Hermitage Hills Baptist Sponsors Area Showings Of 'Left Behind'

Story type: RELIGION NOTES - The Christian film Left Behind, starring Kirk Cameron, will debut in two Nashville movie theaters Feb. 2. Left Behind is based on the first book in the best-selling, eight-novel series written by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. `It's their interpretation of how the Rapture would take place,` said the Rev. Poly Rouse of Hermitage Hills Baptist Church. `It's fiction with a spiritual basis.` The movie will not be released in typical Hollywood-blockbuster style; it must be sponsored by local churches. Hermitage Hills Baptist Church is sponsoring the Nashville showings at Opry Mills 20, 470 Opry Mills Drive, and Courtyard Cinema 8, 3445 Lebanon Pike. Neither theater has decided how long the movie will run. Both theaters will charge regular admission. Left Behind is also showing at Clarksville's Carmike Cinema 5 and Cookeville's Carmike Highland 10. For information see www.leftbehindfilmproject.com. Bishop Kmiec honored: Bishop Edward Kmiec of the Catholic Diocese of Nashville will be the honoree of the 22nd annual gala at Father Ryan High School on Feb. 23. Kmiec is being honored for his commitment to Catholic education, his support of Father Ryan High School and his leadership in the diocese's plans to build a new high school in Hendersonville. Kmiec, ordained in 1961, was installed as bishop of Nashville in 1992. The fund-raiser gala for Father Ryan will be at the Tennessee Ballroom at Opryland Hotel. It starts at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction, then dinner at 8 p.m. Cost is $75. Call 269-7926 for reservations by Feb. 6. Presiding Bishop in Sewanee: The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Frank Griswold, will speak and receive an honorary degree at the University of the South's convocation opening the spring semester on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in All Saints' Chapel. Also receiving an honorary degree will be John Lewis, a prominent civil rights activist and U.S. Congressman from Georgia. Lewis, a graduate of American Baptist College in Nashville, will present a reading at 4 p.m. Monday in Convocation Hall. Four others being honored with degrees are Brian Lee Hawkins, Rhode Island-based president of a technology and higher education association; the Right Rev. Creighton Robertson, the first Native American bishop of South Dakota; the Right Rev. Barry Robert Howe, bishop of West Missouri; and the Right Rev. William J. Skilton, a bishop in the Diocese of South Carolina. Baha'i marks World Religion Day with interfaith forum tonight Griswold is the 25th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Elected to a nine-year term in 1997, Griswold serves as chief pastor of the 2.4-million member denomination. As Presiding Bishop he also is president of the House of Bishops and president and chief executive of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. He and his wife, Phoebe Griswold, live in New York City. They have two adult daughters. World Religion Day: An interfaith forum on `Religion's Role in the New Millennium` will be featured during a World Religion Day celebration at 7:30 tonight, sponsored by the Brentwood Baha'i Community and the Unity Feast Committee. Various multicultural artists will perform, and a reception will follow. The event will be at the Brentwood Public Library, 8109 Concord Road. Gospel Explosion: The Mississippi Gospel Explosion will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, 417 Fourth Ave. N. The show features the Mississippi Mass Choir, Lee Williams, the Spiritual QCs and the Williams Brothers. All tickets are $20 and are available through TicketMaster, 255-9600. Jews and Jesus: Gary Flamberg, a Jew/Christian, will speak on `what it is for a Jew to accept Jesus,` at 7 p.m. Jan. 27 at the 23rd Psalm Cafe, 2203 Buena Vista Pike. The public is invited to attend. Recital: Lady Corder Chapman's Conservatory of Gospel Music will host its annual piano and vocal recital at 4 p.m. tomorrow at Metropolitan Interdenominational Church, 2128 11th Ave. N. Performers will include students of the Conservatory, as well as special guests Leon McKinley Corder and Gwendolyn Corder Rucker. The recital is free and open to the public. The Tennessean publishes religion notes weekly, space permitting. Send items of broad interest at least 10 days in advance to The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, Tenn. 37203, or fax them to 259-8093 or e-mail them to rwaddle@tennessean.com. Please put `ATTN: Religion Editor` on your envelope, fax or in the subject line