Aberdeen

Turning Point Worship Center, at 16433 U.S. 15-501, holds worship services every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Bible study is held at 7:30 p.m. each Wednesday. All are welcome. The pastors are Stoney and Brenda Locklear. For more information about Turning Point, call (910) 281-2055.

To submit items for the Aberdeen section, email shelbi person@embarqmail. com.

- Shelbi Person

Addor

Cleanup day will be held Saturday, June 30, starting at 7 p.m. (before it gets too hot). Everyone is asked to meet at the community center. Everyone is encouraged to come out and help.

The 100th (centennial) Church School Convention for the Sanford District is this Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. at the arts center in Sanford. The bishop will speak Friday evening, and two contestants from "American Idol" will also appear during Friday night's service. Everyone is invited to attend.

New Zion A.M.E. Zion Church will hold its baptism service at 7:30 a.m. this Sunday at the Elizabeth Chapel Free Will Baptist Church pool. Breakfast will be served afterward in the fellowship hall at New Zion. There are 11 candidates for baptism. Everyone is welcome to attend.

The Rev. Charles McKnight thanks everyone who came out last Sunday for New Zion's 133rd church anniversary.

Everyone in the community is invited to attend New Zion A.M.E. Zion Church each Sunday, with Sunday School at 10 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. Please notify the pastor, the Rev. Charles McKnight, of a sickness or the need for prayer at (910) 639-1893.

Poplar Springs Missionary Baptist Church invites everyone to attend Sunday School at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. each week. The pastor is the Rev. James McKinnon.

Funeral services were held Saturday for Diana Brown at Elizabeth Chapel Free Will Baptist Church. Evangelist Hattie Evans, from Virginia Beach, offered the eulogy. Burial was at Wayne Cemetery in Addor.

Birthday wishes go out this week to Betty J. Ellerbe (June 27) and Mantonia White and Tomeccia Maxwell (June 28).

In memoriam: Sheld F. Cox (July 1), Vola Hammond Kerby (July 3) and Audrey Hammond Nicholas (July 4).

Sick and shut-ins: Betty Ellerbe, Sarah F. McMillian, Phillip McMillian, Betty Lou Moses and Nora Smith are among the homebound. Diana Brown, Portia Smith, Sampson Blue and Lewis Swan are in nursing homes or assisted living homes.

Please continue to pray for all the sick and shut-ins.

If anyone has church or other community news, please contact me at (910) 281-3385.

- Lorine McCants

Berkley

New Hope Christian Ministries, where the pastor is Elder Brenda Brown, holds services at 160 Ridgeline Road off N.C. 5, just behind the Habitat for Humanity store. Sunday School is at 10 a.m. every week, and regular worship services are held at 11 a.m. on the first through fourth Sundays.

Morning prayer is held at 8 a.m. every Saturday. Bible study is at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday. Minister's study is held every second Tuesday at 6 p.m.

St. John Missionary Baptist Church, at 703 Harris St., where the pastor is the Rev. Jimmy Gilchrist, holds Sunday School at 10 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. every Sunday. Prayer meeting and Bible study are held at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

St. Joseph A.M.E. Church, where the pastor is the Rev. Henry R. Davis, will be holding Sunday services at Aberdeen Elementary School. Bible study is held at 6 p.m. at the Aberdeen Community Center.

Shiloh A.M.E. Zion Church, at 206 Keyser St., where the pastor is the Rev. Fred Goins Jr., holds Sunday School every week at 10 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. every first and third Sunday. Bible study is held at 7 p.m. every Wednesday.

Sandhill Christian Church, on Keyser Street, has a new pastor, Jamal Brown. The church holds Sunday School every Sunday at 10 a.m. and worship services at 11 a.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of the month.

The Word of Life Holy Church of God in Christ, at 107 Spring St., where the pastor is Overseer Nathaniel Malloy, holds Sunday School at 9:45 a.m. and worship services at 11 a.m. every Sunday. Bible study is held at 7 p.m. every Wednesday.

Happy birthday to all who are celebrating this week.

Continue to pray for everyone.

Please submit church, community and personal announcements (such as birthdays and anniversaries) by 7 p.m. Sunday by calling (910) 528-4782.

- Rachel Hill

Eastwood

St. Peters will hold Vacation Bible School July 9-13 at 7:30 nightly. Everyone is invited to attend.

St. Peters holds Bible study at 7:30 p.m. on the Tuesdays after the first and third Sundays of the month. Prayer meeting is held at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday.

The St. Ruth Church family thanks everyone who came out to make Eldress Lillian Kearns' pastoral anniversary a great success.

