epiScope

Freed from bondage

St. Philip’s, United Hebrew Congregation share history, meal to begin Passover
By Debbie Robinson
Joplin (MO) Globe

Members of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church and the United Hebrew Congregation gathered around tables Saturday evening to observe the Jewish Passover Seder, and the bonds that have united the two Joplin faiths for a century.

About 50 people, led by student Rabbi Brian Stoller, read the story of God’s freeing Hebrew slaves from bondage in Egypt.

The congregation at St. Philip’s prepared the traditional Seder meal that begins Passover just as they have for many years, but this year’s observance was different. It was held at St. Philip’s.

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Textual criticism

Outrage in Uganda over Kadhafi's Bible comments
Panapress Kampala (Uganda)
20/03/2008

Kampala, Uganda - Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi has attracted outrage from Christians in Uganda, over his remarks that any Bible and Tora (Old Testament) that do not mention Islamic Prophet Muhammad was written by mankind and therefore ''a fraud''.
…
Apparently stunned by his visitor's revelation, host President Yoweri Museveni said: "I now demand an explanation from Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Luke Orombi, and Catholic leader Cardinal Cyprian Lwanga about the omission of Prophet Muhammad from the Bible."

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Naivete

Vatican official says Anglican head naive on Sharia
By Philip Pullella
ReutersUK
11 Mar 2008

ROME, March 11 (Reuters) - The Vatican's top man for relations with Islam on Tuesday criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury as mistaken and "naive" for suggesting that some aspects of Sharia law in Britain were unavoidable.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, in a wide-ranging discussion with reporters about Christian-Muslim relations, also said he was confident that a new, permanent body between the Vatican and Muslims would help defuse misunderstandings in the future.

"I think it was a mistake, a mistake because, above all, one has to ask what type of Sharia. And then, it was a bit naive," Tauran said in answer to a question at a breakfast meeting.

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Trying to understand

Palestinian priest's views spur criticism
By Rebecca Trounson
Los Angeles Times
March 1, 2008

The Rev. Naim Ateek is a white-haired, American-trained Anglican priest who supports nonviolent solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and often speaks of his dream of a world in which Israeli and Palestinian states exist peacefully, side by side.

Ateek is also the founder of Sabeel, a Palestinian liberation theology movement based in Jerusalem, and a man whose U.S. appearances in recent years have sparked controversy among some Jewish groups.

Critics say Ateek uses imagery, such as references to the crucifixion, that vilifies Israel and they contend that the conferences he is associated with present speakers and material that are biased against the Jewish state.

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What is Islam?
SIX YEARS AFTER SEPT. 11, MANY OUTSIDE THE MUSLIM FAITH ARE STILL TRYING TO GRASP WHAT IT IS
BY JOE RODRIGUEZ
Wichita (KS) Eagle
March 1, 2008

Part of a message posted on the outdoor sign of a south Wichita church proclaims, "Islam is a lie."

A newsletter published by Wichita's largest Protestant church contains a column that asks the question: "Can Muslims be Good Americans?" The answer, according to the article, is no.

Other Wichita churches hold town hall meetings and weeks-long seminars to explore the meaning of Islam and to publicly examine views that local Muslims say are inaccurate.

Each example illustrates how -- six years after Sept. 11 and five years after the start of the war in Iraq -- Islam remains a topic of concern among some local churches.

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Bridges of respect

AMONG THE PARTICIPANTS
GREG GARRISON
Birmingham (AL) News
February 23, 2008

With more than 200 people from across the state gathered in the pews at a Baptist church in Birmingham, a Jewish cantor blew a shofar, Christians sang "Amazing Grace" and a Muslim imam chanted the Islamic call to prayer.

"The three together are quite beautiful and moving," said Episcopal Bishop Henry N. Parsley, president of the Alabama Faith Council, which held its first public forum on Monday at Southside Baptist Church.

