Noa Nessim was a delegate at the national Girl Scouts convention in Atlanta in 2005 when the debate turned to a phrase in the organization's constitution.

She joined those who sought to remove the phrase, which proclaimed that Girl Scouts are "united by a belief in God."

"They voted not to strike it," recalled Noa, 17, a member of Troop 1761 in East Brunswick and copresident of the senior planning board of the Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey. "I voted in favor of striking. I was taken aback and disillusioned with the whole organization because that phrase was excluding people."

But rather than turn her back on the Scouts, the East Brunswick girl decided to turn her anger over the statement into a learning experience bringing together those of many beliefs.

On Nov. 11, more than 50 Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, Muslims, Universalist Unitarians, and atheists came together for a five-hour dialogue and dinner at Noa's synagogue, Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick.

The project was approved by adult advisers from the Girl Scouts, as part of Noa's efforts to receive a Gold Award, the highest honor for a Senior Girl Scout.

The guests ranged from clergy and community leaders to Noa's classmates and teachers at East Brunswick High School, where she is a senior.

Rabbi Daniel Fellman, assistant religious leader at Anshe Emeth and a member of an interfaith clergy group, recommended invitees, as did Rabbi Esther Reed, associate director of Rutgers Hillel.

Through a friend, Noa invited board members of St. Bartholomew's Catholic Church in East Brunswick. The Interfaith Dialogue Center, a Turkish-Muslim group, also sent a representative.

Noa's parents, Shlomo Nessim and Debbie Schlossberg, also participated.

"It would have been a success had the program been anything because of the tremendously varied and interesting group of people there," said Noa, in a phone conversation the day after the event. "People shared, and from the feedback I got, they learned a lot and thought it was a very good way to spend their Sunday."

Noa used techniques she learned over the past two years participating in Face to Face-Faith to Faith, an international multifaith youth leadership program.

Although there were speakers and the showing of a Face to Face film about Israeli and Palestinian girls, interaction between the various participants was the centerpiece of the program.

In a large circle and in small groups, participants spoke about their religion or beliefs and how they felt when they heard someone speak derogatorily about someone else's religion.

Pastor George Montanari of Middlebush Reformed Church in Somerset said he was actively involved in interfaith work at Rutgers and through the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, calling it "an important step to reducing conflict in the world."

"I think it's impossible to be a group of people without religion," he said. "I think the difference between religion and faith is that relationship to our creator or redeemer."

Sari Workman of North Brunswick, an Anshe Emeth congregant, said she believed religion taught people morals and ethics.

However, Evelyn Strombom, a 17-year-old East Brunswick High School student, who said she was a nonreligious Unitarian, acknowledged she had "mixed feelings" about religion after "seeing all the trouble and conflict" caused in its name.

Sobhana Farooqui, a 17-year-old Marlboro High School student, said that as a Muslim she felt the events surrounding the 9/11 terrorist attacks and negative publicity about her religion made her "want to be a better Muslim."

Rohini Bhaumik, a Hindu, said she was angered by jokes and insults about anyone's religion. "Religion is part of our collective consciousness as human beings," said the 16-year-old East Brunswick High School student. "When we make fun or insult that religion we insult that collective consciousness."

Participants took a break to allow Muslims to use one of the synagogue's religious school classrooms for one of their five daily prayer services.

Later in one of the smaller breakout groups that met in the classrooms, Taseem Shamim, a Somerset ophthalmologist and president of the Muslim Women's Coalition, was peppered with questions about Islam.

Shamim's national organization was created in the aftermath of 9/11 to combat the negative image of Muslims, explore interfaith dialogue, and provide a forum for women to better their communities.

A native of India, she explained she had gone to a Hindu elementary school and Catholic high school. She spoke of the commonalities of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

"Now that I am a doctor, many of my friends are Jewish," said Shamim, who provided one of the lighter moments of the day when she added, "In fact, when I was in medical school they were all Jewish."