Mountain Creek Harmony will perform at Calvary Baptist Church Sunday at 7 p.m. The Southern gospel trio is from Albemarle.
The trio’s members, Summer Miller, Aaron Otten and Monica Otten, have performed together since April 2001, singing traditional Southern gospel songs, hymns and original songs.
Mountain Creek Harmony was the 2002 winner of the N.C. Mountain State Fair Group Competition and a national finalist in the 2003 INSP Networks’ Christian Artist Talent Search.
Mountain Creek’s first project, “New Creation,” was released April 2003.
Pastor Rick Cockerham invites the public to attend the Sunday concert. A nursery will be provided.
Calvary Baptist Church is located on East Ridge Road, just beyond Ellis Crossroads.
For additional information, contact the church office, 704- 633-2567.
Jerusalem Baptist
Jerusalem Baptist Church will celebrate the seventh pastoral anniversary of the Rev. and Mrs. David L. Bracken at 6 p.m. today with “An Evening of Laughter and Love With The Brackens,” featuring Jerusalem’s drama group and a religious comedian, “The Voice.” This event will be held in the church fellowship hall.
On Sunday, the speaker for the 11 a.m. service will be the associate minister of Jerusalem Baptist Church, the Rev. Phyllis Jones. The Gospel Choir will sing.
The Rev. Michael Anthony Long, pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Reidsville, will be the speaker for the 3 p.m. service. Long is the second vice moderator of the Rowan Baptist Association. His choir and congregation will accompany him. Dinner will be served at 1:30 p.m.
Third Creek AME Zion
CLEVELAND ó The officers and members of Third Creek AME Zion Church will hold their annual Rainbow Tea at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Glenn G. Grayson Fellowship Hall. The Rev. Donnie C. Kent is the pastor, and Nancy Mckenzie is chairman of the committee.
The church is located at 415 E. Main St.
For more information, call 704-278-2289.
Landis First Assembly
Landis First Assembly will hold special revival services Sunday through Wednesday, featuring the prophetic ministry of Dr. Jon and Helen Jenkins of Mooresville.
Sunday services begin at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., and services will begin at 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
Dr. Jon and Helen Jenkins served in pastoral ministry for 26 years, and they have served in their present itinerant ministry since 1996 in more than 30 states, in more than 500 churches of various denominations and independent churches. Their ministry is both multi-racial and multi-ethnic.
The five-fold emphasis of their message is reformation, reconciliation, renewal, refreshing and restoration made real in people who experience Jesus Christ in their lives through the Holy Spirit. Congregational singing and special music will be shared in each service, and the public is invited to attend.
The church is located just off South Chapel Street at 302 E. Corriher St. in Landis.
World Hope Worship
World Hope Worship Center, 2203 Mooresville Road, has been hosting guest evangelists Bob and Sheryl Sullivan of Cutting Edge Outreach Ministries this weekend.
The Sullivans will minister at both the 9 and 11 a.m. services Sunday.
David Cowger is pastor of World Hope.
For more information, call 704-636-9159.
Mount Zion Baptist
The Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church of Salisbury will celebrate Unity Sunday at 11 a.m. this Sunday.
Members will wear Kingdom Builders T-shirts to celebrate the mission of the church’s varied “cradle to cane” ministries. Additional T-shirts will be available for guests and visitors.
The Kingdom Builders Voices of Praise combined choirs will lead worship in the ministry of music. The Creative Expressions ministries will lead worship in the ministry of creative arts.
The Rev. Dr. Nilous M. Avery II, pastor/teacher, will lead worship in the ministry of proclamation.
Mount Zion will celebrate the calling to the gospel ministry of Linda Dupree at 3 p.m. Dupree will deliver her initial sermon during the celebration.
Music will be rendered by the Music Ministry of Mount Zion. The Associate Ministers’ Ministry will participate in the celebration of Dupree’s initial sermon.
Dupree serves as a leader of the Missionary Ministry, and is active in various ministries at Mount Zion.
Cedar Grove graduates
At 11 a.m. Sunday, Cedar Grove AME Zion Church will recognize its graduates during the morning service. Directly after the service, the graduates’ annual banquet will be held.
The graduates are: Sylvester Kyles, Livingstone College, Summa Cum Laude; Joshua Corbin, Livingstone College; Stephanie Cuthbertson, Jessica Wilkerson and Kristen Yvonne Cuthbertson, all from West Rowan High School; Demario Ellis, Henderson Independent High School; and Clarissa Beaty from Jesse C. Carson High School.
The pastor of Cedar Grove is the Rev. Dr. Patricia A. Tyson.
Lyerly Evangelical
ROCKWELL ó Kenny and Betty Hayden of Salisbury will present special music at the 10:30 a.m. worship service Sunday at Lyerly Evangelical Church, 1320 Crescent Road.
The church will observe “Pack-a-Pew” Sunday and will recognize families of men and women who died in military service. Also, all veterans will be recognized and are encouraged to wear something from their military uniform.
Pastor Junior Gaither will preach.
A luncheon will follow the service.
Immanuel Lutheran
ROCKWELLó All Veterans present and recent college graduates and those graduating from high school will be recognized Sunday during the 11 a.m. service of Immanuel Lutheran Church.
