Every Saturday when I have time for a four-mile walk around the same square mile in Tempe, I find money. Maybe only a few pennies, but sometimes more. I attribute my luck mostly to a keen and ever-searching eye that has served me well in more than 40 years of looking for things to write about.Its a bit confounding as to why pennies, dimes and quarters commonly are lying in the street, along the curb. Typically, I find the coins on the same streets and often in the same blocks. Now the pennies, especially, display plenty of abuse from being ground by car and truck tires. Some are literally doubled over. When I turn them into the bank, I put them together and declare them money too damaged for recirculation. I push the better pennies into 50-cent paper rolls.Im not too good to bend down and pick up a penny. Today, I found one on the floor by a copying machine as I was publishing my Kiwanis Clubs weekly newsletter. Later, I found a dime in a parking lot. (I pick up washers, bolts, nuts and other reusable items, as well, and put them in the storage cases in my home workroom for reuse.) I am amazed at how many small components fall off vehicles routinely — springs, rubber connectors, thingamajigs. I have found charge cards and even a drivers license and have taken the trouble to get them returned. I pick up smashed aluminum cans and recycle them for cash, as well. I have often wondered about city street sweepers who cover miles and miles of public streets, swishing dirt, leaves, trash and all sorts of fragments of civilization into their bins. Do they have a way of sifting out valuables, especially coins? Or does it all just go to the landfill for archeologists 2,000 years hence to find? I suspect no public works director would find it worth an employees time to sort out coins and pocket the change. Now, back to why money lies so commonly in the gutters of street. Do drivers and passengers discard loose change out their windows as they travel down the street? Is there some kind of a coin flip exercise that I dont know about? Are they casting away dribbles of their fortune to the world on the belief that some poor pedestrian could gain from their profligate ways? Is it some plan in the cosmos for me to have more pocket change?Whenever I find a coin, I scan the broader area and often find more coins always making sure the traffic is clear before I bend over to grab it. How is it that a batch of coins suddenly is loosened onto the landscape?Of course, theres no getting rich from bending to lift a penny out of the dust. But I can never disregard it. It still has worth when combined with other pennies and gains critical mass. And maybe a coin found will be a wheat penny. Its good exercise alone to bend over and stretch to save a penny from oblivion.Maybe in the grand scheme of things, money lying at our feet was put there for us to discover and acknowledge its worth and reclaim to spend for something of worth.Still, Im perplexed at how and why the coins are cast into the gutter in the first place. Perhaps, I dont understand what may be the motivation, except a feeling that certain amounts of money dont matter, dont count, to some folks. Maybe there is power in casting money to the wind, lest it burls or burns of hole in ones pocket.There’s something to be said about staying ahead of the street sweeper.

In media roles, we are keenly aware that our reporting provides information that helps those for good or evil to further their work. This day, I am continually taking calls, or e-mail inquiries, from people who want to know where they can get the free DVD Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith that Mormon detractors are distributing. And some wanted to know how they could volunteer to put the DVDs on East Valley doorknobs. I give out the phone numbers as customer service.As I write this, more than 90 comments have been posted under my news story in todays Tribune titled Rival religious group disputes Mormon teachings, which can be read online. The intensity of comments reminds us of what happened on our website last week about a story regarding white pride activists in Scottsdale. It generated 159 comments, some pretty vile and vicious. A lot of it Mormons are trying hard to defend their faith and say what they believe.The uproar is over the Concerned Christians, based in Mesa, putting out about 18,000 DVDs last weekend on doorknobs 15,000 in the Valley and the rest in Tucson and the Snowflake-Taylor area of eastern Arizona. They were produced by LaBarge Media and made available to groups like Concerned Christians by Living Hope Ministries in Brigham City, Utah.In the interest of disclosure, I have second cousins on my mother side in northern Utah who are Mormons just incredible, industrious and love-filled people. They fully fit the mold, even stereotype of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (The patriarch, Don, some 40 years ago won a Readers Digest contest of $100 a month for life. We always thought that was the neatest thing. As far as I know, the checks keep coming.)His mother, until her death, was a Presbyterian, as I am, and she thoroughly loved her sons large Mormon family there in Utah where they all lived. I suspect both sides would have preferred they were all in one faith. But many, many families see beyond that.Who cant sympathize with Mormon families in wake of the campaigns to warn others of that churchs teachings, how such theology deviates from Christian orthodoxy? Couldnt your religion be subjected to attacks by those who find it deeply flawed? I asked the Rev. Paul Eppinger, an American Baptist pastor who once led the Arizona Ecumenical Council before he founded the Arizona InterFaith Movement, which brings together representatives from about 25 of the worlds religions for dialogue and education. With the world threatening to blow apart in the Middle East, with much of it between religions Jewish and Muslim with Iraq and everything else, why must we have this kind of suspicion, hatred and doubt? he asked. We dont need this in our community. Eppinger