WOODLEAF ó The annual homecoming at historic St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Woodleaf, will be held Sunday at 11:15 a.m.
The service will celebrate the 168th anniversary of the consecration of St. Andrew’s on the last Sunday in August, 1840. Lunch will follow at the Woodleaf Community Center.
The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III, who serves Christ Episcopal Church in Cleveland as the 33rd rector since 1754, will be the celebrant.
The Rev. Saunders completed his master of divinity at the University of the South School of Theology in Sewanee, Tenn., and his bachelor of science in management at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He was born and raised in Chesapeake, Va., graduated from Frederick Military Academy in Portsmouth, Va., and attended the Citadel in Charleston, S.C. After a number of years working in the nuclear power and building industries, he began serving the ministry of the Episcopal Church.
He is married to Kelly Saunders and they have three children, Kent, Kyle and Kaytlynn. The Saunders family resides in Cleveland.
First Presbyterian
Sunday, First Presbyterian Church welcomes guest speaker Margaret Almeida.
Her sermon title will be “Who’s Got the Power.”
Almeida, a member of First Presbyterian, is a 2008 graduate of Union Theological PSCE Seminary in Charlotte. She is a candidate for Ordination of Word and Sacrament in Salem Presbytery, and was recently the winner of the Helen Dean Preaching Award.
Worship will take place in Lewis Hall at 11 a.m. and will be the only worship service of the day.
There will be a service of Wholeness and Healing at 9 a.m., in the sanctuary.
Child care will be available at 8:45 a.m.
Evening of Music
Tonight, beginning at 6 p.m., Remnant in Christ Outreach Worship Center (RICO) will host “An Evening of Music.”
This event will feature the following gospel groups: Total Devotion of Kannapolis, B & B Spiritual Highlites of Mooresville, Disciples of Joy of Salisbury and the RICO choir. This is a pre-pastoral anniversary celebration and the community is invited.
RICO is located at 627 Newsome Road. For more information, call 704-638-5515.
Faith Lutheran
This Sunday, the congregation of Faith Lutheran Church will hold a joint fifth Sunday worship service called “Come Together in Faith.”
The service is a combined offering of the traditional 11 a.m. service and FaithWorks, the 9 a.m. contemporary service. There will only be one service Sunday and it will be held in the Family Life Center of the Church.
Sunday School will be held for all ages at 9:30 a.m. and the joint worship service with Holy Communion will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Flowers placed on the altar will be given to the glory of God and in honor of Charles and Betty Carter on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.
“Come Together in Faith” will include traditional hymns and familiar worship and praise songs. The combined choirs of both services, the Chancel Choir and the FaithWorks Singers, will provide music. The choirs are under the direction of Don Deming and are accompanied by Daisy Bost on piano, Tina Grubb on keyboard and Dennis Strickland on drums.
Faith Lutheran Church is located at 205 S. Main St. in Faith. The Rev. Loyd Ginn is pastor.
Missionary Union
The Salisbury-Rowan County Missionary Union will meet Sunday at First Calvary Baptist Church, 400 S. Long St. Salisbury.
The meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. with performances by area churches’ praise dance teams. The business section is at 5:30 p.m. and the worship service at 6 p.m.
The Rev. Arthur Heggins and the St. Luke Baptist Church family will be in charge of the worship service. The Rev. Leamon Brown is the host pastor.
The executive board will meet today at 4 p.m. at First Calvary Baptist Church Resource house.
St. John’s Lutheran
Local firefighters, police officers and emergency personnel are invited to attend St. John’s Lutheran Church on Sept. 7 as St. John’s congregation plans to give thanks for its ministry in the local community.
Everyone is invited to join St. John’s for worship at 8:30 a.m. in the chapel, at 9 a.m. in Center Celebration service by following the brightly painted signs to the back of the church, or at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary.
The church asks that those attending wear their “ministry clothes.” St. John’s also requests the public to invite family members and others in the community to come as the congregation gives thanks and prays for the safety and continued service of emergency personnel to the Rowan/Salisbury community.
Festival of Hymns
All area church choirs and members are invited to participate in an ecumenical choir for “2008 Festival of Hymns.”
The goal is to have 150 voices singing in the program with the theme “To Unite People of Faith in the Fellowship of Singing.”
The festival performance will be at 4 p.m., Oct. 12 at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 300 S. Caldwell St. Rehearsals are 4-5:30 p.m. Sundays, beginning Sept. 7. There will be an additional pre-program rehearsal at 3 p.m. Oct. 12.
The members of the planning committee are Dr. Phillip Burgess, Dr. Grant Harrison, Joanne Harrison, Phyllis Partee and Kay Wright Norman, chair.
For more information, call Kay Norman, 704-636-3654, or Phillip Burgess, 704-633-3221.
Church Women United
A delegation of Church Women United members from the Salisbury-Rowan Unit will travel to Charlotte Saturday, Sept. 13 to participate in the CWU in N.C. Area II annual meeting to be held at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 917 Clanton Road. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Unit will host the gathering from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Salisbury-Rowan Unit will greet and register attendees and provide devotions and gathering music.
Workshop topics are: “Building a Country Fit For All Children”; “Keeping It Together In A Pull Apart World”; “Innovation and the Poverty of Women”; “Mindful Living: Healthy Churches, Healthy People, Healthy Planet”; “The Domestically Abused Woman”; and “Moving Into Stillness: Move! Stretch! Breathe! Relax! Experience God!”
The annual meeting will close with a Litany to Children and benediction following a luncheon furnished and served by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg members.
Church Women United is in its 66th year of existence. The 2008 CWU Action Project is: “Building a World Fit for Children.”
To implement this project, CWU encourages all local and state units to carry out three major initiatives:
– Hold human rights celebrations and honor women who work for children’s rights as volunteers or as a career; – Support the U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the child by signing a petition to be forwarded to the White House. (The USA and Somalia are the only two nations that have not ratified the Convention); and
– Provide practical help to better children’s lives as parents, churches, community workers and legislators and by working globally with CWU Partners.
Any interested persons should contact Jean Kennedy, SRCWU president, or Virginia Shuford for transportation or directions to St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. Please go and learn how you or your group can make a difference in the lives of all children.