MUSIC
-Oakwood Community Church, 3927 Webb Road (off Highway 58), will host a gospel singing featuring Ken Hicks & Testimony at 11 a.m. Sunday.
-Heritage Pointe Baptist Church, 60 Dyer Bridge Place in Ringgold, Ga., will celebrate Heritage Day with gospel music by the Jordan Family Band at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 3. 706-858-0976.
-Andrew Peterson: Christian recording artist Andrew Peterson will be in concert at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church, 4829 College Drive East, Collegedale, in support of new album “The Burning Edge of Dawn.” Free admission. www.southern.edu/music or call 423-236-2786.
FUNDRAISERS
-Lyerly cookbook: Lyerly United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Lyerly, GA 30730, has published its third cookbook, “Feeding the Flock.” To order, send $10, plus $3 shipping and handling. Call JoAnn Mitchell, 706-895-2636, for information on buying from a church member or a Chattooga County business.
-Payne’s Chapel cookbook: Payne’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Lookout Mountain, Ga., has a new cookbook, “Payne’s Chapel Cooks,” a collection of recipes from members. Proceeds will go into the church building fund. Cost is $12, plus $4 shipping/handling if mailed. To order, email debroskyp@gmail.com or leave a message at 706-820-2095.
-Labor Day barbecue: For its third annual Labor Day Free BBQ Fundraiser, Union Gospel Mission has added a second location, with a combined goal of raising $7,500 through donations. The free dinners of traditional pork or chicken barbecue, slaw, baked beans, bread, drink and dessert will be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 4 at New Haven Baptist Church, 1058 Graysville Road (just off East Brainerd Road) and Friendship Baptist Church, 1005 Gadd Road (at Highway 153) in Hixson. This is UGM’s only public fundraiser of the year to support its mission of providing free and low-cost residential programs for men struggling with life-controlling issues (homelessness, addiction, alcoholism, etc.). For more information, contact Executive Director Jon Rector at 423-356-0177 or mail@theuniongospelmission.org.
-Flea market: A community flea market and craft sale is scheduled 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 9 at Grace United Methodist Church, 9833 Hixson Pike, Soddy-Daisy. Potential vendors may visit www.graceumcsd.com for registration details.
-Flea market: Youth group at McDonald Road Seventh-day Adventist Church, 5440 McDonald Road in McDonald, Tenn., presents annual flea market 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 10 to fund a mission trip to Belize. Donations welcome. Call 423-396-3462.
New rabbi serving Mizpah Congregation
Staff ReportMizpah Congregation has welcomed its 20th ordained rabbi, Craig Lewis.Rabbi Lewis has served congregations in Mattoon, Ill.; Muncie, Ind.; Wyoming, Ohio; Irvine, Calif.; and, most recently, Lincoln, Neb.Henry Schulson, president of the congregation, says Lewis was selected in part because he is committed to Jewish education and family involvement. Chattanooga’s Jewish children benefit from a combined community religious school, joining students from Conservative and Reform congregations. Some classes are offered to the public; interfaith outreach is a hallmark of Lewis’ rabbinate.“We have a sacred obligation to help bring peace among all peoples,” Lewis says in a news release. “To do that, we must get to know one another, to accept and celebrate our differences, as we build bridges of understandings. Those are ways of pleasantness and true paths of peace.”Lewis grew up in Prairie Village, Kan. He earned in a B.S. in business administration with a concentration in French from the University of Kansas; a master’s degree in management from L’Ecole Superieure de Commerce in Clermont-Ferrand, France; and a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters, on his way to receiving rabbinic ordination, from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem and Cincinnati.He and wife Jennifer, the new interim director of the Association for Visual Arts, have a son, Eden.Lewis succeeds Rabbi Teri Appleby, who guided Mizpah for one year as interim, following the departure of Rabbi Bill Tepper, who served for eight years.
Rabbi Craig Lewis, left, has been named to lead Chattanooga’s Mizpah Congregation. With him are wife Jennifer and son Eden.PROGRAMS, EVENTS
-Pancake breakfast: St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 7514 Hixson Pike, will have a free pancake breakfast from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. today. The year-round farmers market also will be operating on the lawn from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 423-842-1342.
