I am in Washington, DC, attending a conference of the Religion Newswriters Association.
We spent the whole day at workshops on reporting on Islam and Muslims.
There were some very interesting moments and some great speakers, although much of the discussion was pretty basic -- for reporters who don't know much about Islam. Having covered this topic for 8 years now, there wasn't much new material for me.
Still, there were great "human interest" stories, such as Jamie Tarabay, an Australian who was a war correspondent in Iraq and also worked as a correspondent in Jerusalem. She is in the USA covering religion and reporting feature stories for NPR.
And Anisa Mehdi, a documentary filmmaker, also was fascinating and a very dynamic speaker.
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Yesterday I had a chance to stroll around the city and sat in on a session of Congress in which Representatives were debating the energy bill. Very interesting.
A memorable moment occurred while I was walking on the Ellipse and President Bush's helicopter flew overhead, then landed on the White House's South Lawn. Actually two identical helicopters flew by, one apparently a decoy.
Small World Department:
Outside the White House, I ran into a group of 8th graders and their chaperones from Christ the King Parish in Toledo.
At the airport, I bumped into Jamey and Rachel Schmitz from Toledo. Jamey, the CEO and GM of WLMB-TV in Toledo, is in town for an NRB conference.
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I was quite surprised to get an email note about Ray Boltz, the Christian singer from Indiana who wrote the classic song "Thank You."
Ray has "come out of the closet" to announce that he is gay. Here is a link to the well-written article. It also mentions that Kirk Talley has been "struggling" with his sexual orientation but still sings gospel music in the church.
Boltz has retired from performing. I've interviewed Boltz a few times when he lived in Indiana. After he told his wife and four grown children, he got a divorce and moved to Fort Lauderdale.
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Got a call today from some concerned citizen regarding Dennis Gray, the former Toledo priest who had more sexual-abuse lawsuits against him than any other local cleric in the diocese.
The caller said Gray recently applied for a job working with troubled youngsters, but did not get the job.
Apparently news coverage of the abuse lawsuits against Gray has not been forgotten.
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Washington, D.C.
Sept. 17, 2008