CHURCH NEWS
■ ST. JOHN AME CHURCH,
1117 W. Pullen Ave., will present its annual Pew Rally, Family and Friends Worship Service at 3 p.m. Sunday. The guest speaker will be Cordelia D. Mitchell, 12th Episcopal District supervisor of the Women’s Missionary Society and Young People’s Division of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. St. John will honor several people who made contributions to Arkansas’ Black History: Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington, former Mayor Carl Redus, Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson, former Pine Bluff School District Superintendent Frank Anthony, agriculture leaders the Carpenter Family, Dr. Cleon Flowers, and lawyer William Harold Flowers. The speaker is the wife of Bishop Michael Mitchell, the 134th elected and consecrated Bishop of the AME Church. She left her position as vice president of human resources at EverBank and started CDM HR Consulting Services. Mitchell graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and organizational management. She holds a certificate in leadership development from the Harvard Kennedy School and has certifications as a Senior Certified HR Professional and executive coach, according to a news release.
■ BREATH OF LIFE CHURCH,
1313 S. Pine St., will celebrate Black History at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The guest speaker will be Bettye Dunn Wright, Ed.D. The church will honor the following for their services of inspiration to the community: Sederick Charles Rice Jr., Ph.D; Mattie P. Collins, Kanesha B. Adams, Kerri McNeal, Louis Moss, and Michael Williams. The speaker has been an educator many years, including associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She is married to Harlis Wright, pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church. She’s a member of Alpha Kappa Sorority Inc., The Links Inc., and International Reading Association. Wright has a bachelor’s degree from Stillman College at Tuscaloosa, Ala., in business education/ English; a master’s degree from Chicago State University
in learning disabilities/ reading specialist; and her Doctor of Education from the University of Arkansas in educational leadership, according to a news release.
■ AMOS CHAPEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH,
1307 W. 16th Ave., presents a Black History Celebration at 11 a.m. Sunday. The guest saxophonist will be Darnell Cannward of St. James United Methodist Church. The guest speaker will be the Rev. Alfred Carroll of Alfred Carroll Ministry. He is also a Justice of the Peace and a former educator in the Pine Bluff School District. “Come and enjoy Black History music, Negro Spirituals led by the Amos Chapel Youth Department and Music Ministry,” a spokesman said. Everyone is invited to attend.
■ OLD ST. JAMES MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH,
4512 S. Ohio St., will host its Youth Day/ Black History celebration at 10 a.m. Sunday. The guest speaker will be Jennifer Harris, a minister at NuLife Christian Fellowship Church at Little Rock. The guest choir director will be Keenon Coleman, a minister at the Word Church of Monticello. Everyone is invited to attend.
■ HIGHLAND MINISTRIES,
1320 S. Peach St., will present Arts of Worship at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The event is free and open to the general public. The service will emphasize how the arts are used in worship, said Gekisha Shaw, Highland’s assistant minister of music. “Arts of Worship is a night of expressing worship and invoking God’s presence via different artist forms outside of the norm, such as spoken word and dance,” Shaw said. “It’s a night of seamless music, scripture, prayer, dance, spoken word and other giftings that bring glory to the Father.”
■ NEW ST. HURRICANE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
will present a Sneaker Ball for youth from 6-9 p.m. Saturday at the Hurricane HYPE Center, 3319 S. Ohio St. Youth in the 3rd through 5th grade will be in the center’s multi-purpose room and must be accompanied by an adult. Youth in middle through high school will be in the gym. The Sneaker Ball is free and open to any youth. It’s a semi-formal dance where people wear sneakers instead of dress shoes. It is meant to be a kick-off event for New St. Hurricane’s Youth and Young Adult Weekend celebration. The weekend will climax Sunday at 11 a.m. with a youth themed worship service and Sean Jarrett, a pastor from New Jerusalem Church at Tulsa, Okla., as the guest preacher.
■ SECOND BAPTIST MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
at Dumas will host the pre-anniversary of Totally Committed gospel singers at 6 p.m. Saturday. Guests will include the Hughes Singers of Helena, the Chosen Ones of Fordyce, Women of Praise of White Hall, Set Apart, Nu Emage, Voices of Deliverance, Sonz of Glory, Spiritually Devine, and Faith of Harmony all of Pine Bluff. A special tribute will be made to the Birds of Harmony and the McLettic Stars. The service is free and open to the public.
■ PILGRIM MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH,
2507 W. Hill St., will commemorate Black History Month at 10 a.m. Sunday. The speaker will be Fitz Hill, Ed.D, former president of Arkansas Baptist College and former graduate assistant football coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks football team. He is a member of the New Life Church, where he leads the Outreach Ministry Team. Everyone is invited to attend.
■ EVENING STAR MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
of McGehee, will celebrate the 17th anniversary of the pastor and wife, the Rev. William and Myra Jarmon, at 3 p.m. Sunday. The guest pastor will the Rev. Willie Laws of New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church of Altheimer, accompanied by his congregation. Everyone is invited to attend.
■ SAINT BETHEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH,
4508 S. Main St., invites the community to the annual Black History program at 3 p.m. Sunday. The theme will be Embracing the Past/Moving Forward with Hope and Faith. The speaker will be state Rep. Kenneth B. Ferguson. Guests will include Watson Chapel High School Choir, Marguerite N. Flannigan, Montavian Haywood, and Jamal Gordon.
■ NEW COMMUNITY CHURCH,
321 N. Birch St., will host its Kingdom Builders program at 6 p.m. Sunday. The speaker will be Rod Goodwin, a minister at New Community. Church news is printed in The Commercial on Fridays. The deadline to submit church announcements is noon Wednesdays. Pastors, ministers or others interested in writing for the Devotional Page may also submit columns for consideration. Column writers should have connections to Southeast Arkansas. Articles are accepted by email to shope@pbcommercial.com. Details: (870) 534-3400, ext. 5.