Parishioners

When parishioners gather at St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church this morning to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, their Easter Mass will conclude on an artistic note: the unveiling of what might be a forgotten masterpiece of American religious art. After decades of neglect, a restored painting of St. Aloysius Gonzaga will take its place in the main hall of the Calvert Street landmark. Officials say the canvas, and another that is being restored, could be the work of Constantino Brumidi, the 19th-century Italian-born master who created the famous murals depicting American history in the U.S. Capitol.

When the Rev. Michael J. White outlines the events leading to the Church of the Nativity's $1.8 million renovation and addition project, he starts with a leaky roof. The leaders of the Roman Catholic church in Timonium knew a few years ago that they would have to find the money to fix the roof, said White, pastor for the past eight years. They took a look around, saw other needed improvements, and, in the fall of 2002, launched a fund-raising effort. The work will be formally unveiled tomorrow night at a special Mass.

One of Baltimore's best known religious landmarks, the Basilica of the Assumption, will close to the public for nearly two years starting next month so workers can complete a $32 million restoration and modernization. Leaders of the Basilica's parish, in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Baltimore, have notified parishioners that the building at Cathedral and Mulberry streets will close after Nov. 21 services and that it likely will not reopen until late summer 2006. Church officials say they considered keeping the building open during the work but decided it would be more prudent "from both a safety and cost perspective" to close it temporarily and hold services elsewhere.

FDA allows for use of home defibrillators without prescription WASHINGTON - People worried about sudden cardiac arrest no longer need a doctor's prescription to buy devices that jump-start the heart. The Food and Drug Administration for the first time agreed yesterday to let consumers go online and purchase the $2,000 devices for home use. Some 80 percent of the instances of sudden cardiac arrest, which is best treated by a shock from a defibrillator, happen at home. The FDA endorsed a July recommendation from its advisory panel to remove the prescription requirement after federal advisers were satisfied that people could use the machines safely at home.

The killings of three children last week in a Park Heights apartment were at the front of many parishioners' minds yesterday as they walked into what is considered the mother of Baltimore's Hispanic churches. It didn't matter that the families of Alexis Espejo Quezada, 10, Lucero Solis Quezada, 9, and Ricardo A. Quezada Jr., 9, did not attend St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church, at Wolfe and Lombard streets, or its nearby sister church, St. Patrick. It didn't matter that most parishioners - a combination of immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador and elsewhere, along with some longtime residents - didn't know the children personally.

CATHOLIC BISHOPS can say what they want in ministering to their flocks. But when they refuse to serve politicians Communion because they hold views antithetical to church teachings, bishops are wielding a holy sacrament as a clumsy, political weapon. Publicly sanctioning parishioners -- whether they are a presidential candidate, a schoolteacher, or a factory worker -- for their political beliefs may be within the bounds of canon law, but it serves neither the church nor democracy well.

After more than three centuries, St. Anne's Episcopal Church - a historic landmark in downtown Annapolis - remains home to worshipers of all faiths, tourists and to music lovers who enjoy the popular concerts held there. The church is at the center of Church Circle, a busy thoroughfare from which streets radiate like spokes of a wheel, leading the way to the State House, governor's mansion, antique shops and restaurants. "Clearly it was one of the premiere points of the city when it was planned," said the Rev. John Randolph Price.

The bookshelf in Kristine Holmes' office reflects her career path. Healing Prayer and To Forgive is Human share space with Trauma and Recovery and The Nursing Drug Reference. After 25 years as an emergency and trauma nurse, Holmes entered the burgeoning field of parish nursing, which seeks to integrate the role of faith in health and healing. Since she became a full-time parish nurse in 1999 at First Presbyterian Church of Howard County in Columbia, Holmes has worked to introduce the concept to other faith communities in the county.

It's early evening, and a calm has come over St. Mary's Church - the Gothic structure that towers over downtown Annapolis. One by one, the staff of the rectory have locked up and headed home. The buses from the Catholic parish's schools have crawled away, carrying crowds of squealing students. The halls have grown silent, and the lights have dimmed. But this evening - like most - a lone light flickers in the window of the rectory. To some, its glow might be mysterious. But to the members of St. Mary's, it is a familiar reminder of the man behind the scenes of the historic red-brick church.

During services last weekend at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, parishioners celebrated the first Sunday after Christmas, as well as their first Christmas season, in a new home at Oakland Business Park off Route 108 in Columbia. For several years, the church operated out of temporary facilities at Burleigh Manor Middle School in Ellicott City, where everything had to be set up and then taken down before and after each service or church activity. It was a difficult situation that required a great deal of scheduling and extra effort on the part of the church membership and leadership.