Members of the United House of Prayer For All People are baptized by fire hose, a church tradition since 1926, at the end of the church's annual convocation in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 22 August 2010. Unlike others Christians who look at baptism as a one-time event, members of the United House of Prayer believe in being re-baptized every year. One of the American South's most symbolic religious traditions is making a comeback. Outdoor baptisms, popularized in the 18th century by African slaves, had all but disappeared by the 1950s with the rise of indoor baptismal pools. Yet an increasing number of Baptist churches are forsaking the safety and convenience of these pools for nearby rivers, lakes, oceans, and even fire hoses. 'It's a re-discovery,' says Gregory Hughes, Pastor of True Life Ministries, which holds an annual ocean baptism in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. 'It's a way to embrace tradition while renewing our spirit.' EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
Dead tilapia float in the Salton Sea near Salton Sea Beach, California, USA, 19 January 2011. Erosion and high toxicity levels from farm runoff has left the Salton Sea increasingly contaminated, causing massive fish die-offs, and lake-side towns to become all but deserted. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
Two female members of the Knights of the Southern Cross of the Ku Klux Klan (KSCKKK) dawn their robes and hoods inside the home of a KSCKKK member just before the start of a cross lighting ceremony on private property near Powhatan, Virginia, USA, 28 May 2011. The Invisible Empire is experiencing a revival in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Three chapters of the Ku Klux Klan have reemerged in the state, holding rallies, lighting crosses, and seeking new members. Anger over gay rights, racial changes in the population, and a black president are frequent refrains at these rallies. Yet Klan members say they are not about hate, but about taking pride in their own race. 'The blacks have the NAACP [The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People], the Mexicans La Raza, and the Jews have the ADL [the Anti-Defamation League],' says Stan Martin of the Rebel Brigade Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. 'We whites have the Ku Klux Klan.' EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
A dead oak tree glows under a full moon in a salt pan on the southern end of the Salton Sea near Niland, California, USA
Photographer: JIM LO SCALZO
US President Barack Obama shakes the hands of tourists visiting the Lincoln Memorial during a surprise visit a day after budget negotiations with Congress prevented a government shutdown in Washington, DC, USA on 09 April, 2011. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
U.S. Republican Speaker of the House from Ohio, John Boehner, looks at the media after commenting Representative Ryan's FY2012 budget proposal following a Republican caucus in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, on 15 April 2011. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
Republican Representative from Arkansas Tim Griffin (R), followed by reporters and other freshman Republicans, walks to a press conference where he threw his support to Speaker Boehner's budget bill during outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 28 July, 2011. The House was expected to vote on Boehner's budget plan on 28 July. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
Members of Virgil's White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan begin a late-night cross lighting ceremony on private property in Dungannon, Virginia, USA, 11 June 2011. The Invisible Empire is experiencing a revival in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Three chapters of the Ku Klux Klan have reemerged in the state, holding rallies, lighting crosses, and seeking new members. Anger over gay rights, racial changes in the population, and a black president are frequent refrains at these rallies. Yet Klan members say they are not about hate, but about taking pride in their own race. 'The blacks have the NAACP [The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People], the Mexicans La Raza, and the Jews have the ADL [the Anti-Defamation League],' says Stan Martin of the Rebel Brigade Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. 'We whites have the Ku Klux Klan.' EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
The pastors and deacons of five baptists churches in Louisiana and Mississippi wade into Lake Providence to baptize new congregants during an annual summer revival in Lake Providence, Louisiana, USA, 31 July 2011. Baptist churches flourish in the region, which is one of the poorest in the country. One of the American South's most symbolic religious traditions is making a comeback. Outdoor baptisms, popularized in the 18th century by African slaves, had all but disappeared by the 1950s with the rise of indoor baptismal pools. Yet an increasing number of Baptist churches are forsaking the safety and convenience of these pools for nearby rivers, lakes, oceans, and even fire hoses. 'It's a re-discovery,' says Gregory Hughes, Pastor of True Life Ministries, which holds an annual ocean baptism in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. 'It's a way to embrace tradition while renewing our spirit.' EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
A photo made available 05 September 2011 shows Robey Harrison (R), a member of the 'Signs' Pentecostal denomination, an amalgam of Christianity and folk beliefs unique to Appalachia, anoints Betty Payne (C) with oil during an evening service at the Church of the Lord Jesus in Jolo, West Virginia, USA, 03 September 2011. The church hosts one of the last Signs denominations in the country, which encourages worshippers to speak in tongues and to handle serpents. Popular throughout Appalachia in the 1920s, the practice is rooted in a Biblical passage from the Book of Mark. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO