Published June 22, 2009, 12:05 AM EST

by DIANA MARTIN

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Religious leaders have not always been fans of "Les Miserables."The book, by Victor Hugo, was placed on the now-defunct Index of Prohibited Books by the Catholic Church in 1864.On Sunday evening, however, the play, which runs through July 12 at the Fulton Opera House, drew about 70 audienc...

Published June 13, 2009, 1:00 AM EST

by JOAN KERN

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Times are tough.But music soothes the soul.So Efrem Yates wants you to "forget your troubles and get happy" at the second annual Musser Park Music Fest from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 27."Life's not that bad," said Yates, 49, of Lancaster. "Come out; listen to the ...

Published June 6, 2009, 1:00 AM EST

by DAVID O’CONNOR

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - It's a garden that will be "an open door to the community ... a place where everyone can come" and pray, meditate or have a quiet talk with a friend.And it's an open "door" that was all created by the hands of many, many people within Christiana's Latta Memorial Presb...

Published May 30, 2009, 1:00 AM EST

by JOAN KERN

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Russel "Rusty" W. Dicks goes to Guatemala to build houses for lots of reasons — but not to hone his building skills."The reason I work with numbers is because I have 10 thumbs," said Dicks, a Lititz resident and an associate with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans."I hav...

Published May 16, 2009, 2:07 AM EST

by DAVID O'CONNOR

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - It's only when "I started to rid myself of all the anger ... and pushed myself to forgive" that she began to heal.And while that didn't happen overnight, and she still cries for her lost family, she's "just so grateful that my life, which was broken, can be used to help ot...

Published May 9, 2009, 1:15 AM EST

by JOAN KERN

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - You think you've got it bad?Consider the people of Zambia.Located in southern Africa, the country's average annual income is $380, the unemployment rate is from 50 to 85 percent, and it's home to the largest AIDS orphan population in the world.But it's also home to a former Lancaster...

Published May 9, 2009, 1:00 AM EST

by JOAN KERN

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Nothing cries out for decoration like white walls in a new building.That's how self-employed artist Sandy Roland felt after the Christian education building at Lititz Moravian Church was renovated in 2003."It was white, white, white everywhere," said Roland, longtime Sunday school supe...

Published May 8, 2009, 12:52 AM EST

by LORI VAN INGEN

LANCASTER, Pa. - "Let's pray," 5-year-old Eliannah Boll said, forcefully and with conviction, as she stood on her tiptoes on a stool in front of nearly 12,000 people at Long's Park on Thursday night.The Ephrata girl's prayer received a standing ovation from the large crowd gathered for the annu...

Published May 2, 2009, 1:15 AM EST

by JOAN KERN

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - The first time Wil Forster, Rachel Landis and Kate Whiting went to Uganda, they suffered from cultural shock."There's a lot of touch," said Landis, 17, a Manheim Township High School senior. "There's not a lot of personal space."And, "sometimes they eat just one big ...

Published May 2, 2009, 1:00 AM EST

by JOAN KERN

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church sits high on a hill in Maytown.Since 1810, its hexagonal wooden belfry — with a copper and lead-clad spire and Pennsylvania Dutch weathervane — has watched over the historic town.The small congregation in the oldest Lutheran church in northweste...