Oak Ridge Today

Presbyterian leader to preach in Oak Ridge on Feb. 23

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J. Herbert Nelson II

J. Herbert Nelson II

The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C., will be the preacher at the Feb. 23 Sunday worship service at First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge.

The Office of Public Witness implements the social justice agenda of the General Assembly of PC(USA) through advocacy with leaders of the executive and legislative branches of the federal government.

For 68 years, Nelson said, this office has been “speaking truth to power.” He believes that grassroots organizing can influence the political sphere in today’s globalized culture. [Read more…]

Church Women United begins lunch series Friday

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Church Women United announces a new lunchtime series of presentations on the first Friday of each month in February through May 2014. The public is invited to the first CWU lunch gathering on Friday, Feb. 7, at Oak Valley Baptist Church, 194 Hampton Road in Oak Ridge.

A reception with refreshments will begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by a short meeting at noon and the program thereafter. Cindy Helton of Community Mediation Services will be the speaker. Attendees are encouraged to drop in and stay however long they can. Brown bag lunches are welcome!

CWU is a national volunteer ecumenical women’s movement that brings together women of diverse races, cultures, and traditions in closer Christian fellowship, prayer, advocacy, and action for peace with justice in the world. For more information, contact Gay Marie Logsdon at (865) 483-7940.

Living Water Christian Fellowship moves, has guest speaker Sunday

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Tony Slay, Amy and Rachel

Living Water Christian Fellowship of Oak Ridge has moved. Their new location is the Iris Room at ORAU’s Pollard Conference Center.

J. Tony Slay of Jacksboro, Tenn., will be their guest speaker this Sunday, Jan. 19. His daughters Amy and Rachel will lead worship.

Slay is founder and chief executive officer of Ministry International Inc. and of Ministry International Institute. MII is a helps and resource ministry for ministers of Jesus Christ from every background. Slay is bishop to more than 350 ministers in the United States, and he has trained and equipped thousands of ministers around the world, a press release said. [Read more…]

Free flu shots, warm coats at free Stone Soup community meal on Friday

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Stone Soup Ministry Community Meal

Sister and brother Lilly and Logan Swain help serve food at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church’s Stone Soup Ministry meal in November 2012. (Submitted photo)

Stay warm and healthy with a steamy bowl of homemade soup and a free flu shot at a community meal at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church on Friday.

The meal is scheduled from 5 to 6 p.m. in the church’s Social Hall. It’s a great opportunity to spend time to relax and enjoy time with others from throughout the community, a press release said.

The Stone Soup team will prepare and serve a homemade meal of black eyed pea soup, sandwiches, pumpkin pie, and milk.

Nurses from the Free Medical Clinic are volunteering their time to give flu shots. Nicknamed the “flu crew,” the nurses plan to be ready to start at 4:30 p.m. and plan to finish at 5:30 p.m. The vaccine is being provided by the clinic. [Read more…]

Service of Memory and Hope at First Presbyterian on Tuesday

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Sharon Youngs

Sharon Youngs

The First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge will hold its second annual Service of Memory and Hope at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the sanctuary.

“This candlelight service is for those who seek a peaceful setting to remember loved ones and friends who are no longer with us, those who are currently going through a difficult time in their lives, and those who, for whatever reason, find this time of year to be particularly hard,” said the Rev. Sharon Youngs, church pastor.

The service will feature an opportunity to light candles in memory of loved ones, prayer, and comforting music presented by the Rev. Youngs on guitar and Music Director Anna Thomas on flute.

Child care will be offered during the service. The church is located at the northeast corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive.

Faith column: Shouldn’t we be doing something?

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It’s the holidays—a time of year when churches are often on the move and active in a community. Anytime a church is in motion and doing something in the community, that action reveals something of the character and nature of the church and her mission. But what if a church decides to lay low? What if little to no movement is taking place at all? Is this a “bad” thing for a church? Shouldn’t we all be doing something???

We live in a culture defined by motion and noise. The bigger the motion and the louder the noise, the more people stop to take notice—just check out your favorite Black Friday YouTube video for examples of motion and noise over the holiday. We’re all human and sometimes we can start chasing noise for all the wrong reasons. That’s why I believe it’s critical for churches to first ask if the lack of motion is really such a bad thing.

