Summer is just around the corner, and vacation Bible school registration has begun at some of our area churches!
At Friendship Baptist, a free Bible Week for the whole family begins with a kickoff celebration July 10 from 5:30-6:45 p.m. and then classes run July 11-15 from 7 to 9 p.m. Children and teens will enjoy "Beach Blast: God's Faithfulness" while adults participate in a fun, interactive discussion.
To register, go to http://www.fbcmd.org, or call the church office at 410-442-5506. The address is 1391 Sykesville Road (Route 32), in Sykesville.
Chapelgate Presbyterian, at 2600 Marriottsville Road, in Marriottsville, will also offer its Jump Summer Camp the week of July 11-15, but from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. During this program, children grades K-5 (completed as of June 2011) will travel with the apostle Paul through his three missionary journeys.
Registration costs $35 for one child, $60 for two children, and $75 for three or more children. Go to http://www.chapelgate.org/jump to register online, or call 410-442-5800 for more information.
St. James United Methodist invites pre-kindergarten through fifth grade chefs-in-training to join a friendly raccoon named Scraps at the Shake It Up Café July 18-22 from 9 a.m. to noon. Together they will learn to serve up God's recipes.
Registration ends July 1 and costs $15 per child; to print out a registration form, go to saintjamesweb.org. Call the church office at 410-442-2020 for more information, or e-mail Angie Grim at makgrim@verizon.net.
Bon Secours Spiritual Center prepared a bountiful brunch for Mother's Day and will certainly not forget the dads on Father's Day. A special Father's Day Picnic, which runs June 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. promises to be a meat-lover's paradise, complete with a crab bake, pig roast and plenty of barbecue!
The meal costs $29.95 for adults, $21.95 for seniors age 62 and older and $16.95 for children ages 3-12. Children younger than 3 are free. To make a reservation, go to http://www.bonsecoursspiritualcenter.org, or call 410-442-1320 by June 10.
After the picnic, stay and enjoy this month's Music at Marriottsville event featuring Starfire Artists, a group of independent musicians affiliated with Starfire-Muse Productions, in Catonsville. The concert will begin in the chapel at 3 p.m., and patrons will be invited to make a freewill offering.
Bon Secours offers another community program, "Keep the Spirit Up – A Day for Job Seekers and Career Changers," June 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants can expect a day of spiritual refreshment and support, as well as workshops on personal and job management skills. They will be invited to make a freewill offering.
For those seeking a more spiritual experience, BSSC offers a silent, directed retreat June 19-24. Sister Martha Starrett, Friar Phil Cover, spiritual director Mary Persch and Sister Muriel Curran will guide and support retreatants as they reflect on God's presence in their lives. The program costs $550.
Another retreat, "Reconnecting with Our Therapist, Jesus," runs June 19-23. Sister Eileen Quinn will help participants explore how Jesus ministers to them during times of inner pain. This program costs $500, with a $150 deposit.
Use the above-listed phone number or website to register for any of the programs at Bon Secours. The address is 1525 Marriottsville Road, in Marriottsville.
On June 10, Relay for Life of Western Howard County will host its annual overnight walkathon at Western Regional Park (14800 Carrs Mill Road, in Woodbine) and invites the community to attend. This free, uplifting event celebrates cancer survivorship and helps raise money for the American Cancer Society.
Team members solicit donations before and during the event and then take turns walking throughout the night to represent the fact that cancer never sleeps. Last year, Western Howard County raised more than $128,000 — a $34,000 increase from the previous year — and won both the All-American Award for overall excellence and the State Spirit of Relay Award for best overall relay in the region.
The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with an opening ceremony and also features a survivor's lap, a luminary ceremony, a kids' walk and a siilent auction. A free survivor's reception will precede the opening ceremony; to attend, survivors must register in advance at http://www.relayforlife.org/westernhoward.
Call 410-781-4316, or email Shelby.williford@cancer.org for more information.
