By: Jill Hanauer, Executive Director

The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) recently celebrated its one year anniversary, and what a year it has been! Last July we announced the formation of TIA due to the growing need for a faith-based counter voice to the radical religious right. Our announcement generated a wave of state and national press coverage, but more importantly, overnight we became a catalyst for clergy, laity and other concerned Americans to begin organizing state and local Interfaith Alliances. The Interfaith Alliance Foundation was also established to conduct education and research activity on the radical right and to bring diverse communities together to begin discussing new ways to bridge traditional left/right debates.

In twelve short months we have accomplished a great deal. Our national Board of Directors, which consists of mainstream religious leaders, has reached millions of Americans through radio talk shows, newspaper, radio and television coverage and speaking events throughout the country. Our board has appeared on national television opposite Ralph Reed, Jerry Falwell and other radical religious right leaders debating a whole host of issues. In our first effort to educate the American public on the tactics and agenda of the radical right in the electoral arena, we issued a national "voters advisory warning" on the Christian Coalition's divisive and misleading voter guides last November, and organized clergy and laity throughout Virginia to speak out against the misuse of religion in the U.S. Senate race between Chuck Robb and Oliver North.

The grassroots response to TIA has been tremendous. We have organized state and local Interfaith Alliances around the country. In Washington State, for example, over 600 people attended our first meeting which was held at the First Methodist Church in Bellevue. The Arkansas Interfaith Alliance, which has 300 clergy members, received extensive coverage from its testimony in front of the state legislature concerning state-sponsored prayer legislation, and has conducted forums on religion and politics. From Atlanta to Philadelphia we are providing mainstream America with a faith-based alternative to the Christian Coalition and other radical right groups.

Finally, I am pleased to report that TIA is building a strong membership base. Our direct mail membership program is doing phenomenally well, and we are adding thousands of new members each month.

As you can imagine, it is difficult for any new national organization to gain its sea legs. Without the support and generosity of many of you we could never have gotten so far in such a short period of time. Unfortunately, the radical right's influence continues to grow; they are having a considerable impact on our legislative and electoral process and they are moving the debate over the direction of our nation further and further to the right. We look forward to working with you to ensure that the radical right does not speak for mainstream Americans and the entire faith community.