Announcements

Registration for Faith Formation classes

NORTH BENNINGTON -- Regisrations for Faith Formation classes at St. John the Baptist Church in North Bennington are being accepted now for students in grades 1 through 10. The program will begin on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m. and for middle and high school sudents at 6 p.m. Call 447-7504 for a registration form. Church organist needed

OLD BENNINGTON -- The First Congregational Church of Bennington ("The Old First Church") is seeking an organist for Sunday and special services; candidates interested in filling in as interim or occasional substitutes are also encouraged to apply. Competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience; opportunity for increase with growth of the music program. For more information, visit the church’s website at www.oldfirstchurchbenn.org or contact Nancy Andrews in the church office via email at office@oldfirst.comcastbiz.net or by calling 802-447-1223. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Sunday, Sept. 2

’Working Faithfully’ in North Bennington

NORTH BENNINGTON -- The North bennington Congregational Church welcomes all to its 11 a.m. worship service led by the Rev. Penny Rich Smith. Holy Communion will be celebrated. The meditation, "Working Faithfully," will be based on Acts 20:31-35 and James 1:17-18, 22-25. Sunday School will begin next Sunday, Sept. 9.

Following the service, everyone is invited to stay for coffee hour and a time of fellowship. The church is located at 8 Bank St. and is wheelchair accessible from the back door at the parsonage/shelter driveway. For more information, call the church office at 442-5161.

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost at St. Peter’s

BENNINGTON -- All are welcome to the Holy Eucharist at 8 a.m. (Rite 1) and 10 a.m. (Rite 2) at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. Worship will be led by the Rev. L. Paul Gratz, transition minister, and Derek Stannard, organist/choirmaster.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells the crowd, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

Following worship, all are invited for coffee hour in the parish hall. St. Peter’s is an open and affirming church that respects religious inquiry and welcomes all people to the good news of Christ’s presence and a place at his table. Wheelchair accessible, the church is located at 200 Pleasant St. For more information, call the parish office at 442-2911 or visit www.stpetersvt.org.

Worship at

Second Congregational

BENNINGTON -- All people of faith or in search of faith are invited to participate in the life and worship of Second Congregational Church, UCC, on Hillside Street. Sunday morning worship is at 10 a.m. and includes the celebration of the sacrament of Communion.

As gardens come to fullness with the turning of summer into fall, the Rev. Mary Lee-Clark’s Communion meditation is entitled, "The Implanted Word," based on the reading from James 1. Sue Green, on trumpet, will join organist Cindy Riddle in the ministry of music. Nursery care is provided throughout worship.

Following worship, a time of fellowship and refreshment for the whole church family takes place in Webster Hall. There will be an opportunity to meet with Nancy Feinberg to explore volunteer possibilities with PAVE (Project Against Violent Encounters).

The Fellowship Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 5. Come join friends for food and conversation at noon in Webster Hall.

Second Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, welcomes all people of faith or in search of faith, without regard to age, race, sex, economic condition, disability, or sexual orientation. Its building is wheelchair-accessible, and hearing-assistance devices are available. For more information, call the church office at 442-2559 or visit www.bennscc.org.

’Caring and Doing’ at the Federated Church

EAST ARLINGTON -- On this Communion Sunday and Labor Day Weekend, all are invited to the service of worship with the sacrament of Holy Communion at the Federated Church of East Arlington on Ice Pond Road at 10 a.m.

Everyone is encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to help the church reach its 2012 1-ton goal in support of the Arlington Food Shelf. Scripture that will form the basis for the service includes Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23, Psalm 15 and James 1:17-27. This Sunday’s message based on the passage from the Letter of James delivered by the Rev. Kathy Clark is titled, "Caring and Doing." Music Director Mary Edwards will accompany and lead the choir. All are invited for coffee hour in Bailey Hall immediately after worship with a basket present for contributions to Holy Joe’s Café, the ministry that supplies American chaplains in Afghanistan and around the world with coffee and tea in support of their work with our troops.

Rally Sunday and a celebration of the start of the church school year for children ages 3 to 10 takes place on Sunday, Sept. 9. All children wishing to participate this year are encouraged to register beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Bailey Hall. Also, on Sept. 9 at 4 p.m., singer Elisabeth VonTrapp will provide a concert in the church sanctuary followed by an open house with refreshments to share the renovation work that has been done on Bailey Hall.

Senior meals are served on Tuesday and Thursday at noon in Bailey Hall. To participate in the ride share program, call the church office at 802-375-2548. For more information visit www.federatedchurchofeastarlington.org or look for the church on Facebook.

The Federated Church of East Arlington maintains denominational ties with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church. Its mission is, "To welcome all, follow Jesus Christ together, and live God’s Word with compassionate service."

Worship in Williamstown

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- First Congregational Church, UCC, of Williamstown, at 906 Main St., will celebrate the 14th Sunday After Pentecost at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary.

Pastor Carrie Bail will preach a sermon titled "Welcome, With Meekness," based on the Scriptures James 1:17-27 and Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. This church practices open Communion: Anyone who wishes to may receive Communion, including children.

