Elsie Nicolette thinks shoppers want more than a bargain at the mall this post-Sept. 11 Christmas season. She believes they're looking for peace of mind.
So in a storefront ministry at the Burlington Center Mall in New Jersey, she distributes lollipops with wrappers that read ``Jesus Loves You.'' She also accepts prayer requests, and offers to take family Christmas photos in front of a Nativity scene in her display window.
``A lot of people are in the mall not because they're necessarily shopping, but because they don't want to be at home,'' said Nicolette, director of the mall ministry. ``There's been greater depth of need that's been expressed.''
Her office, sandwiched between a drug store and a Sears in a shopping center about 75 miles south of New York, is among many outreach points that bring religion to the nation's temples of consumerism.
No statistics exist on the number of mall ministries nationwide, but the trade group International Council of Shopping Centers estimates 100 of the 1,280 biggest malls in the United States have some religious presence, through a Christian bookstore, chapel or outreach center.
This holiday season, storefront mall ministries feel they have a more important role than ever, after the enormous loss of life in the terrorist attacks left people feeling newly vulnerable and reflective.
``They may be seeking some kind of escapism in the mall, but then they see us and say `I just saw your sign and I've been thinking about something,''' said the Rev. Eugene Wall, director of Echelon Mall Ministry in Vorhees, N.J.
Wall's outreach center organizes Bible study and craft-making classes in its space near a department store, and holds worship services every couple of months in a more central location in the mall.
In recent weeks, the minister has been fielding questions about why God allowed the suicide hijackings to happen and whether the tragedy was a sign that the ``end times'' - when Jesus descends from heaven - were near.
``Overall traffic has been down in the mall, but in our ministry, traffic has been heavier,'' Wall said.
At the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., the interfaith Mall Area Religious Council has been working to spread a message of tolerance, with an exhibit explaining different faiths' holiday celebrations.
Muslims, Christians and Jews staffed the booth, ``to let people see how we're able to work together as people of faith,'' said the Rev. John Chell, a founder of the religious council, which is planning to open a storefront in the sprawling building.
``In a sense, we're the exhibit,'' he said.
Nicolette has seen more mall visitors using her ``prayer zone,'' a softly lighted room inside the Burlington office with a kneeler, electric candles and worship music. During the holidays, the group offers shoppers a free coat-check service, another way to make the ministry known to people who may need some spiritual support along with their purchases.
``A lot of times, they're in the mall and they happen upon us,'' Nicolette said. ``But we don't believe it's an accident. We believe God drew them here.''