Catholic Charities of West Tennessee is collecting funds to support tornado relief efforts in the Oklahoma City area.

“Devastating tornadoes have impacted our neighbors only 400 miles away over the past two days and we as a community want to help,” said Mike Allen, President / CEO of Catholic Charities of West Tennessee.

“Our sister agency Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City is already in action on the front lines providing disaster relief and support and this is our way to assist the people of West Tennessee in showing their support,” said Allen.

Catholic Charities of West Tennessee is accepting cash, check and credit card donations at their main office located at 1325 Jefferson, Memphis. TN 38104, or through their secure website at ccwtn.org.

All donations should be clearly marked “OK Tornado Relief.” In addition, Pastors at the 47 parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis will be asked to support relief efforts with their congregations this weekend.

A security guard in Jackson, Tenn., accused of defacing a Memphis Jewish school’s Torah scroll, was indicted Wednesday on a charge of violating the civil rights of students and faculty.

A federal grand jury in Memphis returned a one-count indictment against Justin Shawn Baker, 25. The indictment alleges that Baker defaced a Torah and religious prayer books, which the students and faculty of Memphis’ Margolin Hebrew Academy were using for a worship service at a hotel during a field trip.

“Freedom to practice one’s religion without prejudice is one of the bedrock principles upon which our nation was founded,” U.S. Atty. Edward L. Stanton III said in a statement issued Wednesday.

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER EVENTS IN SHELBY COUNTY

NDP Memphis at Tiger Lane, at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and Fairgrounds.

·         There will be a Prayer Station on May 2 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.  You are invited to participate by coming to pray for one hour with Christians from around the Memphis Metro area.

·         There will be a Community Prayer Rally at 5:45 with Mayor Luttrell, Steve Gaines, Ralph White and other area pastors and leaders, with a time of worship and praise.

·         For more information contact Carol Leake at caroljanee@comcast.net or 901-337-6194

Tiger Lane is at the fairgrounds, in front of the Liberty Bowl.  Enter on East Parkway at Nelson.  Take 240 to Airways, (which turns into East Parkway) go north to Nelson, turn right into fairgrounds complex. 

National Day of Prayer Germantown Town Hall

May 2 at 12:00 noon at the flagpole, 1930 S. Germantown Rd., Germantown TN 38138.   For more information, contact Gail Duron at 901-277-8520 or blessyall@aol.com

Read the rest of this entry →

Members of Sycamore View Church won’t be in church this Sunday. Instead, they will be church to various parts of the community.

The congregation will gather briefly at the church Sunday morning before dispersing to serve organizations such as Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, Memphis Union Mission, and the Mid-South Food Bank.

Members also will provide on-site auto services, neighborhood cleanup, and volunteer opportunities through local faith-based organizations such as Agape and HopeWorks.

“Our desire is to create a culture where service becomes a lifestyle. My hope is that we will use this opportunity to encourage our faith community to serve daily as the people of God,” said executive minister Eric Wilson.

For more information visit sycamoreview.org or call 901-372-1874.

Dr. Ernest H. Mellor Jr., who devoted his life to Christian ministry as a Presbyterian pastor, foreign missionary, family counselor and TV talk-show host, died Monday at his home in Germantown. He was 83.

In the years between, Mellor became more well-known locally as a marriage and family counselor as well as a TV personality. In 1973, he founded the Memphis Institute for Group and Family Therapy, working with his wife, Lalla Mellor.

“They were true partners,” said Rev. Anne Mellor Emery, Mellor’s daughter and now a Presbyterian pastor of Pennsylvania. “Mom was our rock and dad was our inspiration.”

In 1977, Mellor and Dr. Brooks Ramsey, former pastor of Second Baptist Church, co-founded the Pastoral Counseling and Consultation Center. In 1979, the two began hosting “Family Focus,” a weekly show that ran for six seasons on WKNO-TV.

“Ernest was the first one to do pastoral counseling in Memphis,” said Ramsey, who at Mellor’s request preached his retirement sermon in 2005. “He was wise, he was compassionate, and he was completely loyal to the people he was trying to help. He had a fierce loyalty and commitment to the ministry of counseling, but he always had a pastor’s heart.”

Read the rest of this entry →

Rabbi Micah Greenstein will be named a “Spiritual Treasure” by Baptist Memorial Health Care in a ceremony from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday at the Dr. H. Edward Garrett Auditorium, 6027 Walnut Grove.

Greenstein, senior rabbi of Temple Israel, is being honored by his work in visiting patients and their family members. Previous honorees were Dr. Michael Spradlin, president of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary; and Rev. Michael Ellis of Impact Baptist Church.

Reserve a free ticket by calling 901-227-7123 by 5 p.m. Wednesday. Free lunch included.

From Dr. Bashar Shala, Memphis Islamic Center chairman:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APRIL 15, 2013

MEMPHIS, TN –

On behalf of the Memphis Islamic Center, and its leadership, we express our deepest sympathy to the victims of the tragic explosions in Boston.  We condemn in the strongest terms any acts of violence and our heartfelt prayers and support go to the injured and their families.