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Gary Stern has covered religion for The Journal News for a decade. He's reported on just about every major religious group in New York's spiritual mix and covered many of the significant trends, stories and people of the day.
The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene -- weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
Stern was once leery of taking on the religion beat. It's a sensitive subject, you know. But a wise editor told him "Just cover it like you would cover anything."?
Since then, he's learned a lot about many hard-to-define elements of religious life, including the modern meaning of religious history, the myriad ways that people reconcile their faith with everyday life, and the unspoken cultural characteristics that help to define each faith and sect.
He's won some awards along the way, including the two highest honors given by the Religion Newswriters Association: National Religion Writer of the Year (2001) and National Religion Reporter of the Year (2005).
E-mail Gary Stern at gstern@lohud.com
Just checking in after finally crawling out of my sick bed.
I’ve had something—Swine flu?—since Thursday. Whatever it is, don’t get it.
I don’t have any idea what’s been going on, but a few emails about the Manhattan Declaration caught my attention.
Looks like it could open a new round of the Culture Wars.
It’s a no-sense, strongly worded [...]
The Empire State Pride Agenda has released a list of more than 700 clergy and lay leaders who support gay marriage in New York.
They divided the list by region: Buffalo, Albany, Central NY, Hudson Valley and the Catskills, Long Island, NYC and Rochester/Finger Lakes.
Since they went through the trouble, here are the signees from the [...]
Is it okay for public schools to rent out a big Christian church for commencement ceremonies?
The ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State don’t think so.
They’ve asked the Enfield (Conn.) public schools to stop holding graduation at The First Cathedral in Bloomfield, Conn. (north of Hartford), a 120,000-square-foot church that “is steeped [...]
As I mentioned in my Tastykakes post earlier today, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is meeting in Baltimore (where the Catholic Church got its start in the U.S.).
The agenda has to do with more than sweet cream (and whatever else Tastykakes are made of).
Cardinal George of Chicago (right), the president of the Bishops posse, [...]
I fancy myself something of a snack cake connoisseur, but I’m not sure that I’ve ever had a Tastykake.
It is a regional Philadelphia-based snack cake, of several varieties.
Which is why Philadelphia’s Cardinal Justin Rigali bet a box of them in his World Series wager with Archbishop Dolan (who promised bagels and cream cheese).
As this picture [...]
Tis the season for interfaith get-togethers.
Around Thanksgiving, numerous local groups pull together people from different faiths for a few prayers and snacks. You usually get mostly mainline Protestants and Jews, with a smattering of Catholics and Orthodox Christians and a Muslim or two.
At least that’s the mix in the NY burbs.
The Westchester chapter of the [...]
It’s hard to believe that boxing was once one of America’s favorite sports, right up there with baseball.
It’s also hard to believe that there was an era of great Jewish fighters, like Benny Leonard and Barney Ross.
So it’s noteable that an Orthodox Jewish Israeli middleweight named Yuri Foreman will fight for the WBA World Championship [...]
I blogged this morning for USA TODAY’S Faith & Reason blog about a new statement calling for—are you ready for this—compassion.
It’s true.
Author Karen Armstrong, who has written several popular books about religion, and a bunch of religious leaders and celebrities have produced a “Charter for Compassion,” calling for people to be compassionate toward other people.
That’s [...]
In light of this being Veteran’s Day and the continuing grief over Fort Hood, I wanted to cite a Washington Post article about Muslims in the military.
The Post’s Michelle Boorstein reports that “3,557 members of the 1.4 million-member U.S. armed forces describe themselves as Muslim.”
She summarizes:
*****
Active and retired Muslim service members recalled difficulties concerning their [...]
In this economy, you don’t see many institutions expanding.
But Nyack College, which is run by the evangelical Christian & Missionary Alliance, is looking for a new property in Manhattan. Nyack College—one of only 2 Christian colleges with a presence in NYC—is currently using two rented spaces in the city.
Tomorrow (Nov. 11), Nyack College will hold [...]
The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
Copyright ©2009 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties in New York.
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