said he assumed the Concerned Christians know something about the Bible and words of Jesus like By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35) Further, Jesus said the first Great Commandment is to love the Lord your God, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. Add to that, he said, Love your enemies.I wished Concerned Christians would show some concern and be Christians, Eppinger said. The word Christian means little Christ, and I wished theyd be little Christians, showing the love of God to all people. He offers a welcome to Concerned Christians to become members of the Arizona Interfaith Movement so they could learn about Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Bahais and learn a different side of Mormons than what they are espousing. Mormons have been part of AIM since it was founded in 1995. Don Evans, spokesman for Mormons in Arizona, told me how disappointed he is that an organization has chosen to attack our church. Rather than espousing their own beliefs, they are trying to tear us down. He said its no surprise what Concerned Christians founder Jim Robertson and his group are doing this time, given more than 30 years of their activities. Evans said his members are strong in their beliefs and are not going to be swayed.Last fall, when Concerned Christians distributed another DVD, The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon in Taylor and Snowflake, volunteers say they put out 4,000 to 5,000 DVDs in a 90-minute blitz. After that effort, Robertson wrote in an issue of The Cross, the Concerned Christians newsletter, that the volunteers planned fast work because we knew it wouldnt take long for the Mormon leadership to catch on to what we were doing and instruct their members not to look at the DVD.Robertson defended the content of the newest film contrasting statements of Christ and Smith. It shows that what Jesus taught is not what Joseph Smith taught or vice versa, he said. So people should understand that although Mormons claim that Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ are almost one and the same, this shows that there is no comparison between the two. Robertson said his group, which has used volunteers from Baptist, Lutheran, nondenominational and other churches, is using aerial maps to determine where to deliver DVDs and have about 35,000 more to put out at homes. We pick the area that is most heavily populated. The DVDs Utah distributor advises groups to concentrate around Mormon temples but in this area, we cannot do that because we have a lot of non-Mormon Mexicans around the temple area, so we are going into communities where we know Mormons live, but Christians do, too. Concerned Christians was started by Robertson and his wife Judy in 1973 after they left the church and started an outreach to ex-Mormons and those still in the church. Craig Ray, a lifelong Mormon from Mesa, has monitored the Concerned Christians since 1979. They work on hate instead of love, he said. They say, We love the Mormons, but we hate the Mormon Church and its teachings. But as I look at it, they go together. What makes a Mormon a Mormon is because of the church and the teachings that it gives us.

There comes a time when you watch fire gradually engulf a structure, when beams start to collapse in wondrous blaze. I am feeling that way as I watch major U.S. denominations like the Episcopal Church. I see bridges start to burn and chasms of theological differences start to look too wide to ever be spanned again. A major event took place a week ago when bishops of the Episcopal Church the American branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion seemed to make it clear that homosexuals in leadership are going to be part of the church as it moves into the future. In essence, bishops refused to provide an accommodation for parallel leadership for those conservative Episcopalians who want all this inclusivity stuff to be stopped. After about four years of testing and restraint, the bishops seem to be saying the time has come to stick to their guns, come what may. On March 20, the bishops worded a statement that the Anglican Communions efforts to put a parallel authority structure into place violates our founding principles as the Episcopal Church following our own liberation from colonialism. They sought to remind everyone that the Episcopal Church had declared itself independent from the Church of England a long, long time ago. The Episcopal leaders are being asked to stop ordaining gay bishops and to halt allowing the blessings of same-sex couples. But they reiterated their commitment to include all Gods people including gay men and lesbians in church life. They also called for an urgent face-to-face meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who leads the Church of England. They want that to include a committee of the churchs primates, who each leads an international province, like the U.S.s Episcopal branch. The resistance to accommodation seems to embolden conservative Episcopalians to look to bolting. On Monday, Grace and Stephens Parish in Colorado Springs, one of the states largest with about 2,000 members, voted to secede from the Colorado Diocese and the national church. Its rector, the Rev. Don Armstrong, said, The national church and the House of Bishops have made it clear theres no place or tolerate for conservative, orthodox Episcopalians. In Arizona, congregations have been split and there has been realignment under the umbrella of African primates who, among other issues, oppose ordination of gays. A writer in the Daily Telegraph in London on Saturday declared that the American churchs position to hold firm and to reject the Anglicans Communions call for parallel leadership dooms Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury. Hes finished, said Damian Thompson, His authority has been utterly destroyed by the decision of the American bishops to reject his scheme to hold together the Anglican Communion, he said. Other denominations facing similar divisions are watching that one closely.