Plans are being made for the 25th reunion of the Pinecrest High School class of 1987 on Saturday, Oct. 6. Graduates are asked to look for updates on the Pinecrest Class of 1987 Facebook page, "Pinecrest Class of '87" or "Pinecrest Class of 1987 25th Reunion."

Send email contact information to pinecrest 8725anniversary @yahoo or call Pauline Little Ross or Vonnie Barber Thomas at (910) 688-3447.

Lorenzo and Sandra Alford, and Edward and Sharonda Wilson will celebrate their wedding anniversaries this week.

Patricia Monroe celebrated her birthday Saturday with her family.

Birthday wishes go out to Beverly Marsh, Kendrick Gillispie, Keith Jackson and Ricky Monroe (June 27), Lorenzo Russell (June 28), David Covington (June 29) and Deborah Walston and Andre Russell (July 2).

Sick and shut-ins: Lewis McLaughlin, Paula Neal, Michael McLean, Charles Jackson, Joe Jackson, Samuel Brisbon, Darlene Harris, Mary Russell, Ruth Rogers, Evelyn Clegg, Cornelia Adkins, Minister Wrencher, Margret Thompson and Alma Jones.

- Wilma Monroe

Hoffman

Bible study is held Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Macedonia and at 7:30 p.m. at Fletcher's Chapel. Pleasant Hill holds its Bible study at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The Hart family reunion will be held on July 6 and 7. Call Tommy Hart at (910) 281-3898 for more information.

Fletcher's Chapel will have its homecoming July 22.

The interdenominational union will be held July 29 at Fletcher's Chapel.

Beverly Swinnie, Vivan Brown, Gwen Miller, Vemella Isaac, Barbara Gilmore and Iris and Bea Little attended the funeral services Johnnie James on Saturday in Timmonsville, S.C.

Birthday wishes go out to all who are celebrating this week.

Sick and shut-ins: Earnest Gilmore, Beulah Jones, Joe Jones, Letha Isaac, Nancy Hayes, Flossie Hagins, Frank Smith, Albert Hailey, Lacy Jackson, Mattie White, Cathy Harrington, Lula Smith, Juanita Gilmore, Arlene McRae, Thelma McKoy, Dan McKoy, Eugene Martin, Nancy Ellerbe, Lillie Ellerbe, Jimmy Ellerbe, Rebecca Utley, Arnell Little, Mary Jamieson and Robert Wadkins are among the homebound.

Please continue to pray for the sick and shut-ins, church leaders, our children, government and one another.

- Bea Little

Little River

This past Sunday, Pastor Greg Poplin was back in the pulpit at Mount Pleasant Church after his recent heart surgery. He delivered a fiery sermon, asking the congregation to understand that God always provides for his people to return to him.

Vacation Bible School will be held in July, with the theme of "Fishin' on a Mission." The details are still being hammered out, but there will be a modified schedule this year, with the school only running from Tuesday through Friday.

Commencement will be held Friday night, with a homemade ice cream supper. The school is for children ages 3 to 15. Everyone is invited.

With many in the community on vacation or planning a vacation, Mount Pleasant Christian Church wishes them the blessing of rest from work and the joy of fellowship with family and the excitement of new adventures as they experience the blessing from God to be able to get away.

Worship services are held at 11 a.m. each Sunday. Dr. Greg Poplin is the pastor. Everyone in the community is invited to attend services.

Improvements to the Cypress Presbyterian Church sanctuary continue this week. All services, including worship, are being held in the fellowship hall until work is completed.

Wednesday choir rehearsal resumes tonight at 7.

Cypress' Thursday evening Bible study is taking a summer break through the end of July. It will resume in August.

Cypress Summer Enrichment, a free day camp for kids ages 6-13, will be held on Monday through Wednesdays, July 2-18, in the Cypress fellowship hall. (There will not be camp on July 4.)

Lunch and snacks will be provided each day. Registration forms may be obtained by calling (910) 245-7397.

Please remember, with positive thoughts and prayers, all of our soldiers and their families, whether here in the States or abroad.

If you have any information you'd like to share with our community, please call me at (910) 245-4747.

- "Sunny" Sidley

Shawtown

Holy Temple Church on Anderson Street, where the pastor is Elder Allen Moore, will begin having services every first and third Sunday. Everyone is invited to attend.

Happy birthday to all who are celebrating this week.

Please pray for our president and all leaders, the sick, bereaved, shut-ins and residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities and caregivers.

If anyone has community news, please email me at aminnieirene@yahoo.com or call me at (910) 783-7822 (cell) or (910) 947-2208 (home) and leave a message at least one week in advance.

- Irene Ray

Taylortown

Vacation Bible School at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church continues this week through Friday from 6 until 8 p.m. The theme is "Fishin' on a Mission with Jesus."

