Faith And The City e.Letter
March 17, 2005
Volume 4, Issue 3

Greetings! Faith And The City offers the following information for your review. Use the associated links to learn more about each topic. For information on a wider range of public issues, visit our home page at http://www.faithandthecity.org.

Metro Voices, Metro Choices:
Reconnecting Citizens and Policymakers
to Serve Community
Faith And The City e.Letter
March 11, 2005
Now a bold new initiative aims to reconnect ordinary citizens with policymakers throughout the Atlanta metro area with the goal of tackling critical issues confronting the community. This spring, Metro Voices, Metro Choices will invite citizens to share their views on a range of issues through three vehicles: an online web-based survey that will seek 100,000 participants, a random telephone survey of 2,500 people, and town hall meetings and community change summits.
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The Battle of 'Georgiafornia'
By Bob Moser
Southern Poverty Law Center
Issue 116, Winter 2004
In every part of the U.S. where large numbers of Hispanic immigrants have moved, anti-immigration groups have sprung up in protest. But the backlash in Georgia has been fueled not only by these "mainstream" groups, but also by hardcore neo-Nazis, Southern "heritage" activists and white-supremacist hate groups — all of them saying strikingly similar things about the "Mexican invasion."
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Cut-Rate Religion Coverage
By Andrew Walsh
Religion in the News
Winter 2005, Vol. 7, No. 3
During the 1990s, good religion coverage was viewed as part of the solution to the problem of falling audiences, and some employment and news holes grew. But after more than a decade of unsolved problems, religion coverage is increasingly seen as part of the discredited, stodgy old paradigm that is failing to attract a new generation of readers and viewers.
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CNN's Jordan is Gone, but Questions Remain
Over U.S. Security Record in Iraq
By Joel Campagna
Committee to Protect Journalists
February 17, 2005
There is no evidence to conclude that the U.S. military has deliberately targeted the press in Iraq, but the record does show that U.S. forces do not take adequate precautions to ensure that journalists can work safely. And when journalists are killed, the military often seems indifferent and unwilling to launch an adequate investigation or take steps to mitigate risk.
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The Need for a Critical Left
By Eli Zaretsky
Tikkun
November-October 2004
The really great presidents in American history—those who were able to give the country its sense of connection to enduring moral and spiritual values—were, of course, party leaders and party builders. However, what gave these presidents their moral force and coherence was not their parties but rather the existence of a critical Left, one that kept the presidency "honest," so to speak, by constantly forcing it to reorient itself from its immediate and particularistic concerns to the larger issues that are always at stake.
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Multiculturalism in Medieval Islam
By Nushin Arbabzadah
Islam Online
March 7, 2005
Islam, so often seen as the West’s “Other” and depicted as a monocultural and intolerant religion, itself has centuries of experience of hosting and regulating a diverse cultural mosaic.… Given recent world history, it is particularly important to explore how Muslim societies have dealt with multiculturalism. For contrary to common perceptions, living in multiethnic, multifaith, and multilingual societies has always been part of the experience of Muslims.
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Finding Self Identity
Hinduism Today
October/November/December 2004
In a March edition of Hindu Press International, our daily e-mail news service, we invited essays from Hindu teens and young adults of Indian origin living in the USA, ages 13 to 25, to discuss the challenges they face as they reconcile Eastern religious culture with Western daily life. The submissions that we received were heart-felt, honest and revealing.
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Partnership for Prescription Assistance
Interdenominational Theological Center
Faith And The City Program
March 17, 2005
Millions of people across the country and in our state have difficulty affording health care, including prescription medicines. They lack health insurance and simply do not have the money to pay for the medicines they need. But there is good news. The Partnership for Prescription Assistance can help low-income, uninsured patients access the free or nearly free, brand-name medicines they need.
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Event: Social and Ethical Research Issues: Cultural Issues in Minorities (Mar. 30)
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Event: Dr. James H. Cone to Speak at Candler School of Theology (Apr. 8)
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Event: Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta (FAMA) Assembly (May 4, 12 noon)
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Event: World Religions and More
(Thursdays, Apr. 7—May 5, 7pm-9pm)
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Event: World Pilgrims Trip to Israel (August 2005)
Contact: Sherry Frank, 404.233.5501

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