RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

Call the church at (845) 758-3141 for more information.

Refugee Sunday on Sept. 15 at Woodstock church

Christ’s Lutheran Church, 26 Mill Hill Road, will observe Sunday, Sept. 15, as “Refugee Sunday,” in support of the work of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in ministering to refugees.

In addition to worship at 10:30 a.m., the congregation will host a talk at 2 p.m. from a representative of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. He will speak firsthand about his own journey to the United States as an undocumented minor and describe the importance of the welcome and support he received through the refugee service and others. All are welcome at both events.

The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service was started by congregations in 1939. Today, it has welcomed more than 500,000 refugees, mi-

grants affected by detention, and unaccompanied migrant and refugee children. In 1975, Christ’s Lutheran Church partnered in these efforts by sponsoring a refugee family from Vietnam and offering them housing in the parsonage located next to the church.

This year, Christ’s Lutheran Church voted to award a Mission Endowment Fund grant to the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in support of its work. The church’s Mission Endowment Fund is a fund set aside to aid churches and other agencies dedicated to the healing of the world. It was begun in the congregation’s 200th anniversary year, 2006, and currently gives at least $2,000 annually to various organizations.

Refugee Sunday is part of a month-long focus of “Welcome Your Neighbor,” which is being emphasized by the congregation through worship and programming.

Call the Rev. Sonja Maclary at (845) 389-2481 for more information.

Film series will screen ‘Elsa & Fred’ on Sept. 16

The awardwinning romantic comedy “Elsa & Fred,” about an elderly couple who show it’s never too late to love and to live, opens Movies With Spirit’s 12th season on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. at Catholic Charities, 6 Adams St.

The charming Spanishlanguage film with English subtitles, presented in conjunction with Catholic Charities, tells the story of Fred (played by Manuel Alexandre), a quiet but courtly 78-year-old hypochondriac widower who moves into a small Madrid apartment after losing his wife, and Elsa (China Zorrilla), a vivacious inveterate liar of indeterminate vintage who happens to be his neighbor.

They meet over a fender bender.

Bursting into his life like a whirlwind, Elsa becomes determined to teach him the time he has left is precious and he should enjoy every minute of it. At first appalled by her carpe diem behavior, Fred later surrenders to her frenzy, youth and beautiful madness, falling in love with her and realizing how much life he still has to live. What Fred doesn’t realize, though, is that Elsa is concealing a grave illness.

The 2005 film, which won nine critic and film-festival awards, runs 108 minutes and is rated PG.

The Kingston screening will be followed by a facilitated discussion. Refreshments will be served. Attendees over age 12 are asked to contribute $5 to $10 a person.

The monthly Movies With Spirit series is organized by Gerry Harrington of Kingston. It seeks to stimulate people’s sense of joy and wonder, inspire love and compassion, evoke a deepened understanding of people’s integral connection with others and with life itself, and support individual cultures, faith paths and beliefs while simultaneously transcending them.

The films are screened in diverse houses of worship and reverence across Ulster and Dutchess counties at 7 p.m. on the third Saturday every month. The series has no religious affiliation.

For more information about “Elsa & Fred” and the rest of the series, contact Harrington at (845) 389-9201 or at gerryharrington@mindspring.com. Details are also available at movieswithspirit.com and facebook.com/MoviesWithSpirit.