ST. OLLIE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH at Star City will host the Carnell Russ Branch NAACP’s “Casting the Vision, Reclaim the Community Program.” The annual event will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday. Participants will include Lincoln County Living Legend Ruthie Johnson, Latroya Jones, members of local churches, local artists, and historians, according to spokesman Leatrice Russ-Glenns. Also, the Russ foundation held a fundraiser March 5 with all proceeds benefiting the Carnell Russ Foundation Scholarship Fund. Details: CRF website at www.carnellrussfoundation.com.
PILGRIM MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, 2507 Hill St., will open its Raven’s Nest Food Pantry on Saturday from 8-9:30 a.m. or until all the food has been given away. Food will be handed out on a first come, first-served basis. Participants must bring a picture identification, according to a news release.
ST. JOHN AME CHURCH, 1117 W. Pullen St., will give away food boxes from 9-11 a.m. Saturday. The drive-thru event will be held in front of the church on Cherry Street. State ID’s are required to receive one box per family. For safety reasons, recipients are asked to stay in their vehicles and open their trunks, according to a news release. The food program is sponsored by St. John’s Soul Food for the Mind, Body, and Spirit Feeding Ministry.
ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH, 412 W. Sixth Ave., will be the site for the free Best Care Child Care Provider Training at 8 a.m. Saturday at the parish hall. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m., according to a news release. This training will be provided by Mary Ann Kizer and Susan Thomason, Jefferson County and Grant County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences agents, and by the state Best Care coordinator, Rebecca Simon. Participants are asked to bring their lunch. Healthy snacks will be provided. A total of 10 credit hours can be earned for attending the entire day. Details: Mary Ann Kizer, (870) 534-1033 or mkizer@uada.edu.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 200 W. Sixth Ave., will host the Ozark Mission Project, a non-profit ministry of the United Methodist Church, the week of July 17-22. OMP plans to do free minor home repairs for residents within a 30-mile radius of the church. OMP focuses on accessibility and beautification projects like painting, minor home repairs, yard work, and constructing wheelchair ramps, steps, and handrails, according to a news release. Residents who need minor home repairs should complete a Neighbor Application found at www.ozarkmissionproject.org . All completed applications should be scanned and emailed to kanderson@ozarkmissionproject.org or mailed to Ozark Mission Project, P.O. Box 26525, Little Rock, AR, 72221, before May 1.
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 should be submitted by email to shope@pbcommercial.com. Details: (870) 534-3400, ext. 5.