Religious Rites

By ordinary standards, Richard Shefter makes a lousy bodyguard: He doesn't carry a weapon, he sometimes dozes on the job and his clients are never seen or heard from again. But Shefter is no ordinary watchman. He's a shomer --one who guards the dead according to a little-known Jewish tradition that dates back at least 2,000 years. "It's an unusual occupation," says Elchonon Zohn, a Queens, N.Y.

In his 22 years as a rabbi, Mark Miller has officiated at all kinds of bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies celebrating Jews' religious maturity and commitment: the usual teen-agers, occasional married couples, pairs of brothers or sisters, even brother-sister duos.

After hours of swaying trance-like and chanting Islamic prayers, the dervishes who live in Serbia's Kosovo province began the ultimate test of their faith. Crowded before a dervish altar, the little boys went first. Shejh Xhemali Shehu, the holy father of the clan, blessed a metal spear the size of a knitting needle and then guided it through the fleshy cheek of each youngster's beaming face. No blood. A miracle, the holy father proclaimed. The older men went next.

September was a busy month in the religious community, with the Jewish High Holy Days, the start of Ramadan for Muslims and two Los Angeles-area visits by Buddhism's Dalai Lama. The pace continued as the month wrapped up with lectures, discussions and preparations for a special observance now in its 70th year. Christian Communion On Sunday, Protestants around the world -- in an expression of Christian unity -- will take Holy Communion on the same day.

The people of Cochiti Pueblo have made offerings at secret shrines in the quiet mountains near their homes for centuries, playing their part in an intricate dance of prayer and ritual that seeks to bring human life into harmony with the rhythm of the passing seasons. Now, strangers are visiting some of these holy places. They may tamper with what they find, or perhaps leave behind crystals, feathers and other objects, in an attempt to honor Native American beliefs.

Thousands of people seeking spiritual purification walked into the sea Friday evening in what church officials said was the largest baptism in memory. The converts entered the surging surf, some singly, others holding hands with spouses and children, and were greeted by pastors who asked them if they were ready to accept Jesus Christ in their lives.

Thousands of people seeking spiritual purification walked into the sea Friday evening in what local church officials said was the largest baptism in memory. The converts entered the surging surf, some singly, others holding hands with spouses and children, and were greeted by pastors who asked them if they were ready to accept Jesus Christ in their lives. As the converts nodded or whispered their affirmation, they were briefly submerged in the water. Most surfaced smiling.

At the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, director Salam Al-Marayati has been fielding dozens of calls in recent days from non-Muslims asking about the Million Man March set for Monday in Washington, D.C. "They call because the march is sponsored by the Nation of Islam, we're Muslims, and they figure we must be connected," said Al-Marayati. "They have no idea there's any difference."

Days before Halloween, the demons already were loose in this southern town of tall pines and steepled churches. Bob Larson, an evangelical minister who has honed the art of exorcism into astonishing public performance, was facing down the demon of witchcraft in Karen Ward, a 42-year-old medical administrator. Or so the guttural voice that emanated from the woman identified itself.

About 100,000 devout Jews descended on this dusty provincial town recently to remember a North African holy man through public prayer, euphoric dance and the ritual slaughter of sheep. In the years since the death in 1984 of Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira--a mystic known affectionately as "Baba Sali," or "the father of prayer" in Arabic--the annual event marking his death has grown into a major festival for Jews of North African descent.