NJ Update 6/04:
Town models are beginning to
move forward and attract interest. The
one of which I'm most aware, since I'm
involved with it, is Cranford Cares About
Bullying (CCAB). After a long, slow period
of development, it is starting to move.
There is a commitment and plan to holding
a 'Sabbath Weekend' this fall and a
town-wide
youth activity this spring, featuring
a performance of New Kid (the powerful
play about bullying from George St. Playhouse,
in New Brunswick). The idea of the Sabbath
Weekend is that on one designated weekend,
all of the participating faith community
leaders in the town will concurrently
address the issue of childhood (and perhaps
adult, as well) bullying in their sermons
and other activities. This should draw
strong attention from the media and the
community, and lead to further faith-community-based
bullying awareness activity. The campaign,
which is sponsored by the Cranford Interfaith
Clergy Council, will provide the faith
community leaders with materials about
bullying, including the national campaign
handouts mentioned above (one of which
is written specifically for faith communities).
There are also 2 new books which address
bullying from a spiritual/religious perspectives
(both from a Christian perspective, only):
Bullying as a Spiritual Crisis, and Confronting
the Demon (which is primarily about adult
bullying). While neither book is perfect,
from an evidence-based point of view,
they nonetheless represent an important
advance in awareness of the importance
of the issue.