DENVER (AP) — In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. asked a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill.

In regards to William Van Amber Fields’ letter titled “Christians and Muslims are at war, whether we admit it or not,” it is simply not the case. We are not at war with any religion. We are dealing with criminals who use religious or political extremism as an excuse to engage in terrorism, whether it was Osama bin Laden or Timothy McVeigh. Good people, whether Christians, Jews, Muslims, agnostics or atheists, are allies in getting rid of this scourge.

Founding Elder Cliff Shirk has retired as an elder at Beth Hallel Messianic Fellowship, a Jewish group that believes Jesus is the Messiah.

When informed that the Justice Department had seized a trove of Associated Press phone records, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said: "If the Obama administration is going after reporters' phone records, they better have a damned good explanation."

With school nearly out for the summer, local churches are scheduling Vacation Bible Schools that combine Christian educating for children along with games and snacks.

During a recent BBC News interview, a retired U.S. general was asked if he felt the U.S. is still at war and with whom. His answer hurt: "Yes, and it's a war we, our kids and grandkids will not see the end of."

If a person be in Christ, not in religion, in the church or in a moral reformation, but in Christ, by faith in Christ, by a new birth wrought in the soul by the Spirit of God, in Christ through electing love, redeeming grace and a living union, he is a new creature (Gallatians 6:15).

Thank you, Lodi. What wonderful support so many thousands within our greater community have given regarding “The Story” ministry and articles that were published right here in the Religion section. The members and friends of Emanuel Lutheran, First Baptist, Ham Lane Church of Christ, Temple Baptist and Vinewood Community Church thank you and the Lodi News-Sentinel for being part of “The Story.”

Dear Dzhokhar:

It has been a hard week. You hurt a lot of people in Boston and around the world. The injuries to both body and soul will last the lifetimes of the victims. I cannot begin to fathom what events transpired that provoked you to participate in such evil. Ultimately, it doesn't matter.

A Theravadan Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka told more than 100 people about Buddha's advice for having an ideal life on Sunday, April 13.

Huffing and puffing, I rocked back  and forth until I could coax my aching knees to help lift me off the couch. I ambled toward the bathroom of my Fresno apartment, dropping off another empty beer bottle in the kitchen along the way.

With a mandolin and vocals, Central California band Poor Man’s Poison is joining into the folk-Americana craze that has become popular since bands like Mumford & Sons started winning Grammys. Poor Man’s Poison is opening for Darius Rucker in Stockton on April 25, and musician Tommy McCarthy took a few minutes to share about the band and their music.

(StatePoint) Are you having trouble landing a job and you’re not sure why? The right skills and an impressive resume may get you an interview, but getting hired is another story.

The question of whether gay and lesbian people ought to be able to marry in the same manner and institution as heterosexuals is about one thing and one thing only: civil rights. No other argument is before us other than whether U.S. citizens will be granted equal protection under the law, as guaranteed in the 14th Amendment.

This week, the Stockton-Area Atheists and Freethinkers gathered at University of the Pacific for a live reading of "8 — The Play." We joined with those of other worldviews and faiths to listen to a dramatic, emotional and sometimes comical portrayal of the trial that turned the tides toward marriage equality.

The Rev. Bhante Seelawimala, a Theravadan Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka, will be the guest speaker on Sunday as the Buddhist Church of Lodi celebrates Buddha’s birth in India 2,600 years ago.

For three years into her college career, Lodi native Krista Baumbach’s focus was on her ambitious double major of psychology and criminology.

(StatePoint)  If you’re like most people, you have probably contemplated one of life’s greatest mysteries, what happens after death?

Churches vary on how many people attend their services. For example, an estimated 50 people showed up at Redeemer Lutheran, a Missouri Synod church, for its traditional Easter Sunday service.

It's spring again, the loveliest and most hopeful time of the year — "the Jewish spring," a feast of freedom and the Christian celebration of freedom — redemption. A blessed Resurrection Sunday and Passover feast to all.

Sunday begins Holy Week in Lodi, Galt and throughout the Christian world. It starts with Palm Sunday tomorrow and culminates on Easter Sunday, March 31, when Christ's Resurrection is celebrated.

The News-Sentinel would like to receive Holy Week schedules and related information from churches in Lodi, Woodbridge, Lockeford, Clements, Acampo, Morada, Galt and Herald. That includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Today in New York City, a great parade is being held with roughly 150,000 participants marching down Fifth Avenue in a massive celebration of all things Irish.

In 1978, when the College of Cardinals elected Poland's Karol Józef Wojtya, my Sicilian-born father shook his head in disbelief. Why, he wondered, would the Roman Catholic Church willingly give up the papacy, its only position of global authority? Then, as now, Italians represented the College of Cardinals' largest voting block.

The News-Sentinel would like to receive Holy Week schedules and related information from churches in Lodi, Woodbridge, Lockeford, Clements, Acampo, Morada, Galt and Herald. That includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.