WASHINGTON, D.C. - Labor in the Pulpits is a program (sponsored by the Metro Washington Council of the AFL-CIO and local congregations) that recognizes the importance of work and workers during Labor Day weekend. The goal of Labor in the Pulpits/Bimah/Minbar Program is to educate congregations about the connections between faith and work, inspire new relationships between the religious community and the labor community, and to present congregations with opportunities for acting on the social teaching of their faith groups.
        More information is available at www.dclabor.org/LaborInThePulpits/index.html
        A suggested Labor Day Litany is available online at: www.nicwj.org/images,etc/LIP2004.pdf
 

Coming up Sunday, September 5, 2004...

BANNING, California - St. Agnes' Church in Banning will host a 'Celebration of Life and the Liturgical Arts' on the grounds of the church on the afternoon of Sept. 5. This event is primarily for the churches in the Pass Cluster of Episcopal Churches: St. Stephen's in Beaumont, St. Agnes' in Banning, St. Alban's in Yucaipa and Grace Church in Moreno Valley, but anyone is welcome to attend. For information, contact Don or Lee Sax at donleesax@earthlink.net.
       St. Agnes' Church, 109 N 2nd St., Banning, CA 92220, 909.849.6864.
 
NEW YORK - Summer Festival of Sacred Music continues with 11 a.m. Choral Eucharist and Missa Luba - Congolese Mass at St. Bartholomew's Church, 109 East 50th St. (at Park Avenue), New York, NY 10022; 212.378.0200; http://www.stbarts.org/. St. Bartholomew's Choir and Instrumentalists, Preston Smith, conducting.
        Guido Hazen, a missionary priest and musicologist, reconstructed Missa Luba from a performance he heard while in the Congo. St. Bartholomew's Choir will sing the Mass accompanied by authentic African drums and percussion instruments. The service will also include works from the African-American tradition, including William Dawson's arrangement of "Ezekiel saw da wheel."

PASADENA, California - "Labor Day is More Than a BBQ: Fighting Against Working Poverty and for the American Dream-The Struggle of the Hotel Workers" is the focus of the Rector's Forum set for 10:15 a.m. at All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena. Speaker will be María Elena Durazo, international vice-president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union and president of Local 11.
        Durazo's talk will follow up on All Saints' June 20 Rector's Forum when Occidental College professor Peter Drier, the Rev. Alexia Salvatierra of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Tom Walsh, secretary-treasurer of Local 11 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees' Union, and a local hotel housekeeper spoke about the current struggle of 4,000 Los Angeles hotel workers for a fair labor contract with 17 hotels and the involvement of the religious community in promoting economic justice for hotel workers.
        For the September 5 forum, Durazo will give an update on the local situation, as well as discuss the national implications of hotel workers' efforts "to hold their multinational employers accountable to a standard of economic justice, so they can rise out of poverty and attain the American dream," according to All Saints' parish newsletter.

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - At 10 a.m. there will be a Labor Day parade from St. James Episcopal Church on Hamlet Avenue, across the Veteran's Memorial Bridge at Court Street, turning left onto upper Main Street and ending in an old-time labor rally in River Island Park. Everyone's invited to join the parade.

SAN FRANCISCO - The 11 a.m. Choral Eucharist is Webcast live in stereo each Sunday by GraceCom Media Ministry. The complete service, along with a separate sermon excerpt, is posted for listening on-demand by midday Monday. Enjoy this beautiful liturgy and music live on Sunday, or on-demand later in the week at http://www.gracecathedral.org/. Additional Information: 415.749.6360 or e-mail gracecom@gracecathedral.org.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - State Day prayers this Sunday will remember South Carolina in liturgies at Washington National Cathedral, Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues Northwest (Mount St. Alban), Washington, D.C., 20016; 202.537.6200; http://www.cathedral.org/. Preacher will be the Rev. Canon Eugene T. Sutton, Canon Pastor & Director of the Center for Prayer & Pilgrimage. Next Sunday, September 12: State Day prayers will remember South Carolina; Bishop Michie Klusmeyer of West Virginia will celebrate; guest preacher to be announced.
        LAST CHANCE: Washington National Cathedral's "the Greatest Generation" with Veterans' Tours of War Memorial Chapel and other military-related features, must end Labor Day.
        The exhibit "Faith & Courage: U.S. Chaplains' Service in World War II," runs 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.
 
Following the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, this Sunday (14 Pentecost) will give thanks for give thanks for the Most Rev. Andrew Bruce Cameron, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church & Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney. The Anglican Cycle of Prayer can be accessed online at: www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/main.cfm.