LANDIS ó Trinity Lutheran Church will host the Appalachian State University Gospel Choir Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Vertie Alexander Lipe Ministry Center, 108 Rice St., Landis.
Midway United Methodist Church and Trinity are sponsors of the performance. The public is invited.
Admission is free. An offering will be received after the performance.
Friendship Sunday
KANNAPOLIS ó The First Presbyterian Church in Kannapolis will offer a special “Friendship Sunday” worship service this Sunday at 10:55 a.m.
This service is especially planned for those who might be searching for a church home or are not otherwise involved in a church.
The service will begin with a prelude by the FUSION Youth Band. Other special music will be offered by the Kidz Khoir and Chancel Choir.
The congregation will have the opportunity to sing uplifting hymns, and the Rev. Joe Crawford will bring the sermon.
Following the service, there will be a coffee and goodies fellowship time in the fellowship hall, and all guests will receive a special gift.
A nursery will be available during the worship service.
First Presbyterian is located on the south end of Cannon Village, on Vance Street, between West and Oak avenues. Guests are encouraged to take advantage of reserved parking in the lot off Oak Avenue.
For additional information, call 704-938-4623 or visit www.FirstPresb.org.
Boy Scout Sunday
Union Lutheran Church will recognize BSA Troop 334 on Sunday. Members of the troop will serve as acolytes, ushers and readers of the lessons.
Troop 334 is sponsored by Union and is led by Scoutmaster J.D. Carlyle. Assistant Scoutmasters are Bill Marlow and Lynn Carlyle.
The Rev. Robert Howard is pastor of Union Lutheran Church, located at 4770 Bringle Ferry Road.
Third Creek AME Zion
CLEVELAND ó Third Creek AME Zion Church, 415 E. Main St., will hold its annual Women’s Day Sunday.
Evangelist Joanne Fitzgerald of Charlotte will be the 11 a.m. speaker. The afternoon service will begin at 3 p.m. Music will be provided by The Disciples of Joy from Salisbury.
Dinner will be served at 1:30 p.m. in the Glenn G. Grayson Fellowship Hall. Women are asked to wear red attire.
Yadkin Grove Baptist
Yadkin Grove Missionary Baptist Church is having a pre-anniversary celebration to honor the Rev. Paul Rhinehart, first lady Stacey Rhinehart and their family in recognition of their first pastoral anniversary.
The celebration, which is a musical program, will be held Sunday at 4 p.m.
Yadkin Grove Baptist is located at 325 Leonard Road.
Macedonia Baptist
Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, 2865 Enon Church Road, presents the annual “12 Tribes of Israel” Sunday at 3 p.m. The event is sponsored by the church’s Sunday school ministry and hosted by Myrtle Fisher, chairperson.
There will also be an evening fellowship service at 6 p.m. hosted by the Rev. Dr. William T. Jackson, pastor.
First Calvary
First Calvary Baptist Church will host a musical program featuring the Brown Family at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Singing will be the Rev. Leamon E. Brown, pastor of First Calvary, his wife Beatrice Grasty Brown, several of his siblings, including Minister of Music Winnell Short and their children.
First Calvary is located at 400 S. Long St. The program is free and open to the public.
Lenten drama Midweek dramas continue for the next three weeks at Salem Lutheran Church on Sherrills Ford Road.
This Wednesday, the character to be presented will be Simon of Cyrene, a visitor to Jerusalem who was forced to carry the cross for Jesus on his way to crucifixion. The drama is the centerpiece of a worship service that begins at 6:45 p.m. A simple meal will be served at 6 p.m. The meal and worship service are in the fellowship hall.
The complete series is based on “Witnesses to the Passion” and features the testimonies of persons who would have been in and around Jerusalem when Jesus was there, but who were not among his close disciples. Characters include Nicodemus and Barabbas. Earlier presentations have featured the man born blind and Pontius Pilate.
Each drama is an original first-person presentation by Salem pastor the Rev. Don Phillips. Such dramas have been a part of his ministry for the last three decades as he tries to bring Bible characters to life.
“I believe that people are the same now as they were in Bible times,” Phillips says. “Seeing the characters in a more personal way helps us relate to the story of Jesus, and to see that it took place in the real world, and affected people who had families, ambitions, strengths and weaknesses. Those characters have a story to tell ó a story that resonates in us as deeply as it did in them.”
In previous years, Phillips has portrayed characters ranging from Paul to King David. One year, in a series on Job, Satan even made an appearance. Phillips’ experience in theater includes original dramas such as these, plus more formal experience in plays.