"Everyone's faith was presented with integrity," Parsley said. "In the post-9/11 world, we've learned religions need to build bridges of respect. It's not syncretism, or pureeing differences into one. God calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. People of other religions are our neighbors and we are called to love them."

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Cross cultural

Qatar's first church sparks bitter debate
Kuwaiti Times
February 17, 2008

DOHA: A bitter debate has broken out in the tiny, oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar over construction of the Muslim country's first Christian church, set to open next month in time for Easter. Critics have branded the concept as "repulsive" while supporters said building places of worship for other religions is a right guaranteed by Islam. One former minister insisted there should have been a public referendum. "The cross should not be raised in the sky of Qatar, nor should bells toll in Doha," wrote columnist Lahdan bin Issa Al-Muhanadi in the Doha daily Al-Arab - adding an apology in case the concept upset any readers in this country of 900,000, of whom only 200,000 are native Qataris.

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Building bridges of respect

Three Faiths Work On Unifying Project
KETV
February 14, 2008

OMAHA, Neb. -- Three faiths are trying to come together locally to teach tolerance and understanding.

Leaders of the Congregation Temple Israel, Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture gathered Wednesday at the downtown Rotary Club. They discussed their idea to build a church, temple and mosque all in one area.

"In working together, the vision is to build bridges of respect, trust and acceptance," said Bishop Joe Burnett of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska.

Burnett said the group still needs to acquire land where they can build the worship centers.

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Blunder

We turn away the 'Muslim Martin Luther'
By Steve Gushee
The Palm Beach (FL) Post
February 08, 2008

A Muslim scholar trying to shape a theologically honest means for Muslims to live at peace in the West can't get a visa to visit the United States. The State Department may be its own worst enemy.

Tariq Ramadan was one of four prominent scholars to address a January conference "Religion and Violence: Untangling the Roots of Conflict," at Trinity Church in New York City. Denied a visa, he spoke by video link from London.

Called a Muslim Martin Luther, Ramadan is caught in a political no man's land. Our government doesn't trust him, and he has angered the radical wing of the Muslim world. He is trying to shape a philosophical foundation for Muslims to be faithful, embrace the Koran and live peacefully in Western Europe and America. That puts his life at risk from radicals and, apparently, makes him suspect in Washington.

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Finding justice

Los Angeles area interfaith clergy visit Rome, Israel
By Orit Arfa
Jewish Journal
2008-02-08

Late last month, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 delegates of a weeklong interfaith mission from greater Los Angeles gathered in a circle at Yad Vashem's Valley of Communities, a monument carved out of bedrock to honor Jewish communities obliterated in the Holocaust. The cold morning foreshadowed the upcoming Jerusalem snowstorm, and the leaders representing Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and Muslim denominations warmed one another with words of conciliation and prayer, countering the chilly air and the chilling images of Jewish genocide they had seen a few moments earlier at the Yad Vashem museum.

"The first thing I felt was pain, and that pain became an attitude for all other emotions that flooded my being," began Bishop Sergio Carranza-Gomez of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in his light Mexican accent. "The first was sadness -- sadness at seeing how many lives were destroyed, completely obliterated; and it became a pained sadness. Then sorrow -- sorrow for the needless suffering of thousands of human beings; and it became a painful sorrow."

Speaking with The Journal after his poetic speech, Bishop Gomez expressed his fear that "there is a real danger of an increased anti-Zionism. You can see that in their world. Anti-Semitism has not been abolished. It's still alive everywhere."

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Truth and consequences
The Rev. Susan Russell and All Saints take on ‘Violence, Religion and the American Soul’
By Carl Kozlowski
Pasadena Weekly (CA)

As the president of Integrity USA, the 30-year-old national Episcopal lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization, the Rev. Susan Russell has been at the forefront of some of the boldest, most inclusive and most controversial policy statements of any church leader in America. She’s also the convener of “Claiming the Blessing,” a national ministry focused on the full inclusion of the LGBT population within the Episcopal Church, and a charter member of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion Council.

