Faith/Religion

Cicyfarth and four other members of the White Hawthorne Protogrove talk over food at a restaurant in downtown Columbia, planning their ritual to recognize the spring equinox.

These five have been meeting periodically for sandwiches and fellowship for nearly half a year. They are neo-druids, people who draw on a multitude of pantheons to find positive ethics, natural harmony, and spiritual connection. Since the fall of 2012, Cicyfarth and the others have been fighting to become a church.

[View the story "Missourians respond to SCOTUS gay marriage hearings" on Storify]

This story was produced in partnership with Columbia Faith & Values. 

When the world called, William Claassen said "Yes." 

The Columbia author has hitchhiked across North America, worked on a kibbutz in Israel and 

He recently published his third book, "Journey Man: A World Calling." The book tells of his travels through nine countries on four continenets over a 30-years span.

Missouri's Catholic bishops have joined the chorus urging the appeal of a federal court ruling striking down the state's contraception insurance exemption for people with religious or moral objections.