ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 22, 1996 TAG: 9602230014
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS
MUSICAL EVENTS
Combined Choirs of Oak Grove Church of the Brethren and Staunton Avenue Church of God will present a "singspiration" Sunday at 4 p.m. at Staunton Avenue Church of God, 1926 Staunton Ave. N.W. A potluck meal will be at 5:30 p.m.
A Choral Evensong is scheduled Sunday at 6 at St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, 2339 Grandin Road S.W. A fellowship hour, where dessert will be served, will be held after the singing.
The Imperials, a Roanoke gospel group, will perform Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Valley Word Ministries, 1928 Loch Haven Drive. An offering will be taken.
The Wesley Singers, a group of 40 Virginia Tech students, will sing at Woodlawn United Methodist Church, Sunday at 11 a.m.
EDUCATION
Maranatha Fellowship Church, 2715 Green Ridge Road, will sponsor a seminar, "The Knowledge of God," beginning tonight at 7. Sessions will continue Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Rev. Roger Griffith , formerly of Salem and now living in Myrtle Beach, S.C., will lead the seminar, which is an extension of River of Life Bible College. Call 562-0075 for information.
Lenten Gospel Lessons will be the theme of a study group that meets each Thursday at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. until Easter at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 1008 Franklin Road S.W. Lynda McConnell, a church staff member, will teach. Those attending the morning group may bring a bag lunch. Call 344-9051 for more information.
The Welcoming Congregation, a 10-week program to understand and affirm homosexual, bisexual and transsexual persons, will be held Tuesdays, March 5 through May 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, on the corner of Brandon Avenue and Grandin Road Southwest.
A video series that is part of the program will be held Sundays at 12:30 p.m. from March 3 through April 28.
The series is sponsored by the Diversity Task Force and the Committee for Gay and Lesbian Concerns of the congregation. Call 345-8115 for more information.
Rise Up Singing, a workshop led by Bob Grubel, is planned March 3 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Unity of Roanoke Valley, 3300 Green Ridge Road. The Floyd musician composes and also is a massage therapist and potter. The workshop costs is $15. Call 745-3978 for more information. Child care will be provided.
Empowering the Congregation, a series of breakfast discussion groups for religious leaders, will be led Tuesday at Lewis-Gale Hospital in Salem by the Rev. Judy Mills Reimer, pastor of the developing Church of the Brethren congregation at Smith Mountain Lake. She will discuss "Enabling the Congregation to Mediate Its Own Conflicts."
The free meal begins at 7:45; call 776-4730 by noon Friday for reservation. The series is sponsored by the Pastoral Care Department of the hospital and the Mental Health Association of the Roanoke Valley.
Lisa and Steve Smith, Disciples of Christ mission workers in the former East Berlin, will visit Westhampton Christian Church, 2515 Grandin Road S.W., on Sunday for the education and worship period beginning at 9:45 a.m.
OUTREACH
The Clothing Closet, which is open each Saturday morning at West End United Methodist Church on 13th Street Southwest, distributed nearly 5,000 garments to more than 700 people in the community in 1995. Volunteers from other churches, businesses and the American Cancer Society's Discovery Store are assisting with the project.
Grandin Court, Colonial Avenue and West Salem Baptist churches will cooperate this year in building a Habitat for Humanity house. The site has not been chosen.
OTHER EVENTS
St. John's Episcopal Church in downtown Roanoke is expected to start construction by June 1 on a major renovation of its facilities and a new community life center. More than $3.5 million has been pledged for the project. An elevator will be added, and the kitchen, dining area, offices and classrooms will be updated.
Send information to Frances Stebbins, Neighbors, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, 24010-2491 by noon Thursday. Please include a daytime telephone number.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 linesby CNB