The Multicultural Yellow Pages book for 2007 is out, and critics are back letting everyone know that flaws and blind spots found in past editions have not exactly been corrected. The Jewish community especially has pointed out how multicultural seems to only go so far.Once known as the Muslim Yellow Pages, obviously tailored to the Islamic community in the Valley, it was given its Multicultural name after Marwan Ahmad took it over in 2000. It has been promoted as serving the ethnic communities in Arizona since 1994. The MYP watchdogs sent messages to the media to lay out the flaws in the 14th edition of the book. A chief critic is Jeremy Marwil. His litany of discoveries includes: 1) no Israel embassy listed; 2) Israel is not listed under international area codes; they are under Palestine. Cities in Israel as shown as being in Palestine; 3) no Jewish organizations, but mosques and churches shown; 4) no Jewish museums listed; 5) international airlines are listed, but El Al, the Israeli airline is omitted; and 6) currencies of the world are listed, but not Israel and its shekel.Writes Marwil, Marwan has changed the name of his publication. Removing the Phoenix from the name of the publication has allowed him to access Tucson hence a new Tucson section in his Yellow Pages to spread his message of intolerance. On the positive side, it notes that some Jewish holiday dates are now shown. Gone in this edition is a map of the world. Last years issue had Palestine as the name over the state of Israel. Marwil hailed that, unlike in the past, there were no local or state government official endorsement of the Yellow Pages and that maybe our elected officials are getting the message. Last year, Gov. Janet Napolitano and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, had submitted letters hailing such a cross-cultural publication as a resource. Both withdrew endorsements when the Israeli issues were raised. Marwil was the one who contacted Napolitano and raised the red flags.Ahmad, a Palestinian, who also published the weekly newspaper Muslim Voice, was removed last October by the Phoenix City Council from the Human Relations Commission of Phoenix on which he had served five years. They said he was causing divisiveness in the community. Ahmad countered by saying the city council was "under the influence of the pro-Israel groups, and they’re putting Israeli interests before the city’s interests..In his e-mail to the media, Marwil, was also critical of colleges or groups that advertised in the new book, including Phoenix College and Glendale Community College, plus Air America Radio’s Phoenix station.Last July 11, I wrote a blog about the controversy blogs.eastvalleytribune.com/view.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=360&blogId=21.As a result, Ahmad wrote a lengthy comment to that blog, still appearing with that blog: There is a clear distinction between Jewish and Israeli. While Judaism is a religion, Israel is an occupying nation. The pro-Israeli groups are trying to blur the lines between being Jewish and being an Israeli citizen. Our Multicultural Yellow Pages have invited Jewish people and businesses to join us in the past. Even though the Multicultural Yellow Pages serve the Arab and Muslim communities, we always had an open-minded policy toward businesses who want to benefit from catering to (a) 100,000-member community living in Arizona. .. Today fair-minded Jews are opposing the apartheid policies of Israel and they are being hushed. Our Multicultural directory will continue to serve our diverse community and has always had an open door policy toward all including Jews. Israel will continue to be an exception until it gives Palestinians their rights and allow a just end to their plight. Israel can’t continue to act and behave as a state above the law and ask to be accepted by its victims and the international community.The Yellow Pages web site (www.myplink.com/index.asp) has not been updated since 2006, so it doesnt reflect changes that were made.