But it’s in her role as the senior associate for parish life at All Saints Episcopal Church that Russell has a strong hand in the discussions of social, political and moral issues in Pasadena. And as All Saints celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, Russell finds the challenges to equal rights and social justice of all stripes are just as formidable as ever — but also utterly worth fighting to overcome.

This weekend, All Saints plays host to a special three-day conference on “Violence, Religion and the American Soul,” which will involve “examining the state of the American conscience” and exploring “the Christian responsibility to live a faith of nonviolence, healing and respect.”

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He's no Anglican

Bush’s Religiosity Deepens Mideast Religious Divide
New America Media
News Analysis
Jalal Ghazi
Jan 25, 2008

Editor's Note: President Bush's religious convictions are preventing peace in the Middle East, says NAM Arab media monitor Jalal Awad.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bush’s trip to the Middle East brought center stage the religious war between Evangelicals and Islamists over the holy city of Jerusalem and helped explain why he is never going to be the honest broker between the Palestinians and Israelis.
…
Egyptian Coptic intellectual Rafiq Habib agreed and was quoted on IslamOnline saying, “Bush's tour was dogmatically motivated since he follows the Protestant Anglican Church, which believes that Jesus Christ will return to rule the world from Jerusalem.” He went further and added that, “in Bush's Protestant conviction, Jews must be in Al-Quds [Jerusalem] at the time of Christ's resurrection so that he can convert them to Christianity.”

It’s all here …and somebody needs to tell Habib that, while President Bush was baptized in the Episcopal Church of his parents, he is a professing Methodist...

Strive for justice and peace

EXPLORING FAITHS: Bound by the Golden Rule
Peace Village celebrates what some of the world's religions have in common
By BARBARA KARKABI
Houston Chronicle
Dec. 14, 2007, 7:30PM

In a world she sees as filled with religious misunderstanding, Janie Stevens has made the Peace Village a personal mission.

She describes the village as an interactive, intergenerational teaching tool with sacred items that help people understand five of the world's major religions — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Native American spirituality is also included.

Stevens discovered the Peace Village five years ago in her role as missioner for Christian Formation with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Stevens' interest in world religions stems partly from an understanding of her baptismal vows.

In the Episcopal church, as part of the baptismal promise, she explains, parishioners agree to "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being."

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Congregations

Two Elmira churches added to National Register
December 7, 2007
Elmira (NY) Star-Gazette
John P. Cleary

Chemung County Historian J. Arthur Kieffer reports that two Elmira churches have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Trinity Episcopal Church at Church and Main streets and the former German Protestant Evangelical Church, now First United Church of Christ, on Madison Avenue have been added to the listing, Kieffer said.

Being listed on the register, which is approved and maintained by the National Park Service, gives the properties some protection against development, Kieffer said, and also makes available state matching funds for restoration and repair projects.

The congregation at Trinity Episcopal is in the midst of a yearlong celebration of the 175th anniversary of its founding. Its current building was put up in 1860 and designed by the New York City architect Henry Dudley. This past year, cranes hoisted workers to the top of its tall steeple for restoration work. Trinity, along with First Baptist Church and The Park Church, is one of a trio of big, beautiful churches at the same intersection in the center of downtown Elmira.

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A world contained in grains of sand
By Niesha Lofing
Sacramento (CA) Bee
December 7, 2007

The sights and sounds within Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on Thursday morning were anything but typical.

While evergreen wreaths adorned the pulpit and garlands decorated pillars, it wasn't the sound of hymns or Christmas carols that filled the Episcopal church.

Instead, the melodic voices of two Tibetan monks chanting and praying rang through the cathedral. The smell of sweet incense filled the air.

And in an alcove near an empty manger awaiting its Nativity figurines stood a table with a blueprintlike outline of what would become a Medicine Buddha sand mandala decorating its surface.

