Religion briefs

Gospel groups coming to Arena Building

Gospel music groups the Crabb Family, Michael Combs and Mike Bowling will perform at 7 p.m. Friday at the A.C. Brase Arena Building.

Tickets are available by calling (423) 343-0172 or (423) 677-5093. The concert is sponsored by Lighthouse Productions.

Churches plan for Ten Commandments hike

Several churches in the Anna, Ill., and Jonesboro, Ill., area will host a Ten Commandments hike Sept. 28. It is the fifth annual hike for the area.

Area scout troops and Explorer posts are encouraged to attend. Participants will hike from church to church stopping at each to learn one of the Ten Commandments.

The 5-mile hike will re-enforce the "Duty to God" badge for Boy Scouts and the "Serve God" badge for Girl Scouts. Scouts will receive collector patches at the Lincoln Picnic grounds in Jonesboro.

Participating churches are First Baptist of Anna, First Baptist of Jonesboro, First Christian Church, Mount Moriah Lutheran, United Methodist of Anna, United Methodist of Jonesboro, First Church of the Nazarene, Evangelical Presbyterian and St. Mary's Catholic.

For information, call Dr. Dave Soucie at First Christian Church at (618) 833-6834 during the day or at (618) 833-7634 in the evenings. You can email him at davesoucie @hotmail.com.

Immanuel Lutheran plans church supper Seot, 29

Immanuel Lutheran Church willhost a church supper at 4 p.m. Sept. 29.

The meal includes kettle beef, ham, chicken and dumpings. Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for children 6 to 12. Carryouts are available.

Matching funds are being applied by Aid Association for Lutherans Branch 1374. Funds will benefit Elizabeth Schott, daughter of Tom and Marilyn Schott, who has a brain aneurysm.

'Hill of Peace' reunion set at Friedenberg church

Former members of the Peace Luthean Church in Friedenberg, Mo., will hold a reunion service at 3 p.m. Sept. 29.

Former students of the parish school and descendants of the area's settlers are invited to attend. The church was founded just south of Perryville, Mo., in the 1830s and disbanded in the 1980s.

The church, today known as "Hill of Peace," is preserved by the Concordia Historical Institute in St. Louis as a reminder of the region's German heritage and the beginnings of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The Rev. Dr. Martin R. Noland, director of the Conordia Historical Institute, will speak.

Methodist church to hold chicken dumpling dinner

St. Paul Methodist Church in Commerce, Mo., will host a chicken and dumpling dinner Sept. 28 and 29 during the Flood Fest activities. The meal will be served beginning at 11 a.m. each day.

Chris Wise will provide music during the 9 a.m. worship Sept. 29 at the church. He also will perform at 11 a.m. at Broadway United Methodist Church in Scott City.

Christ Lutheran Church to make molasses

Members of Christ Lutheran Church in Gordonville, Mo., will make sorghum molasses from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Sept. 28 at the John Lorberg farm west of Gordonville.

Molasses made on Friday will be available to buy the following day. Proceeds from the sale are used for mission projects supported by the church. To place an order for the molasses, call 243-2858.

Shawnee Hills church gets new pastor

Shawnee Hills Baptist Church in Jackson has named Ray Epps as its new pastor. Epps previously served as pastor of the church from 1988 to 1995. He has since served other churches in Illinois and Wyoming.

--From staff reports