Offerings

6/12/2004

LYONS - Bishop Leonard Blair of the Toledo Catholic Diocese met with members of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Lyons, to discuss the possible closure of the parish.

Parish members were first notified of the possible closing when the Rev. James Steinle, administrator of the parish, read a letter from the bishop on May 29.

Bishop Blair went to the church on June 4 to discuss the status of the parish, which is "twinned" with Our Lady of Mercy in Fayette.

ADRIAN - Seventy-eight Adrian Dominican Sisters from around the world will gather at the Motherhouse here to celebrate their jubilees next week.

Thirty-six nuns will mark their 60-year jubilees, 40 will celebrate their 50-year anniversaries, and two will observe their 25-year anniversaries.

The celebration begins Tuesday with a welcome address by Prioress Janet Capone, followed by a schedule that includes social gatherings, a liturgy for deceased jubilarians, portrait sessions, and a jubilee liturgy and dinner on June 19, said Chris Barecki, a spokesman for the religious order.

The Adrian Dominican Sisters was founded in the 12th century by Dominic Guzman and has more than 1,000 vowed members and associates worldwide.

The Devils Lake Drive-In will open its 54th year of film programming and ministry next weekend with the showing of the film For Pete's Sake.

The drive-in, founded by the Rev. Terry Lytle and his wife, Olive, in 1951 as a way of reaching people with the Gospel, will show religious or family movies every Friday and Saturday through Labor Day weekend.

Drive-In Ministries, Inc., now has mobile movie theaters in Nigeria, Mexico, and the Ukraine, and has led more than half a million people to accept Christ, Mr. Lytle said.

The Devils Lake Drive-In is at 742 Manitou Rd., Manitou Beach, Mich., about 60 miles northwest of Toledo. Information and showtimes are available by calling 517-547-5657 or online at www.drive-inconcepts.com.

Northwest Baptist Church will hold an "I Love America Sunday" tomorrow during its 10 a.m. service to honor those who have been involved in the Armed Forces.

The church, at 4428 Alexis Rd., will present plaques and a steak dinner to men and women who have been in the military "in appreciation for the sacrifice they have given to protect this great country," Steve Borst, assistant pastor, said.

The Rev. Thomas A. Wilson will mark his 50th anniversary in the Lutheran Mission with a celebration at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at Bethel Lutheran Church, 1853 South Ave.

Mr. Wilson graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary in Columbus on June 13, 1954, and interned at Zion Lutheran Church in Sandusky.

His first full-time ministry was at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Blackberry Corners, Ohio, and he was pastor for 18 years at Bethel Lutheran in Toledo.

Since retirement, Mr. Wilson has been interim pastor at Olivet Lutheran, Sylvania, and St. Paul's Lutheran and St. John's Lutheran, Toledo.

The Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio, will celebrate Hispanic Day tomorrow with special guest celebrant the Rev. Tom Florek.

Activities include confessions in Spanish and English from 10:30 a.m. until noon; Masses in English at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., a Hispanic Mass at noon, and a rosary procession starting at 2:30 p.m. Other events at the shrine, 315 Clay Street in Carey, include Filipino Day on July 10; Family Pilgrimage Day on Sept. 19, and Polish Day on Oct. 10.

WETHERSFIELD, Conn. - Citing differences over homosexuality and other issues, the largest United Church of Christ congregation in New England has voted to split from its denomination.

Members of the First Church of Christ here voted 510-59 Sunday to leave the national church for the independent status the congregation had for most of its 369-year history. The 1.3 million-member United Church of Christ began ordaining openly gay clergy in 1972.