Cover: Saving Graces
Beyond the crowded malls, inflated prices and speeding cars, faith, hope and charity endure. The three graces, in pictures, by Christopher Gardner.

News: Religious Leanings
Move over, religious right. The left is here, and it looks like the big guy loves them, too.

Public Eye: Gary Robinson moves from Mayor Hammer to Masters Institute.

Canned Don'ts: Ever tried making a casserole out of dill pickles, mayonnaise and beets?

Ring in the New: The New Century Chamber Orchestra shines in season opener.

Beat Street: The hits and tributes kept coming at Puff Daddy and the Family World Tour.

Mom's Fridge: Christina Waters remembers the goodies, the baddies and the many favorite things tucked into the refrigerator back home.

Talking Tarantino: Pam Grier and Samuel L. Jackson defend the director Quentin Tarantino's cross-cultural urges in Jackie Brown.

From Agony to Myth: Director Atom Egoyan confronts mortality in The Sweet Hereafter.

Dirty Old Harry: Woody Allen deconstructs himself in Deconstructing Harry.

Rose-Colored Glasses: Belgian Ma Vie en Rose suggests a fantasy of American suburban life.

Misdirected Mail: Costner's elephantine Postman fails to deliver.

Walk Backward: Sally Potter learns The Tango Lesson.

Will to Power: Good Will Hunting serves up sentimentality in indie-film flannel.