News & Observer | newsobserver.com | Acts of Faith: 2002

August 30, 2002 Susana Vera [/assets/story/image_buynow.comp]
Austin Vu, 7, center, watches Lam Ngo, Tuan Nguyen, Thi Phan and Leon Do portray blind fortune tellers during a performance celebrating Mother's Day at Knightdale's Vietnamese Van Hanh Buddhist Temple. "We fight over what we think an elephant looks like," said Lam Ngo. "Each one touches a different part of the elephant and comes up with a different idea of what it is. We end up fighting because we all think we are right," Thanh Ngo, 11, far left, was in charge of moving the elephant. Hundreds of people attended the Mother's Day service, where attendees honored their mothers by praying for them and wearing red and white flowers: red for mothers who are alive and white for the ones who have passed on.
About This Project


Ethan Hyman
"Acts of Faith" explores the different belief systems that co-exist in the Triangle area. Ten years of heavy migration has brought many new faiths to the region, turning the Bible Belt home of Billy Graham into a spiritual coat of many colors. Mosques, Buddhist and Hindu temples, Sikh Gurudwaras, synagogues and scores of Christian churches have become spiritual and social centers for a radically changing population. The demographic shift has pushed congregations to find innovative ways to keep their members while attracting new arrivals. "Acts of Faith" was born as a way to show this new religious diversity and analyze the role spirituality plays in people's daily lives.


Pailin Wedel
When covering an event for Acts of Faith, we look for situations that evoke strong emotion and try to bring readers into the moment. Though holidays and major celebrations are important, we also look for unexpected expressions of faith and quieter moments of solitary exploration. We hope to give readers insight into the breadth and depth of faith by showing how people incorporate it into their everyday lives.


Ted Richardson
For two years, Sher Stoneman and Susana Vera produced this column. In 2004, they handed it over to Ethan Hyman, Scott Lewis and Lisa Lauck. In 2005, Ted Richardson replaced Scott Lewis on this project. In 2006, Pailin Wedel replaced Lisa Lauck.

More photos: 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006

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