Source: Florida Today

On December 10, 2002 the Florida Today reported that "Roseland, an unincorporated area of Indian River County where most of the streets remain unpaved and everybody knows each other's names, soon will be facing growing pains. The community has been experiencing growth with the influx of new businesses, but more growth is coming, and residents are struggling with the growth they fear could drastically alter its character. Kashi Ashram, an interfaith community, has plans for expansion.But some residents were less than thrilled with the...

Source: The Richmond Times-Dispatch

On December 10, 2002 The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that "seven-year-old Alana Amrose stood entranced, looking at the fruits, animals, faces, symbols and writing of the Hindu calendar - a Nakara Chaturdasi. She glowed with excitement at the Children's Museum of Richmond's 'Our Community, One World in Celebration' exhibit featuring six miniature houses decorated with symbols of holidays observed around the end or beginning of the year. The girl's first stop last week was the Diwali display, focusing on the Hindu...

Source: Bluefield Daily Telegraph

On December 9, 2002 the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported that "Christianity isn't the only faith in a nation that is founded on the principles of religious freedom. Religious diversity is a way of life in Four Seasons Country, but during the holidays, Christmas is in the air. 'We celebrate Christmas,' Dr. Bhasker Pujari said. 'We don't have any qualms about it.' Pujari is a Hindu. He said that Hindu philosophy encourages embracing all faiths. 'We have a saying: 'All that exists is but one,'' he said. Doris Sue Kantor and...

Source: Suburban Chicago News

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/city/w07religs.htm

On December 7, 2002 the Suburban Chicago News questioned "why would a loving God permit human suffering? What is the surest path to spiritual enlightenment? How can both doubt and belief spring from the same insurmountable questions?" Then suggested that "these and other weighty matters will be broached during some thought-provoking discussions being offered by faith...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.olesker03dec03,0,4820948.column?coll=bal%2Dnews%2Dcolumnists

On December 3, 2002 The Baltimore Sun reported that "Baltimore County [MD] swore in its new government yesterday... In the year 2002, Kenneth N. Oliver became the first African-American in history to become a Baltimore County councilman. Oliver's swearing-in was only part of the imagery of an...

Source: The Argus

On December 2, 2002 The Argus reported that "the police chief was baptized as an honorary Sikh, the mayor makes it a habit not to ask what he's eating, and local developers are amazingly adept at feng shui. Those are some of the anecdotes Mayor Gus Morrison told members of the Commonwealth Club of California, who were curious about what it's like to be a leader in a city as famously diverse as Fremont. Morrison told how he has been beat up by conservative radio stations for allowing a space in City Hall for Muslims to pray during a city...

Source: Chicago Daily Herald

On November 27, 2002 the Chicago Daily Herald reported that "a smorgasbord of religions will emphasize the spiritual side of Thanksgiving next week. Participants in the DuPage Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will include Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Sikhs, Bahais and theosophists. The annual service began in the early 1990s after members of the DuPage Interfaith Resource Network decided they could find common ground in recognizing that Thanksgiving goes deeper than turkey and football. The ceremony will...

Source: The Plain Dealer

On November 25, 2002 The Plain Dealer reported that "Zoroastrians celebrated bountiful harvests in Persia long before the storied fall gala the Pilgrims put on near Plymouth Rock in 1621. Ditto for the Jewish faithful, who call their harvest festival Sukkot, and for followers of many of the world's other religions. So last night, four days before the Thanksgiving holiday, John Lecky brought together Buddhists and Christians, Hindus and Jews, Muslims and Zoroastrians to reflect on the thanks they all give in one way or another....

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On November 25, 2002 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "a crowd of white, black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist Milwaukeeans joined forces for a symbolic cleansing of the federal courthouse steps where white supremacists had rallied the day before. The Sunday ceremony followed a Saturday rally by about 50 members of the Ku Klux Klan, the National Socialist Movement and the World Church of the Creator, whose message of white separatism was jeered by hundreds of protesters...

Source: The Argus

http://www.theargusonline.com/Stories/0,1413,83%257E1971%257E1010917,00.html

On November 24, 2002 The Argus reported that "more than 40 years ago, three Protestant churches of different denominations came together in the name of unity for a Thanksgiving service. It was a progressive step at the time, said Don Anderson, former pastor of First Christian Church, one of the churches that met in 1961. During the 1960s, more churches...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On November 24, 2002 The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple has withdrawn an application for renaming the road to the temple from Persian Drive to Mandir Drive (Temple Drive), after objections were raised by the [San Francisco] Bay Area's Iranian community, reports India-West. Hundreds of Bay Area Iranians turned out recently for an emotional Sunnyvale City Council meeting to oppose the plan. Speaker after speaker said renaming the road would be a slight to all ethnicities from the...

Source: The Associated Press

On November 21, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "with increasing numbers of Hindus and Muslims living in the United States, members of these communities say arranged marriages are becoming more common, although no one tracks their numbers. These unions are very different from marriages in rural parts of their native countries where girls in their early teens can be forced by their parents to marry older men. Here it's often a family decision with parents and children, usually in their mid-20s, both holding veto...

Source: Icdus.com

http://icdus.com/stories/story.asp?ID=1425

On November 20, 2002 Icdus.com reported that "next Monday, Nov. 25, the Monroeville Interfaith Ministerium [PA] will host its annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. This year’s service is at 7:30 p.m. in the Hindu-Jain Temple. This year’s service will be focused on reflecting America’s greatest strengths, love of freedom and mutual respect for all people."

Source: India-West Newspaper

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=82fcb93eeb029571fcc67c7852ea7c7b

On November 18, 2002 India-West Newspaper reported that "U.S.-based [Hindu] temples and the priests who man them have become... non-traditional, and no one is complaining... many of these houses of worship currently have their own Web sites and toll-free numbers, and the priests, at least some of them, their...

Source: North County Times

http://www.nctimes.net/news/2002/20021115/61803.html

On November 18, 2002 North County Times reported that "with brightly colored silk costumes, spicy curry dishes and floating floral displays, Escondido's [CA] Buddhist temple will celebrate the annual Loi Krathong Festival Sunday. Open to the public as well as temple members, the free event is based on a traditional river festival in Thailand, organizers said. On the full moon night of the...