Race Unity, Equality Topics Of Conference

Race unity, the equality of women and men and raising spiritually minded children will be among the topics addressed at an inaugural regional Baha'i conference.

The conference will take place Thursday-Saturday at the Renaissance Hotel. Featured speakers will include Tod Ewing, senior spiritual adviser to the Baha'is in North America, and Robert C. Henderson, secretary general of the national governing body of the Baha'is in the United States.

The conference will also feature recording artist Dan Seals, as well as internationally known choir, The Voices of Baha. The Baha'i faith is a world religion founded by Baha'u'llah, a Persian nobleman, in 1863. There are about 142,000 adherents in the United States and 5 million worldwide.

Thanksgiving celebrations: Members of Shelby Avenue, Lockeland and Edgefield Baptist churches are hosting a joint east Nashville community Thanksgiving and praise service at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Shelby Avenue Baptist Church, 1012 Shelby Ave.

Area congregations located along Franklin Road are uniting for a community Thanksgiving service at 7 p.m. Tuesday at First Christian Church, 4800 Franklin Road. The annual event is co-sponsored by First Christian Church, Brookhaven Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Glen Leven Presbyterian Church and Woodmont Hills Church of Christ.

First United Methodist Church, 143 Fifth Ave. S. in Franklin, is hosting a community Thanksgiving service at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

South End United Methodist Church, 5042 Edmondson Pike, will be having a community Thanksgiving service at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Joining South End in this service will be Crievewood United Methodist, Glendale United Methodist, Hillcrest United Methodist, Crievewood Baptist and Southminster Presbyterian Church.

Barth Vernon United Methodist Church, 6200 Robertson Ave., is celebrating its homecoming at a 10 a.m. service with a Thanksgiving dinner after the service.

There will be a community Thanksgiving worship service at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Arlington Methodist Church, 1360 Murfreesboro Road. Also participating are Saturn Drive Baptist Church and Glencliff United Methodist Church.

New church: Members of St. John Chrysostom Romanian Orthodox Mission Church celebrate their founding as a local Romanian Orthodox congregation today and tomorrow. They meet at Calvary United Methodist Church, 3701 Hillsboro Road. The priest is the Rev. Daniel Nicolescu. There will be a Great Vespers service at 5 p.m. today, and a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at noon tomorrow. Archbishop Nathaniel Popp of the Romanian Episcopate of America & Canada, will be the honored guest. For more information, call Valentin Serban, 333-8662.

Holiday help: For those who just don't know how to make Christmas happen this year, Master's Hands, a ministry of Harvest International Church in Hermitage, is offering free gifts for children of families in need. Gifts will be available Dec. 2 at the Harvest Community Center, 4430 Lebanon Road. A limited number of slots are available, so call Peggy Zide for an application at 885-1699. If you would like to help Master's Hands, which provides food, clothing and GED assistance to area families in need, donations are welcome.

St. Luke CME Church, 2008 28th Ave. N., will have a winter coat giveaway noon-3 p.m. Dec. 2. The church will be accepting coats until Dec. 1. Call 256-5446.

In-store performance: Singer-songwriter Sammy Ward, who has a new record called My Passion, will perform at LifeWay Christian store in CoolSprings Galleria Nov. 25 during an appearance 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Anniversaries: Lake Providence Missionary Baptist Church, 4506 Nolensville Road, will celebrate the 24th anniversary of its pastor, the Rev. H. Bruce Maxwell, at the 8 and 11 a.m. services tomorrow. A concert will be held at 6:30 p.m. today featuring the Mass Choir of Philippian M.B. Church.

Donelson Presbyterian Church, 2305 Lebanon Road, will celebrate 50 years as a church at the 10:15 a.m. service tomorrow.

Holiday festival: Smyrna First United Methodist Church, 300 Sam Davis Road, is having its annual craft bazaar 8 a.m.-2 p.m. today. There will be crafts, baked goods, a silent auction and a special visit from Santa Claus.

©Copyright 2000, The Tennessean