Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 7, 1993 TAG: 9309110250
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff and wire reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Lutherans, Episcopalians and Roman Catholics in six Western Virginia counties will gather Sunday in Galax to explore ways they can worship, learn and carry on service projects together.
Known as Blue Ridge LARCs, the group is a regional unit of a Virginia ecumenical agency, which meets annually to promote Christian harmony among the three historic liturgical churches. LARC stands for Lutherans, Anglicans and Roman Catholics; American Episcopalians are part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The meeting will be at the Episcopal/Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 404 W. Center St. in Galax. It will start at 4 p.m. with a Communion service. Since Roman Catholics are not permitted to join with non-Catholics in receiving the Sacraments, their clergy, the Rev. Charles Brickner of Galax and the Rev. James Parke of Salem, will read the Gospel and preach the sermon respectively.
Other participants will be Episcopal priest Standrod Carmichael and Lutheran pastor Robert Walker. The Larcangel Choir will provide music.
The gathering, which will include ecumenical planning following the service, is open especially to members of the churches in Carroll, Floyd, Grayson, Patrick, Smyth and Wythe Counties.
For more information, call 236-9288.
\ Workshop for teachers
Registration is open for the third annual Creative Education Workshop for Christian teachers of children, youth and adults in Western Virginia. It will be Sept. 18 from 8:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in downtown Salem.
Keynoter this year will be Judy Gattis Smith, a former Roanoker and author of several books and study guides for Sunday school teachers. Her theme will be ``Joyful Teaching/Joyful Learning.'' The workshop, which has attracted more than 100 participants in previous years, is jointly sponsored by several major denominations. Cost is $6 on registration. Call 343-0377 for a full program.
\ World hunger auction
Antioch Church of the Brethren west of Boones Mill in Franklin County will be the site of a World Hunger Auction on Aug. 14 starting at 9:30 a.m.
Expanded yearly since its beginning in 1984, the auction has raised more than $200,000 for hunger relief in many parts of the world. Food banks in the Roanoke area as well as in low-income Appalachian Mountain areas and in the Dominican Republic have been among the places helped.
Auction items include fresh beef, quilts, livestock and arts and crafts. Homemade refreshments also will be sold. Call 334-50855 for more information. The church is on Virginia 641.
\ Methodists' giving
United Methodists in Virginia contributed more than $336,086 worth of baby blankets, personal care and school kits to the needy throughout the world. The Methodist gifts were brought to the annual conference of the church held in Hampton in late June and will be distributed by Church World Service ecumenical relief agency.
\ Catechism updated
The new official version of the catechism of the Roman Catholic church is expected to be available to American church members by mid-September. Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, who recently returned from Rome, said a workshop to introduce the book of beliefs to Western Virginians will be held Oct. 7 in Roanoke.
The catechism has been under revision for six years and is the first such comprehensive volume issued for 400 years, Sullivan said. It is built on the church's use of the Creeds, the Sacraments, the Commandments and prayers and is intended, not for teaching children, but for reference by adults to Catholicism's basic doctrines.
\ National conference
The 36th annual National Southern Christian Leadership Conference will convene Aug. 24 in Rockville, Md.
Participants will join the Aug. 28 march on Washington with an appeal for economic justice, fair law enforcement, better health care, education, housing and jobs. The Virginia State Unit of the SCLC will sponsor a bus to the convention.
For more information, call Marlene Goodwyn at 748-7152 or 458-4056-7404.
\ Gospel singing
The Virginia Annual Gospel Singing Convention, open to groups throughout Virginia, is scheduled Aug. 13 through 15 in Chesapeake. Entries will be accepted from duets to choirs.
The competition will be at Indian River High School, 2301 Dunbarton Drive. Call (804) 487-2160 for entry blanks and more information.
by CNB