Communities of faith

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Edition

Posted on Saturday, August 23, 2008

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Witnesses event to draw from 4 states TULSA — Jehovah’s Witnesses from Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma will gather at the Tulsa Convention Center from Friday through Sept. 1 for a district convention. Conventions were scheduled for 76 cities throughout the nation. More than 6, 400 delegates are expected to attend the Tulsa convention. Programs are in English and Spanish across the country and in some areas the programs will be presented in American Sign Language, Arabic, Russian, French and many other languages. More than 1. 6 million are expected to attend the U. S. conventions. The public is welcome to attend. Sessions begin at 9: 20 a.m. each day. Programs are free and no collections will be taken. The Tulsa Convention Center is at 100 Civic Center. Baptist church starts college ministry SILOAM SPRINGS — The first worship service for First Baptist Church’s new college ministry, The Loft, will be at 9 a.m. Sunday. Students will meet in the balcony area above the main entrance. The church is at 2000 Dawn Hill Road.

Sunday mornings will include student-led worship services, prayer and Bible study. On Wednesdays students will gather for worship services and small group meetings, while Tuesdays and Thursdays will focus on study, mentoring and a time of retreat. The Loft features a coffee bar and wireless Internet access. Jason Kelly serves as student minister.

Information is available online at www. fbcsiloam. com or by calling (479 ) 524-3106. Benedictine scholar to discuss Catholicism FORT SMITH — The Rev. Tom Hart, a Catholic biblical scholar, speaker and writer, will speak at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Sept. 3 and 4. Hart, a Benedictine monk, will discuss “The Psalms, the Heart of Christian Prayer” at 7 p.m. Sept. 3. A time of discussion will follow. The talk will be at the church, North 13 th Street and Garrison Avenue.

Hart will also speak at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sept. 4 at the Monsignor Galvin Center next to the church. He will discuss how the 27 books of the New Testament were selected, the Gnostic gospels and the Christian Apocrypha. Hart will also address several questions about the Catholic Church, including: Did the Church hide the humanity and marriage of Jesus to protect the institution ? Could Jesus have been the husband of Mary Magdalene ? What really happened to the lost books of the Bible ? A professor at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., Hart lectures around the world. He has written for numerous publications on a variety of topics, from Jewish-Catholic dialogue to advice on marriage. Admission is free. An offering will be collected. Information is available by calling Sherry Scorby at (479 ) 785-7990. Communities of Faith is a compilation of church and religion news for Northwest Arkansas. The deadline for submissions is noon Monday before Saturday publication. Please send information, including a phone number, to Christie Storm, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 515 Enterprise Drive, Suite 106, Lowell, Ark. 72745, fax it to (479 ) 770-8484 or e-mail cstorm@arkansasonline. com

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