What does it say about a church that decides to loaf over the holiday? The word “loaf” has received a bad rap in our society. A loafer is seen as a lazy person in a culture that is obsessed with work and productivity. If the loafer isn’t doing anything to contribute to his or her own financial well-being, then the assumption is that something must be wrong with them (which may or may not be true). As working and being a productive member of society, you could make an argument that maybe Jesus’ was a loafer. Yikes! [Read more…]

A service of lessons, carols at First United Methodist Church

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Tis the Season! Tis the season when Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and what better way than through a traditional service of lessons and carols? Come to this festive service, comprised of the stories and songs of Christmas, on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 6:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church at 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The Service of Lessons and Carols was first held on Christmas Eve 1918 at King’s College in Cambridge, England. Since then, it has been celebrated throughout the world, sometimes still on Christmas Eve, otherwise sometime during the season of Advent, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. While the backbone of the service, the lessons, has remained virtually unchanged, there is much beautiful and moving Christmas music to choose from when organizing such a service. [Read more…]

Africa education, leadership initiative to be focus of human rights celebration

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Anita Henderlight with Sudanese Students

Anita Henderlight meets with students at the secondary school established through Africa ELI in South Sudan. (Submitted photos)

Anita Henderlight, executive director of Africa Education and Leadership Initiative, will be the guest speaker at a Human Rights Celebration organized by Church Women United on Friday, Dec. 6, at Spurgeon Chapel in Oak Ridge. The theme of the celebration is “Breaking Down the Doors of Injustice.”

Founded in 2006, Africa ELI works in the world’s newest country of South Sudan to bridge gender gaps in secondary education by improving access to school for girls and refugees of war. Henderlight travels extensively to mobilize investors and collaborates with Africa ELI personnel, partner agencies, government leaders, and South Sudan’s young adults to help them implement skill-building programs and develop sustainable solutions to meet their educational and occupational needs, a press release said.

Spurgeon Chapel is located on the corner of South Benedict and Houston Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Faith column: Does it make a difference to the dog?

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I once heard of a cute example of faith. It told of a stubborn husband who had fought the Lord for years. After a revival, he was converted and the neighbors said he was such a changed man, that even their dog could tell the difference!

I was in a conversation a while back with several people who had been around the Amish culture and known some of them personally. Now we all have ideas about certain groups and their beliefs. The Amish are probably one of the groups that most people hold to a higher expectation and standard. Their radical lifestyle suggests that they are set apart on purpose and desire to exhibit a more disciplined and holy lifestyle than most Protestant Christians would ever desire to attempt. But in this particular situation, their neighbors had taken the Amish to task for cruelty to animals, namely the inhumane treatment of their draft horse animals. It was an awkward situation for authorities to deal with. [Read more…]

Construction starts at Unitarian Universalist Church near Federal Building

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Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Site

Construction work has started at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church between Oak Ridge Turnpike and the Joe L. Evins Federal Building.

Construction work has started at the site of a new home for the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church near the Joe L. Evins Federal Building.

Hickory Construction Inc., which has headquarters in Alcoa, announced on Thursday that it has broken ground at the 4.6-acre site. The building could be complete by next summer, a press release said.

Hickory will work with Johnson Architecture Inc. to create a larger church building that will give the congregation an extra 3,000 square feet, compared to the current building a few miles down Oak Ridge Turnpike, the press release said. The new church will feature an updated, modern appearance. [Read more…]

Local church to offer neighborhood Bible study

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Christ Community Church

Christ Community Church will offer a new Bible study starting Thursday, Oct. 17. (Photo courtesy Julio Culiat)

Submitted

Promises. We’ve all made them and we have all had them made to us. Hopefully we’ve felt the elation of a promise kept. Most likely we’ve all experienced the heartbreak of a promise broken.

Indeed, promises can be tricky when made by mortal man.

But what about the promises that God makes to us? Can we trust him to be better at it than we are?

Beginning on Thursday evening, Oct. 17, Christ Community Church invites you to come and find out as we begin a new Bible study entitled “Covenant-Knowing God’s Promises.” [Read more…]

Faith column: Change the world like it really matters

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What an amazing sight! A middle-aged woman and a man sitting at a picnic table surrounded by fascinated young people all listening attentively to what she was saying. I wanted to go over there but didn’t. I waited to see what would be said afterward.

Revonna has had visions. You might ask, “Visions? Were they about the past? The present? The future?” The answer is yes. They are as ancient as the earth and as modern as tomorrow. These kids wanted to hear about it.

We don’t do church like everyone else. We didn’t even mean to start a church, and I’m not sure we should even call it a church. One night with seven people present, after three hours of nothing but prayer and scripture, suddenly the Holy Spirit broke in and spoke to us that we were to meet in our basement on Sunday morning, and have Rich Bean bring the message. We were shocked honestly because none of us had talked about it. Rich didn’t even answer whether he would do it or not. One woman said, “Yes, please.” I responded as any gracious hostess would, though tentatively, “Ok.” Everyone then left. [Read more…]