Amy Frykholm
Affinity fraud: Fleecing the faithful
Phil Harmon was a successful business executive with deep roots in the Quaker community of the Northwest. By the 1990s the Oregon man had several homes in Oregon and Washington State....
Justice for the SouthBronx: Activist Alexie Torres-Fleming
After moving out of the Bronx neighborhood where she grew up and finding a corporate job in Manhattan, Alexie Torres-Fleming decided it was time to return to the Bronx....
For the glory of God: Conductor John Nelson
John Nelson is a world-renowned conductor noted for his commitment to contemporary sacred music. He was born in Costa Rica to American missionary parents....
Passing it along: The generous people of Fortín de las Flores
As yet another cargo train thunders past her house in Fortín de las Flores, Mexico, Benita Juárez wraps a scarf around her head and looks up....
7 things you can do right now to further the sunshine economy: Resources for sustainability
• Plant lettuce in a window box. Lettuce that you grow yourself does not have to be transported from farm to grocer to home, burning fuel....
Entry points: Church as a hosting community
If it is a little difficult to find your way into Holy Nativity Episcopal Church in the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, it isn’t because there are too few doors, but because there are so m...
Art you can believe in: Artists outside the church and within it
In December, the arts-and-faith journal Image published its 20th-anniversary edition, showcasing the work of poets, short-story writers, t...
Housekeepers: Hotel workers organize
One Thursday afternoon this past October, along the main road to Los Angeles International Airport, members of the hotel workers union unrolled a banquet scene....
One house at a time: Habitat in San Antonio
After more than 30 years of operation, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) can boast of building more than 200,000 houses for poor people around the world, of bringing thousands of Christians...
In the None Zone: Religion in the Pacific Northwest
Residents of the Pacific Northwest are redefining what it means to be religious. The region is sometimes called the None Zone because 63 percent of those polled for the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey said that they were not affiliated with a religious group, compared to 41 percent of all Americans, and 25 percent claimed to have no religious identity—compared to 14 percent nationally. By checking “none” on a survey, however, Northwesterners are not necessarily signaling a lack of interest in religion. They are indicating, says Patricia Killen, a historian and dean of Pacific Lutheran University, that they do not think “religious identity is connected to a historic religious institution or faith.”
Tackling the big questions: Novelist Mary Doria Russell
Mary Doria Russell’s novels include intricately drawn characters who explore life’s deepest and most troubling questions....
Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses
When I was a student at St....
Discerning the faith factor: Pollster John Green
Described by the Los Angeles Times as the “preeminent student of the relationship between religion and American politics,”John Green has conducted surveys on religion for ev...
Calculated blessings: A visit to John Hagee's church
As I pulled into the parking lot of John Hagee’s Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, I noticed that the person parking next to me was dressed in a purple African-print tunic....
Campaigning religiously: Political strategist Burns Strider
A veteran of Democratic Party politics and a former aide to representatives Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and James Clyburn (D., S.C.), Burns ...
Relationship smarts: A curriculum on dating and marriage
I’m in a high school classroom talking to “Lisa.” Her hair is dyed black and purple, and the piercing in her lower lip bounces as she talks. “I broke up with my boyfriend because of this class,” she says. The class is Introduction to Psychology, and the teacher is Char Kamper, who developed a curriculum called Connections to teach students about dating, relationships and marriage. “When did you break up with him?” I ask. “Three days ago,” Lisa says, and then she looks me straight in the eye. “I realized he only called me when he wanted one thing.”
Three faiths, three friends: Seattle's interfaith amigos
Tables were set for the third annual interfaith Passover Seder meal, a "bring your own wine" event at University Congregational Church in Seattle. There were place settings for 300, fresh flowers, two kinds of charoset (a blend of fruit and nuts), two kinds of horseradish and baskets of matzo. The participants at this event came not only from University Congregational, led by pastor Don McKenzie, but also from Bet Alef, a “meditative synagogue” led by Rabbi Ted Falcon, and from an experimental congregation known as the Interfaith Community Church, led by Sufi Muslim teacher Jamal Rahman.
Language lessons: Learning with Muslims
During the 1990-1991 Gulf War, George Dardess, an English teacher in Rochester, New York, watched on television as the U.S. dropped “smart bombs” on Baghdad....
Running on hope: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
In June, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, a professor in the justice and peace studies program at St. Thomas University in Minneapolis, ended his bid for the U.S....