"Let Your Light Shine," a Christian clown troupe from Clifton Park, N.Y., will lead a service of worship and Holy Communion on Friday at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1200 W. Cornwallis Road.

The all-volunteer troupe, composed of students ages 14 to 18, combines contemporary and Christian music, dancing, mime and drama. The services led by the troupe are designed for all ages and all denominations. A spokesman for the troupe said that members "believe the clown is a fool for Christ but not foolish, that clowns are childlike but not childish, and that members of the troupe see themselves as servants who go among God's people to bring inspiration, joy and fellowship."

The service at St. Paul's will begin at 7 p.m. The public is invited.

Prayer event today

Bull's Eye Prayer Ministry is set today from 5 to 5:45 p.m. at the corner of Holloway Street and Guthrie Street.

These public prayer events are held every two weeks in high-crime areas. They are sponsored by the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham.

"You are invited to join in public prayer to affirm God's presence and purpose of peace in Durham," said Tony Wood, an associate pastor at Orange Grove Missionary Baptist Church.

Climate workshops

St. Luke's Episcopal, 1737 Hillandale Road, will host a daylong event titled "Responding to Climate Change: Faith, Science and Action" on Saturday, Aug. 23.

Keynote speakers will include William Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School for the Environment at Duke University, and Ellen Davis, professor of biblical studies at Duke Divinity School.

Workshops will be led by Clean Energy Durham and North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light.

Activities for children ages 6 to 11 will be offered, as well as nursery and child care for infants and younger children.

The event is billed as open to all who believe that caring for God's creation is a sacred trust. It is organized and sponsored by Episcopal churches in Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough.

Registration on the day of the event will begin at 9 a.m. The program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Registration fee is $15 for adults and $5 for children and will include lunch. Children 5 years and younger are free. For registration and more information call 286-2273.

New at rescue mission

The Durham Rescue Mission has hired Shawn Saunders as director of development. He was formerly a sales executive and business development manager in the Triangle green industry.

Saunders, who is now enrolled in graduate studies at Shepherd's Theological Seminary in Cary, will be responsible for raising funds and sharing the ministry of the mission with the Triangle community.

"I am excited to play a part in the wonderful things that are happening at the Durham Rescue Mission," he said. "I have seen firsthand the lives that have been transformed here."

Saunders will be on hand for the mission's largest yearly event, the annual Back to School Party on Aug. 19, sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and Verizon Wireless, during which backpacks filled with school supplies will be distributed to hundreds of the neediest children in the Triangle.

The rescue mission bills itself as the "largest and oldest shelter" in the city.

Immigrant statement

More than 650 people in North Carolina faith communities have signed a recent statement released by the N.C. Religious Coalition for Justice for Immigrants, according to a news release from the N.C. Council of Churches.

"Across the state, people of faith are taking a public stand to embrace immigrant sisters and brothers, choosing hospitality over intolerance, justice over oppression, hope over fear," the release said.

The coalition is made up of people of faith whose message is that religious traditions call for believers to welcome the stranger and to love immigrant neighbors instead of forcing them into the shadows.

Further information and a copy of the statement are available at www.nccouncilofchurches.org/Forms/ immigration_statement_form.html.

Women's conference

Eagles' Summit Christian Fellowship, 2000 Chapel Hill Road, will host a conference titled "Women of Success: Love changes everything" Aug. 14-16, followed by a prophetic conference Sunday, Aug. 17.

There is no registration fee for the Aug. 14 and 15 events at 7:30 p.m. at the church. A special session for teen women will be held on Aug. 16 at the Radisson Hotel in RTP with a fee to cover the cost of lunch. Registration on these two days begins at 8:30 a.m. with the program beginning at 9 a.m.

Sandra Lilly, co-pastor of the church, is the host pastor as well as one of the conference speakers. Guest speaker is Dr. Margaret Weaver of Keystone Counseling Center in Georgia.

The Sunday prophetic conference will have sessions at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the church. Featured speaker will be Connie Williams of Ball Ground, Ga.

The conference is open to the public. For information, call 419-6231 or watch the church's broadcasts on Wednesdays at 6 a.m. on Time Warner Cable Channel 8.