Oct. 31 -- Marriage unites clergy of two churches: A few years ago the Presbyterians and the Disciples of Christ in Coleman merged their congregations.

Oct. 31 -- Pop culture helps bring witchcraft out of the broom closet: "Practical Magic," the latest in a long line of Hollywood films to dabble in the mysteries and rituals of witchcraft, opens with a historical flashback scene showing 17th century witch Maria Owens magically escaping her attempted execution by a mob of angry Puritans.

Oct. 31 -- Dead Sea Scrolls scholar to speak at McMurry: The Dead Sea Scrolls may sound as lifeless as their name to laymen, but spending time with Dr. Ronald S. Hendel can change your mind.

Oct. 31 -- Buddhist prayer flags fly for Dalai Lama's visit: When Carol Brode learned that His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso was coming to Seton Hill College in Greensburg, Pa., next month, she had a vision.

Oct. 31 -- Christians need to need to rid themselves of inner garbage, author says: ''Let your imagination and your intellect make love," author Madeleine L'Engle says. "That's how art is born."

Oct. 31 -- Missionaries spread faith, food, medicine, love: Brian Collier felt out of place. The software marketing director from Thousand Oaks, Calif., was in Ryazan, Russia, playing "Red Light, Green Light" with Russian youths -- and he didn't understand why.

Oct. 31 -- Christian movement has new look: less tradition, young members -- and a death clause: SEATTLE -- If Christianity doesn't become the church of what's happening now, it might not be around for the Second Coming.

Oct. 31 -- Lay spiritual directors offer a new alternative in the search for meaning: CHICAGO -- Signe Gleeson is not someone who goes to church regularly.

Oct. 31 -- What Would Jesus Do -- the game: While unpacking from a vacation, you realize that you accidentally put two hotel towels in your suitcase. You:

Oct. 31 -- Women of Faith celebrates the joy of Christian bonding: CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Women of Faith arrives in Charlotte this weekend for a spiritual girls' night out that will give Christian women a chance to laugh, cry, pray and praise God.

Oct. 31 -- Kicker certain of God's role in missed field goal (Ken Garfield): "I can say with absolute confidence that God did not want me to make that field goal."

Oct. 31 -- Debate over infant baptism continues (Martin Kaufmann): Several weeks ago I wrote that for unity in the Christian Church, we need to agree on the truth in God's Word. To that end, I submit the following on infant baptism.

Oct. 31 -- Evolving churches seek to keep old, attact new members (Terry Mattingly): She likes pipe organs, chants, kneeling, candles and incense.

Oct. 31 -- While mainline denominations lose members, conservative churches see boom (Clark Morphew): I saw some demographic numbers last week about the Christian church that shocked me.

Oct. 31 -- New home will require adjustment (Tom Schaefer): WICHITA, Kan -- The last load of rakes, shovels and clay pots was crammed in the back of a pickup. A short drive later and we were there.

Oct. 31 -- Archbishop Tutu has a simple message: 'God loves you. God Loves Me.' (Lauren R. Stanley): ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- I met a holy man the other day.

Oct. 24 -- Programs aim to help young couples: Gary Rhodes is so proud of the young couple soon to be married, you'd think he was the father of the bride.

Oct. 24 -- Convention celebrates 40th anniversary: BIG SPRING -- In one respect the 40th annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas won't be any different from the first one.

Oct. 24 -- Bible Book Store has changed over the years: Back in 1948 the brand new Bible Book Store was just that.

Oct. 24 -- Casual attire for church may be here to stay: If you were born before 1945, you probably have a special outfit or two you wear to church: modest dresses for women, suits and neckties for men.

Oct. 24 -- A huge new church still overflows: KNOXVILLE, Tenn.: Everyone at First Baptist Church-Concord realized they needed a little more space. They just didn't know how badly they needed it.

Oct. 24 -- Everyday Ethics: It's a struggle to get a grip on life's little quandaries: Many people treat ethics like the good set of dishes, something to be saved just for special occasions.

Oct. 24 -- Jewish adults returning to classrooms to learn to speak Hebrew: ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Joyce Levitan tapped a green pen on the table to get the attention of the students who sat in what is marked as the kindergarten classroom at Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights.

Oct. 24 -- Young children can learn about God, experts say: ORLANDO, Fla. -- When is a child old enough to learn about God?

