St. Joseph's Episcopal, the church with the red door at 1902 W. Main St., will be celebrating its 100th birthday May 29-June 1.

On May 29, a service of Holy Eucharist will be held at 6 p.m., followed by a fellowship time in the parish hall.

On May 30, a barbecue is planned for 6 p.m., with music by the Original Red Clay Ramblers.

On May 31, dinner will be served in the parish hall with live classical music and a time to share memories from the church's history.

On June 1, a Service of Holy Eucharist will be held at 10:30 a.m. The Rt. Rev. William O. Gregg, assistant bishop in the diocese, will preside.

Judea Reform to get new assistant rabbi

A new rabbi, an assistant to Rabbi John Friedman at Judea Reform Congregation on Cornwallis Road, will start her work in Durham on July 1.

Rabbi Leah Berkowitz is a graduate of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, where she earned master's degrees in both Hebrew literature and religious education.

She has served two small congregations as well as the Hillels at Brandeis and Princeton universities, has spent one summer as a hospital chaplain and another interning at the URJ Press where she took part in the creation of "The Torah: A Women's Commentary."

Her ordination as a rabbi took place on May 4.

In a recent letter to Judea Reform Congregation, she said she decided to become a rabbi when she was 12 years old.

"The Jewish community has always been both my joy and my strength," she wrote, "and I could think of no better way to spend my life than by helping others find the tools with which to build their best Jewish lives."

All ages invited to White Rock conference

People of all ages are invited to a Family Life Conference on May 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:10 p.m. at White Rock Baptist Church, 3400 Fayetteville St.

The one-day event will offer age-appropriate workshops for all, and the registration fee of $10 will include breakfast.

That night at 7 p.m. a dinner theater, "A Night to Remember," with elegant food, laughter and fun is planned. The church will revive the old Rowan and Martin's laugh-in with a cast of comedians. REVIVE, a group of teens, will perform Christian mime and expression, and ballroom dancers and guests will dance to the music of LED Sound, led by Brian Scott. All for only $10.

Part of the proceeds from the events will benefit Agape Corner Boarding School. To register, call the church office at 688-8136.

DCIA to tackle faith, immigration at meeting

Durham Congregations in Action will meet Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. at St. Joseph's AME Church, 2521 Fayetteville St.

The program topic is "Undocumented Immigrants: Issues of Law, Economics and Fairness for People of Faith." Among the presenters is Chris Liu Beers of the N.C. Council of Churches.

Lunch is served and the meeting usually lasts only an hour.

DCIA is an organization of 58 interracial and interdenominational congregations.

Reception celebrates new downtown mural

A reception to mark the installation of a downtown mural titled "Courage to Reveal, Courage to Heal" will be held today from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Parker and Otis, 112 S. Duke St. in the Brightleaf district.

The mural, the work of artist Andria Linn, is on the Main Street side of the Ninth Street Bakery, in the old Herald-Sun building at 136 E. Chapel Hill St.

It was designed to bring attention to Threshold and its adult members with mental illness. Since 1985, Threshold has served adults in the community with severe and persistent mental illness. The clubhouse is at 609 Gary St.

"I want this mural to create a stronger awareness of mental illness, so people understand that it's not something that needs running from, but that needs to be addressed and embraced and understood," Linn said.

During the reception, guests will have the opportunity to bid on a scaled version of the mural in a silent auction.

On Sunday afternoon, the community is invited to witness the unveiling of the mural during festivities from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will include the sounds of the TROSA Band and Scene of the Crime Rovers.

Ongoing festivities mark church's 50th

St. Stephen's Episcopal at 82 Kimberly Drive kicked off a year-long celebration of the church's 50th anniversary during a liturgical celebration last Sunday, coinciding with the Feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Christian church.

The service featured the performance of Mozart's Coronation Mass for choir and orchestra under the direction of Dr. R. Benjamin Hutchens, director of music, accompanied by Dr. Joseph Kitchen, organist.

During the event, the logo for the 50th anniversary was unveiled. It was designed by Adam Moser, artist and graphics designer from UNC-Greensboro, and features the theme of the anniversary year, "A Community of Faith Reborn."

The first social celebration of the anniversary year is the Rector's Official Birthday on Sunday. This is the date the church chooses to mark Father Bob Kaynor's birthday by making contributions to special funds or projects for community outreach, including the Rector's Discretionary Fund, scholarship for youth summer program, Health and Harmony and Iglesia el Buen Pastor, an Episcopal Hispanic mission in the city.

A picnic will be held at 5 p.m. on the church lawn and will feature music by Jim Ketch and his jazz ensemble.