Lawrence church celebrates pastor’s first year of service

First Regular Missionary Baptist Church, 1646 Vt., plans several events to celebrate the first year of service to the congregation by the Rev. Reginald Bachus, right, and his wife, Detra Bachus.

A communitywide musical workshop, featuring free music instruction and vocal training, will be offered from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the church. It is open to the public.

A musical will be presented at 7 p.m. March 9 at the church, featuring the congregation’s choir the Voices of Faith and the Rev. Rodney C. Bachus, minister of music at St. Mark Baptist Church of Memphis. Soloists will be Reginald Bachus’ daughter, Regina Bachus, and Jai Johnson.

The anniversary celebration will continue March 10 at the church’s 11 a.m. service. Rodney C. Bachus will deliver the morning message.

The Rev. C.L. Bachus senior pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church of Kansas City, Kan., and Reginald Bachus’ father will provide the message at the 3 p.m. March 10 service.

For more information or to set up transportation to the church, call 843-5811.

Unique military chapel offers solace to many faiths

Far below the thundering flight deck of the USS John F. Kennedy, the largest floating chapel in the U.S. military offers solace and spiritual guidance for 5,100 sailors and crew members.

In an atmosphere that’s as much like home as the Navy can make it right down to fake stone walls and faux-stained glass windows people of many religions go to worship as the ship heads to war.

“Our Muslims pray five times a day. They just come down individually and pray,” said Lt. Cmdr. David Mudd, above, a Roman Catholic chaplain. “At the same time, there may be someone else in here reading the Bible or a Catholic praying the rosary.”

Each weekend, there are 10 types of services on board, including Jewish, Seventh-day Adventist, Lutheran and Catholic.

In addition to Mudd, the chaplains include a Lutheran and two other Protestants. The JFK chapel seats more than 100 people.

Methodist panel endorses weekly communion

Though many Protestants celebrate communion monthly or quarterly, a study committee of the United Methodist Church has endorsed weekly observance.

The committee is developing a comprehensive paper on the theology and practice of communion for the 2004 General Conference of the denomination.

The committee said weekly practice would enrich worship and fit the practice of Methodist founder John Wesley, though it does not plan to seek legislation mandating it, United Methodist News Service reported.