Never underestimate how the smallest thing can progressively lead step by step by step to great and amazing things. That happened recently with me in my coverage of the faith scene. Its a lesson to all of us that each of us can be a powerful catalyst for good. And we never realize it at the outset.Heres the story: Back in early December, a press release came to my desk from someone I had never heard of, Mike McCartney of Scottsdale, founder of SinglesofFaith.org. His group provided an online way for Christians to meet and a way to volunteer in the community. For Dec. 16, he was organizing the SinglesofFaith.org Phoenix Work Day. After interviewing him, I told him I needed to illustrate the article and would like to get a photo of him at a charity where some singles would be volunteering on the work day. He lined up Project CURE in Tempe where I could come with a photographer and talk to staff and McCartney and then do the story. That day, I met the Project CURE (Commission on Urgent Relief and Equipment) executive director, Jason Corley, a real go-getter. His organization contacts dozens of Valley hospitals and medical facilities and takes used equipment and surplus medical supplies off their hands, then packages them and ship them to some 100 Third World countries. I discovered an amazing Christian-based organization that uses volunteers to sort and prepare the donated materials for shipment. The article, Single and Christian: Local organization matches unmarried believers with service projects ran in the Tribune on Dec. 16, the day of the volunteer blitz with a number of non-profits. I had been so impressed by Jason Corleys pluck and humanity that I suggested his name to the weekly speaker program co-chairman, Joe Schmoker, of the Kiwanis Club of Tempe, where I have been a member for nearly 21 years and past president. Corley would make a compelling speaker some Thursday noon, I told Joe.Corley spoke to the club on Jan. 25 with a PowerPoint presentation, with slides showing the woeful medical settings in some of the numerous countries he has visited. Plus how much change surplus U.S. equipment can bring to those places. At that meeting was longtime Kiwanian, Richard Neuheisel, a Tempe attorney, who co-founded Tempe Sister Cities in 1970 and who was president of Sister Cities International for 15 years and a board member from 1972 to 2002.. Neuheisel was immediately captivated by Corleys presentation and told how desperately needy was one of Tempes seven Sister Cities Timbuktu, a remote city of 27,000 people plus 15,000 nomads in the western Sahara Desert in the nation of Mali. After the meeting, Neuheisel and Corley talked briefly, exchanged business cards and then later worked out a plan to get the ball rolling for Timbuktu. In short order, two 50-pound medical packets of medical supplies, totaling about $10,000, were put together. On March 2, Neuheisel led 13 from Tempe Sister Cities, including seven women, to Timbuktu to mark the 15th anniversary of their pairing as sister cities. It involved a six-hour flight from Paris, followed by a three-hour connecting flight on an old DC-3 (We went up into the plane by ladder, Neuheisel said.) to Timbuktu. They delivered the supplies for the hospital there. They stayed five days and discussed digging the city another water well for $12,000 (making eight with Tempe help). And construction of another school for about $10,000.Neuheisel said the next project will be to come up with $2,500 so Project CURE can carry out a required needs assessment of Timbuktu to potentially add it to the list of bona fide places to be helped. Shipping a container with $20,000 is in the works and the goal is to get $400,000 to $500,000 of surplus Arizona medical equipment and supplies into the hospital and medical offices in Timbuktu. Of course, the magic of all of this is that three committed people Mike McCarthy, Jason Corley and Dick Neuheisel believe in what they do and know how to get things done. But what a joy for me to help to make things happen. One thing kept leading to the next. In the beginning, I only needed a photo to run with a newspaper article. In the end, I helped make life better in, of all places, Timbuktu.

