The gathering will coincide with thousands of meetings across the country as citizens pray together for local, state and national leaders and for particular needs in their local areas.

In Durham the event is coordinated by a group called Durham Ministers in Prayer.

The National Day of Prayer is an annual civic and religious ritual that was established by Congress in 1952 and later mandated to fall on the first Thursday in May. Rarely has the observance been as controversial as it is this year because of a recent court ruling.

In an April 15 decision, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that the law specifying the annual establishment of National Day of Prayer "goes beyond mere acknowledgment of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context." The Obama administration has said it will appeal the judge's ruling.

Adding to the controversy over the observance, evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, was uninvited from a prayer day Pentagon event because of his past comments criticizing Islam. Graham is still scheduled to take part in Capitol Hill events, although some Muslim groups are objecting to his presence there.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force is a private organization headed by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. This group, which organizes National Day of Prayer events, withdrew from the Pentagon event after Graham was uninvited.

World Fair Trade Day

One World Market will host a celebration on World Fair Trade Day Saturday, May 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The event will include live Hindustani classical music by John Heitzenrater and Branavan Ganesan, henna body art by Wendy Mendhi, plus fair trade coffee and snacks. Anyone who participates in the store's "What's it made of" challenge will receive a whimsical finger puppet by the Peruvian knitters at Lucuma Designs.

One World Market at 811 Ninth St. is Durham's only nonprofit store dedicated to alleviating poverty and fostering economic justice. The organization was started more than 18 years ago by Watts Street Baptist Church with support from Durham Congregations in Action. Since that time, the market has provided more than $3.5 million to hundreds of artisans in 58 of the world's poorest countries.

Fair Trade has a far-reaching impact, said Laura Wendell, executive director. "Buying fair trade protects children from exploitation by providing families with money for school fees and safe housing."

In addition, many of One World Market's suppliers use part of the funds from craft sales to support AIDS respite centers, programs for disabled children, training for former prostitutes, interventions to end human trafficking and other programs focused on the needs of the very poor.

"Fair trade organizations create stability and hope even in the economically desperate communities," Wendell said.

Duke Chapel gets new minister

Kori Jones joined the staff at Duke Chapel last week as Community and Black Campus Minister, a new position.

"I see the community minister role as a crucial embodiment of the Chapel's commitment to be as listening presence and collaborative partner in Durham in general and in the West End and surrounding neighborhoods in particular," said Dean Sam Wells of the chapel.

"Kori, like Abby Kocher before her, will be charged with the deceptively simple task of making the community of Duke Chapel and the people of the West End more visible to one another," Wells said.

Jones graduated from Duke in 2005 and holds a master of divinity from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va. She is a Baptist who calls Richmond her home town. She recently worked in a church in northern Virginia. She is trained as a simultaneous Spanish-to-English translator and was one of the first scholars in Duke's PathWays Program.

Her ordination is anticipated to be held sometime in August.

Mount Vernon Women's Day

Mount Vernon Baptist Church has issued an invitation to the community to attend its Women's Day Celebration on Sunday, May 23, at 11 a.m. in the church's main sanctuary at 1007 S. Roxboro St.

This year's theme is "Courage for the Journey as We Confront Untrodden Paths." Included in the celebration are activities scheduled throughout the month of May that will highlight Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia that disproportionately affects the African-American community.

For more information about upcoming events, contact the church office at 688-1923 or visit the church website at www.mvbcdurham.org

'Our City, Our Stories'

As part of "Our City, Our Stories," the Pauli Murray Project is continuing its community dialogues inviting diverse Durham stories on Thursday, May 13, at the public library in downtown from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Pauli Murray was a champion for civil and human rights who grew up in Durham. As a historian, attorney, poet, activist, teacher and Episcopal priest, she worked throughout her life to address injustice, to give voice to the unheard, to educate and to promote reconciliation between races and economic classes.

Her memoir, "Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family," was published in 1956, but is still relevant as it chronicles her roots and paints a compelling portrait of Durham during an earlier time.

Supported by a grant from the N.C. Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the project seeks to empower Durham residents to look at the whole of past history, not as something to hide, but as a powerful tool for shaping the future.

All are invited to tell their stories so that everyone's voices can be heard and no part of the city's history will be downplayed or erased.

YO: Durham needs mentors

YO: Durham, a career-readiness program for teens, is looking for mentors for the 2010-2011 class of students.

The commitment is four hours per month plus mentor training and development sessions. In order to become a mentor, individuals must pass a criminal background check and complete 1.5 hours of mentor training.

For more information, call the office at 688-2036 or visit www.yodurham.org

YO: Durham is an initiative of Durham Congregations in Action.

Religion and health conference

The third annual meeting of the Society for Spirituality, Theology & Health will be held at Duke University Medical Center from Wednesday through Friday, June 16-18. The topic is Religion and Health: Interdisciplinary Engagement and Interpretation.

The pre-conference meeting is on Tuesday, June 15, and will deal with Religion and Health: Effects, Mechanisms and Interpretation.

The center is also sponsoring workshops July 19-23 and Aug. 16-20. Interested persons are requested to register immediately. The July workshop is full; however, un-mentored slots are still available.

These workshops compress material presented in a post-doctoral fellowship into five days and are the only place in the world where specific training on how to conduct research on religion, spirituality and health can be obtained from researchers active in the field for nearly 25 years, according to a news release from the center.

These courses are recommended for both researchers wishing to shift their work into spirituality and health, students considering an academic career in this area, or anyone with particular interest in research in the field of spirituality and health.

There are no degree requirements for participation. This is the seventh year the workshops are being offered.

Information is available by contacting David Thomas, executive Conference Center, Duke Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Emergency Chaplains fundraising banquet

Emergency Chaplains, a group led by Chaplain Ralph Thompson, will hold its first fundraising banquet on Thursday, May 20, at the Bethesda Ruritan Club, 1714 S. Miami Blvd.

Durham Police Office Damon Youmans will be the special guest. He was wounded while answering a call last July and is now back at work in District 3 after a lengthy recovery. He will be presented the Emergency Chaplain's Hometown Hero of the Year Award during the banquet.

The Rev. John Butler, executive director of business services for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, will make the keynote address. He also has served as senior pastor of First Baptist in Matthews and senior pastor at Bethesda Baptist during the 1990s.

Dinner will begin at 7 p.m. with the program to follow. Tickets are $10 and still available; call 280-8908.

Emergency Chaplains was officially formed in April of 2008 and has since been incorporated as a nonprofit group that serves fire, law enforcement, EMS and 911 telecommunicators, people who are frontline responders in the public-safety system.

Ridgecrest prayer day

Ridgecrest Baptist will have its chapel open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for anyone who wishes to observe the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 6.

All members of the community are invited.

Pastor Don Chasteen has challenged church members to make this a day of fasting as well as a day of prayer.

The chapel is beside the main sanctuary of the church, which is located at 1104 Milton Road in northern Durham County.