In the 1990s, he was a regular in community theater in the Lexington area. He also served on the board of the Lexington Youth Theatre. His interest in theater goes back to the Playmakers at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory.
Presented with simple costuming and makeup, the goal is to allow the character to speak a message complete with accurate historical references and appropriate emotion.
For more information, call 704 636-0352.
Bluegrass gospel
STATESVILLE ó Monticello United Methodist Church, 308 Island Ford Road, is hosting an evening of bluegrass gospel on Sunday, March 2 at 6 p.m.
The program features the Darin Aldridge and Brooke Justice Quintet and Daniel Perry and Friends from Statesville. The public is invited.
There is no admission cost, but an offering will be received.
The Darin Aldridge and Brooke Justice Quintet is composed of members from past groups such as the Country Gentlemen, Blue Ridge, Pureheart, Damascus Road and Standing Tall. The musicians who make up the ensemble are Darin Aldridge, Brooke Justice, Eddie Biggerstaff, Chris Bryant and Perry Woddie.
For more information, contact the church, 704-924-8322, or call Tim and Faye Perry at 704-871-8353.
Thrivent training
The Southwest Rowan County Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans recently held its annual training breakfast for congregational coordinators at Salem Lutheran Church in Salisbury.
Twenty-nine coordinators and pastors participated in the morning workshop. Susan Yount, Thrivent community service specialist, explained how the fraternal benefits society works and encouraged congregational leaders to use the resources available.
Last year, the 18 churches in the Southwest Rowan County Chapter volunteered more than 15,000 hours of their time and used $41,527 to generate $191,243 for congregational projects and community aid. In conjunction with the East Rowan Thrivent Chapter, area Lutherans helped build two Habitat for Humanity houses last year and are looking forward to a new building project with Habitat in 2008.
Congregational coordinators participated in a group activity where they shared ideas and discussed potential projects. The use of funding request forms was reviewed. Financial representatives Eric Brady, Brad Brady, Jennifer Myers and Boyd Hough also participated in the training activities.
The chapter Web site, http://www.lutheransonline. com/southwestrowancounty chapter was demonstrated and coordinators were encouraged to submit information to be posted on the site so that area congregations could be more connected.
The Southwest Rowan County Chapter is one of nearly 1,400 nationwide chartered local units of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans that brings Thrivent members together for charitable, social and educational activities.
Pregnancy support
David Bereit of Washington, D.C., will be the featured speaker at this year’s annual Celebrate Life Banquet sponsored by the Pregnancy Support Center of Salisbury.
The banquet will be March 13, 6:30-8:45 p.m. at Holiday Inn in Salisbury. Those attending will also have dinner, hear an update on the Pregnancy Support Center’s ministry, listen to special music and a client testimony.
Bereit is the national campaign director of 40 Days for Life, an intensive pro-life campaign focusing on prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil, grassroots outreach and education.
The purpose of the banquet is to inform the community of the work being done at the Pregnancy Support Center on South Main Street and its ministry on sanctity-of-life issues. The banquet is a fundraiser to support the work of the non-profit Christian ministry. The goal is to raise 25 percent-plus of the total operating expenses for the year.
The center provides various services to anyone dealing with unplanned pregnancy, including free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, education about pertinent issues, appropriate referrals, including adoption, provision of pregnancy and baby supplies and peer counseling and support.
The center also provides sexual abstinence education presentations to schools and churches in the community. All services are provided at no charge.
For additional information go to www.RowanFriends ForLife.org.
Seating at the banquet is limited, so reservations are required. There is no cost to attend; reservations can be made by calling 704-633-7695.
Hearing accessibility
GARNER ó A conference on hearing accessibility for clergy and laity, sponsored by the NCC UMC Committee on Disability Concerns will be held May 31 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Garner United Methodist Church in Garner.
Registration is required by May 23. An early bird registration fee of $15 is for those who sign up by May 1. After that, the registration fee goes up to $20.
Lunch is included in the registration fee.
Call John Crowe, 919-759-2146, to learn more about this event and find out how to sign up.
Bearlievers
The Bearlievers College Ministry of Livingstone College is sponsoring a pre-CIAA worship service Sunday, 6:30 p.m., at the Tubman Building on the campus.
Anthony Pleasant of the New England Patriots, two-time Super Bowl champions, will be a special guest.
Music will be provided by the Anointed Vessels and Mark Chamber and Destiny.