News & Observer | newsobserver.com | Acts of Faith: 2004

December 10, 2004 Lisa Lauck
Families gather regularly at the field in front of the Raleigh Cary Jewish Community Center to coach and watch their children play flag football. Depending on the season, children and their parents can play soccer, basketball, hockey or work out on the swim team at the center. "The JCC likes to think of itself as the Jewish neighborhood of Wake county," said Barry Schwartz, JCC director. One of the JCC's goals is to bring people of Jewish faith to together socially for recreational and educational purposes. However, like the YMCA, not all who are part of the center's community are Jewish. Recreation activities, including these flag football games, entice many of the surrounding community's families.
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.

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