Source: The Deseret News

http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,355012326,00.html

On December 15, 2001, The Deseret News reported that the "First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City... will hold its 10th annual Solstice... The Rev. Silvia Behrend said the event is more than just a fun celebration for the church — it is also a religious-oriented event that welcomes the renewal of life... She believes the solstice event can bring additional Christmas meaning...

Source: The Hartford Courant

On December 14, 2001, The Hartford Courant reported that at a recent school board meeting in Coventry, CT, "parents were upset about the wording of a memo School Superintendent Michael Malinowski sent to principals. The memo urged them to be mindful of the separation of church and state. Malinowski sent the memo after discovering that a creche and a cross had been put up in the school system... In impassioned speeches, parents said that in striving to be politically correct, the school system is being intolerant by not exposing...

Source: The Boston Globe

On December 13, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "for the third time in two months, Sharon [MA] residents found anti-Semitic literature from a West Virginia hate group thrown on their front yards... The papers blamed Jews for a recent anti-Catholic incident at the town's high school, and attacked Israel." The article also reported that similar literatures appeared recently in numerous other towns, including Weston and South Boston.

Source: The Kansas City Star

http://www.cres.org

On December 12, 2001, The Kansas City Star reported that "since Sept. 11, leaders in government - like those in schools, hospitals, media and business - want to be sure they are discharging their duties with particular sensitivity to religious concerns... As part of a recognition of pluralism in the [Kansas City] area, Jackson County Executive Katheryn J. Shields is developing a six-month calendar of community open houses scheduled by ethnic and faith...

Source: The Democrat and Chronicle

http://www.rochesternews.com/1211story5.html

On December 11, 2001, The Democrat and Chronicle reported "Diverse area delegation on visit to ground zero." The article noted, "An interfaith delegation from Rochester will journey to New York City today. Approximately 50 participants -- representatives of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities -- will make the trip, hoping to reflect on the events of Sept. 11 and to solidify their...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 11, 2001, the Los Angeles Times featured an article on Dia Richardson, a recent convert to Islam. "Richardson personifies the majority [of converts]: African American, urban, in search of answers and a more disciplined form of worship... Like many new converts of any faith, Richardson came to Islam at a time of crisis. A few weeks ago, she lost her latest job, her apartment in Acton, and then her father broke his hip and slipped into a coma during surgery... She [now] enjoys reading the Koran in English and has been...

Source: The Kane County Chronicle

Source: Newsday

http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-liisla102503970dec10.story?coll=ny%2Dlinews%2Darchive

On December 10, 2001, Newsday featured the article "Religious leaders reach out with unity service at LI mosque." It reported, "In an unprecedented act, the leader of Long Island's Catholic Church visited the Island's largest mosque yesterday, attending a multifaith service aimed at...

Source: United Press International

On December 10, 2001, The United Press International reported that "the 'real story' of the blaze at the Gobind Sadan shrine actually developed into a rather marvelous one, recounts Ralph Singh, the center's spokesman... Jews, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists came out to express their solidarity, Singh recalled. And then there were individual acts of kindness... With a trembling voice, Ralph Singh spoke of the 'outpouring of love' the 100-strong congregation at the former farmstead received from neighbors and...

Source: Newsday

On December 10, 2001, Newsday reported that "in the 1970s in New York, halal butcher shops were so small in number 'you could count them on one hand,' said Louis Abdellatif Cristillo, field director of a Columbia University research project on Muslim communities in New York. But now, he said, there are at least 30 halal meat preparation businesses in the city which are keeping pace with the growth of New York's Muslim community. Where a mosque would spring up in the city, a halal shop would soon follow, he said... But meat prepared in the...

Source: The Boston Globe

On December 9, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "with the country at war and violence raging in the Holy Land, the lights of Hanukkah must burn brighter than ever, some Jews say, to help dispel the darkness. The menorah, a symbol of freedom and religious tolerance, must continue to inspire hope... For the congregation of Chabad of Westborough, [MA] tonight's public lighting of a 9-foot menorah at the town rotary captures, in a small but meaningful way, the holiday's message of faith and resolve... One year ago, the town denied...

Source: The Boston Globe

On December 9, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that wearing hijab, a head scarf, is a "religious practice [that] singles a woman out in America, but the Muslim women who took part in the clergy-sponsored interfaith program [in Plymouth, MA] said they welcomed the increased attention Americans have paid to their religion after the September terrorist attacks... organizers [of the program] focused the final session of 'Exploring Islam: An Interfaith Conversation' on the role of women. Three women from the UMass-Dartmouth Islamic...

Source: The Gainesville Sun

http://www.gainesvillesun.com/DAYBREAK/articles/2001-12-09interfaith.shtml

On December 9, 2001, The Gainesville Sun featured the article "Marriage of faiths." The article profiles interfaith families: "In the Kellerman household, the union is not only one of faith, it is also one of cultures." The article notes that the Unitarian father, Ed, and Sikh mother, Sarjit, are raising their son in the Sikh faith. "But the...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 8, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the Rev. Ken Fong is doing what he and many other church leaders once thought was impossible: making a historically Japanese American church look more like multiethnic Los Angeles in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley. Since March 1997 when the third-generation Chinese American became the senior pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles in Rosemead, Fong has been working toward a church model that reflects the wider community... The result is a thriving congregation...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On December 7, 2001, The Columbus Dispatch reported that a "New York rabbi wants all Americans to celebrate Hanukkah this year as a show of unity against terrorism... [he thinks] this year's Hanukkah should reaffirm all Americans' commitment to the sanctity of life, the power of communities to support their members through difficulties and the desire to build and move on." Not everyone agrees however. Ohio Christians with "Vietnamese heritage said they have participated in candlelight vigils and other expressions of unity in...