Zacki Murphy, owner of Zacki's Catering Creations, has begun offering a presentation called "An Ancient Mediterranean Meal: Foods from the Time of Jesus" to congregations in the area.

Recently she served a buffet to 125 members of Grey Stone Baptist Church and on Good Friday, she brought her presentation and the buffet to the Youth Life Foundation of the Triangle at King's Park International Church.

She goes into the churches where she teaches volunteers how to make foods of the first century and instructs them in how to set up an attractive buffet table. She gives a 12 to15-minute power point presentation, especially about the kosher laws of that time and what foods were available and how food was gathered and prepared.

"I have the help for authenticity from consultants Carol and Eric Meyers of the Duke Department of Religion," Zacki said. "They have been to Israel many times and they keep me kosher."

The $10 menu (she charges only for the food, not for her services) begins with new wine, sparkling grape juice and includes hummus with flat bread; bittergreen salad; pomegranate, with molasses dressing, vinegar and olive oil; cucumbers, scallions, herbs and honey with sesame sticks; roasted chicken, marinated in citrus juice, olive oil, and rosemary; roasted vegetables and seven grain kashi bread made mainly from wheat and barley. Prune newtons are served for dessert though they may be made with figs or apricots as well. The cake part is made of almond flour and honey.

"My lessons include insightful teachings about methods of food gathering and preparation, and I will discuss incorporating these ancient Mediterranean recipes into your daily life," she said.

A native of Hillsborough and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Zacki has sampled many world cuisines on location as a successful Ford model. Her passion for fresh regional food was rekindled as a food stylist for Martha Stewart and as owner of Zacki's BBQ in New York City before moving back to this area five years ago.

Zachi can be reached at 360-7744 or zacki@zackiscateringcreations.com.

Duke dean

Duke Chapel has appointed a new associate dean for religious life, Christy Lohr. She will direct the chapel's interfaith initiatives, including the Faith Council as well as coordinate campus religious life groups and the chapel's student ministry programs.

"My long-term goal is to make Duke Chapel as widely regarded for its interfaith work as it already is for its Christian ministry," said Duke Chapel Dean Sam Wells. "Dr. Lohr is uniquely qualified to both lead our interfaith initiatives as well as engage students inside and outside the classroom."

Lohr is currently serving as director of the Intersections Institute, a partnership of the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries, social ministry organizations and schools of business designed to integrate the study of theology and business. She has previously worked for the World Council of Churches and the Temple of Understanding, an interfaith organization in New York.

"I am excited about joining the team at Duke Chapel," said Lohr. "Having been impressed by Duke's commitment to interfaith dialogue, I am especially looking forward to the challenge of helping the university move into a new phase of engagement."

Lohr has a joint Ph.D. from Hartford Seminary in Connecticut and the University of Exeter in England. She has a master of arts from the University of South Carolina and a bachelor's degree from Appalachian State University.

She will begin work at Duke Chapel on June 10.

Page anniversary

Antioch Baptist Church, 1415 Holloway St., will celebrate the ninth pastoral anniversary of Pastor Michael Page on Sunday, April 25, at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The Rev. Jerret Fite of Charlotte and the Rev. Harry White, pastor of Watts Chapel Baptist in Raleigh will speak. The public is invited.

Mt. Sylvan United Methodist, 5731 N. Roxboro Road, is collecting good used and new shoes along with donations to help with shipping costs for Soles4Souls, a non-profit that sends shoes to Haiti and other developing countries around the world.

Contributions may be dropped by the church office Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

YO: Durham

YO:Durham (Year of Opportunity for Durham Teens) is now accepting applications for the 2010-2011 class.

Applicants must be 15 to 17 years old by June 21 and enrolled in a high school or GED program. Applications are available from school guidance counselors or the YO:Durham website, yodurham.org and are due by April 30.

YO:Durham's mission is to empower youth and prepare them for the 21^st century workplace by providing them with a year of opportunity. The goals are to increase the rate of high school graduation, to increase enrollment in post-secondary education, to increase workplace preparedness and to decrease the number of students appearing in the juvenile justice system.

The program has four components: a Summer Career Academy; mentoring; service learning and job internships. Students receive a stipend payment for the Summer Career Academy and internship.

