Fox Valley religion special events

Westminster celebrating 50: Westminster Presbyterian Church of Elgin is planning an evening of celebration to commemorate their 50th anniversary. The banquet will be at 6 p.m. today at Randall Oaks Golf Club in West Dundee. The speaker for the evening will be Bryan Chapell, President of Covenant Theological Seminary. Tickets are $15 each and can be purchased by calling the church at (847) 695-0311 or lsaxe@wpchurch.com

Super Service Saturday: Epworth United Methodist Church and the Mosaic Youth Team are bringing the community a Super Service Saturday this weekend. It is a day anyone can sign up to work the afternoon at a local non-profit or direct help project aimed at community betterment and social action. Led by the Millenials, Epworth UMC is hoping to impart the experience of helping the community. By splitting into work teams, dividing the list of needed repairs, clean-ups or job sites, their hope is that everyone involved benefits, from young to old. To sign up for work crew duty, call Epworth UMC at (847) 931-5400. Sign-up is also available Sundays from 9:45 to 11 a.m. at Epworth UMC. A "Send off Celebration and Lunch" begin at 10 a.m. All ages are welcome and work will conclude at 4 p.m. with a youth-led praise service. The cost is $15 per person, $10 for kids under 10, or $40 for a family. This cost includes T-shirts, lunch and the donations and supplies for the various projects. For details, e-mail Mollie Denman at mdenman@gmail.com.

Memorial Organ Recital: First Congregational Church will present the second annual Wesley M. Vos Memorial Organ Recital at 4 p.m. Sunday in the church sanctuary, 461 Pierson St. in Crystal Lake. Performing will be organist David Schrader from Chicago, and the Vestry Choir of the church. Schrader is equally at home in front of a harpsichord, organ, piano, or fortepiano. He has performed at the American Guild of Organists' national convention on four occasions and has appeared on organ and on harpsichord with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is on the faculty of Roosevelt University, Chicago College of Performing Arts-Music Conservatory for performance and academic studies and appears regularly with organizations such as The Baroque Band (Chicago's period instrument orchestra), Music of the Baroque, the Newberry Consort, and Bach Week in Evanston. Especially fond of French organ music of all periods, he will perform music by Nicolas de Grigny (1671-1703), Jehan Alain (1911-40) and Maurice Durufle (1902-86) on the first half of the program. Find more information about him at www.davidschrader.com. The second half of the program will feature the FCC Vestry Choir performing "Requiem" by Durufle under the leadership of Ann Tucker. Schrader will accompany on the church's impressive John Paul Buzard's Opus 16-pipe organ using the composer's own arrangement for organ from the original orchestra parts. Durufle was an important member of the Gregorian movement in France in the early part of the 20th century and the requiem mass uses Gregorian chants as a basis for his musical ideas. Vocal soloists for the Requiem mass will be soprano Jennifer Streit, and baritone Gerard Sundberg. Streit is a member of the FCC Vestry choir and has performed as a soloist with the choir for several years. As a trained music educator, she has also been a director of children's choirs and preschool music programs at the church. She is also a member of the board of directors of the McHenry County Community Foundation. Sundberg is a professor of music at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music in Wheaton and has performed widely in the U.S., the Ukraine and New Zealand. He has regularly appeared as soloist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus and with many choral and orchestral groups in Illinois and Wisconsin. The event is open to the public without charge. There will be a free-will offering for the fund to continue the annual recital series. A reception will follow the program in the fellowship hall. Call (815) 459-6010 for details. Directions to the church are available at www.fcc-cl.org.

National Day of Prayer: The 57th annual National Day of Prayer Observance will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Light & Life Ministries/Elgin's House of Prayer, 270 E. Chicago St. This year's theme is, "Prayer! America's Strength and Shield" with "The Lord is my strength and shield, my heart trusts in Him and I am helped," Psalms 28:7. The event will be filled with prayer for the nation and the community. It will be facilitated by Light and Life Ministries/Elgin's House of Prayer and the Elgin Evangelical Pastor's Association. Federal law established the annual National Day of Prayer in 1952 when the United States Congress passed a joint resolution, which was signed by President Harry Truman. The law was amended in 1988 and signed by President Ronald Reagan, specifically designating the first Thursday in May as the official National Day of Prayer. On Thursday, an expected two million Americans will gather at over 35,000 prayer gatherings across the country to pray for America. On Thursday, there will also be continuous praise and prayer at Light and Life Ministries/Elgin's House of Prayer from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.

"Fear Factor": On Sunday, the junior and senior high youth will participate in an event called "Fear Factor" at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational Church Main and Church streets in downtown Huntley. It is based on the popular game show. It will present challenges to overcoming some common fears. Anyone in this age group is invited to attend. Call the church at (847) 669-3691. A signed permission slip is required.