Godspeed

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jun 1, 2006

AN evangelical Protestant minister, a Muslim activist, a Catholic priest and a Reform rabbi walked into the Times newsroom last year.

In lieu of a snappy punch line, what followed has been a weekly peek into the Peninsula's religious communities, events and initiatives.

We created the Faith page. And it was good.

I've been the Faith editor and primary staff writer for the past 13 months, but Friday is my last day at the Times. Before I move back to my native New York, I wanted to say goodbye and reflect on this experience.

Religion is a big part of life on the Peninsula, believe it or not. The American Religion Data Archive estimates that 40 percent of San Mateo County residents belong to 300 congregations. But in the past year, I've seen that a much larger group of residents are deeply impacted by issues of faith.

Thousands of "unaffiliated" residents send their children to religious schools and summer programs, use the Peninsula Jewish Community Center gym or the Mormon genealogy libraries, attend congregation festivals and holiday observances, or stand respectfully during the invocation that launches every Redwood City Council meeting. Thousands more donate to, volunteer with or depend on faith-based homeless shelters, soup kitchens, support groups and other nonprofits.

This page has featured chaplains working with police departments, hospital and hospice patients and jail inmates. Interpreters have helped us interview deaf students at St. Patrick's Seminary and Tongan choir members preparing for a gospel music festival. Photographers have captured services in locales ranging from a San Mateo beauty salon to the Cow Palace. We have published columns and stories about evolution, gay marriage, terrorism and even atheists. Yet there are many more issues waiting to be explored, including interfaith wedding trends, efforts to address clergy sex abuse and the rise in ethnic congregations.

As for the faces you regularly see here, the Rev. Dennis Logie, a retired evangelical minister in Redwood City, and Iftekhar Hai, the South City-based president of the United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance, will continue their monthly columns. The Rev. Anthony McGuire, of St. Matthew's Catholic Church in San Mateo, will take over for the Rev. James Garcia in a few weeks, and the Times is seeking another Jewish columnist after Rabbi Karen Citrin, of Temple Beth El in San Mateo, pens her final piece this summer.

Our volunteer columnists and the Peninsula Clergy Network's assistance have proved invaluable, but nurturing the Faith page hasn't been easy. There's no day of rest -- in fact, most events happen on weekends and evenings. Reporters are expected to have a basic knowledge of thousands of years of history, including interfaith and intrafaith disagreements. But, I am leaving Faith in good hands. Staff writer Christine Morente will inherit the religion beat, with help from the rest of the staff and our readers.

So, if there's something you like or don't like about this page, if your organization has something planned, if you have a volunteer nomination for the Good Works corner, let the Times know. E-mail smcfaith@sanmateocountytimes.com, or write to Faith, San Mateo County Times, 1080 S. Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402.

And finally, thanks to all you who enjoy reading Faith every week and who have contacted me to share your opinions and kind words. Reporters like me pray to have such readers.

Staff writer Nicole Neroulias has covered religion and south county for the San Mateo County Times for two years.