• ONE PINE BLUFF Praying Together services in August will be held with citizens and leaders of Pine Bluff praying for the growth and prosperity of the city. In-person services will be held from 6-7 p.m. Sundays in August at the following churches: Aug. 8 – Cherry Street AME Zion Church, 800 S. Cherry St.; Aug. 15 – New Jerusalem Baptist Church, 1317 S. Texas St.; Aug. 22 – City of Love Outreach & Restoration, 1801 W. 17th Ave.; Aug. 29 – St. John AME Church, 1117 W. Pullen St. Participants met at Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church on Aug. 1. Guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be observed for these in-person meetings, a spokesman said.
• THE 10TH ANNUAL PRAYER RALLY will be held from 6-7 a.m. Saturday on the grounds of the Pine Bluff Civic Center in downtown Pine Bluff. The community is invited to attend. The rally will be led by Apostle Saint Mary Harris of House of Bread Deliverance Church, and other local and national prayer leaders. The theme is JUST GOD — No Brands… No Labels.
• PLEASANT GROVE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH and CONSOLIDATED ST. MARION BAPTIST DISTRICT CONGRESS are among providers at the B.R.A.V.E. school supply giveaway from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday on the parking lot of the Pine Bluff Convention Center. The Pine Bluff Black Firefighters Association (better known as B.R.A.V.E. — Banishing Racial Animosity Vigorously Everywhere) will host the giveaway. People may drive through and receive items on the center’s north concourse. Students will receive bags filled with supplies. Free food will also be available.
• UNITY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHURCH, 2712 South Bay St., is celebrating 15 years of hosting free financial education. People are encouraged to attend the free Small Business and Personal Financial Development Management classes at 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Unity Christian. The church continues to practice social distancing, has hand sanitizer wipes available and asks participants to wear their masks.
• NEW COMMUNITY CHURCH, 321 N. Birch St., invites the community to worship services at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays. The church is practicing health safety guidelines and wearing masks. Hand sanitizer stations are located near the entrances and the ushers will provide masks to those who need them.
• KINGS HIGHWAY MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, 2312 Fluker St., seeks the public’s help in finding pictures and information about the Springhill Baptist Church and elementary school from the early 1900’s to about 1952. The facility was located in the 1100 block of north Magnolia Street at Pine Bluff, according to a news release. They are also looking for information on Girley Hall located on the corner of Palm and Reeker streets in the early 1920’s and a picture of the old Pine Hill Baptist Church before it was remodeled in the 1970’s. Anyone with information is asked to leave a message at Kings Highway’s office at (870) 536-3763 or send a picture or details to kingshighway@att.net.
Church news is printed in The Commercial on Friday. The deadline to submit church announcements is noon Wednesday. Announcements can be for in-person services or online events. Pastors, ministers or others interested in writing for the Devotional Page may also submit columns for consideration. Items should be submitted by email to shope@pbcommercial.com. Details: (870) 534-3400, ext. 5.