| Salt Lake City |
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| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
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| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
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| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
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| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
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| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
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| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
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| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
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| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
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Games bringing many religions closer together
By Susan Whitney
Deseret News staff writer
In late September, Bishop George Niederauer, of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, wrote a letter to every parish. "Perhaps you have read or heard of the 'Alliance for Unity,' " he began. He concluded by asking all Catholics to discuss the alliance and to focus on "how God may be calling us to change our words, our ways and our minds."
For six months now, the community leaders who formed the "Alliance for Unity" have talked about greater respect for diversity. The Alliance was formed by Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson (himself a Democrat and former Mormon) and business owner Jon Huntsman (active Mormon and Republican). The impetus for the Alliance is that Utah is the state which has the most members of any one religion and is also one of the five most Republican states in the United States. The Alliance has 16 members, including Bishop Niederauer and Elder M. Russell Ballard, of the Quorum of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Alliance's statement of purpose says, in part, "Utah's people have different political, religious and other beliefs. We seek to help build a community where different viewpoints are acknowledged and valued. . . . We will encourage specific projects of common purpose. Our overriding goal is to help people cross boundaries of culture, religion and ethnicity to better understand and befriend each other."
This statement of purpose has been printed in newsletters and tacked to the bulletin board in churches throughout the state. Thousands of Utahns have read these words, but has anything changed because of the Alliance for Unity? Have there been any projects? Any befriendings?
Bishop Niederauer says the idea has not been abandoned but concedes the Olympics may have shoved the Alliance aside temporarily. But when he looks at the Olympics and at how many Utahns of different faiths came together to plan for them, especially through the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee's Interfaith Roundtable, well, he says, the Olympics "strike me as an excellent beginning." Maybe now we ought to have an interfaith roundtable for youths, he suggests.
Diana Johnson, rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in West Valley City, points to a specific project where people crossed religious boundaries to help her church, although, she says, the call for help went out through the Interfaith Roundtable, not through the Alliance for Unity.
In October, after St. Stephen's had been vandalized twice, religious leaders from many different churches invited their congregations to go to St. Stephen's on Halloween night, to have a party and — by their very numbers — help keep the place safe. More than 200 paper-bag luminarias lighted the church grounds, recalls Johnson. And people of other faiths came. The party and All Saint's Eve worship service were well-attended.
She said people learned about the anti-vandalism event through e-mails sent by the SLOC Interfaith Roundtable. It was a grassroots project, not something that top-level religious leaders, such as those who serve on the Alliance, were necessarily even aware of. But "we could do something like that again," says Rev. Johnson. An entire community could come together to help a beleaguered church. "I hope we do."
When it comes to grassroots efforts, the Girl Scouts believe they might be able to help. The Utah Girl Scout Council was the first group to join with the Alliance for Unity as a "Unity Circle." The Girl Scouts have long been teaching pluralism, teaching girls how to be inclusive. "We've been working on this forever," says Laura Williams, executive development director.
Williams said the Girl Scouts would like to share their ideas for creating an inclusive community.
The suggestions may seem obvious — knowing yourself, interacting with other cultures, reacting positively to the changing composition of one's community, and other similar introspections — but for people who don't want to wait for the Alliance to announce a unity project, they offer an opportunity for action.
E-mail: susan@desnews.com
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February 23, 2002
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