ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 15, 1996 TAG: 9602150034
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS
Lent, the period of 40 days, not including Sundays, before Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 21. A Christian seasonal observance dating from about 300 years after Jesus' time, Lent is a time for reflection, penitence and spiritual growth.
Today many people attend additional services or take classes for the six weeks in early spring to prepare themselves for the celebration of Jesus' resurrection.
On Ash Wednesday worshipers often kneel and receive their minister's "imposition of ashes" on their foreheads. The smudge has for nearly 1,000 years served as a reminder that all people will return to the Earth from which they were created.
LENTEN SERVICES|
Peace Presbyterian Church, 4365 Cloverdale Road, will begin a sandwich supper and study program Ash Wednesday at 6 p.m. Characters of the Old Testament will be studied each week through March 27. Child care will be provided. Call 977-1821 for information.
Belmont Presbyterian and Belmont United Methodist churches, will jointly sponsor studies on "What Does the Cross Mean to You?" The first session will be at Belmont Presbyterian Ash Wednesday. The host church will provide a light meal at 6:30 p.m. with worship starting at 7:15. Call 343-0048 for a schedule.
The Rev. James C. Welsh, a retired Episcopal priest from Vinton, will lead a "Quiet Morning" retreat Feb. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Church, 4515 Delray St. N.W.
The church also will use Spiritual Adventure, a 50-day international program of Christian growth, beginning Sunday. The program will include Saturday night sessions that begin with a meal at 6 p.m. All sessions are open to the community. Call 366-4157 for information.
Daleville Church of the Brethren on U.S. 220 in Botetourt County has scheduled an Ash Wednesday service with imposition of ashes at 7 p.m.
Saturday Morning Lenten Videos, featuring spiritual leader Thomas Moore, will begin Feb. 24 at Westhampton Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The church at 2515 Grandin Road S. W. will start the eight-session series "Discovering Everyday Spirituality " at 11 a.m.
Fincastle United Methodist Church plans a series of Sunday night programs beginning Feb. 25 at 7:30. "Creativity and the Visual Arts in the Local Church" will be the theme with participants making a variety of objects. Child care will be provided.
Prayer and fasting will be emphasized at Jordantown Wesleyan Church near Vinton starting on Ash Wednesday. "Lord, Teach Us to Pray" will be the theme with classes offered in types of prayer and encouragement to make this part of work and family life. The effort began with a 24-hour vigil earlier this month and will continue through Easter.
Christ Lutheran Church, 2011 Brandon Ave. S.W. resumes its Thursday Bible study Feb. 22 after a winter recess. The first program will begin at 11 a.m. and will include Communion and a noon lunch that costs $1.
CHURCH PEOPLE
The Rev. George Edwards has become pastor of Fort Lewis Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Salem. Edwards, 47, comes from Dearborn, Mich., where he managed a shelter for the homeless for four years. Reared in Illinois, he was educated at the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Ind., and was pastor of a Birmingham, Ala. congregation for 13 years.
He and his wife, Jan, have four grown children, including Rob Edwards, a student at Roanoke College.
Edwards succeeds the Rev. William Murdock who retired last year after a 22-year pastorate. Installation of the minister will be Feb. 25 at 1:30 p.m.
MUSICAL EVENTS
Black History Musical will be presented Sunday at 4 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 310 N. Jefferson St. Performing will be the Christian Praise Ensemble of the host church; Souls of Faith; John Hubbard Memorial Ensemble; Soul Survivors; Disciple Gospel Singers; Kingstown Community Choir; and Male Chorus of High Street Baptist Church.
ANNIVERSARIES, REVIVALS
The Male Chorus of Greater Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1810 Grayson Ave. N.W., will observe its 16th anniversary Sunday at 3 p.m. The Male Chorus and the Rev. Vater C. Colbert of Maple Street Baptist Church will be the guests.
Revival Services will be in progress Feb. 22 through 24 at First Church of God in Christ in Buchanan. Elder David Powell of Faith Temple Church of God in Christ in Rocky Mount will be the evangelist. Services will begin at 7:30 p.m.
OTHER EVENTS
Irvin Cannaday Jr., a retired Roanoke City teacher and coach and a member of Gainsboro's First Baptist Church, will speak Sunday, 11 a.m., Shiloh Baptist Church, 40 E. Burwell St., Salem, in observance of Black History Month. A fellowship dinner follows the service.
Norman Arrington, who has presented monologues of Christian characters in many Western Virginia churches, will visit New Covenant Assembly of God Church Sunday at 6 p.m. The church is at 2922 King St. N.E.
First Wesleyan Church, 3706 Peters Creek Road N.W., will be host to a missionary-elect couple, Steve and Ruth Strand, who are going to Honduras. They previously were inner-city missionaries in Lexington, Ky,. and were on a team in Mexico City. They will speak Sunday at 10:45 a.m.
Send information to Frances Stebbins, Neighbors, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, 24010-2491 by noon Thursday. Include a daytime telephone number.
LENGTH: Long : 117 linesby CNB