Squire Parsons will be in concert at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 10, at Lawrence Baptist Church on Ohio 26, 16 miles from Marietta.
Shuttle parking for this special gospel music concert will be provided from the Lawrence Elementary School parking lot starting at 4:30 p.m.
Parsons, who is a native of West Virginia, is a well-known soloist and a prolific songwriter. In 1981, his song "Sweet Beulah Land" was voted "Favorite Song of the Year" by the Singing News.
He was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association's Hall of Fame at Pigeon Forge, Tenn., on Oct. 9, 2008.
Since 1975, Parsons has been a part of the "Singing at Sea Cruise" and has also been a part of the Gaither Homecoming video series.
For more information: 373-8510.
Teens' camp to raise money for homeless
The Life Teen youth group of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Little Hocking will be sponsoring "The Battle Against Homelessness," a 24-hour event to raise money and call attention to the problem of homelessness in the Mid-Ohio Valley, as its 2010 service project.
The teens will be building a "shanty-town" and camping out in the Kmart parking lot on Grand Central Avenue in Vienna, W.Va. During their "camp out" the teens will be soliciting donations of cash and personal hygiene products for 24 hours.
"The Battle Against Homelessness" event was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 26. It will continue until 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 27.
All proceeds will be donated to the Salvation Army Homeless Shelter in Parkersburg and to a family in the Little Hocking/Cutler area who lost their home and belongings in a house fire.
The group will be raising money through three methods - the pledged sponsorship of student participants (such as $1 for each hour out); "drive-by" collections of cash donations and hygiene products (such as soap, toothpaste, deodorant and shaving items) at the event site; and direct solicitation of area businesses by the student participants and/or their parents.
The group's goal is to help citizens of the area and area youth to understand how individuals without permanent homes are forced to live.
For more information: Chris C. Clatterbuck, service project coordinator, at (269) 720-8099.
Annual Spring Gospel Sing in Cambridge
The 18th annual Spring Gospel Sing is being presented May 20 to 22 at the Spring Valley Campground, 8000 Dozer Road, Cambridge, by the Guernsey Gospel Jubilee Association.
Singing will begin at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 20.
A Gospel Bluegrass Night will be observed Friday, May 21, with music to begin at 6 p.m. Singers on Friday will include the Crossroad Messengers from Marietta and The Welch Family from Athens.
Singing will be featured all day Saturday, May 22, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Several individuals and groups will be featured, including Three Bridges from Nashville, Tenn.; The Pine Ridge Boys from Morrisville, N.C.; Willis Canada from Richmond, Va.; the Crownsmen from Parkersburg; and Heavens Rush from Parkersburg. Admission is free.
For more information: (740) 432-3787.
Janet Gossett retires after 37 years
This is the last People of Faith column to be compiled by me for the Focus on Faith page. After nearly 37 1/2 years here at The Marietta Times I am retiring. Friday, March 26, was my last day to work.
It's been great working with all the people and churches here in the area! I just hope I have been a help to them in getting the word out to the community about the various events and happenings at their churches throughout the years.
Any news for the religion page should now be sent to Claire Heiby, who will be taking care of getting information about area congregations and groups on the Focus on Faith page.
- Janet Gossett
Send church news to Claire Heiby at The Marietta Times, 700 Channel Lane, Marietta, Ohio 45750. Information can also be e-mailed to cheiby@mariettatimes.-com, faxed to (740) 376-5475 or submitted through the Virtual Newsroom on the Times' Web site, www.MariettaTimes.com. Deadline for information for the Focus on Faith page is noon Tuesday each week for that Saturday's edition.