-Our Destiny Is His Legacy: Destiny Church of Chattanooga, 3801 Brainerd Road, presents monologues, praise dancing and dramatic performances by four women who have turned trials into triumphs, 10 a.m.-noon today. Free. 423-553-5009.
-Homecoming celebration: Stanley United Methodist Church, 501 Dodson Ave., is celebrating its 67th homecoming. Today, there will be a free gospel music extravaganza at 5 p.m. A love offering will be taken, and dinner will be served. On Sunday, the Rev. Dr. Karen E. Black will speak at the 11 a.m. worship service. Dinner will follow. 423-624-6729.
-Homecoming: Minister Tim White of Chicago will be among the guests as Hawkinsville Missionary Baptist Church, 7463 Pinewood Drive, celebrates its 107th anniversary and homecoming this weekend. Today, White will perform in concert at 6 p.m., along with Pastor Corey Prather, Larry Hurston and Genuine, Olivet Baptist Church Choir and Darius Ware and Inspirational Praise Mass Choir. Sunday, he will be the guest speaker for the 11 a.m. worship service. Dinner will follow.
-Homecoming: Terra Vista Baptist Church, 4412 Oakwood Drive, will celebrate homecoming at 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the newly renovated sanctuary. The Terra Vista Choir and the Jordan Family Band will provide special music. Pastor Jeff Howell will deliver the message. Lunch will follow the service. 423-892-3879, www.terravistabaptist.org.
-Pastor’s anniversary: Senior Pastor Gary L. Hathaway and his wife, Cathy, will be feted at a third pastoral anniversary celebration Sunday at Greater Tucker Missionary Baptist Church, 1115 N. Moore Road. Guest speakers are the Rev. Alonzo Noble at 10:45 a.m. and Pastor Carlos Williams at 4 p.m.
-Homecoming: Southern gospel group Heirline will be the special guest for homecoming services at 11 a.m. Sunday at Signal Mountain Church of God, 517 Timberlinks Drive. The concert is free, and lunch will follow. 423-267-0837.
-Grief support: Avalon Hospice and Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View, are partnering for a program open to anyone who has experienced a loss from noon to 1 p.m Wednesday. Participants in “Healing HeArts at the Hunter” will gather in a quiet, private space to view a particular work of art, drawing from it thoughts, feelings and experiences of their own journey through loss and grief, with an opportunity to speak, write or draw, or simply listen and observe. Attendance is free; registration is requested by calling Cathy Meyer, bereavement coordinator with Avalon Hospice, at 423-892-3737.
-Wednesday Night Connexion: Burks United Methodist Church, 6433 Hixson Pike, is offering a new communitywide program of food and fellowship Wednesday nights beginning Sept. 6. Supper will be served 5:30-6:15 p.m. ($7 per person, $20 per family) followed by short-term classes for adults; confirmation classes or Bible study for youths; and games, crafts and Bible explore sessions for children in pre-K through fifth grade. Nursery available. 423-842-4219.
-Back to Church Sunday: The Vintage Gospel Lads will be special guests for the 10:15 a.m. worship service Sept. 10 at Hickory Valley Christian Church, 6605 Shallowford Road, then present a concert that evening at 6. In their heyday, the singers appeared in broadcasts or live performances with Ronald Reagan, Art Linkletter, Jerry Clower, Oak Ridge Boys, Paul Harvey, The Imperials and The Cathederals, among others. Admission is free; a love offering will be collected to support their ministry. 423-892-4270.
-Recovery, a Christ-centered 12-step program for anyone struggling with addictive issues, compulsive behaviors, loss and life challenges, meets each Thursday at Ooltewah United Methodist Church, 6131 Relocation Way. Dinner at 5:30 p.m., worship at 6:15 p.m., open share groups at 7:30 p.m. Child care provided. 423-238-9216, oumclive.org/recovery.
-Not Alone, a support group for family and friends of a loved one who is incarcerated, meets at 11 a.m. the fourth Saturday of each month at LaFayette Presbyterian Church, 107 N. Main St., LaFayette, Ga. Refreshments and child care are provided.
To be included in Faith Briefs, send information to LDenton@timesfreepress.com. Listings must be sent by Wednesday morning each week.