A good schoolboy knows that Nebraska has the only unicameral state legislature. The 49 senators of this, the 100th Legislature, have gotten more than normal scrutiny this year from the faith community for Sen. Lowen Kruses bill that would have barred underage teens and children from consuming alcohol during communion in religious services.Kruse got wide press, little legislative support and scolding from all sorts of church folks when he introduced LB261, a bill with two key provisions to change the current underage drinking law and eliminate two exceptions: Allowing minors to drink alcohol in their own homes and and in places of worship during religious ceremonies.The retired United Methodist minister had said in a constituent newsletter, I contend the public policy should be that teens NOT be allowed to drink anywhere. A few Christians are contending that communion is drinking. That is ridiculous, but we will change the language to make it clear. All along, he explained he did not favor any law that would compromise religious ceremony, but the current language needed reworking. I do question the mixed message by a priest who, as one parent complained to me, tells teens not to drink but forces an altar boy to drink some wine. Why, he wondered aloud, did churches then let pregnant women and recovering alcoholics to take valid Eucharist that is without wine.There is humor here, he said. A Missouri Synod Lutheran, who supports my bill, says it really is not an issue for them: They put water in the cup, and God changes it to wine. Arrest God.Kruse said he had special reason to close the provision that allows teens to drink at home. He told constituents that his son was injured and paralyzed in an accident by a minor, impaired by alcohol. He quoted law enforcement stories that when they raise a teen keg party and see kids obviously drunk, the kids know to say they were drunk when they left home (or the church bazaar?) and so they cant be arrested.Catholics especially were instrumental in get Kruse to remove his plan to restrict alcohol for minors in churches. Catholic League President Bill Donahue called it an excessive intrusion that violates citizens religious liberties. The idea that kids are leaving religious ceremonies inebriated are absurd, Donahue said. At one point, Kruse changed his bill to allow minors to consume up to a half an ounce of alcohol during religious services like communion. According to the Catholic News Service, another Catholic League representative, Kiera McCaffrey, noted, Even under Prohibition, when alcohol was denied to everyone, no one had a problem with alcohol use in religious services. Kruse talked about putting a two-ounce limit on wine to cover the Eucharist, but the critics did not back down. In mid-January, Kruse gave up and removed all reference to banning teens drinking in religious settings. The rest of the bill was on the Nebraska Legislatures docket to have its hearing in the Judiciary committee today, March 21. The wording: "LB 261 would provide that the only exemption for the consumption of alcohol by persons under 21 is for religious observances only, either in te home or in place of worship." But given a long tradition of responsible families claiming sovereignty over their children and teaching them to learn to drink responsibly, especially wine with meals, the ban on drinking at home doesnt seem likely to go anywhere. Say a little meal prayer, and couldn’t it all be called a religious observance? Twenty-two states now allow underage drinking under certain conditiions, according to Catholic News Service.

I took two years of Latin in high school. A very wise choice for a writer given how well it relates to vocabulary and learning other languages. Latin has been making a comeback in the Roman Catholic Church, especially among those who still remember the cadence, the ancient rhythm and Latins roots in the faith. A couple years ago, Bishop Thomas Olmsted reinstituted the Latin Mass and three parishes now offer them on a regular basis: a Tridentine Mass at 1 p.m. Sundays at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Phoenix; Masses at 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays at St. Augustines Parish in Phoenix; and 5 p.m. Sunday at St. Cecelia Mission in Clarkdale. Besides the language and readings from the Missal in Latin, the priest keeps his back to the congregation in the tradition of the Mass before Vatican II changed things in the 1960s. When Olmsted brought the Mass back, there was a buzz that not many priests were left who could competently lead a Latin Mass. Now, Una Voce America, based in Bellevue, Wash., is teaming with Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter to provide training to any priest interested in learning how to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass. Training starts in June at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Neb., not surprisingly in the Diocese of Lincoln, famous for its traditionalist Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, known for threatening ex-communication of Catholics who join any groups that run counter to Catholic teaching like Call to Action or Planned Parenthood and the family of Masonic organizations. (Bruskewitz has been called The Bishops Bull for his steadfastness and orthodoxy.) Preparations accelerated last fall amid speculation that Pope Benedict XVI was planning to grant greater freedom for celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal, the Una Voce America news release said. UVA director Jason King lamented that most, if not all, American seminarians, study only the modern liturgy that became normative following the Second Vatican Council. Priests will learn not only how far to raise their hands and how to pronounce the Latin, for example, but the various gestures and prayers fit into the liturgical prayer of the church and reflect the faith itself, said the Rev. Calvin Goodwin of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. He provides the standard line, No prior experience with the traditional Mass is needed while it is open to all priests regardless of their current level of Latin proficiency. He assures priests that the instructors are eager to work even with those priests who have no previous Latin training. It will be packed into one intensive week at a cost of about $300, covering course materials, and room and board. Several sessions are planned for June, and waiting lists are set up for priests who want to get on board with learning the old language later. UVAs chairman R. Michael Dunnigan concluded, The Holy Father has been a courageous and eloquent defender of the traditional Mass, and if his will is to grant wider access to it, then we certainly want to do our part to promote the conditions that will help to achieve this goal. Information on the training can be requested at seminary@fsspolgs.org or call (402) 797-7700. Financial aid is available for priests who need it. Who said Latin is a dead language?