Oct. 24 -- Christ statue in park causes furor: MARSHFIELD, Wis. -- Motel owner Clarence Reinders loathes the sight of a 17-foot statue of Jesus Christ erected in 1959 at a city park in this central Wisconsin community.

Oct. 24 -- Widow continues late husband's efforts to help others (Ken Garfield): CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Betty Gary learned to love so much during the 10 years she was married to Kays.

Oct. 24 -- 'Dead Man Walking' author finds attitudes about execution changing (Jim Jones): Sister Helen Prejean, the author of "Dead Man Walking," is full of life. The spirited Roman Catholic nun's smiles and hugs won her audience long before she began speaking.

Oct. 24 -- Assessing contrition from the sinner (Terry Mattingly): Try to imagine what would have happened if Bill Clinton were a world-famous pastor.

Oct. 24 -- Pacifist Bahais face growing persecution in Iran (Clark Morphew): There is no question now that the Bahais who live in Iran are in for severe persecution by their Muslim-led government.

Oct. 17 -- Russian religious icons to be displayed: They're not idols, they're icons.

Oct. 17 -- Singer was always destined for stardom: Sara Baker knew long before the rest of the world that one of her voice students at Howard Payne University was destined for greatness.

Oct. 17 -- Youth minister recalls trip to Del Rio: Imagine the surprise when Eddie Castaneda's youth group from Abilene turned out to be the biggest one arriving in Del Rio to assist residents who suffered extensive flood damage in August.

Oct. 17 -- Baptists criticize beer, wine sales on Wake campus: WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Forty years ago, North Carolina Baptists made national headlines when they protested a decision by Wake Forest University to allow coed dancing on campus.

Oct. 17 -- Creationist ministry seeks grassroots start: FLORENCE, Ky. -- Answers in Genesis, the Northern Kentucky-based creationist ministry, has launched a grass-roots campaign it hopes will change the way science is taught in public schools.

Oct. 17 -- 'Designing nun' honored at University of Incarnate Word: SAN ANTONIO --Call her the Designing Nun.

Oct. 17 -- After a lot of seeking, Americans are finding that spirituality means doing: DALLAS -- Barbara Sanders found God in her darkened bathroom.

Oct. 17 -- A farm family finds shelter in the Bible: Inside a fenced yard behind a ranch house on a dirt road miles off a four-lane Mississippi highway, a tree blooms.

Oct. 17 -- After 20 years, do we really know Pope John Paul II?: At 6:45 on the evening of Oct. 16, 1978, Cardinal Pericle Felici appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica and spoke the words that the crowd in the square below had been waiting for hours to hear:

Oct. 17 -- Most of us trying to figure out how to use the gift inside us (Ken Garfield): CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- I started developing this theory about spirituality last Sunday morning, somewhere between the offering and the sermon.

Oct. 17 -- Organization ministers to ministers in need (Jim Jones): Temptation and opportunity abound for ministers to become involved in sexual affairs with their female parishioners.

Oct. 17 -- A quandary for religion reporters (Terry Mattingly): Before he answered the Los Angeles Times' questions, the Rev. Oral Roberts wanted to ask some questions of his own.

Oct. 17 -- Best sermons relate religious message to real-life stories (Clark Morphew): I am trying to think about preaching, and it is a depressing exercise.

Oct. 17 -- President faces moral dilemma on Kosovo (Lauren R. Stanley): There are times when I am glad I am not president of the United States.

Oct. 17 -- 'Daddy' is still the best word in English language (David Waters): My little angel is 16.

Oct. 10 -- Baptist church celebrates 100th anniversary: At one time the forerunner of present-day First Baptist Church of Tuscola had a sign on it reading: "All Denominations -- Except Christians -- Preach Here."

Oct. 10 -- CROP walk raises funds to alleviate hunger: "We Walk Because They Walk."

Oct. 10 -- First Priority meeting to be held: Youth ministers and senior pastors are invited to an organizational meeting Tuesday of a campus ministry known as First Priority.

Oct. 10 -- WWJD? He'd roar off on a hog to do God's work: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Perhaps it's not one of the more pressing theological questions of our time, but it's certainly an interesting one to consider:

Oct. 10 -- Adding a little drama to the weekly sermon: The Rev. Doug Clay has been known to put on a Superman costume under his suit, wheel a DeLorean into the sanctuary, or pull a driver out of his golf bag during the sermon to get his point across to the congregation at Calvary Assembly of God.

