ESAU WATSON JR., BISHOP OF JUDAH RESTORATION WORSHIP CENTER, will celebrate 47 years in ministry beginning with the Bishop Celebration at 7 p.m. today at the Randle Family Venue, 5812 Ryburn Road. Tickets are $50. The guest speaker will be R.J. Burt, a bishop. The emcee will be Kenneth Robinson, a bishop. Details: (870) 209-7055. Judah Restoration Worship Center, 2410 S. Main St., will honor the bishop and wife, Esau Watson Jr. and Paula Watson, at 3 p.m. Sunday. The guest speaker will be Eric Alexander, pastor of St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church of Little Rock.
UNION HOPEWELL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, 1121 S. Persimmon St., will observe its 154th anniversary at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The guest minister will be the Rev. Lee Whitiker, pastor of Solid Rock Missionary Baptist Church of Pine Bluff. The theme is Celebrating God’s goodness (Psalm 34:8.) Union Hopewell’s pastor is the Rev. Antonio Gayden Sr.
PILGRIM MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, 2507 Hill St., will open its Raven’s Nest Food Pantry on Nov. 9 from 8-9:30 a.m. or until all the food has been given away on a first come, first-served basis. Participants must bring a picture identification. The agency is a U.S. Department of Agriculture distribution site and equal opportunity provider, according to a news release.
NEW COMMUNITY CHURCH, 321 N. Birch St., will give away Thanksgiving food boxes beginning at 8 a.m. Nov. 16. The 100 boxes will be given away on a first come, first served basis, according to a news release.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD shoebox gifts will be collected and packed by volunteers during National Collection Week, Nov. 18-25. More than 4,700 drop-off locations will open across the country in November, according to a news release. The project partners with local churches across the globe to collect items for shoebox gifts to deliver for children in need. Southeast Arkansas sites include: Family Church Pine Bluff, 2309 S. Poplar St., Pine Bluff; South Side Missionary Baptist Church, 905 S. Lincoln Ave., Star City; Stuttgart First Baptist Church Activity Center, 2109 S. Columbus St., Stuttgart; and True Hope Church, 707 N. Main St., Sheridan. Participants can also donate $10 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination. For area collection sites or details, visit https://samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/drop-off-locations/?utm_source=OCC-ToolKit&utm_campaign=m_YOCC-PRRE&utm_content=OCC-Drop-off-locations.
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.