Faith And The City e.Letter
June 22, 2005
Volume 4, Issue 6

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.

Atlanta Interfaith Leaders Join Dan Rather for Five-Continent, 50-City Teleconference for Peace in Middle East
Media Alert
Faith And The City e.Letter
June 22, 2005
Technology, religion, and an urgent commitment to peace in the Middle East will link Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders in Atlanta with their counterparts in Jerusalem, the Palestinian Territories, and more than 50 cities on five continents. On Sunday, June 26, at 2:30 pm (EST), an unprecedented video teleconference will broadcast voices for peace around the globe to build support for U.S. engagement in the Middle East peace process. Dan Rather will moderate the international panel discussion. Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Buckhead will host the Atlanta venue with a local panel discussion following the international telecast. Panelists in Atlanta include: Imam Plemon El-Amin, Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam; Rabbi Harvey Winokur, Temple Kehillat Chaim. The Atlanta panel will be moderated by M. Alexis Scott, editor and publisher, The Atlanta Daily World.
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Faith And The City Leadership Institute “Graduates” Inaugural Class
Faith And The City e.Letter
June 22, 2005
They are black, white, Latina, Asian, and “other.” Each has a strong affiliation with an established faith tradition – Jewish, Muslim, Bahai’i, or Christian. They are a group of 23 women and men that is arguably as diverse as the Atlanta metro community of the 21 st century. They are the inaugural class of the Faith And The City Leadership Institute, and they recently completed a 6-month “intentional learning experience” to enhance their skills as people of faith – as public religious leaders working within their own faith traditions and working together for the greater good of the regional community.
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Radical Stances Stray from True Christianity
Guest Column by Daniel P. Matthews Jr.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
May 26, 2005
I hope that we can begin to rehabilitate the public face of Christianity and reclaim something truer to its original integrity. It is clear to me that the one who we Christians proclaim as Savior was about redemption and grace. Jesus' life was one of restless hospitality: He invited himself into the homes of unrepentant sinners and was all about making connections with God's people — not severing them. Read more …

Moore 's Claims Omit the Obvious
Opinion by James L. Evans
Birmingham Post-Herald
But if we blame all of our country's current problems on the failure of the state to acknowledge God, what does that say about the church? After all, isn't the church a "public acknowledgement of God?" When congregations pray, aren't they engaged in public prayer? When the Bible is read, doesn't that count as Bible reading?
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AP Poll: Religion Key in American Lives
Associated Press
June 06, 2005
Americans are far more likely to consider religion central to their lives and to support giving clergy a say in public policy than people in nine countries that are close allies, according to an AP-Ipsos poll. Yet, the U.S. embrace of faith has its limits.
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Letting Teens Sleep a Smart Move
Editorial
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 8, 2005
If teenagers designed high schools, classes wouldn't begin until 10 a.m. Increasingly, research shows that teens have science on their side. The latest study to recommend later high school schedules appears in this month's journal Pediatrics. Northwestern University researchers found that teens are sleep-deprived during the school week, in part because they're biologically wired to stay up late but required to get up early.
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Teacher Excellence Retains Students
Opinion by Mae Kendall
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 8, 2005
Until those of us in the education profession vow to become highly trained, learned, articulate, well-dressed, thinking, skilled, respectful and caring individuals, nothing will change.
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Infant Mortality on Decline in State, U.S.
By M.A.J. McKenna
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 10, 2005
The rate at which babies die before their first birthday is improving in Georgia and nationally, but African-American children are still twice as likely to die in infancy as children in any other racial group, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
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Unappetizing Facts: No Matter How the Statistics May Be Interpreted, Being Obese or Overweight is a Threat to Health
Editorial
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 8, 2005
Is your blood pressure up since your last checkup? Knees hurt more than they used to? Has snoring become a problem? Chances are you've put on a few pounds over the years that have contributed to some or all of these symptoms. Your body is trying to tell you something. Pay attention to it.
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Dual Georgias Need a Single Firearms Law
Guest Column by Bob Barr
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
May 25, 2005
Gov. Sonny Perdue may be trying hard to make us into "One Georgia," but the latest spat over Roswell's municipal firearms laws shows how much work it's going to take to achieve that goal. When I look at Georgia's cultural landscape I definitely see two Georgias: the rest of the state and metro Atlanta. In short, we're half Alabama and half New England.
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Latinos' Political Clout Grows: Balanced Party Alliances, Voter Turnout Key
Guest Column by Mary Sanchez
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 10, 2005
Black Republicans are often seen as traitors to their race. Mention Condoleezza Rice or Clarence Thomas at a large gathering of black people and the tear-down commentary usually begins quickly. That's what happens with so much of the black vote locked up as Democrats.
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Is Persuasion Dead?
Opinion by Matt Miller
New York Times
June 4, 2005
Speaking just between us - between one who writes columns and those who read them - I've had this nagging question about the whole enterprise we're engaged in. Is persuasion dead? And if so, does it matter?
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What Women Want
Opinion by John Tierney
New York Times
May 25, 2005
Suppose you could eliminate the factors often blamed for the shortage of women in high-paying jobs. Suppose that promotions and raises did not depend on pleasing sexist male bosses or putting in long nights and weekends away from home. Would women make as much as men?
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Sabbath Resistance
Opinion by Barbara Brown Taylor
The Christian Century
May 31, 2005
In his book Jewish Renewal, Rabbi Michael Lerner says that anyone engaging the practice of Shabbat can expect a rough ride for a couple of years at least. This is because Sabbath involves pleasure, rest, freedom and slowness, none of which comes naturally to North Americans. Most of us are so sold on speed, so invested in productivity, so convinced that multitasking is the way of life that stopping for one whole day can feel at first like a kind of death.
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Event: Atlanta Interfaith Leaders Join Dan Rather for Five-Continent, 50-City Teleconference for Peace in Middle East
(June 26)
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Event: Faith Alliance for Metro Atlanta Membership Meeting (July 7)
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Event: Undoing Racism Workshop (July 15-17)
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Event: Ethics and Compliance in the Global Marketplace: Management Strategies for Doing Business Abroad (August 24)
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Event: World Pilgrims Trip to Israel (August 2005)
Contact: Sherry Frank, 404.233.5501

Event: Undoing Racism Workshop (Oct. 21-23)
Read more…

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