The program is sponsored by Durham Congregations in Action. For more information, contact Dr. Susan Blackmon at 688-2036 or blackmonsusan@hotmail.com.

White Rock pastor

Reginald Van Stephens will celebrate 15 years as pastor of White Rock Baptist Church, 3400 Fayetteville St., on Sunday, April 25. The 9:30 a.m. guest preacher will be Dr. Jacob L. Chatman, pastor of Pinn Memorial Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa. The public is invited.

'Lady Lazarus'

The Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor will speak on Sunday and Monday, April 25-26, at First Presbyterian Church for the McPherson Lectureship, made possible through an endowment given by the McPherson family in memory of Dr. and Mrs. S.D. McPherson Sr. and Dr. S.D. McPherson Jr.

Her sermon at the 11 a.m. worship service is titled "Lady Lazarus." Taylor will also speak at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday in Watts-Hill Hall on the topic of "An Altar in the World," which is the title of the book she released in 2009.

At 7 p.m. Sunday, she will speak on "The Gospel in the Flesh: What the Body Knows about God. On Monday, she will lead a seminar for clergy at 10:30 a.m. titled "Words that Make God Real."

An Episcopal priest since 1984, she has spent 15 years in parish ministry and was named one of the most effective preachers in the English-speaking world by Baylor University in 1996. She teaches religion at Piedmont College in rural northeast Georgia and is an adjunct professor of spirituality at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga.

Taylor is the author of 12 books, including the bestseller "An Altar in the World." Her first memoir, "Leaving Church," met with widespread critical acclaim, winning a 2006 Author of the Year award from the Georgia Writers Association. She is a contributing editor to "Sojourners" and an at-large editor for "The Christian Century." Taylor lives on a working farm with her husband, Ed, and a yard full of animals.

Films about Haiti

The public is invited to attend her lectures. The church is located at 305 E. Main St., on the corner of Main and Roxboro streets in downtown.

St. Philip's Episcopal, 403 E. Main St., is showing two films on Haiti to raise awareness and money for Episcopal relief efforts. There will be free admission plus free popcorn, but donations are requested.

The first film is "Poto Mitan" and will be shown on Friday, April 23 at 7 p.m. In this documentary film five women will tell their stories through their faces, voices and messages and will illuminate the impact on Haiti's economic system by forces beyond its shores.

The second film "The Road to Fondwa" will be shown on Friday, May 14 at 7 p.m. It was filmed before the earthquake by three graduates of Notre Dame who spent five weeks there with the goal of "giving people in the audience the opportunity to travel to Haiti without actually going there."

All are welcome to attend the films to be shown in the parish hall and to be followed by discussion.

Living questions

Calvary United Methodist, 304 E. Trinity Ave., is holding a short-term study called "Living the Questions" on Wednesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. through May 26 in the recreation room at the church.

Each session will deal with a different topic and will be guided by Pastor Gayle Felton, former Duke Divinity School professor and a much sought-after speaker.

Participants are asked to bring their questions about life, God and spirituality and a bag supper if they so wish.

For further information visit pathway2grace@CalvaryNC.org or call 688-7138.

Difficult deans

The final Deans' Dialogue for the 2009-2010 series is on set between Dean Sam Wells of Duke Chapel and Dean Tom Katsouleas of the Pratt School of Engineering on the topic "Leadership in Difficult Times."

The dialogue will be held on Tuesday, April 27 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Schiciano Auditorium, Side A, Fitzpatrick Center in the school of engineering on the Duke University campus. Lunch refreshments will be served. The event is open to the public.

The Little Angels of God children's choir of Mount Zion Christian Church, 3509 Fayetteville St., will celebrate its 31st anniversary on Sunday, April 25, at 6 p.m. Members will sing, dance and recite on the program theme: "Because of Who You Are."

Choir members not only sing "like angels," they "serve like angels. Their motto is "I'll serve you, Lord." Throughout the year they carry on service projects designed to help and entertain others. They sing at nursing homes, collect coats to give away at Christmas, take Christmas presents to nursing home residents, give back to school supplies to students and perform in original Christmas plays and programs.

All are invited to come help them celebrate. There is no charge. For more information, call 956-8369.