Church

The last fundraiser for the ladies of Ebenezer AME Church will be a turkey dinner Sunday, starting at 1 p.m. at Bethel Gardens Community Center, 356 Henry Ave. in Hagerstown The menu includes turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, sauerkraut, green beans, cranberry sauce, roll and dessert.  The meal costs $10. Patrons can eat in or carry out. Cinderella's Closet The annual Cinderella's Closet fundraiser to...

Food donations are being accepted at Cedar Grove Christian Church, 2320 Sulphur Springs Road, Inwood, W.Va., to assist those in need. To donate nonperishable or canned goods, you may make arrangements for drop-off to the church by calling 304-229-3463. For more information, call 304-229-3463 or email cedargrovechurch@comcast.net .

Virginia Avenue Church of God will hold its annual Easter drama Saturday, March 16, Sunday, March 17, and Friday, March 22, Saturday, March 23, and Sunday, March 24.    Doors open at 6 p.m. and the presentation starts at 7 p.m.  The church is at 17306 Virginia Ave. in Hagerstown. For more information, call 301-582-2243.

Christ Reformed United Church of Christ, at 22514 Cavetown Church Road, Cavetown, will hold a soup and sandwich sale Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be steamers, hot dogs, chicken corn, vegetable or bean soup and drinks. Patrons can eat in or carry out. For more information, call Debbie at 301-824-7513. Nurses refresher course The Continuing Education and Community Services Division at Hagerstown Community College will offer a three-part nurse refresher course for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses beginning this month.

Local bands played to an eager crowd Saturday at Bridgefest 13 in Hagerstown. Bridge of Life Church hosted the all-day music festival in its laid-back, dorm-like youth room. Some audience members lounged on secondhand couches chatting, texting and swaying to the music from the room's far end, while others were at the foot of the stage, hanging on every note and lyric and rocking out. Youth pastor Justin Perrow said the church wanted to give area bands a place to play. “We just wanted them to have a place to have a crowd, for some youth groups to come together and for the church to get into the community,” he said.

Willie A. Gandy Sr., of 1202 Carroll Heights Blvd. in Hagerstown, died Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, at his home. A homegoing service will take place Tuesday, March 5, 2013, at noon at Asbury United Methodist Church, 155 N. Jonathan St., Hagerstown. The viewing will be Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon at the church. Funeral services are being handled by Harman, Kenworthy & Minnich Funeral Home, 305 N. Potomac St., Hagerstown.

The first gathering of a new church will take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 18, at Cancun Cantina West, 901 Dual Highway, Hagerstown. The church is called The Watering Hole, a Biker Church, and will meet weekly on Mondays. For more information, call Cancun Cantina at 301-797-4422 or Bill Kleckner at 301-582-9073.   Potpie dinner Ringgold Ruritan will hold a turkey and ham potpie dinner Saturday, March 9, from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Ringgold Ruritan Building (old schoolhouse)

The Cat in the Hat paid a visit to Spread Your Wings Learning Center Preschool students at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hagerstown on Wednesday but unlike the character in the book, left no mess to clean up. “She read a book to us,” Aniyah McFarlane, 4, of Hagerstown, said. “I liked giving (the Cat in the Hat) a hug.” Dr. Seuss' most famous character, played by Lisa Conrad, of Hagerstown, read “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish,” another book by the author, to six students there Wednesday morning.

Members of the 140-year-old Sharpsburg Bible Church on Antietam Street in Sharpsburg broke ground Feb. 3 for a new addition to the present church building that was first used 32 years ago. After the regular Sunday morning church service, the congregation stepped outside, and in the cold and snow listened to Pastor Gene Renner's words from the Bible and retired Pastor Ralph Jamison's prayers. The congregation sang the hymn “To God Be the Glory” without instrumental accompaniment.

The principle of separation is one of America's greatest contributions to political thought. Responsible citizenship makes it important to identify myths to sort out intended and unintended distortions of fact. Myth 1: We don't have separation of church and state in America because those words do not appear in the Constitution. Baptist scholar Brent Walker points out that there are many words used in accepted constitutional interpretation that do not appear in the original document.