New Year's celebration

New Year's celebration
WARREN -- First United Church of Christ, 280 E. Market St., will hold its own New Year's Eve celebration. The church was a part of First Night Warren last year, but that event is not being held this year.
Entertainment begins at 4 p.m. Performers include Tia Ciferno, a contemporary gospel singer; Tom Weller, a bagpiper; Dan Robison, a ventriloquist and magician; and others. Admission is free. An offering will be taken for each performance.
The church will also celebrate its heritage by serving German food from 4 to 10 p.m. The menu offers pork and sauerkraut, kielbasa and sauerkraut, and stuffed cabbage dinners, all with roasted potatoes, applesauce, bread and butter. Also on the menu are hot dogs with chips, homemade chicken noodle soup and homemade pie.
The church is handicap-accessible. Call (330) 394-4741.
For inactive Catholics
BOARDMAN -- St. Charles Church, 7345 Westview Drive, will sponsor a program for nonpracticing Catholics who have left the church or become inactive for any reason. The informal six-week series is staffed by lay people who have experienced a similar separation. The series will start at 7 p.m. Jan. 5. For information and registration, call Linda O'Brien at the church, (330) 758-2325.
Displays of cr & egrave;ches
WASHINGTON -- Cr & egrave;che displays are featured at the Washington National Cathedral with "Tidings of Comfort and Joy" through Jan. 11 and at Pope John Paul II Cultural Center through Jan. 25.
The cathedral exhibit presents 80 Nativity sets, most from the collection of Beulah Sommers, a former docent at the cathedral who for years lent several dozen cr & egrave;ches to be exhibited and in 1998 donated more than 500 to the cathedral. The sets are displayed on a rotating basis.
Also in the exhibit are an American Indian cr & egrave;che from Arizona, commissioned for the cathedral in 2000, and carved wooden Nativities from Bosnia and Austria from the 40-cr & egrave;che collection of Lori and Chip Amos.
The John Paul cultural center has 200 cr & egrave;ches from three private collections -- one recently donated to the center by a priest in Michigan. Among them: a Costa Rican Nativity in a walnut shell; a Chinese-style cr & egrave;che made from ground powder of wild cinnamon trees; and an Alaskan cr & egrave;che depicting Mary, Joseph and Jesus in Inuit garb in front of their igloo accompanied by a wolf and a moose.
Know the 'Boundaries'
CORTLAND -- Cortland Trinity Baptist Church, 2576 McCleary-Jacoby Road, will offer a nine-week class, "Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No, to Take Control of Your Life." Sessions will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays starting Jan. 5.
The course, based on a book by Drs. John Townsend and Henry Cloud, aims to help participants define who they are and for what they are responsible in their interpersonal relationships. The registration fee of $50 covers the "Boundaries" book and workbook. For registration, call (330) 637-1421.
Kwanzaa celebration
YOUNGSTOWN -- Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, 505 Parkcliffe Ave., will host a community celebration for Kwanzaa at 4 p.m. Sunday. The worship service will feature interpretations of the Nguzo Saba, the seven principles of the holiday. For more information, contact the Rev. Lewis Macklin at (330) 782-8929.
A message from Iran
GENEVA -- World leaders must do more to eradicate religious hatred, which is growing, Iran's president told a global church body. "Today we speak of the global village," said Mohammad Khatami in a Dec. 11 speech to the World Council of Churches. "But in this global village, it's clear that we are unable to understand one another." Khatami said geopolitics were partly to blame. He did not single out any countries, but since its 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran's leadership has criticized the United States and other Western nations for their international policies and for spreading Western culture.
Staff/wire reports