JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

If you travel downtown there's no way you can miss the Overland Bridge project.

The purpose is to improve traffic flow along the Interstate 95 corridor just south of the Fuller Warren Bridge.

The Florida Department of Transportation is widening I-95 but to do so the department had to buy surrounding properties.

One of those properties is a church -- and now that church is suing because officials feel the FDOT isn't giving them what they deserve.

The Glorious Bethlehem Temple has been around for 50 years, but now the congregation is worried about its future. Officials said the FDOT needed their property for the Overland Bridge project and said it would compensate them, but now the church said the FDOT is going back on its word.

It's an injustice. It's not favorable. It's not fair to the church, said Glorious Bethlehem Temple Pastor Donald Richardson. You don't put somebody out there and tell them you are going to do this, that and the other, and then once you get them out, all the sudden, your plans change, you don't need us anymore.

Richardson has attended the church since 1978. He said he's shocked with what's happening.

FDOT representatives notified the church it intended to acquire all of the church's property, and the church would be cared for through federal relocation assistance and fully compensated.

But now the FDOT said it doesn't need the property, leaving the church in the middle of a construction zone. That's why the church is taking legal action.

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Church says FDOT reneged on land deal

ELLWOOD CITY St. Elias Church is celebrating its 100th anniversary July 19 and 20. The committee has planned a full weekend, beginning with a light supper and greeting Archbishop Nathaniel Popp from Michigan, who oversees more than 100 parishes in North America.

The ceremony for the opening includes presenting the archbishop with bread and salt, the traditional gift to important and respected guests, and girls will present him with flowers. The archbishop will preside over the events of the weekend.

The official date of the anniversary is Feb. 1, but the anniversary is being celebrated now because the feast day of St. Elias is celebrated annually on July 20.

The Rev. John Schmidt, who has been pastor at St. Elias for eight years, said the event is to give glory to God for 100 years of worship in the church.

Juliana Thetford, the parish council secretary and a cantor, and Docia Jinar Jacobs, president of the parish committee, are co-chairing the event. Jacobs is the granddaughter of George and Mary Vintile Jinar, founding members of the church.

So many of the members were named George and Mary. I had aunt Marys, cousin Marys, Jacobs said. I love my church. I feel at home any time I walk in, whether there are a lot of people or just a few. I love my church.

Today, the church has about 50 members. Some are descendants of the founders, some are new Romanian immigrants, and some are of Macedonian, Russian, Greek and Middle Eastern descent, as well as converts to the faith from western European backgrounds.

We have evolved into a little melting pot, we are pan-ethnic, Schmidt said. When we do the responses to the liturgy Lord, have mercy at the Easter service, we do it in Russian, Greek, Romanian, Arabic and sometimes other languages including Italian. We stress inclusiveness.

Jacobs said that until 20 years ago, the minutes of the church council meetings were in Romanian, and former secretary Adrian Draghiciu, who lives in Cranberry, translated them into English.

Draghiciu wrote a short history of the church for the anniversary.

Continue reading here:
St. Elias Orthodox Church marks 100th anniversary

RIDGWAY -- Every beginning has a foundation, and the building of a new Catholic Church to replace one destroyed in the Leap Day Tornado two years ago has its.

The foundation is going reasonably well, said the Rev. Steven Beatty. So far so good.

The new church, being built to replace the St. Joseph Catholic Church lost to the deadly tornado, is being built on the site of the former house of worship.

Amid the rubble and shards of glass, only a marble altar and its foundation survived. Some bells were also salvaged. Plans are to use the same altar and bells in the new, 10,000-square-foot church. The former foundation will be used as a place to pray, Beatty said.

Itll be one of many places to pray. Well all know those are the stones from the foundation of the old altar, he said.

The new church will also feature a 40-foot ceiling and 150-foot high steeple, he said. It is expected to seat slightly more than 400 people, a little larger than the former church.

In the fall of 2012, Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville announced the formation of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks Parish, in Ridgway. The new church is named in honor of St. Kateri, the first North American saint who was canonized in October 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.