Most church or temple volunteers have spent long quiet hours on the campus taking care of things that the main congregation is never aware of or even notices. Sometimes they are accused of living there.Lots of detail things and thankless chores from posting members offering totals to sanitizing the toys in the nursery, trying to get pizza grease out of sofas in the youth lounge to weeding the clutter in the deacons medical supply closet.. Its easy to get resentful that so many folks, who just come and sit in the pews and then go home, seem to take so much for granted. Any discerning eye can always spot facets of the campus that beckon for help, whether it is a physical issue or programmatic. The dynamics vary sharply from small congregation to megachurch. Smaller congregations rely heavily on a core of dedicated handymen who end up spending long hours making repairs and adjustments and doing troubleshooting. They may even have to mow the grass, fix sprinklers, clean up trash, tidy the pews, put oil into door closers, wash windows and tighten the screws on hinges and seats. Keeping paraments pressed, traveling to church to staple newsletters and showing up to let in the piano tuners are other more common things. You can usually tell who is a good church volunteer because he or she has a church key. Many churches hold spring and fall workdays to tackle other kinds of projects like trimming branches, painting, taking care of garden areas and stripping and re-varnishing floors. Larger churches employ competent maintenance teams and farm out responsibilities to teams paid or unpaid. They may wear uniforms and function much like trained maintenance personnel at a company with big toys to reach bulbs in high sanctuary ceilings and dig trenches for irrigation lines. It seems like whenever I visit a church for a news story, professional repair people or volunteers have something torn apart or are busy on repairs or replacements in a sanctuary, hallway or classroom. The M & O budget (maintenance and operations) traditionally is an orphan account, perpetually underfunded and unprepared for the emergencies like when several air-conditioning units go out, a sewer line ruptures or the church board decides to add a new community program and wants space changed to accommodate it. In nearly 35 years of official and unofficial church assignments, I have watched the cavalcade of campus life a veritable changing culture that is driven by such forces as strong personalities, deaths of take-charge volunteers, periods of pride and periods of neglect and a younger generation of church members seemingly less inclined to the business of "doing church." Obviously, retirees must always be eyed years before their schedules open up so they can be strategically put to work in realms of the church. Ive often advocated for my church to create a matrix with the name of every able-bodied person on the rolls, keeping track of everything each volunteer does, then ensuring that each has tasks, so the work is spread around. Some say it would defeat the whole idea of volunteerism. When you pass by a house of worship at an off-hour and you see one or two vehicles there, it might be clergy working late or early. But fat chance it is a volunteer answering a call to carry out some perfunctory detail that most never notice and just take for granted.

Its going to decrease property values is one of the most irksome phrases in the English language. It is used constantly and so easily and so destructively. What will neighbors ever tolerate except more of what they themselves represent and treasure?How did we get to the point where howling neighbors can stop just about anything? In other eras, there was more freedom to erect what was practical on property you owned. While there was more hodge-podge before master planning and strict zoning, there also was a more live-and-let-live attitude. The not-in-my-back-yard, or NIMBY, mindset consequently drives planned projects ever onto the periphery of cities, thus feeding sprawl and more highway construction in an endless churn.Its strange how neighborhoods will allow a Methodist church but not an Islamic mosque. In recent years, a number of Scottsdale churches seeking to expand have been challenged by neighborhoods. Groups of citizens have demanded the city council adopt new limits on churches that would curb their programming and hours. Some of the opposition has to be simply an anti-religion attitude.In Hayward, Calif., for example, Fijian Muslims intend to build a domed mosque capped with four minarets on a slice of land by an elementary school. The neighborhood has a row of Christian churches put up in the 1950s and 1960s during rapid construction of homes. According to Daily Review in Hayward, neighbors are looking warily at the plan and several say they believe the mosque will decrease residential property values in their central Hayward neighborhood. When Mohammed Khan, president of the Muslim group, met recently with 20 neighbors to explain the plans for the 15,000-square-foot mosque, he got a chilly reception.Writes reporter Matt OBrien: Whoever drives down Ventura (Avenue) will see that, complained one resident, describing how visitors might react seeing the towering minarets. This is going to be at the expense of a lot of us people who put a lot of equity in our homes.A call to a nearby Adventist Church got a response that the mosque is not going to happen, then that person hung up. One man who first said the project was OK later balked at there being the two-story mosque and said it would detract from the value of the neighborhood. Some complain the mosque is too much for a small lot. It would also include a basement and a small residence for the imam. Khan, a 17-year resident of Hayward, who has to go to San Francisco to find a mosque for worship, said he has yearned for many years for a mosque in own city. Another Muslim group was previously rebuffed from building a mosque in Haywards Jackson Triangle neighborhood, because of people voicing some of the same complaints.Obviously if people were more open-minded, tolerant and accepting, a mosque would be just one more place of worship quickly gotten used to, and soon folks would be oblivious to it like any structure. A progressive community takes pride in being home to a diverse faith community and will be surprised what having a major world religion will mean to its fabric. Its just too easy to raise the fear of taking a hit on ones home values. It wouldnt even be an issue if there wasnt such underlying prejudice.