The theme Bible verse is, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," from Matthew 4:19. All youths and adults are invited. The chairperson is Marlene Pittman. The pastor is Rev. Charles Nabors.

Spaulding Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church will hold a fish meal sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 3. To place an order, call (910) 295-3579. The pastor, the Rev. Charles Allen, and the members of Spaulding Chapel appreciate your support.

Spaulding Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church will have a worship service at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 15. The guest speaker will be the Rev. Oscar Rush, of Union Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church in Franklinton, N.C. Members of his congregation will accompany him. This building fund program is sponsored by the trustees and the pastor, Rev. Charles Allen. Everyone is invited. Spaulding is located at 8254 Main Street.

Welcome home to James Murphy, who has been at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill for several weeks. His mother, Kathy Murphy, thanks everyone for their cards, phone calls and prayers.

Summer camp continues through this Friday at the Taylor House. Town Councilman Jeff Moody and his wife, Nadine, are providing fun activities for school-aged children from 8 a.m. until noon.

Contact Moore County 4-H regarding 4-H Summer Adventures 2012. There are several different camps through Aug. 4. Call (910) 947-3188.

Pastors Charles and Deborah Bloom, of Kingdom Minded Ministries, will be featured on "Town Talk" television show this month. The show airs daily at 11 a.m. and at 7:30 p.m. on Time Warner Cable channel 3 and is a service to the community by Rose Highland-Sharpe, producer and host.

Mobile computer lab classes are available for churches and agencies through human resources development at Sandhills Community College. Classes will be brought to various community groups. Call Jenny at (910) 695-3926 for more information.

Bishop Larry Brown thanks everyone for the visits, phone calls, cards and prayers during his time of illness.

Evangelist Carolyn Mitchell (our town clerk) invites everyone to listen to her broadcast, "Words of Life," on WEEB 990-AM, 10:30-10:45 a.m. Evangelist Mitchell has been providing this teaching ministry for many years at WEEB. Thanks for listening.

The Rev. Kenneth Stewart invites local ministers to attend the Taylortown Ministerial Alliance meeting on the second Saturday of each month at one of the local churches in the early afternoon. The Rev. Kenneth Stewart is the president.

The Pinecrest High School class of 1977 invites former students close to their age from our community (such as the classes of 1976 or 1974) to the 35th reunion June 30. Contact Ella B. McMillan at (910) 715-8149.

Galilee has changed its Bible study time to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays instead of 7 p.m. The Rev. A. Wade, one of the assistant pastors, usually teaches a series each season on specific subjects. An outline of the subject is distributed to the participants. The study is very thorough and interesting. The pastor, the Rev. Charles Nabors, invites everyone to attend.

Thanks for supporting the "Hill Top Shops" this year. They include Not "Jus" Any Bag, Bono Abstract Clothing, Sew What?, 360 Creations Beauty Salon and New 2 U Everyday Rummage. Fresh Discipleship Center, with Pastor Cora Murphy, resides on "the Hill."

There is also an outreach ministry with household goods and clothing for those in need on "the Hill." It serves many throughout the county and is owned and managed by Minister Gerald and Tia Brown.

Thanks for your support of MANNA!, which is at 11 a.m. each Tuesday at at Spaulding Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church. Special thanks to the preparers and hostesses, including Melba Bostic, Esther McNeill, Hulene Morrison, Kathy Murphy and others from Spaulding Chapel and the community. Pastor John Roberts is the day-to-day operations manager for MANNA. The pastor at Spaulding Chapel is the Rev. Charles Allen.

Job-seeking skills/career, basic skills and GED classes are available at the Westmoore Center in Robbins and at the Day Reporting Center in Carthage. Basic skills and GED classes are available at the Northern Moore Family Resource Center in Robbins, Aberdeen Elementary School and in Van Dusen Hall at Sandhills Community College. Call the recruiter for basic skills education at SCC, Rose Highland-Sharpe, at (910) 695-3783.

Jobs are available at Smithfield's meat packing company in Tar Heel, N.C. As part of the application process, register for pre-employment skills classes in the human resources development program at Sandhills Community College. The classes are free to those who qualify. Call Jenny Troyer at (910) 695-3926.

Job-ministry positions as keyboardists are available at some local churches in Moore County. For more information, call (910) 295-0013 (the Rev. Rose Highland-Sharpe).

Learn how to play the guitar with Michael Robinson, the Taylortown "Music Man." Call (910) 691-9283. Michael also conducts "Taylortown Jams," which are music sessions open to experienced musicians from noon to 6 p.m. every Saturday at the Taylor House on Main Street. If you have a passion for playing any musical instrument, please join this lively "jam session." There is no charge for the jam session or music classes. The classes are open to all ages.

