RELIGION DIGEST || Faith celebration

Faith celebration

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The Church of the Living God, Sixth Street Tabernacle, 1520 Sixth St., will host “Men and Women of Faith: Sons of Abraham and Women of Ruth,” a faith celebration, at 2 p.m. June 29.

Gail Nevels Stringer of Youngstown will be guest speaker and singer and her message will be “What Should We Learn from the Life of Ruth?”

Minister Melvin McDougall of Cleveland will give the message “What Should We Learn from the Life of Abraham?”

Pastors anniversary

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Congregations of Victory Christian Center will honor David and Kathie Thomas for 35 years in ministry as senior pastors at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday at the church’s Coitsville campus, 3899 McCartney Road.

The Rev. John Kilpatrick of Church of His Presence in Daphne, Ala., will be guest speaker. A reception will follow the services, which are open to all.

Victory Christian Center has grown from 46 people in 1972, when the Thomases became pastors, to a multicultural, multicampus ministry. Sites are in Columbiana, Liberty, New Castle, New Wilmington and Warren, where more than 5,000 people worship weekly. The main Coitsville campus, which includes Quest Book Store & Caf , World Prayer Center and The Riot youth building, was acquired in 1987. VCC will open a new location in Vienna Township in the fall.

Pastor David Thomas, co-founder and chairman of Legacy Global Kingdom Alliance, also is an author, life coach, conference speaker and certified trainer with the John C. Maxwell group. Pastor Kathie Thomas speaks at conferences and women’s retreats and has led more than 2,000 women through the Esther Experience, a study of the book of Esther.

For information, visit www.vccoitsville.com.

Concerts by Wells

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David Wells will be in concert June 30 during worship at 10 a.m. at Calvary United Methodist Church, 12062 South Ave., and at 6 p.m. at Common Ground Community Church, 2310 W. South Range Road.

An offering will be received at both

Fortnight for Freedom planned

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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has called for a Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week period of prayer and action to address many current challenges to religious liberty. It includes the Aug. 1 deadline for religious organizations to comply with the Health and Human Services mandate, Supreme Court rulings that could redefine marriage in June, and religious liberty concerns in areas such as immigration and humanitarian services.

During the Fortnight for Freedom, Catholics around the country will stand together in support of religious liberty for all.

In the six-county Diocese of Youngstown, the USCCB Fortnight for Freedom Mass will be at 12:10 p.m. July 1 at St. Columba Cathedral, 154 W. Wood St., with Bishop George V. Murry as celebrant.

Details about Fortnight can be found at www.Fortnight4Freedom.org.

Feast-day event

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St. Patrick Church, 1420 Oak Hill Ave., will have a bonfire at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, the eve of the feast day of St. John the Baptist.

At the gathering, outdated, broken or worn religious articles will be burned.

The event will include an outdoor prayer service, music by Xavier Roman and light refreshments.