The opening liturgy recognizes veterans and will include the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Judy Harwood will sing the National Anthem and veterans will be presented with a small gift.
Graduates to be honored are Brittany Goodman, Courtney Holshouser, Josh Trexler and Justin Vanderford, all from East Rowan High School; Carejeanne Daniel, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College; Chelsea Goodman and Matthew Goodman, both from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; and Sarah E. Miller, UNC-Chapel Hill.
Josh Trexler will sing a solo.
Following remarks from the graduates, Albert Wilhelm of Immanuel’s scholarship committee will present scholarship awards to Joe Miller, Rachel Miller, Brittany Goodman and Josh Trexler.
A reception will follow in the narthex of the church.
Bruce C. Sheeks is pastor of Immanuel Lutheran, located two miles southeast of Rockwell on Immanuel Church Road.
Soldiers Memorial
Soldiers Memorial AME Zion Church will celebrate the 144th anniversary of the church on Sunday.
The worship celebration will begin at 11 a.m., featuring music by the Cathedral Choir. The theme is “Celebrating the Past and Charting the Future with Faith and Works.” The Rev. Herbert R. Warren Jr., presiding elder of the Salisbury District, will deliver the sermon.
Warren received a bachelor of science degree from Livingstone College and a master’s degree from Hood Theological Seminary. He is married to the former Carrie Floyd from Alabama, and they are the parents of two children and grandparents of four.
Warren pastored churches in Sycamore Hill, Va., Ivor, Va., and Cherryville and most recently Clinton Tabernacle AME Zion Church in Hickory, serving for 13 1/2 years. He was promoted to presiding elder in 1998.
The Rev. Grant Harrison Jr. is the pastor of Soldiers Memorial.
Hall’s Chapel
Hall’s Chapel Primitive Baptist Church will celebrate with the Elder Richard L. Johnson 18th appreciation service 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Rev. Samuel Thompson of First Beginning Baptist Church, Clover, S.C. will be the guest speaker, along with his choir and congregation.
Union fundraiser
Union Lutheran Church, 4770 Bringle Ferry Road, will be raising funds for new robes on May 31, from 4- 7 p.m. in their fellowship hall.
Meals will include barbecue prepared by Patrick Miller, baked beans, slaw, roll, dessert, utensils and drinks for dine-in. Although any contributions would be helpful and appreciated, the base charge per plate is $7. Meals may be eaten in or taken out.
Cheryl Kluttz will lead line dancing at 7 p.m., and Thrivent will be supplementing the success of the fundraiser.
For more information, call 704-636-5092.
St. John’s Lutheran
St. John’s Lutheran Church, 200 W. Innes St., will host “All About Lutherans” on May 31, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
The instructional session, conducted by Pastors Jennifer Ginn and John Propst, is a beginner’s course for those who are interested in learning more about Lutheran church history and its church life.
The talk will cover such topics as church policies, doctrines, sacraments and activities. Some focus will be on St. John’s Lutheran Church as well.
Breakfast and lunch will be served to those who attend, and the session will be informal with time for exploration of faith questions.
Those interested in attending may call St. John’s to register at 704-636-3431.
Grace Lowerstone
ROCKWELL ó Grace Lowerstone Church, 2405 Lower Stone Church Road, will sponsor a Bike A Thon for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on June 1 at 4 p.m. at the church Sports Complex.
Hot dogs with all the trimmings will be served after the ride. The ride will be approximately 5 miles and will have a police escort. Also, a tricycle ride will be held at the Sports Complex parking lot for those too young for the road. Prizes are given to the top three money collectors for St. Jude ($75, $50, $25) along with T-shirts and other items.
For the past several years, the church has been successful in raising $1,500-$2,000 for St. Jude.
Forms are available at the church office. For information, call 704-279-4176.
Trustee award
At a dinner on its campus, Hood Theological Seminary honored a Chicago AME Zion Church congregation and its pastor, along with a longtime trustee who is stepping down from active membership on the Hood board of trustees.
The prestigious Bishop’s Award for Distinguished Service is the highest honor Hood Seminary bestows on donors, leaders and supporters. These awards were presented by seminary President Albert Aymer at the fourth annual Bishop James Walker Hood Recognition Dinner to the Greater Walters AME Zion Church of Chicago, Ill., and to Beatrice Asbury Houston, one of Hood’s original board of trustees members.
In presenting these awards, Aymer said, “Tonight we recognize a pastor and his congregation for the constancy and liberality of their financial support for Hood and also a woman who has rendered exemplary service to Hood as a trustee and as a generous donor.”
The Rev. Joel D. Miles, pastor of Greater Walters AME Zion, accepted the award on behalf of his congregation. His church has been a continual donor to Hood on almost a monthly basis since the seminary became independent in 2001. The pastor who began this tradition was the Rev. Roy A. Holmes, who now serves his denomination as a bishop.
The citation presented to Houston, reads in part:Houston was born in Salisbury and attended high school in Monroe. She returned to Salisbury to attend Livingstone College, where she graduated with a bachelor of science degree. She continued her education at Atlanta University and at North Carolina A & T University in Greensboro. She has been active in the AME Zion Church throughout her life, serving the church in many capacities.
Since 2001, she served as a member of the first board of trustees elected for Hood. In February 2008, she was made a board member emerita.