Oct. 10 -- 50 years after publication, Thomas Merton's spiritual classic lives on: Fifty years ago this month, a young Catholic monk published a book about his spiritual conversion.

Oct. 10 -- Getting religion: The kick in the pants that sent Roger Davenport over the edge, and closer to God, came in a nightmare.

Oct. 10 -- Good news, bad news on sermons (Ken Garfield): CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- There's good news and bad news on the sermon front, if your goal is to be first in the cafeteria line after church and to have a clear conscience when you get there.

Oct. 10 -- God brought peace, and Pax TV, into Paxson's life (Jim Jones): God uses dramatic ways to capture people's attention. That's the view of Lowell "Bud" Paxson, the 6-foot-6 multimillionaire founder of the new Pax TV family television network.

Oct. 10 -- Episcopalians debate dogma past and present (Terry Mattingly): Just because the early church taught that certain doctrines were true doesn't mean the modern church can't change and preach something else, according to the Arkansas bishop who is a key figure in a global Anglican dispute.

Oct. 10 -- Former Moon family member chronicles abuse, corruption (Clark Morphew): What does a woman do if she is a member of a religion, married to the founder's son, beaten, raped and humiliated? She runs.

Oct. 10 -- Don't base values on cliches (Tom Schaefer): Why we shouldn't base values on cliches and other self-serving slogans ...

Oct. 10 -- A dying nun gives to the end (David Waters): Sister Elaine is leaving Monday.

Oct. 3 -- Substance abuse facility helps inmates find spirituality: Steve Marcee remembers the moment like it was yesterday.

Oct. 3 -- People should be 'Just Like Jesus': The members of Max Lucado's congregation may be the only readers of religion bestsellers in the country who aren't rushing out to buy his latest book.

Oct. 3 -- Christian gathering to be held in Knox City: With no Promise Keepers rally within driving distance this year, Steve Pepper decided to bring the Promise Keepers to Knox City.

Oct. 3 -- Communion crossovers in Britain balked by Catholics: LONDON -- The Roman Catholic Church in Britain has delivered a sharp rebuff to other Christians by refusing to relax rules for members to take Communion in each other's churches, even in cases of mixed marriages.

Oct. 3 -- Doctors increasingly find introducing prayer helps calm patients and speeds recovery: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Back when Dr. Arnold Ahnfeldt was serving his residency, he was confronted with a difficult case involving a hairdresser who faced amputation of her severely infected thumb.

Oct. 3 -- Historic monastery will get an update: FERDINAND, Ind. -- If the Benedictine Sisters were starting over, they would have a much smaller and far simpler monastery.

Oct. 3 -- Mormons pound pavement as other churches find new ways to share faith: HURST, Texas -- Bremen Drive on a late August afternoon is silent. Everyone who can be indoors is.

Oct. 3 -- To reach the masses, many churches try Espanol: SAN ANTONIO -- When the Rev. Roger Scott Penrod talks about pecados (sins) he uses the wrong accent. Likewise, when he uses the Spanish word for the Lord, Señor, it comes out sounding instead like "senior."

Oct. 3 -- African-American clergy hang tough with Clinton (Jim Jones): America's cultural divide is showing itself again. While a number of prominent white church leaders are demanding President Clinton's resignation or impeachment, many African-American clergy have a far different opinion.

Oct. 3 -- Methodists discuss whether to split or stay (Terry Mattingly): The Rev. Charles Sineath wasn't surprised when a close friend responded to a cancer diagnosis by soberly focusing on defeating that tumor.

Oct. 3 -- Childhood lie to obtain Bible haunts -- a little (Clark Morphew): I remember the first Bible I ever owned with feelings of guilt and sadness. I had won the Bible, actually a pocket-size New Testament, on the day the Gideons came to my fourth-grade classroom to give Bibles to the students.

Oct. 3 -- Clinton not the country's moral leader (Michael O'Connor): I confess I am surprised by the vehemence of those who feel betrayed by Clinton, as though he had not been elected just to be president but also First Pastor or Supreme Moral Example.

Oct. 3 -- Isolated seniors in need of sympathetic ear, programs (Tom Schaefer): She was 80 years old, scared and confused.

Oct. 3 -- Mark and Sammy help keep 2 friends together (Lauren R. Stanley): ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Thank you, Mark McGwire, for all the memories, for the highlights, for the magnificent 70 home runs hit in one glorious baseball season.