Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 4, 1995                   TAG: 9503060015
SECTION: RELIGION                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BRIEFS

Registration is open for an ecumenical conference, "And God Dealt Well With the Midwives," scheduled March 31-April 1 at Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Church, 2505 Electric Road S.W. It will be led by Dr. Georgia Masters Keightley, a feminist theologian who teaches at Trinity College in Washington, and Martha Dillard, a Blacksburg artist. The overnight event marks the ``Ecumenical Decade: Churches in Solidarity with Women.'' Registration is needed by March 20. It may be made by sending a check for $20 made payable to The Catholic Diocese of Richmond, 811 Cathedral Place, Richmond, Va. 23220. Especially for women, but open also to men, the conference will include sessions on Friday night and on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. For details, call Lisa Connelly, 552-6470.

Prayer conference

Roanoke Valley Cathedral of Praise, 8100 Angel Lane in the Hollins area, will be host to a State Prayer Conference from Wednesday through Friday. It will include evangelistic training and workshops and will feature messages by the Rev. Ray. Hughes, assistant general overseer of the Churches of God based in Cleveland, Tenn. On March 11 at 6:30 p.m., David Cook, nationally traveled music evangelist, will present a free concert at the church. An offering will be taken, and those attending are requested to bring a can of food or a serviceable article of clothing for the needy. Call 362-8041 for details.

Lenten services

Ecumenical Lenten services each Wednesday at noon are in progress in Bedford. Next week, the Rev. Ron Dower, new rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church at Forest, will speak. All services are at Main Street United Methodist Church in downtown Bedford and are followed by an optional lunch for $3.75. The services will continue through April 12.

Franklin Lenten services

Several Church of the Brethren congregations in Franklin County are sponsoring Lenten services each Sunday night at 7 through March 26. Sunday the Rev. Keith Simmons will preach at Cedar Bluff Church. Other services will be at Boones Mill Church on March 12, at Monte Vista Church on March 19 and Bethany on March 26.

Los Angeles gospel

The Bittersweet Gospel Band, a Los Angeles Hispanic group led by Gilbert Romero, will perform March 19 at a 3 p.m. youth rally at Stone Church of the Brethren, 2162 Forest Ave. in Buena Vista. The musicians also will be featured in Lenten services the Buena Vista Ministerial Alliance is sponsoring March 19-22 nightly at 7 at the church. Programs are free, though an offering will be taken. Call 261-6946 for more information.

U.N. service

A service to commemorate the founding of the United Nations is scheduled in Richmond at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart on Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. The interfaith service, which marks the 50th anniversary of the world peace organization, is being arranged by Friendship Force, a nonprofit group that fosters home visits among people of many countries. Call (804) 355-3687 for more information.

Lenten retreat

A Lenten Retreat, "Once Upon a Time: Story Telling as Healing," will take place March 25 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church in Lexington. It will be led by the Rev. F.M.P. Pearse, an alumnus of Washington & Lee University, who is retiring to Lexington after a church career in Massachusetts. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The program is free, but those attending are to bring a sandwich. Sponsor is the ecumenical Order of St. Luke the Physician.

Spiritual Life Institute

Bridgewater College near Harrisonburg will present its 100th Spiritual Life Institute from March 14-16 with the Rev. Dr. Myron S. Augsburger, a former president of the nearby Eastern Mennonite College, the major speaker. Others who are on the program are the Rev. Judy Mills Reimer of Roanoke; the Rev. Cecil W. Fike of Marietta, Ga.; Dr. William L. Mengebier, a former Bridgewater faculty member of Harrisonburg; and Dr. Mwizenge S. Tembo, a native of Zambia who now teaches at the college. Call 828-5452 for a schedule.

Honorary endowment

The late Charlotte Seegars, who served for more than 30 years as a United Methodist lay worker in Franklin County, has been honored in the establishment of an endowment fund for the Henry Fork Service Center, which she founded for the rural poor. The goal is $100,000. Contributions can be sent to the center at P.O. Box 888, Rocky Mount, 24151.

Mass choir concert

The Virginia Mass Choir, a new gospel singing group that includes members from Martinsville, will present its first program tonightat 6 at Camp Grove Baptist Church on Bradley Road in Danville. The choir is open to singers from Western and Piedmont Virginia. Call (804) 793-4163 for more information.