McMannen United Methodist at 4102 Neal Road has been a fixture in west Durham for more than 140 years. Civil War Gen. William T. Sherman rode by the early meeting place of the church, then known as Neal's Chapel, on his way to receive the surrender of the Army of the Confederacy at Bennett Place.

As the years have rolled by, roads have changed and Neal Road is no longer a heavily traveled road, and although the church is not far from the beaten path, you might miss it unless you are looking for it.

Named for John Archibald McMannen, a lay preacher and entrepreneur and friend of the Durham city fathers, the McMannen congregation is holding a big open house on Sunday, Sept. 13, from 3 to 5 p.m. for the purpose of letting folks in the community know: This is who we are. This is where we are. This is why we are. This is what we do.

Music, games, crafts and a bounce house are planned for children, and adults will not only get to visit the building but can see just how active this congregation is in the life of the city at a ministry fair to be held in the fellowship hall.

Among its community ministries are active participation in Durham Congregations in Action and in the Interfaith Hospitality Network in which homeless families are given short-term housing. The church also provides and serves a meal on the first Friday night of the month at Durham Urban Ministries in downtown. Senior youth in the church are active in the Salkehatchie Project, which involves home repairs for low-income homeowners in North and South Carolina. McMannen hosted a Salkehatchie Camp for the first time in June.

McMannen sponsors Boy, Girl and Cub Scout troops (more than 100 children and youth in all the packs and troops), and its senior adult ministry, known as the Prime Timers, offers trips, meals and a wide variety of functions at the church, including a monthly fellowship meal with program.

The church sponsors a Vacation Bible School in July and its children's program has a summer day camp at Camp Chestnut Ridge. The church also has a long history of weekday children's ministries through a Parent's Morning Out program, and its new preschool (for 1 to 4-year-olds) has a growing enrollment.

McMannen is well known for its music ministry, which includes the Chancel Choir for Sunday worship, a mixed ensemble, youth and children's choirs, and a men's gospel group called "The Boys of Summer," who are releasing a CD of gospel tunes in late August.

Senior Pastor Larry Bowden says he feels privileged to serve such an active and faithful group of Christians who seek to fulfill the church's mission: "Proclaiming the gospel; living it out in loving witness." The church is averaging 180 worshippers at two services on Sunday morning.

Following the Open House, a free hamburger and hot dog cookout will be served at 5 p.m. All are welcome.

The church office number is 383-1263 and the church Web page can be accessed at www.McMannenUMC.org. Sunday services are held at 8:45 a.m. in Neal Chapel and at 10:55 a.m. in the church sanctuary. Upcoming events include Homecoming on September 20; an early service "relaunch" on Sept. 27, with new music directors and a move to the sanctuary; and Fall Festival on Oct. 3.

National labor leader to speak Sunday

Baldemar Velasquez will be the speaker at the annual Labor Day Worship Service at the Community Church of Chapel Hill on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 10:30 a.m.

He is the president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO, an organization he founded in 1967 in Toledo, Ohio. Velasquez was born into a migrant farm worker family and began agricultural work when he was 6 years old. He was the first member of his family to graduate from college.

FLOC became a national organization in 1978 when he led more than 2,000 workers in one of the largest agricultural strikes in the history of the Midwest. He issued a call for unprecedented trade union recognition in a multi-party collective bargaining agreement.

FLOC was instrumental in the successful Mt. Olive Pickle campaign and is now working on The New Campaign for Justice for Tobacco Workers. FLOC has also been a leader in supporting the rights of its immigrant workers.

The Community Church of Chapel Hill is a Unitarian Universalist congregation and is located at 106 Purefoy Road.

Choir to hold Concert for Peace Sept. 13

Sister Cities of Durham and the Durham Children's Choir is producing and presenting an admission-free Concert for Peace as part of the 2009 September Concerts for Peace, to be performed simultaneously in more than 100 cities around the world. These concerts are in commemoration of the Sept. 11 tragedy and their purpose is to strengthen the spirit of global harmony and brotherhood.

Durham's official sister cities are Durham, England; Kostroma, Russia; Arusha, Tanzania; and Toyama, Japan.

The peace concert will be held on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 3 p.m. in the Carolina Theatre in downtown.

White Rock's Titus Women move meeting

Ladies Night Out on Friday, Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m. will kick off the ministry of the Titus Women of White Rock Baptist, 3400 Fayetteville St., for the coming year.

Titus Women is the name of the women's ministry at the church based on Chapter 2 of the New Testament book of Titus. The group usually meets on the first Saturday of each month, but because of Labor Day the meeting has been moved to Sept. 11.

Food, fellowship, line dancing, games and a contest for the women wearing the most impressive shoes will be featured. Child care will be available. All women are welcome, and men, too, said the news release from the church, "But men never come." (Probably because they don't have any impressive shoes.)

The event is free and will be held in the church fellowship hall. The purpose is to give women who are busy taking care of husbands, children and homes a chance to do something for themselves, the news release said.

Although the event is free, registration is required by calling the church office at 688-8136 or e-mailing wrbc@whiterockbaptistchurch.org.

Glendale Heights celebrates anniversary

Glendale Heights United Methodist at 908 Leon St. will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 11 a.m. with a special service of thanksgiving led by the Rev. Gray Southern, district superintendent.