For a couple decades in newsprint, e-mails and personal letters, as a resident of Tempe, I have goaded officials about making their sign ordinance fair and practical. I have been quick to point out uneven treatment of those wanting to put up signs. Ordinance revisions in recent years have shown greater common sense. Signs should be visible and informative and serve both the public and the promoter.I remember one Tempe councilman grabbed my collar and shook me when I told him how I thought the new sign on the Centerpoint building was asinine. It lacked size and visibility and reflected how woeful the citys ordinance was, I said. The small sign faded into the building, out of balance with the structure. The mistake was repeated when America West put up its headquarters on First Street, and lame signage was attached high on the side of the building. The US Airways sign, replacing it, has been an improvement.So the new fuss in Gilbert over church signs has caught my attention. The Alliance Defense Fund in Scottsdale filed a lawsuit on March 7 on behalf of a Gilbert church claiming the town is discriminating on the basis of the content of signs. According to a story by Tribune reporter Beth Lucas, the ADF said Good News Presbyterian Church had sought to put out signs the day before morning services, rather than a maximum of two hours before services began, as allowed by the Gilbert ordinance. Rules also call for the temporary signs, often A-frame signs, must to be removed from streets and sidewalks within an hour after services end.According to the code, religious assembly signs are required to be smaller in size, fewer in number and displayed for much less time than similar non-religious signs, said ADF litigation counsel Jeremy Tedesco. Also, according to the ordinance, ideological signs and political signs neither of which the code defines are allowed to be posted without a permit, whereas a permit is required to post religious signs.But Town spokesman Greg Svelund called the accusations false because religious entities are allowed more signs than businesses and elections pose a special situation, including that they are for a limited number of months and have the noble purpose of getting people interested in voting and democracy.According to the code, businesses can put up just one temporary sign (up to six square feet) but it can only be displayed during business hours. It goes up when things open and must come down when doors close.In the 14-page suit (www.telladf.org/UserDocs/ReedComplaint.pdf), its argued that the Good News was trying to follow its mandate to go and make disciples of all nations and that with just 40 regular attendees, it lacks the resources to advertise and promote itself other ways. It has been meeting at Coronado Elementary School for four years and has the extra burden of catching the attention of a drive-by public. So it had been placing 17 signs in strategic places near the school. They had been putting signs out early each Saturday and gathering them up at midday on Sundays. After the church was cited for violating the ordinance in September 2005, the church sharply reduced its number of signs and hours of posting to the legal limit. Attendance subsequently has dropped with the reduction in the temporary signs, the lawsuit said. Church officials recently contacted the towns code compliance department seeking leniency, but were told it could cut no slack in time of display. The town reaffirmed that no more than four signs would be allowed, according to the lawsuit. It notes that weekend residential signs like yard sales and realty open house signs have been staying up longer. The suit says the code chills protected speech by discouraging individuals and groups from placing signs for the purpose of engaging in protected speech based on the religious nature of the sign. The argument is made that a sign encouraging people to attend a church service easily falls into the category of an ideological sign.The town is pretty petty in limiting a faith group to four signs lasting three hours before and after a church service. It is a free speech issue. Cut some slack for entities that lack permanent sites and have to be discovered for lack of 24-7 signs.