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Peace through forgiveness

Christian leaders ask for Muslim forgiveness
(Wam)
27 November 2007

ABU DHABI -- Peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians stand as one of the central challenges of this century, according to leading Christian leaders. Responding to an open letter in October signed by 138 leading Muslim scholars, clerics, and intellectuals from around the world, the Christian leaders also asked the Muslim world for forgiveness.

'We want to begin by acknowledging that in the past (e.g. in the Crusades) and in the present (e.g. in excesses of the 'war on terror') many Christians have been guilty of sinning against our Muslim neighbors. Before we 'shake your hand' in responding to your letter, we ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world', they said in the letter which was made available to the press here yesterday.

Signers include Episcopal Bishops Barry Beisner of Northern California; Joe Goodwin Burnett of Nebraska; Edwin F. Gulick, Jr., of Kentucky; Shannon Sherwood Johnston, coadjutor, of Virginia; David Colin Jones, suffragan, of Virginia; Peter J. Lee of Virginia; and George E. Packard, suffragan for chaplaincies, as well as Deans Samuel G. Candler, of the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta and James A. Kowalski of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York. Also signing were John Stott, Rector Emeritus, All Souls Church, London; David Ford, Regius Professor of Divinity, Cambridge University; William L. Sachs, Director, Center for Reconciliation and Mission, Richmond; and Lamin Sanneh, Yale Divinity School.

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Crises of faith

Uganda: Gay, Clergy Clash At People's Space
Josephine Maseruka
New Vision (Kampala)
23 November 2007

PEOPLE advocating for the rights of homosexuals and those against the practice are using the People's Space at Hotel Africana in Kampala to air out their views. Drama ensued on Thursday when the Catholic and Anglican clergymen, who were condemning gays, sat next to pro-gay people who were watching a film on homosexuality.

The film, which attracted several youth, showcased the various countries which have embraced gays, particularly Egypt.

As homosexuals and lesbians gave testimonies on how they were attracted to each other in the movie, the clergy were addressing a press conference to express their disappointment at Commonwealth member-states that were advocating for gay rights.

Whereas the youth mischievously cheered at the gays' testimonies in the film, the clergy were defending the Church's stand on what they referred to as 'evil and unnatural behaviour.'

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Turks accused of killing Christians go on trial
Three died in brutal attack during Bible study group
Case begins amid growing intolerance to minorities
Helena Smith
The Guardian (UK)
November 24, 2007

Seven months after a German and two Turks were murdered in a Bible publishing house in eastern Turkey, the five men accused of the crime filed into court yesterday for their long-awaited trial.

The case is seen as a test of how the country will handle mounting intolerance towards non-Muslim minorities. It began at a time of draconian security and heightened nationalist fervour after attacks by Kurdish separatists.

The members of a Protestant missionary group were killed during a Bible study class in Malatya on April 18. Their attackers tied the men to their chairs, targeting Tilmann Geske, a German father of three, before turning to Pastor Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel. By the time police arrived, the Turkish converts had been virtually decapitated, with their buttocks, testicles, stomachs and backs repeatedly stabbed, their fingers sliced and throats slashed from ear-to-ear. The accused, all between 19 and 20, allegedly filmed clips on their mobile phones.

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Hindu, Episcopal divides continue
By SUE NOWICKI
The Modesto (CA) Bee
November 23, 2007

While an officer in the British army, John Bowker was sent to control a riot over a donkey between religious factions in a northern Nigerian marketplace.

"I did everything by the book," Bowker said. "You had to blow a trumpet, you had to have an interpreter, you had to say, 'Go home,' three times or, 'I'll fire.' "

It was no use. The crowd could not be calmed and soon pulled the donkey limb from limb. While witnessing the spectacle, Bowker had an epiphany.

