Coming up Friday, August 6, 2004...

BEVERLY HILLS, California - All Saints' Episcopal Church, Beverly Hills, will help Episcopalians "reclaim the word evangelism" at an August 6-7 conference titled "Confident Evangelism" and designed "for liturgical churches wanting to build a strong, effective evangelism ministry."
       "For many Episcopalians, evangelism is a negatively loaded word, yet paradoxically our church has more opportunities to evangelize now than in decades," notes the Rev. Carol Anderson, rector of All Saints'. "This conference is about equipping congregations for the vital ministry of evangelism to help build true Acts II churches."
       Plenary sessions will include: "Catching the Wave of Episcopal Evangelism" led by Anderson; "Evangelizing Post-Modern America" by Barry Taylor, adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California; "Casting a Vision for a Churchwide Evangelism Ministry" by Lisa Carmichael, a Los Angeles-based management consultant; and "Equipping Your Church to Evangelize" by the Rev. Jimmy Bartz, associate at All Saints'.
       Break-out sessions will include: "What You Believe About Conversion Determines How You Do Evangelism" led by Gabri Ferrer, a senior associate at All Saints'; "Small Church Evangelism" by the Rev. Dale Chrisman, vicar of St. James' Church in Taylor, Texas, and a public-relations executive; "How to Create a Culture of Evangelism" by Bartz; and "Evangelism Through Alternative Forms of Worship" by Taylor.
       Taize worship, with an emphasis on evangelism, will be offered.
       Cost for the weekend is $250 per person. Further details and registration information may be obtained from the parish website, www.allsaintsassociation.org, or by phone, 310.278.6305.
       All Saints' Church is located at 504 N. Camden Drive (at Santa Monica Boulevard) in Beverly Hills.
 
POWHATAN, Virginia - Christian songwriter and performing artist Audrey Hastcher will be featured at the monthly coffee house "A Safe Place to be" at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Powhatan, Virginia, on August 6 at 7.30 p.m. The Coffee House is a ministry to provide a safe place for young people to gather in a rural setting.
       St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 2245 Hufguenot Trail, Powhatan, VA 23139, 804.794.6953.
 
ROCKLAND, Maine - St. Peter's Episcopal Church in downtown Rockland, Maine, will offer a free "musical interlude" on two occasions during its Lobster Festival Weekend. Music "not usually associated with church" will be performed by Bob Earle (organ), Dorothy Nyman (piano and recorder), Danji Moore (piano), and Katelan Oakes (viola). The first concert will be on Friday, August 6, at 12.15 p.m., and the second on Sunday, August 8, at 2.00 p.m. A small reception will follow the Sunday concert. Featured composers will include J.S. Bach, Widor, and Dani Buck-Moore, a high school student and member of St. Peter's.
       St. Peter's Church is a red shingled church located in downtown Rockland, on White Street between the public library and the recreational center and courthouse (visible from route 1 south).
       The public is invited free of charge to the Lobster Festival and welcome to come in and out during the hour-long concert.
       St. Peter's Episcopal Church, White, Rockland, ME 04841. Call 207.594.8191 with questions.

Coming up Saturday, August 7, 2004...

PITTSFIELD, Massachusetts - Artists, musicians, actors, dancers, writers, and other performers will gather in downtown Pittsfield Saturday, August 7 to recognize and honor the Housatonic River with a variety of performances.
       The celebration is co-sponsored by the Storefront Artist Project, the Berkshire Music School, and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in collaboration with the region-wide Housatonic River Summer 2004. The performances are free and open to the public.
       The first performance, a multimedia, multicultural celebration entitled RiverMASS, will be held at 2 p.m. at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church on Park Square. RiverMASS celebrates the east and west branches of the Housatonic River uniting in Pittsfield with a vibrant ceremony/performance that includes pageantry, bang-on-a-can style music and audience participation.
       RiverMASS, which is created and directed by singer/songwriter JoAnne Spies, features a variety of performers including the dancers and drummers of Youth Alive; the River Festival Chorus, directed by Berkshire Music School director Tracy Wilson; jazz tap dancer Sherry Salerno; musicians from Manos Unidas' Latin American Music Project; and five to eight-year-old art students from the Becket Art Center, who will perform River Myths in costume.
       In addition to music and performances, Housatonic River Initiative founder Tim Gray will read "A Letter from the Hopi Elders;" Michael Johnson will lead "Calling in Our Ancestors;" artist Susan Hartung will read "Water I Had Not Known You;" Sufi leader Aftab will lead a water dance; the Rev. Gay Rahn will perform a water blessing; and Janice Wahita Young will lead attendees in a Buddhist blessing and chant.
       Longtime Pittsfield artist Edwin Treitler will read a poem written for the occasion entitled, "A Prayer for our Rivers." Treitler organized a celebration/ceremony for the Housatonic River in Pittsfield in the early 1980s that led to the establishment of Pittsfield's Fred Garner Park along the Housatonic.
       For further information on instrument-making workshops, the Water Orchestra or to add your river prayer/song to be used in the performance, please email JoAnne Spies at spiesart@aol.com

Coming up Sunday, August 8, 2004...

Following the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, this Sunday (10 Pentecost) will give thanks for the Most Rev. Ignacio Capuyan Soliba, Prime Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/main.cfm

WASHINGTON, D.C. - State Day prayers this Sunday will remember Connecticut in liturgies at Washington National Cathedral, Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues Northwest (Mount St. Alban), Washington, D.C., 20016; 202.537.6200; www.cathedral.org. Preacher will be the Rev. Canon Michael Wyatt, canon theologian and director of religious education.
       Next Sunday, Aug. 15: State Day prayers will remember Montana; the Rev. Jessica Crist, Montana Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church, preacher.
       Washington National Cathedral also continues to honor "the Greatest Generation" with Veterans' Tours of War Memorial Chapel and other military-related features, now through Labor Day, and with the exhibit "Faith & Courage: U.S. Chaplains' Service in World War II," now through September 26, (Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday 1-4 p.m.) Rare Book Library Exhibit Room.

And looking ahead...

NEW YORK - Senator Hillary Clinton will be at St. Mary's Manhattanville, New York, at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 10, to discuss health care in Harlem and New York City. St. Mary's Manhattanville, 521 W. 126th St., New York, NY 10027-2496, 212.864.4013.