Under the direction of Minister of Music Ed Lawrence, soprano Moira Jones will sing "Lord, Cleare My Sight" with music by Lawrence and words by Edward Taylor, as the special music. Childcare will be available in the nursery/playroom. Sunday school classes for children in grades K-6 resumes next Sunday.

There will be a brief lemonade gathering after the service. The church office will be closed on Monday for Labor Day.

Activities at Cambridge United Presbyterian Church

CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. -- Upcoming activities at Cambridge United Presbyterian Church will include the annual chicken barbecue on the front lawn from 4 to 6 p.m. Tickets are available. More activities will be listed soon.

The Cambridge Loaves and Fishes food pantry at the Cambridge Methodist Church is now open every Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. and every Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon on the main floor of the church.

The Community Sunday School teachers and crew are busy preparing Bible studies, prayers, projects and a variety of activities for the expected year for students. The opening Sunday will be posted soon.

For information about activities and working teams, call the church office mornings at 518-677-3863, email cambridgenyupc@gmail.com, or visit www.cambridgenyupc.org.

Upcoming

Tot Shabbat program

MANCHESTER -- Israel Congregation of Manchester will offer a Tot Shabbat program on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 9 to 10 a.m. It will be held at this time on the second Saturday of each month.

Join toddlers, children, parents, and grandparents for grape juice, challah, fun activities and a chance to spend time together. Interfaith children, parents and grandparents are welcome. There will be a free children’s picture book or CD on different Jewish themes every month.

No synagogue affiliation/membership required Let usknow you’re coming. Email office@icmvt.org or call 362-4578.

UUs Plan Fall Water Communion

BENNINGTON -- Fall is one of several "new starts" during the year. On September 9 the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bennington will mark what has become a tradition among UU congregations--the Water Communion.

Participants at the service are invited to bring water to add to a large bowl. In much the way streams join together to become rivers, members will add their flow of water to form a larger whole. People bring water from their yards, nearby streams, vacation beaches are far away oceans. It signals the way in which people join together after a summer that may have taken them in many directions.

The UU Fellowship meets at 10 a.m. at its meetinghouse at 108 School St. Information is available at www.uubennington.or

There will be no service on Sunday, September 2.

Pancake breakfast during car show

BENNINGTON -- The First Baptist Church of Bennington invites the to a pancake breakfast on Saturday, Sept. 15, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. The breakfast will be held at First Baptist, 601 Main St., downtown. Breakfast will be held before the community’s car show.

The breakfast tickets cost $6 for adults, $4 for children, or $20 for the whole family. Tickets are available at the door. All funds raised at this event benefit facility upgrades at First Baptist, where non-profits and civic groups find a welcome space for collaboration, organizations dedicated to meet basic human needs, and various activities.

For more information about First Baptist, visit www.fbcbennington.org or contact the church office at 442-2105 or fboffice@sover.net.

Nation/World

Police say religion not factor in attack on college student

DETROIT (AP) -- A university student’s Jewish religion was not a factor in an assault at an off-campus party, police said Wednesday, a day after the 19-year-old man claimed he was hit in the jaw as a victim of "religious hatred."

There is no dispute that Zach Tennen was seriously injured early Sunday. But witnesses interviewed by detectives have not confirmed Tennen’s account that he was attacked after revealing he’s Jewish, East Lansing police Capt. Jeff Murphy said.

Police also have no evidence that Tennen’s mouth was stapled, as he maintains, Murphy said.

"There’s a lot more to it than what is on the surface," Murphy told The Associated Press. "This came out early as being reported as a hate crime. It now appears after we’ve talked to many people who were at this party -- and most importantly two witnesses who saw the actual assault -- it doesn’t appear that religion was the reason he was assaulted."

Tennen is recovering from jaw surgery. His father, Bruce Tennen, said the police department’s latest "assertions sicken us."

Tennen was punched while in the front yard of a Michigan home while 40 people partied in the backyard. The Michigan State student said he was punched and had his mouth stapled after telling two men that he’s Jewish.

Indian court finds 32 Hindus guilty for their roles in riots

AHMADABAD, India (AP) -- An Indian court convicted a former state government minister and 31 other people Wednesday in connection with deadly anti-Muslim riots that shook the western state of Gujarat in 2002.

The violence, which killed more than 1,100 people, almost all Muslims, began after a train fire on Feb. 27, 2002, that killed 60 Hindu pilgrims. Hindu mobs, convinced Muslims set the fire, rampaged through towns and villages burning Muslim homes and businesses.

Rights groups and survivors have accused the state government, controlled by the Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, of not doing enough to stop the violence and even stoking it.

The convictions Wednesday, on charges ranging from rioting to murder, stemmed from an attack in Naroda Patiya, a small industrial town on the outskirts of Ahmadabad, Gujarat’s capital, that killed 95 people.

Those convicted included Maya Kodnani, a state legislator at the time who later became minister of education and child welfare in the Gujarat government. She was arrested in 2009 on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy and has been in prison since.