Faith

There are homeless people in our community who do not have pillows to rest their heads on, food to eat or clothes to wear. They cannot be forgotten, as the Lord tells us that the poor will be with us always.

As part of an effort to revitalize its influence in the Western World, the Roman Catholic Church is calling out to conservative Anglicans who disagree with their church's decision to allow gays and women to become bishops.

The MU Muslim Student Organization promotes breast cancer awareness and cultural understanding by donning pink head scarves. Hend El-Buri is the founder of Pink Hijab day, an international breast cancer awareness initiative.

Some of the scheduled events include 'trunk or treat' for fall festivals, where children make a circuit around a parking lot gathering candy.

The mandala, or sand painting, is expected to be completed Thursday and destroyed ceremoniously a short time later.

Jack-o'-lanterns came to the U.S. with Irish immigrants who told the tale of "Stingy Jack" and his hollowed-out turnip lantern.

For many Protestants, Reformation Day provides a festive reminder of salvation by grace alone.

Diwali, the five-day Hindu festival of lights, continues until Thursday.

 The Branch, a young adult-targeted ministry of Community United Methodist Church, launched in August with a weekly worship service on Tuesday nights at comedy club and nightclub Deja Vu.

Followers of the Baha'i Faith will celebrate the Birth of the Bab, one of the 19th-century founders of the faith, on Tuesday.

Inspired by a Christian author's book, Central Christian Church revolutionizes a service to better suit "nonchurchy" individuals.

The MU Museum of Art and Archaeology is displaying the exhibit "The Sacred Feminine, Prehistory to Postmodernity" through Dec. 24. The exhibit offers challenges and contradictions in art and scholarship in respect to women's religious roles in history.

Sisters Agnes Schlereth and Francine Koehler of Sacred Heart Catholic Church devoted their lives to religious service, but the number of women interested in becoming nuns has dropped significantly in the past 40 years. The church, along with the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City, understands that new steps must be taken to draw youth into religious life.

Karis Community Church and International Community Church use the genre of film to facilitate discussions about issues of faith.

Different congregations from Columbia came together Sunday to help raise funds for the hungry — both worldwide and in Columbia. Money raised by the annual CROP Hunger Walk will benefit two local ministries.

The festival of Sukkot, a thanksgiving for fall harvest, began Saturday. Congregation Beth Shalom plans a special service at the conclusion of the eight-day observation.

Westboro Baptist Church will be protesting at multiple sites around Columbia on Friday in response to the Stephens College production of "The Laramie Project," a play telling the true story of Matthew Shepard, a gay student murdered while enrolled at the University of Wyoming.

Alive in Christ Lutheran Church on Southampton Drive, Congregation Beth Shalom on Green Meadows Road, Columbia Chinese Christian Church on Rock Quarry Road and First Baptist Church on Broadway were burglarized or vandalized overnight Tuesday.

Once Yom Kippur is over, the post-fast meal is an opportunity for communal dining, as well as family bonding, to kickoff the Jewish new year.