http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/ tag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2008:/onfaith/prayingfields/542 Tue, 06 May 2008 10:53:49 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.2 http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/05/running_with_islam.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/05/running_with_islam.html Tue, 06 May 2008 10:53:49 -0500 Juashaunna Kelly's clothing is not the only aspect of her religion that affects her running. She fasts during the month of Ramadan so she often trains and competes without drinking water or eating during the day. Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/04/the_catholic_church_and_sport.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/04/the_catholic_church_and_sport.html Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:20:31 -0500 When it comes to spreading the word of God through sports, the Catholic church lags behind other Christian groups. Evangelicals have been much more enterprising in using athletes to spread their message. That may be changing. At the behest of the late John Paul II, an office was set up at the Vatican called Church and Sport in 2005. That year, the Pontifical Council for the Laity also held its first international symposium on the global phenomenon of sport. One of the 50 participants from around the world invited to the conference was Robert Feeney, a religion teacher at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington and author of “The Catholic Ideal: Exercise and Sports” (Ignatius Press, 2005).... Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/04/an_nba_allstar_and_his_faith.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/04/an_nba_allstar_and_his_faith.html Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:21:11 -0500 The NBA star talks about his prayers, his play and how some of his fellow players have been 'church hurt': "They go to church, and you know, pastor wants their money, things of that nature. They kind of shy away from church and feel like the church just wants their money." Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/03/spiritual_march_madness.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/03/spiritual_march_madness.html Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:48:42 -0500 How would God fill out a bracket? Would a school's religious background matter? Is the Pope cheering for Georgetown? Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/03/gender_and_religion_on_the_bas.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/03/gender_and_religion_on_the_bas.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:16:47 -0500 The exclusion of a female referee from a boys' basketball game in Kansas reveals wider and deeper divisions in the Roman Catholic world. Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/02/faith_and_basketball.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/02/faith_and_basketball.html Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:14:11 -0500 Whenever I am in a slump, a shooting slump, it could be anything, if our team, if something’s going wrong with our team, that keeps me grounded. I know if nothing else I can talk to God. Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/02/should_coaches_be_seen_but_not.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/02/should_coaches_be_seen_but_not.html Thu, 14 Feb 2008 07:12:44 -0500 Maryland men’s basketball coach Gary Williams had some advice for Jimmy Patsos when he was hired at Loyola College in Baltimore four years ago. Williams, who had coached at Boston College, one of the oldest Jesuit universities in the country, knew that coaching at a Catholic school had its own set of challenges. “When I took this job, [Williams] said, ‘Let’s go over a few things about coaching at a Jesuit school,’” said Patsos, who was Williams’ assistant at Maryland for 13 seasons and helped the Terrapins win a national title in 2002. “It’s hard to pinpoint what the differences are, but there are differences.” For Patsos -- a Catholic who had gone to a Jesuit high school in Boston and played basketball at Catholic University in Washington -- going to Jesuit Loyola wasn’t as much of a departure as going to Boston College had been for Williams, who isn’t Catholic. Yet even though Patsos is very comfortable in a Catholic setting, he recognizes the subtle distinctions between religiously-affiliated schools and secular ones. “I do think at religious schools you do have to conduct yourself just a little bit differently, not a ton differently,” Patsos said. “You’ve got to be yourself. . . . I’m trying to follow the mission of the college, and I think I’ve done a good job of that.”... Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/01/a_jew_in_the_nfl.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/01/a_jew_in_the_nfl.html Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:31:17 -0500 Before and after games, in high school, in college and in the pros, his coaches and teammates would say the Lord's Prayer. Alan Veingrad would said his own prayer. Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/01/gibbs_puts_family_first.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/01/gibbs_puts_family_first.html Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:16:02 -0500 Redskins chaplain wasn't surprised that Joe Gibbs retired again. Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2007/12/tebow_talks_god_and_media_igno.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2007/12/tebow_talks_god_and_media_igno.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:44:11 -0500 The media is quick to report on athletes' misdeeds, but shies away from highlighting their faith. Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2007/12/redskins_great_darrell_green_t.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2007/12/redskins_great_darrell_green_t.html Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:52:06 -0500 No, I never prayed to win. I prayed for protection so I wouldn’t get my head knocked off. That was pretty much about it. Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2007/11/faith_and_sean_taylor.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2007/11/faith_and_sean_taylor.html Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:47:50 -0500 Kathy Orton | Many players are having a hard time understanding Sean Taylor’s death. No matter how strong or weak their faiths, they question God’s role in the tragedy. Kathy Orton http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2007/11/about_praying_fields.html http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2007/11/about_praying_fields.html Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:42:01 -0500 Sports have increasingly become a pulpit for expressing an athlete’s religious beliefs. Whether it’s the baseball player who points his index finger skyward after hitting a home run or the running back who kneels in the end zone after scoring a touchdown, God appears to have joined many professional, collegiate and high school teams. But what do we make of this religiosity in what is otherwise a secular game? Praying Fields explores the interaction between sports and religion by inviting coaches and athletes to talk openly about their faith -- or lack of faith -- and how their beliefs have affected them on and off the field. In conversations with sports people from all levels -- professional, college, high school and youth -- we’ll try to answer whether religion plays a greater role in riskier sports, whether God is a fan of [your team name here] and whether the winner-take-all mentality agrees with religious teachings. I have been a sportswriter for nearly 15 years, most recently at The Washington Post, where I covered the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl-winning season and the Maryland women's basketball team's run to an NCAA championship. Raised a Methodist, I consider myself a “submarine” Christian, surfacing at Christmas and Easter. I hope these discussions lead to a better understanding of how people come to believe what they do.... Kathy Orton