A group from the Glendale Heights Community met at the Barfield Center at Northgate Park on Sept. 13, 1959, to form a new Methodist Church, which became known as Glendale Heights and eventually moved to its present location on Leon Street.

The chancel choir will perform a special anthem written by Tom T. Shelton Jr. and commissioned in honor of the church's 50th year. Shelton has written and published other pieces of choral music and has conducted choirs in Alabama, Indiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia as well as in North Carolina.

A covered-dish lunch will be served after the service to which friends, families and former members are invited.

Talk explores cultural responses to the sick

The Rev. Susan Dunlap will talk about how cultural values within faith communities affect their responses toward the sick on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 9:45 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church.

She will draw from her book "Caring Cultures: How Congregations Respond to the Sick"

Dunlap spent a year studying three very different congregations' responses to the body in times of illness: an African-American congregation in the Apostolic Holiness tradition; a Euro-American mainstream Protestant church; and the Latino members in a Roman Catholic parish. By way of interviews and observations, she shows how each group's cultural experiences affect their responses and how they apply the gospel to provide comfort to those in pain.

Dunlap is adjunct assistant professor of Pastoral Theology at Duke Divinity School and chaplain at Urban Ministries of Durham.

The public is invited. The church is located at 305 E. Main St. in downtown.

Duke Chapel weekly worship services

Duke Chapel has announced weekly worship opportunities, in addition to the 11 a.m. worship service on Sundays. All are open to the community.

Prayer and communion are held on Tuesdays at 5:15 p.m. in the Memorial Chapel during the academic year. The 30-minute service includes prayers for the church and the world, celebration of Holy Communion and opportunity for individual anointing with oil and prayers for healing.

The Vespers Ensemble leads the musical portion of the Choral Vespers worship that is celebrated every Thursday at 5:15 p.m. in the intimate setting of the chapel chancel. This 30-minute candlelight service includes Scripture readings, prayers and sacred music.

Rev. Smalls to lead revival at Resurrection

Resurrection United Methodist on Old Chapel Hill Road will hold a time of revival and spiritual renewal Sunday through Tuesday, Sept. 13-15.

The speaker is the Rev. B. Kevin Smalls of Washington D.C., who will preach each night at 7 p.m.

Smalls, who is pastor of Queen's Chapel United Methodist in Beltsville, Md., is the longtime friend of the Rev. Robert Simpson, pastor of Resurrection. Smalls and Simpson served together as teenagers in various leadership roles in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

Smalls earned a bachelor's degree from Claffin University in Orangeburg, S.C., and a master of divinity degree from Gammon Theological Seminary, an interdenominational theological center in Atlanta. He is presently pursuing a doctor of ministry in preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Mo.

His first assignment in the United Methodist Church was in the North Georgia Conference. He has served as associate council director for young adult ministries of the Baltimore-Washington Conference and was responsible for building a conference-wide program for the purpose of empowering young adults across the church.

Smalls challenges congregations with a message that is culturally relevant to life, encouraging church members to step out of the past and be transformed by the love of God.

"He is one of the most profound preachers, moving us forward to see the power of the church that is filled with the Holy Spirit," said Pastor Simpson.

All are welcome to attend the services. The church is located at 4705 Old Chapel Hill Road.

YO: Durham needs at least eight mentors

YO:Durham, Year of Opportunity for Durham Teens, is looking for mentors for teens ages 15 to 17. The program needs at least eight mentors for both female and male students.

The commitment is four hours per month and in order to become a mentor, one must pass a criminal background check and complete 1.5-hour mentor training class.

For more information, visit www.yodurham.org. To get started with the process of becoming a mentor, call the office at 688-2036 or e-mail mentor@yodurham.org.

YO:Durham is a ministry of Durham Congregations in Action that identifies and works with at-risk teens to help them find vocational direction for their lives through a six-week summer academy, on-the-job training and yearlong mentoring.

ESOL classes resume at St. Luke's

English for Speakers of Other Languages classes will resume on Thursday, Sept. 10, at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1737 Hillandale Road.

Classes meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Johnson Hall until Dec. 3. Teachers from last spring's classes will return to guide adult English learners through classes filled with vocabulary, speaking and writing.

Volunteers are needed to assist with homework and child care for children of the ESOL students. Several adults are needed each evening. Children will range in age from toddlers to middle school students. Those interested in volunteering should call Rebecca Porter at 237-2101 or e-mail porterwoman@yahoo.com.

The program needs colored folders, dry erase markers, Legos, easy puzzles (wooden or no more than 25-piece cardboard), pretzels or animal crackers, apple juice and financial contributions.

Karaoke Night at Calvary Sept. 12

Calvary United Methodist will hold Karaoke Night on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. All are invited to come and bring canned goods for the Urban Ministries food pantry.

Singing, sipping coffee and sitting a spell will be featured and participants also will be labeling 1,000 bottles of water to be handed out to marchers in the N.C. Gay Pride Festival and Parade, which is set for Saturday, Sept. 26, here in Durham.

Calvary, the first reconciling church in the Carolinas, is located at 304 E. Trinity Ave.