The United Way of Moore County thanks the many local churches, ministries and faith-based organizations for considering making a donation in 2012. The United Way supports many nonprofits, including those that provide programs for youths, victims of abuse and those recovering from substance abuse.

For more information, call United Way at (910) 692-2413. Linda Mills Pearson is the executive director. The Rev. Rose Highland-Sharpe is a board member. Call her at (910) 295-0013.

Many thanks for your continued prayers and support of Edward and Sharonda Wilson.

Spruill Temple Church of God in Christ has a prayer service every Monday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Call in your prayer request at (910) 295-0071. The pastor, Elder Jerry Chesney, welcomes everyone to drop in at any time during this informal prayer time and "to come as you are."

Join St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, 198 Gaines St. in Jackson Hamlet, for weekly services. Sunday School is held at 10 a.m. Worship begins at 11 a.m. Prayer meeting and Bible study are held at 7 p.m. each Wednesday. The pastor is the Rev. Elgett Floyd.

"Good News Inspiration" on WEEB-990 AM airs from 6 until 11 a.m. each Sunday. Send your church and community announcements to the Sunday program director/announcer, Rose Highland-Sharpe, at P.O. Box 4653, Pinehurst, NC 28374, or email rose-sharpe37@gmail. com. WEEB Gospel family members include veteran announcer Felton J. Capel and substitute announcers Pastor Ren Lee and Niniji Lloyd.

Luther Headen is on our prayer list this week. Please remember him and the other sick and shut-ins, including Deacon Leroy Alford Sr., Jaion Barrett, Mr. and Mrs. George Brown, Bishop Larry Brown, Evelyn Clegg, Christine Ellerbe, Sandy George Gaines, Gladys Garris, Phyllis Goins, Cathy Harrington, Alice Jackson, Pauline Levine, Rosa Mills, Willa B. Monroe, Catherine Morrison, Dorothy R. Morrison, Evelyn Morrison, Vera Moses, Lolita Robinson, Mr. Shamberger, Johnnie Stanford and Patrice Taylor.

Please remember all the sick and shut-ins, the widowed, orphans, bereaved, incarcerated, homeless, youths and the United States military in your prayers and good deeds.

If you have any questions, comments and community news, please respond to R. Highland-Sharpe at P.O. Box 4653, Pinehurst, NC 28374, or at rosesharpe37@gmail. com. Send announcements at least two weeks in advance.

- Rose Highland-Sharpe

Vass

Pastor Mary Kelly will celebrate her 12th pastoral anniversary at 5 p.m. June 30 at the Douglass Community Center in Southern Pines. She will also be ordained as an apostle.

God's House of Prayer Ministry has Sunday School at 10 a.m. every week. Worship services are held every first and third Sundays of the month at 11:30 a.m. and special programs or worship on second and fourth Sundays. Bible study is held every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Intercessory prayer is held every Saturday at 8 a.m. Pastor Mary Kelly is the church pastor.

A car show will be held at 9 a.m. July 21 at the Vass Park. The event is sponsored by Minister Freddie Kelly Jr. and God's House of Prayer Ministry. More details will be announced at a later time.

Oakridge A.M.E. Zion Church in Vass will have a Men's Day program at 3 p.m. Sunday. The Rev. Dr. J.C. White, pastor of Fair Promise Church in Sanford, will be the guest speaker. His choir and congregation will also accompany him.

Oakridge A.M.E. Zion Church holds worship services on the second and fourth Sunday. The pastor is the Rev. Walter Cotton.

St. Marks has Sunday School at 10:30 a.m. and worship services at 11:30 a.m. every Sunday. Bible study is held at 5:30 p.m. each Thursday. The pastor is the Rev. Chester Little.

Word of Truth Christian Center of Vass, where the pastors are Micheal and Cheryl Blue and Overseer Helen Spencer, has Bible study at 6 p.m. every Wednesday. Sunday School is held every Sunday at 10 a.m., and the worship service starts at 11:15 p.m.

New Direction Outreach Ministries, where the pastor is Pastor Linnie M. Saunders, has worship services every Sunday at 11:30 a.m., except any fifth Sunday. Bible study is held from 7 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday. It is led by Elder C. Taylor.

The church is at 3623 North U.S. 1 Business in Vass across from the Vass Ball Park. For more information, call (910) 638-8441.

Birthday wishes go out to Elder Frederick Kelly and Aya Kelly (June 25), Bryan Smith (June 26), Ann Elliott (June 27) and Tammy McDowell (June 28).

Continue to pray for all the sick and shut-ins, including all in the hospital and in rest homes, each other and our U.S. troops in Iraq and worldwide.

To have your news included in the Vass section, send an email to anitafinch38@ yahoo.com or mail items at least one week in advance to P.O. Box 176, Vass, NC 28394.

-- Anita Finch