"I suddenly realized I wanted to understand why religious people hated each other so much," he says. His career has included Anglican priesthood and editing The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. He also has written several books, including "Licenced Insanities: Religions and Belief in God in the Contemporary World."

"My answer is that religions are so dangerous because they matter so much," he said.

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Pluralism is part of gift from creator
Youngstown  (OH) Vindicator
November 24, 2007

Pilgrim Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony surely did not intend a pluralist feast when he proclaimed a three-day Thanksgiving celebration in October 1621.

Nonetheless, that first Thanksgiving brought together the 50 (of 102) Mayflower Pilgrims who survived their first year in America and 90 or so Wampanoag Indians. The celebration was built on a relationship with the Indians that had begun only in March. The Wampanoags outnumbered the Pilgrims nearly 2 to 1. They enhanced the feast with their abundant food, including four wild turkeys and pumpkins, but probably not with their faith.

Whatever Gov. Bradford's intent, the first Thanksgiving was in fact a pluralistic celebration. The Wampanoags were not Christian. They were one of numerous tribes in the Plymouth Bay area (Massachusetts, Punkapogs, Narragansetts, Nipmicks, and others) belonging to the Algonquin language group that stretched from Canada to South Carolina and as far west as today's Wisconsin.

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CARY MCMULLEN: Even religion reporters have crises of faith
Tuscaloosa (AL) News
November 24, 2007

One of the stereotypes of popular fiction is the hardboiled, cynical reporter. He’s seen it all, heard it all, nothing surprises him or gets to him.

Stereotypes have at least one foot in the truth. If you report on enough crimes or hang around city hall long enough, it certainly can foster a jaded view of human nature, although very few of my colleagues over the years fit the stereotype. Even the tough ones have had soft spots.

That’s true, too, for my fellow religion reporters. We are affected by what we write about. So my attention was caught by a recent report that for the second time within the past four months, a religion reporter for a major newspaper had not only left the beat, he had given up his faith as well.

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Thanksgiving

Diversity of faiths, unity of followers
By Tina Shah
Chicago Tribune
November 16, 2007

Pointing an eagle feather toward the east, Donna Ricker-Tubby asked the several hundred people sitting in pews at the Chicago Temple to join her "in the circle of life."

Everyone stood and turned as Ricker-Tubby expressed gratitude for the good fortunes in life and prayed for the safety of those suffering in all four directions.

"The prayer is for each and every one," said Ricker-Tubby, a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe. "All nations are equal."

Paying tribute to unity and equality defines the Interfaith Thanksgiving Observance hosted each year by the National Conference for Community and Justice of Chicago and Greater Illinois.

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The need for peace

Confronting extremists' use of faith for violence
By JOHN CHADWICK
Bergen (NJ) Record
November 1, 2007

It's not every day that Christians, Jews and Muslims get together to discuss violence and terrorism.

But at a small, little noticed panel discussion in Paterson last month, a rabbi, an Episcopal priest and a Muslim activist spoke candidly of how their traditions have, at times, fueled fanaticism.

The rabbi read from the biblical book of Numbers in which God tells the ancient Hebrews to invade the Holy Land and drive out the inhabitants.

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Another voice / ‘The work of death’
Religious voices need to speak out against the war
By William H. Privett
Buffalo (NY) News
November 1, 2007

Nearly 30 years ago, Pope John Paul II prayed fervently, “On my knees I beg you to turn away from the paths of violence — I say to you, with all the love I have for you — do not listen to voices which speak the language of hatred, revenge, retaliation. Do not follow any leaders who train you in the way of inflicting death. Give yourself to the service of life, not the work of death. Violence is the enemy of justice. Only peace can lead the way of true justice.”

Local spiritual leaders such as Episcopal Bishop Michael Garrison, Lutheran Bishop Marie Jerge, the Rev. Ronald Sajdak, the Catholic Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission and the Interfaith Peace Network of Western New York have similarly cried out for an end to war. However, such voices are few and the volume seems low.

