Brass Crescent Award 8: 2011/1432 Nominations Open

The delicate politics of school holidays (COMMENTARY) – Religion News Service. Changing school calendars is a politically difficult maneuver because it makes statements about community identity. Our initial school calendar was determined by a mix of agricultural schedules and dominant religious thought. The result: summers off to work the land, and the end of December off to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Despite changing economies and demographics, we hold on to this system because it tells a story of who we are as a nation.

Nancy Fuchs Kreimer: September 11, 2010: A Time for Turning. September 11. The date, the words are still so evocative. Hate, anger, fear, sorrow, loss. Nine years after the event, emotions can still be as intense as they were in 2001. For some Americans, September 11 is the anniversary of their loved one’s death. Along with the annual memorials, this year the day will also include public demonstrations both in support of and in opposition to Park51, misnamed the “Ground Zero Mosque.”  Both of us will be marking that day as part of our holy season. For Jews, the 11th…

What’s The New Civil Rights Movement? : NPR. You know, just coincidentally, we were at the NBC studios a half hour ago and we saw photos of the marches and protests put on by Martin Luther King and it still resonates with, I think, all groups here in America. It’s iconic. It’s the vision and it’s the reality of forcing America to live up to its ideals. And to ensure that America really, you know, keeps to its promise of having those freedoms and democracies and civil liberties for all people regardless of your religion or gender or race.  We…