Religion offerings: 10/28

10/28/2017

Reformation Sunday

Protestants recognize Oct. 31 as Reformation Day, when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to a door in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517. Numerous local churches are recognizing the day in a special way this year, which marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

The Rev. Jeff Cooper, of Ashland Church, 2350 Starr Ave., Oregon, will preach one of Luther’s original sermons at 10 a.m. Sunday. The pastor will be dressed as the monk, and the service will include incense, Gregorian chants, and a boy soprano to add to the period atmosphere.

St. John’s Lutheran Church, 708 S. Erie St., will present a short skit, “Luther and the Ref,” at its service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. A German dinner and a film presentation will follow.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church,112 E Wayne St., Maumee, will invite a guest preacher, the Rev. Melvin “Bud” Miller, who pastored there between 1972 and 1984, to its service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Universal Worship Service

First Unitarian Church of Toledo will host a Universal Worship Service at 7 p.m. Sunday. The service will encompass a candle-lighting followed by music and readings from the sacred texts of several religious traditions. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, the Bahá'í Faith, and Unitarian Universalism.

The Universal Worship Service was created in 1921 by Inayat Khan, an Indian mystic, musician, and Sufi teacher. This is the second time it will be hosted locally; the first service took place Sept. 10 at Monroe Street United Methodist Church.

Judy Lee Trautman and Sara Tarana Jobin will lead the free public service. First Unitarian is at 3205 Glendale Ave.

Jewish Book Festival

The Northwest Ohio Jewish Book Festival returns for its 13th year Nov. 8-21. The festival highlights books that are Jewish by content or by author. Books and related festival events are curated to appeal to a wide variety of interests and ages.

The first event is Nov. 8 with a luncheon and presentation by Glenn Frankel, author of High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic. The book details the political back story of the Academy Award-winning film that gave Grace Kelly her first major movie role. 

Registration for festival events, which are described at jewishtoledo.org, is requested by Monday. Contact 419-531-2119, ext. 2, or registration@jewishtoledo.org. Payment for some events is requested at time of registration.

Truth At Work

CedarCreek Church will be one of several nationwide sites to simulcast the sixth annual Truth at Work Conference on Nov. 10. Formerly known as America’s Best Hope, the conference will feature inspiring presentations from chief operating officers, entertainers, and other leaders from across the country as a means of “cultivating godly leaders in the marketplace.”

This year’s slate of speakers includes Mark Miller, vice president of high performance at Chick-fil-A; Anne Beiler, founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, and Jon Gordon, best-selling author and speaker. Jim Lange is the president of the Toledo chapter of Truth at Work.

The conference will run 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the West Toledo Campus, 2600 West Sylvania Ave. Tickets are $55 and include lunch provided by Chick-fil-A. For more information or to register, go to truthatwork.org/conference/.