On Sept. 29, at a peace rally drawing up to 3,000 people in Syracuse, the largest upstate peace action since the Vietnam War, (unfortunately not mentioned by The News), Catholic priest Fred Daley questioned: “In the midst of the horror and evil of this Iraq War, where are our churches, where are our religious institutions, where are our religious bodies? Why this silence in our pulpits and congregations, while prophetic documents of peace from popes and bishops, councils and synods gather dust on library shelves?”

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Gathering celebrates faith

A first-time interfaith service in Roanoke focused on children.
By Neil Harvey
The Roanoke (VA) Times
October 22, 2007

The event bore some of the earmarks of an inaugural effort -- a packed schedule, a somewhat sparse turnout and a need for additional lighting once the sun set.

But there was no mistaking the enthusiasm and intentions of the organizers, nor the initiative of the several dozen attendees of Sunday's first interfaith service in Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke.

The service, supported by the Children's Defense Fund, was held in conjunction with the National Observance of Children's Sabbath and was intended to introduce young people to a diverse range of faiths.

Representatives of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist faiths were on hand for the afternoon gathering.

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Interfaith group hosts forum
Association aims to educate and promote dialogue
By KIMBERLY PIÑA
Houston (TX) Chronicle
October 16, 2007

Six months after re-forming into a new interfaith association, clergy from varying faiths hope to educate Katy residents about the diversity of their religions at a community forum.

The Katy/West Houston Interfaith Clergy Association is hosting the first of several public events aimed at encouraging dialogue and educating people about Christianity, Judaism and Islam.The group's first community forum will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Tiger A and B Rooms at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, 23900 Katy Freeway.

The Rev. David Hargrave, pastor of First Christian Church in Katy and an association member, said a panel will feature two representatives from each faith who will share basic beliefs of the three Abrahamic religions.

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Perfect

Navigating the Wake of Ann Coulter’s ‘Perfect’ Storm
Gabriel Sanders
Jewish Daily Forward
Oct 17, 2007    

Right-wing pundit Ann Coulter ignited a firestorm last week, and she did it with a single word.

In an October 8 appearance on CNBC’s “The Big Idea” with host Donny Deutsch, the ever-provocative Coulter said that what Christians ultimately want is for Jews to be “perfected” into Christians.

“That,” she said, “is what Christianity is. We believe the Old Testament, but ours is more like Federal Express.”

“Wow,” an incredulous Deutsch replied, “you didn’t really say that, did you?”
…
In the decades after the Holocaust, however, as Christian denominations were forced to rethink the nature of Christian-Jewish ties, many reconsidered, and ultimately repudiated, the concept. In 1988, the Episcopal Church endorsed a new set of guidelines governing Christian-Jewish relations. Supersessionism’s repercussions, the guidelines read, had been “fateful.” Rather than being a “fossilized religion of legalism,” as the Judaism of Jesus’ time was long thought to be, the church’s revised position held that “Judaism in the time of Jesus was in but an early stage of its long life.”

But not all Christian denominations have followed the Episcopal Church’s lead.

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Common ground

Six faiths, one goal at Vail Interfaith Chapel
Alexis Terrell
Vail (CO) Trail
August 29, 2007

Before the sun has risen over the mountains, the sound of Gore Creek overtakes the silence inside the Vail Interfaith Chapel. There are no crosses. No Bibles. No hymnals. No stained-glass windows. No permanent religious fixtures of any kind. The shadows of the Aspen trees outside the altar window dance to their own music.

As people trickle in, a clergyman wearing a white robe and red and gold stole brings out a wooden cross and affixes it to a stand behind the altar. He lays a white cloth on the table, followed by candles. He disappears and reappears, bringing a chalice, a bowl of communion bread and a Bible, before standing still, hands folded, looking out over a sea of new faces as the church bells ring on the 8 o’clock hour.

