House of Prayer Programs Sunday

The Rev. Nathan Frambach, professor of youth, culture and mission at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, will be the featured speaker Jan. 18-19 during January Leadership Days at the University of Mary Christian Leadership Center in Bismarck.

Frambach will explore issues surrounding the emerging church movement; his areas of focus are adolescent spirituality, children’s issues, family and generational theory, music and film.

The conference on Jan. 18 for pastoral leaders and clergy is called “Emerging Ministry: Being Church Today.” Registration is at 9:30 a.m.; the conference runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Benedictine Center for Servant Leadership on the U-Mary campus. The same hours apply Jan. 19, when the topic is “Spirituality, Music and Film,” for youth and family ministers in the Clairmont Center’s Heskett Hall on campus.

The cost of $30 per day includes all sessions, materials and food. Early registration before Jan. 11 is $25 per day. Checks may be made payable to the University of Mary and mailed to: University of Mary Christian Leadership Center, 7500 University Drive, Bismarck, N.D. 58504.

For more information, contact Sister Kathleen Atkinson at 355- 8336, 800-408-6279, ext. 8336, or katkinson@umary.edu.

Christian missionaries who have served in China for the past six years will present a program, “Christmas in China,” at 4 p.m. Sunday at Zion United Church of Christ in Medina.

Doug and Elizabeth Searles serve in Chengdu, China, on behalf of the Common Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ, working with Sichuan TV and Radio University teaching English and training teachers.

The Searleses are on home tour visiting churches in the South Dakota UCC Conference. The Searleses also have served as missionaries to India for the American Baptist Church.

“Christmas in China” follows a Christmas cantata by the Central Prairie Community Choir of Gackle. The cantata performance is at 2:30 p.m. in the Zion UCC sanctuary. A reception will be held between the cantata and the mission program in the church’s Fellowship Hall.

Three 10-week sessions of Beginning Experience, Levels I, II and III, start Sunday. Beginning Experience is a spiritual support group for those experiencing divorce, separation or death of a spouse.

Level I meets at Charity Lutheran Church, 120 Aspen Ave. Level II is at Faith Lutheran Church, 1402 E. Ave. C, and Level IIIis at Good Shepherd Lutheran, Washington Street and Divide Avenue.

Hours are 7 to 9 p.m. Participants are encouraged to come 15 minutes early the first night for registration. The cost is $20 for 10 weeks and $15 for the books.

For more information, call Becky at 223-1498.

The Cancer Support Group, which meets the second Thursday of every month at 7 p.m., in the library of Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 1143 N. 26th St., Bismarck, will meet today. Anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer, whether in treatment or in remission, is welcome to this spiritual fellowship. Families are welcome to attend for an hour of support, prayer, and devotions.

Those attending are asked to use the north entrance.

Live nativity stable dedication is Dec. 20.

Due to last year’s fire, Zion Lutheran Church in Bismarck has built a new stable for its live outdoor nativity, which will be dedicated at 6:15 p.m. Dec. 20. The live nativity features a straw stable complete with live animals. Hours for viewing by car or on foot are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 20-23.

Zion is at Avenue D and Fourth Street.

Gateway Community Fellowship will have its annual Children’s Christmas program this Sunday at Jeannette Myhre Elementary School, 919 S. 12th St., Bismarck. The program begins at 10 a.m. and will include congregational worship, special music by children and adults, skits and a short message by the Rev. Sam Saylor.

For more information, call the church office at 221-0701 or Saylor at 258-9124. All are welcome.

“Essentials of Humanism,” a talk written by the Rev. Kendyl Gibbons, will be read and discussed at the Bismarck-Mandan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Gibbons says one of the sources of faith cited in the UU statement of principles is “humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.”

Gibbons is the senior minister at First Unitarian Society in Minneapolis. This sermon is available through the Church of the Larger Fellowship of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is at 818 E. Divide Ave, Bismarck. Coffee time is at 10:30 a.m. The public is welcome. Child care is provided.

“Something Special for Seniors,” a gathering that meets monthly at Lutheran Church of the Cross, 1004 E. Highland Acres Road in Bismarck, is set for 2 p.m. Saturday. The theme for December is “The Greatest Gift of All.” For those needing a ride or for more information, call the church at 223-1001.

A Christmas cantata, “The Christmas Light,” will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday at the Church of Corpus Christi, 1919 N. Second St., Bismarck. The evening includes a sing-along of Christmas carols. The performance is free and open to the public.

“Carols by Candlelight” will be presented at 7 p.m. Monday in Heringer Auditorium at Shiloh Christian School in Bismarck.

Performances are planned by the high school and middle school choir, band and the Shiloh Strings. Refreshments will be served. The music department cafe will be open before the performances and a bake sale will be held afterward.

The Salvation Army of Bismarck and Mandan will once again host a Christmas Day dinner. The meal will be held at their Bismarck Community Center, 601 S. Washington St., and is free to the community.

The dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 25. The menu will include ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables and dessert. A Christmas carol sing-along also is planned during the meal.

The meal is free and open to the whole community, but especially senior citizens and those without family in the area.

Volunteers are needed to help prepare the food, set tables, serve and clean-up. Donations of turkeys, other food items and financial gifts also are welcome. To volunteer or for more information, call the Salvation Army at 223-1889.

A worship cantata is planned for 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday at House of Prayer Lutheran Church in Bismarck.

Also on Sunday, a brunch is planned at 9:45 a.m. with a freewill donation to go toward youth activities, and at 4 p.m., the church has scheduled its Sunday School Christmas program.

House of Prayer is at 1470 S. Washington St.

(c) 2007 Bismarck Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.