ST. JOHN AME CHURCH, 1117 W. Pullen St.,, will present the Seven Last Sayings of Christ at 6 p.m. today, Good Friday. Guest speakers will be the Revs. Cheryl Highsmith, Johnny Orr, Marvin Mosby, Krissy Harris, Reginal Alexander, Lanette Frazier, and Michael Chism. The Rev. Charlene N. Boone is the pastor at St. John. The public is invited to attend, according to a news release.
EASTER SUNRISE WORSHIP on the Lake will be held at at 7 a.m. Sunday at Saracen Landing. The speaker will be the Rev. Learthur Shelton, pastor of Open Door Christian Church. Participating churches include Barraque Street, New Direction, New Jerusalem, New Morning Star, New St. Hurricane, Old St. James, Rose Hill, St. Mark, and St. Peter’s Rock. Pine Bluff Collective Revival is presenting the service, according to a Facebook post.
CITY WIDE MISSION will meet at 1 p.m. Monday at Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church, 2121 W. 26th Ave. The guest speaker will be Joyce Murry, first lady of Gospel Temple Missionary Baptist Church. This month’s outreach project is to provide essential needs for Diane’s Adult Day Care. “Looking forward to seeing everyone,” a spokesman said.
NEW COMMUNITY CHURCH, 321 N. Birch St., will host its Youth Ministry’s Easter presentation at 11 a.m. Sunday. The children will sing as well as make speeches. An Easter Egg hunt will be held after service. The youth ministry’s pastor is the Rev. Rod Goodwin. New Community’s pastor/apostle is Patrick Lockett.
NEW UNITED MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, 5601 Cheatham St., will conduct its Easter program at 11 a.m. Sunday. The pastor is the Rev. Woodrow Jackson Sr.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
HOLLY SPRINGS MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH in Star City will host a free concert featuring the spring tour 2025 of Joseph Habedank. The concert will be held at 6 p.m. May 4. Although admission is free, a love offering will be accepted, according to a news release. Details: JosephHabedank.com.
PLEASANT GROVE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, 1801 Indiana St., invites the community to its annual Spring Three Day Revival at 6 p.m. April 29 through May 1. The guest speaker will be the Rev. Don Hawkins, pastor of Barnett Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. The Rev. Dennis W. Wilson is the pastor of Pleasant Grove. Details: Stephanie Gulley at sistergulley.pleasantgrove1801@gmail.com.
MINISTRY LEADER AND AUTHOR GAIL STITH will present The Encounter 3 Women’s Conference. Encounter 3 is free and open to the public. On April 25, the conference will be held at First Trinity Church of God in Christ, 800 S. Catalpa St. Prayer will be led by Saint Mary Harris, an apostle, from 6-6:45 p.m. The 7 p.m. service will feature Carolyn Traylor as the guest artist and Brenda Jefferson, an apostle, as the guest speaker. The conference will feature a “Back To The Altar Choir” directed by Kimberly Clay, executive pastor at Anointed Praise & Worship Ministries. Area singers are invited to participate. Rehearsal is one hour before service, according to Stuff in The Bluff.com. On April 26, Stith’s book signing will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Community Center, 211 W. Third Ave. Her book is called “The Untapped Power of the Believer — Is It a Spirit, Demon or Personality Trait Disorder.” The guest artist will be Richard “88 Fingers” Turner Jr. Details: Gail Stith at (870) 872-3899 or prieststith@yahoo.com.
AARON AND KAE SPENCER of 424 Ministries will host “Built For This” (Luke 24:49) praise and worship at 7:30 p.m. May 2 at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Business Support Incubator, 615 S. Main St. Due to construction on Main Street, the entrance and parking will be in the rear of the building on State Street. The worship leader will be Alicia Rose. “We are creating an atmosphere for worship for those who desire it,” Kae Spencer said on Stuff in The Bluff.com. “If you’ve been longing for something different pertaining to worship, this is the atmosphere for you.” Details: (501) 503-1777 or admin@424ministries.org.
ST. JOHN AME CHURCH, 1117 W. Pullen St., will celebrate its Resurrection Sunday worship service at 9:45 a.m. Sunday with featured speaker Bishop Silvester Scott Beaman, the presiding prelate of the 12th Episcopal District of the AME Church. The public is invited to attend. On July 11, 2021, Beaman was elected the 139th bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Orlando, Fla. His current assignment is the 15th AME Episcopal District (Namibia, Angola, Boland, Eastern Cape, Queenstown, Cape, and Kalahari Annual Conferences) of South Africa. During the 2024 General Conference, Beaman was assigned to serve as presiding prelate for the 12th Episcopal District (Arkansas and Oklahoma). Beaman is a native of Niagara Falls, N.Y. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Wilberforce University and a Master of Divinity degree from Boston University. He has a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Payne Theological Seminary at Wilberforce, Ohio, and Bakke Graduate University at Seattle, Wash., joint seminary program, according to a news release. Beaman offered the benediction at President Joseph Biden’s Jan. 20, 2021, Presidential Inauguration. On Sept. 26, 2023, Biden announced the establishment of a President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States and named Beaman as the council chair. He is married to Renée Palmore Beaman and they have two adult daughters and four grandchildren.
Church news is printed in The Commercial on Fridays. The deadline to submit church announcements is noon Wednesdays. Pastors, ministers or others interested in writing for the Devotional Page may also submit columns for consideration. Column writers should have connections to southeast Arkansas. Articles are accepted by email to Sandra Hope at shope@adgnewsroom.com. Details: (870) 534-3400, ext. 5.