This scene replays itself another three times on a typical Sunday — same setting, different characters.

The Vail Interfaith Chapel is home to six congregations: Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and Baptist.

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One Religion or Two?

The Case of Anne Holmes Redding
By  Idris Tawfiq
Jul. 9, 2007

There is no doubt that interfaith dialogue, whereby the people of different religions get to know each other more through open and frank discussion, as well as friendly interchange, is one of the most pressing needs in the world today.

In a world that is becoming increasingly more secular, it is important that people of faith should talk to one another and uphold common values in a world that often has no place for God. Having two religions at the same time, though, seems to be stretching interfaith dialogue a bit too far.

And yet, that is what one lady in the United States claims to possess: two religions. Reverend Ann Holmes Redding, a minister of the Episcopal Church, claims to have declared Shahadah and become Muslim, while at the same time remaining Christian and fulfilling all of her duties as a minister.

It’s all here …

A city of faith

For a Master Class on Global Worship, It’s Destination Queens
By DAVID GONZALEZ
The New York Times
July 2, 2007

Albert Walters lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he is an Anglican priest and seminary professor. He wanted to learn more about the world’s religions.

Naturally, he went to Flushing.

This dizzyingly diverse corner of Queens is an urban showcase for the varieties of religious experience, where traditions brought over by Asian immigrants coexist alongside those of Catholics, Jews and mainline Protestants. For one week recently, it was also a laboratory for seminary professors who walked around to learn how congregations and cities affect one another. They visited a mosque whose elementary school boasted of excellent test scores, and a Sikh temple where they were treated as honored guests to a spicy home-cooked meal. They met with social workers, police officers and librarians, too, not to mention a troupe of Christian breakdancers.

It’s all here …

'Mormons' elicits a mixed response

Some praise the broadcast, others find it offensive
By Carrie A. Moore
Deseret Morning News
May 2, 2007

With few of the major issues facing the LDS Church left untouched, the final installment of the four-hour PBS documentary on "The Mormons" drew responses all across the board late Tuesday night among Utahns of different faiths — and particularly Latter-day Saints.
Sacred temple rites, death, family life, intellectual dissidents, excommunication, homosexuality, blacks and the priesthood, missionary work, conversion and obedience were among the topics chronicled in Tuesday night's installment, looking at the modern church.

…

On the other end of the reaction spectrum, Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish, Episcopal bishop of Utah who grew up as a Latter-day Saint, said she was "just overwhelmed by the real sensitivity to the whole story from start to finish." She didn't watch part one on Monday, but part two was "very emotional for me — it's part of my story. And it remains part of my story.
"I loved the different persons who commented and offered reflections and perspectives. It really was not monochromatic the way sometimes one can feel, like ward houses that all look the same. It was really a very textured piece. I found it emotional because those are my roots. I found it very tender in the discussions about family, and mine are mostly gone now. ... I found it had a great deal of integrity as a whole and was very balanced."

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Friar urges discussion on Islam

Iraq war, sectarian differences explored

BY JESSICA BROWN | JLBROWN@ENQUIRER.COM

Cincinnati Enquirer

CLIFTON - Even though there are as many as seven million Muslims in the United States, many non-Muslim Americans don't know much about Islam.

So on Sunday, a Franciscan friar gave the first in a series of talks in Greater Cincinnati aimed at separating facts from fiction.

"There are stereotypes about polygamy, jihad and the role of women," said Elias Mallon, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement who has dedicated two decades of his life to Catholic-Muslim dialogue.

"No stereotype can exist if it weren't partly true," he said. "But is it more true or more false?"

That is what he attempted to answer.

Friar Mallon delivered the sermon Sunday at Calvary Episcopal Church in Clifton, then talked to the congregation afterward about Islam and politics. The church is about two blocks from the Islamic Association of Cincinnati's mosque, which was damaged when two pipe bombs exploded near its entrance Dec. 20, 2005.

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