Religion briefs 8/5/06

Briefly

Vincentian Marian Youth holds events at church

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Vincentian Marian Youth will hold a Mass at 6 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Shrine Church in Perryville. The evening also features dynamic worship with contemporary music. VMY's Youth Adoring Christ Night begins at 7 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Shrine Church in Perryville. Young people from the area will share their musical talents in leading songs of praise and worship. The sacrament of reconciliation will also be offered during this event.

Churches hold vacation Bible schools in August

• Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church will hold Bible school for preschool through sixth grade from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Hobbs Chapel is at 3024 State Highway 177 just north of Cape Girardeau.

* Westminster Presbyterian Church will hold vacation Bible school from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Friday. The church is at the corner of Cape Rock Drive and Perryville Road.

Southeast professor to portray Clarence Jordan

Jordan Robert Hamblin, professor of English at Southeast Missouri State University, will deliver a Chautauqua-type impersonation of legendary Baptist preacher Clarence Jordan at 6 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church, 1289 Lexington Ave. Jordan (pronounced Jurden), who died in 1969, and his wife, Florence, founded Koinonia Farm, a communal, biracial fellowship near Americus, Ga., in 1942. The group was subjected to years of violence and threats from the Ku Klux Klan, but the farm survives today as both a working farm and a religious center promoting peace, inclusiveness and nonviolence. Jordan is also well known as the author of the Cotton Patch Gospels, a translation of the New Testament into the Southern vernacular that Jordan, a native Georgian, spoke and heard. Hamblin's presentation will include both the history of Koinonia Farm and excerpts from Jordan's sermons and books. Admission to the program is free, and the public is invited.

Calendar

Today

The Gloryroad Travelers and Voices of Praise will perform at at 7 p.m. at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Villa Ridge, Ill. For more information, call (618) 995-2306.

Sunday

"Breaking Free Spirituality," a religion of the Light & Sound of God worship service, will be held at 11 a.m. at 618 Bellevue St. For more information, call 204-7639.

-- From staff reports