - has regular service," although Muslim "employees and passengers stop in to pray if they're at DIA at one of the five times a day they are required to pray." Denver Catholic Archbishop...

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Catholic Education Reaches Out

August 17, 2000

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On August 17, 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that "'Catholic Schools -- Have Faith in Education' is the catch phrase of a four-year campaign intended to reverse 17 years of declining enrollment in the nation's largest private school system." The slogan "will be featured on billboards, in local radio ads and in local newsprint ads as part of a campaign that could reach 50 million people in the next 12 months."

"Essentially what we're doing is creating a brand image," said Michael Krivich, the Archdiocese of Chicago'...

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Evangelical Christianity and Judaism

August 15, 2000

Source: The New York Times

On August 15, 2000, The New York Times published an article by religious scholar Martin Marty, explaining why there exists an alliance at times between evangelical Christians and observant Jews, two groups that might not always be lumped together as theological and social partners. Marty explains that "most evangelicals see Mr. Lieberman's selection as enlarging the space for themselves in American culture. He is celebrated for being different from mainstream culture while they have been criticized for it. They mention God in...

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Evangelical Christianity and Judaism

August 15, 2000

Source: The Washington Post

On August 15, 2000, The Washington Post published an article entitled "Hymning Jesus And Lieberman; Some Evangelical Christian Groups Embrace Jewish Roots and Rituals." Sandy Grady, a member of the evangelical Glory Tabernacle in Washington exclaims, "We are so excited about Joe Lieberman. God is sending a message through him: Let the right man arise at this hour."

"Discussions of how evangelical Christians might respond to an Orthodox Jewish vice president tend to focus on the potential discomfort they may feel...

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Christian Songs Not for Public Gatherings, Some Say

August 14, 2000

Source: The Washington Post

On August 14, 2000, The Washington Post reported that an "8-year-old girl was banned from singing the campfire favorite "Kum Ba Yah" at her day camp after talent show organizers said it violated their ban on religious songs because it repeats the word "Lord." Samantha Schultz had practiced the song for a week but was banned from singing it Friday at the North Port Boys...

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Vietnamese Catholics Celebrate

August 11, 2000

Source: The Kansas City Star

On August 11, 2000, The Kansas City Star published an article entitled, "Vietnamese in America Gather for Marian Days Celebration." Read it here .

ACLU and Columbus Jewish Federation Protest Christian Songs at Graduations

August 10, 2000

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On August 10, 2000, The Columbus Dispatch reported that "the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Columbus Jewish Federation are speaking out against choral performances at two Columbus high-school graduations that included Christian songs." Howard Brenner, a Jewish resident of the North Side, raised the issue with his son's school when Christian songs were performed at the graduation ceremony. Another school used Christian songs at their graduation ceremony later in the month.

Parish Ministries on the Rise

August 9, 2000

Source: The Times-Picayune

On August 9, 2000, The Times-Picayune reported that as "jail and prison rolls grow, local and state governments are turning to faith-based prison ministries as an alternative to reform criminals and reduce recidivism. And that means an increase in the spiritual load for prison ministries, including the one at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, which employs two full-time ministers for nearly 700 inmates...'The research is there that it can make a difference,' said Jannitta Antoine, deputy secretary for the Louisiana...

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Mass Baptism in New York

August 7, 2000

Source: The New York Times

On August 7, 2000, The New York Times reported that on a recent Sunday "hundreds of people, dressed from head to foot in white cotton dresses or slacks and shirts" were baptized by fire hose on 115th Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenues. "Each August since 1937, the United House of Prayer for All People, a nondenominational Pentecostal church with three million members in 28 states," has used a fire hose to baptize hundreds of people. "Baptism is a faith thing and has nothing to do with the actual water," explained Apostle H....

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Spanish Encouraged by St. Paul Archdiocese

August 7, 2000

Source: Star Tribune

On August 7, 2000, the Star Tribune reported that St. Paul Archbishop Harry Flynn is asking "prospective priests to learn enough Spanish so that they can, at a minimum, celebrate the mass in that language... Only 30 of the 233 active priests in the archdiocese are bilingual, and 11 parishes celebrate weekly masses as well as other sacraments, such as marriage, in Spanish." While Hispanics were once believed to be "cradle to grave" Catholics, they are no longer being taken for granted by the American Catholic church. The national...

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