Tri-Cities religion events

Special eventsbull; Jan. 22 marks the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and Doe v Bolton. Churches are encouraged to toll their bells on this day. The church bells at St. Peter Catholic Church in Geneva will ring 50 times between 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday. The Rev. Martins Emeh, parochial administrator of St. Peter Church, says this is a call to attention and action. The action he prays each person will: pray for justice; work to overturn the abortion laws; and offer their services or financial help to organizations that support women in crisis due to an unwanted pregnancy. According to Rev. Emeh, there are organizations that provide material, emotional, spiritual and if needed adoptive help to women who find themselves troubled by an unwanted pregnancy. Those who want to help and those who are in need of help can get information by calling the National Life Center at (800) 848-LIFE. There is also a list of helping organizations on the Rockford Catholic Diocese Web site, rockforddiocese.org/respectlife/needhelp1.htm.bull; On Sunday, Jan. 24, Calvary Episcopal Church, 222 S. Batavia Ave. in Batavia, welcomes the Rev. W. Michael Cassell to worship at 8 and 10:15 a.m. He will speak on Food for the Poor, a ministry which provides direct relief to the poor throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. His presentation is particularly timely in light of the recent earthquake devastation in Haiti, one of the countries served by the agency. For information, call the church at (630) 879-3378.bull; Fox Valley Unity Church, 230 Webster St. in Batavia, will hold its annual book sale before and after church services on Sundays, Jan. 24 and 31. Sale hours will be 9:30 to 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. to noon. Hundreds of new and used books, tapes, videos, CDs and DVDs will be offered for sale. Come browse and buy. For information, call Fox Valley Unity at (630) 879-1115 or visit foxvalleyunity.org.bull; St. Charles native and renowned performer Stephanie Gurga will present a classical recital, "The Joy of Piano," performing romantic works for solo piano by Debussy, Ravel, and Rachmaninoff. The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29 at St. Patrick's Mission Church, 6N491 Crane Road, St. Charles. The concert is free and open to the public.bull; First Baptist Church of Geneva will hold its fifth annual couple's event. This year's theme is "First Things First: Getting Back to What Brought You Two Together." Every marriage carries within it the same spark that brought two people together in the first place. The problem is that life happens and they slowly stop doing the things they did at first - and, as a result, marriage can drift into a kind of "business friendship." The Rev. Brian Coffey and his wife Lorene will share from nearly 25 years of marriage and ministry. The Couple's Event will be held from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30 at the church's west campus, 3435 Keslinger Road. Ticket cost is $10 per couple. Register by Jan. 27 online at fbcg.com or call the church office at (630) 232-7068 for information. bull; The Cursillo Ultreya Grande V will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30 at The Church of St. Mary, 244 Waterman St. in Sycamore. All Cursillista are encourage to attend. This is an opportunity to get together as one movement to pray, sing, reflect, worship, hear witness and more. Preregistration is necessary. Cost $15 per person. Deadline for registration is Jan. 23. To sign up, call Rich and Barb at (815) 728-0918 or Don and Sharon at (815) 895-5566.bull; All are invited to the fourth annual Bethany Lutheran Church Dinner Dance from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Bethany Ministry Center Gym, 8 S. Lincoln St., Batavia. Experience the atmosphere and music of "Yesterday" while dining on a full menu including prime rib prepared by Chef Jim Smigo. Live dinner music will be provided by Alan Spear and post-dinner dance music will be spun by DJ Doug Clark. Tickets are $20 per person. For tickets, call the Bethany office at (630) 879-3444. bull; Wesley United Methodist Church, 14 N. May St. in Aurora, will host a Sweetheart Dance from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13. Join the guest singers, the Legacy Girls, who will be offering a wide array of music from many decades for your dancing and listening pleasure. Appetizers, specialty-non-alcoholic drinks, and sweets are included in this fun-filled night, along with "sweetheart activities" and prizes. Commemorative photos will be available. To top the evening off and to solidify the love you and your sweetheart share, there will be an optional group "wedding vow renewal." Enjoy an evening full of song, dancing, appetizers and desserts. Cost for the dance is $20 per person $35 per couple. The dance is from 7 to 9 p.m. Free child care is available. Reserve your spot by calling (630) 896-1033. For information on the church, visit wesleyumcaurora.org.bull; Fox Valley Unity Church is collecting stuffed bears until Feb. 14. Bears will be hugged and filled with love during church services and will be delivered with love to the local nursing homes on Valentine's Day. To donate any stuffed bears, drop it off at the church, 230 Webster St., Batavia. For information, call (630) 879-1115 or visit foxvalleyunity.org.bull; Life Church will host the premiere of "Furious Love" at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14 at the Arcada Theater, 105 E. Main St. in St. Charles. It is new feature film from Darren Wilson, the director of the 2008 feature "Finger of God." It is the story of one man's journey into some of the darkest spiritual climates on earth to test the limits of God's love. Watch his discovery and witness God's response to the demon possessed in Africa, the heroine addicts of Madrid, and witches in Salem, Mass. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $5. There will be a guest appearance by Wilson, an independent filmmaker and assistant professor at Judson University. Tickets may be purchased online at gotlifechurch.com or by calling (630) 443-8822. Ian Andrews will be the guest speaker from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 at Life Church, 8 N. Second Ave. in St. Charles.Donation drivebull; Sugar Grove United Methodist Church, 176 Main St., invites the public to help the earthquake victims in Haiti by purchasing and bringing to the church new items from the following list of personal care items: one-gallon size resealable plastic bags, hand towels, washcloths, combs (large and sturdy), nail files or fingernail clippers (no emery boards), bath-size bars of soap, toothbrushes (single adult-size brushes, individually wrapped), adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages, or toothpaste (4.5 oz or larger, expiration date must be at least one year in future). These items will be assembled into kits and distributed in Haiti by United Methodist Committee on Relief. People wanting to make financial donations can do so directly online at umcorhaiti.org for general Haiti relief or to intlchildcare.org to support relief efforts through Grace Children's Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Checks can also be made payable to "Sugar Grove UMC", designating Haiti Relief in the memo and mailed to Sugar Grove United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 226, Sugar Grove, IL 60554. For details, call the church at (630) 466-4501 or visit sgumc.net.Worshipbull; On Sunday, Jan. 24, the Rev. Paul Bischoff, interim pastor, continues his challenging sermons about New Testament insight on Christians and the influence of Christ in today's world at the 10:30 a.m. service at Country Evangelical Covenant Church, Route 47 and McDonald Road in Campton Hills. Adult Sunday school and church activities for children are held at 9:30 a.m. The children's message will be given by George Delask. Wednesday's Bible study will focus on Psalm 23 at 6:30 p.m. March 5-7 will be the men's retreat. For information, call (847) 464-5381 or visit countrycov.org.Workshopsbull; Hosanna! Lutheran Church will host a Women's Winter Retreat from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. The guest speaker will be Angela Spitzer from Lampstand Ministries. Her topic of discussion will be "True Treasures - Being Content with Less." Breakfast, lunch and a free raffle will be provided. Suggested donation is $20 per person. All adult women from the community are invited to attend. Space is limited so registration is recommended. For information, call the church office at (630) 584-6434, email Welcome@HosannaChurch.com or online at HosannaChurch.com. The church is at 36W925 Red Gate Road, just east of Randall Road in St. Charles.bull; While most parents are in the dark about social media, their tweens and teens are using these new tools to do homework, express themselves and connect to the world. To inform parents about these new tools and to offer suggestions for guiding youth in their use as responsible Christians, Immanuel Lutheran Church, 950 Hart Road in Batavia, will offer a parent symposium, "Faith and the Digital World," from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27. Julianna Shults, pop culture blogger for the youth ministry Web site of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, will share insights and ideas to help parents and youth navigate between the benefits and pitfalls of the digital world. Her blog can be found at youthesource.com. Shults, a graduate of Concordia University-Seward, is currently the director of children and youth ministry at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Norwood Park. She has been a speaker at the Lutheran Youth Gathering in 2007, a presenter at the Lutheran Education Association Convocation in 2007, and at youth gatherings in Florida. Parents and others interested in youth and social media are invited to attend. For information, contact Immanuel at (630) 879-7163 or church@immanuelbatavia.org.bull; Moms Connected will meet from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 28 at the west campus of First Baptist Church, 435 Keslinger Road, Geneva. It is a program for mothers of "tweens" and teens. It serves as a ministry to encourage, support and help moms connect with other women in this stage of teenage parenting. The Moms Connected morning includes an informative speaker, enjoyable table discussion, a continental breakfast and informal social time. Rob Rienow will be speaking on the topic "Developing Faith and Character in the Heart of Your Teen." For information about Rob Rienow, go to visionaryparenting.com. To register, fill out a registration card at the welcome center, call (630) 232-7068, ext. 138 or e-mail jragains@fbcg.com before Tuesday, Jan. 26. Cost is $6 per person at the door. Childcare is available for $4 per child. Children need to be registered and prepaid one week in advance at the east campus to secure a spot. For details, visit fbcg.com.bull; From 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Feb. 2 to March 2, Fox Valley Unity Church, 230 Webster St. in Batavia, is offering a class based on the book "Even Mystics Have Bills to Pay." Join them as they explore this text which invites you to go beyond old methods of making ends meet. As you dig deeper you will find the treasure that is within you. This class will look at the basic principles, a practical application of those principles, and a reflective consideration of prosperity in our world. This book focuses squarely on the awareness of God. The class will be taught by Maria Cosentino, a Licensed Unity Teacher candidate. She completed the coursework and graduated at Unity Village in Missouri in 2008. Everyone is welcome to attend. To register for the class, call Fox Valley Unity at (630) 879-1115 or visit foxvalleyunity.org.