CHURCH NEWS
■ NEW COMMUNITY CHURCH, 321 N. Birch St., will host the 18th anniversary celebration of the pastor and wife, Apostle Patrick and Janice Lockett, on Sunday. Regular services will be held at 11 a.m. The anniversary will be observed at 4 p.m. and the guest speaker will be Bishop Jeff Davis of the Word Works Church of Chicago, Ill. The church is observing social distancing, requiring masks and following guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Masks are available from ushers and hand sanitizing stations are located near the front doors.
■ SOLIDERS 4 CHRIST gospel singers will celebrate their sixth anniversary beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at New St. James Missionary Baptist Church. The speaker will be Patrick Edmond and singers will include Krishana Barnes, Zatoria Curry and Keenon Coleman. At 6 p.m. Sunday, the celebration will be held at Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, 900 Grant St. The guest minister will be Semaj Brown and special guests will be Austin Hill & Renewed. Other singers will include Men in Christ, the Spiritualettes, Mighty Gospelettes, the Hearts and Totally Committed. A $5 offering will be received at the door Sunday, according to a spokesman.
■ ST. JOHN AME CHURCH, 1117 W. Pullen St., will host its annual men’s day worship and praise services virtually. At 6 p.m. Friday, the speaker will be the Rev. Rodney Smith, pastor of First AME Church at Oakland, Ca. At 6 p.m. Saturday, the speaker will be the Rev. Derick Easter, pastor of New St. Hurricane Baptist Church of Pine Bluff. At 11 a.m. Sunday, services will feature the Rev. Robert Shaw, pastor of Bethel AME Church at San Francisco, Ca. To attend virtually, visit www.stjohnamepinebluff.org or https://www.facebook.com/St.JohnPineBluff/ or https://www.facebook.com/rev.cwilliams.
To attend by Zoom the ID number is 4322086226 and password: 1117. By audio, dial 1-312-626-6799 and when prompted enter 4322086226# then when prompted enter 1117#.
■ PILGRIM MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, 2507 Hill St., will open its Raven’s Nest Food Pantry on Saturday from 8-9:30 a.m. or until all the food has been given away. Food will be handed out on a first come, first-served basis. Participants must bring a picture identification.
■ ST. JOHN AME CHURCH, 1117 W. Pullen St., will give away food boxes to people in need from 9-11 a.m. Sept. 11. One food box per family will be provided in a drive-thru event in front of the church on Cherry Street. Participants are asked to stay in their vehicles and food will be placed in their trunks. State ID’s are required. The sponsor is St. John’s Soul Food for the Mind, Body, and Spirit Feeding Ministry. The Rev. Cecil L. Williams Jr. is the pastor. Church news is printed in The Commercial on Friday.The deadline to submit church announcements is noon Wednesday. Announcements can be for in-person services or online events. Pastors, ministers or others interested in writing for the Devotional Page may also submit columns for consideration. Column writers should have Southeast Arkansas connections. Articles should be submitted by email to shope@pbcommercial.com. Details: (870) 534-3400, ext. 5.