The new parish includes St. Joseph in Equality, St. Patrick in the Pond Settlement and Immaculate Conception in Shawneetown. Beatty, named parish administrator, said each of the chapels will remain in use.

Construction on the roughly $6 million church started about four weeks ago and plans are to complete it by May or June next year, Beatty said.

About half the cost of construction is being paid through insurance; much of the rest has come from local and national donations, he said.

Link:
Ridgway church rebuilding after Leap Day Tornado

AMERICUS Many hands make light work, according to traditional wisdom, and in the case of the construction site at Eastview Baptist Church, Ga. Highway 27 East, Americus, it appeared to be correct recently.

Wayne Gosa, a church member and chairman of the building project, said 86 volunteers arrived on site in the second phase of the new church complex going up across the street from the Americus Times-Recorders former offices. The recent volunteers, from Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Michigan, made up the volunteer brick-laying team, led by Fred Dennis of Americus.

The volunteer team consisted of men and women and young men and young men, and even some seniors. Some were master masons and other did specialty jobs. There were also cooks preparing meals for the workers.

Due to the sweltering temperatures around 90 degrees last week, a water team kept the volunteers hydrated throughout their long work days.

The volunteers stayed at the Georgia National Guard Armory on Ga. Highway 30, at Friendship Baptist Camp, further out on Highway 30 and a few stayed in local motels.

Due to the magnitude of the job, they were unable to complete all at this time, but part of the team will return and complete the job, Gosa said.

The rest is here:
Eastview Baptist construction project continues

By Lena Khzouz The Ile Camera

The former Taylor School building, 3700 Benson Road, has been reconstructed to meet the needs of Community Bible Church.

Its time to share the news: Community Bible Church is here and ready.

The members of Community Bible Church in Trenton are welcoming visitors to a family fun event on July 12 in order to celebrate the churchs grand opening.

The carnival-like celebration, which will take place from 1 to 5 p.m., will feature a clown, bouncy houses, face painting, balloon art, games, outdoor activities, and foods such as hot dogs and popcorn. The hot dogs are among the donations from the Grosse Ile Kroger for the grand opening.

The churchs pastor, the Rev. Ken Brown, will offer tours of the building to interested visitors during the event.

Our hope is to offer them a beautiful day, filled with fun and opportunities for learning more about us, said Kim LaChappelle of Grosse Ile, who is a member of the church's outreach committee, as is her husband, Eugene.

The afternoon also will include a presentation by Carol Hendricks of the Trenton Historical Society of a time capsule that was found in the raptors of the building, which used to be the Taylor School.

The school building has been reconstructed to meet the needs of the church. The church members have been meeting in the building for about a year, but now the construction is almost complete.

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Downriver church to offer family fun event as its grand opening

A local church is continuing its journey to fulfill the founding pastor's dream of a new house of worship.

The First United Pentecostal Church is hosting its third annual Fulfilling the Dream 5K to raise money for the new building's construction. The event will be held at Foxfire High School on July 26th. Those participating will have the option of running the 5K cross country course or walking1.5 mileson the track. Registration is at 8:00 a.m and the race begins at 9:00 a.m. Pastor John Cottrell said they are still looking for more participants.

"Last year we raised around$600 or $700if I remember correctly, and we'd like to have at least maybe 20 to 30 cross country runners, maybe even more," Cottrell said.

The new building will be located on the corner of Brighton Boulevard and Dryden road. The church hopes to build a new facility for the surrounding community and be able to better serve the congregation.

"The church, we've been in there for about 40 years now, but yet it has got multiple steps also," said Cottrell. "So it's hard for folks to come in that are wheelchair bound or have trouble with steps. We would like to have a place here where we can have one floor plan where anybody can make it into the house of the Lord and worship, and we want to impact our community also."

Registration costs just$20, and all proceeds will go toward the construction of the new church. You can find the registration forms for the 5K on the church's facebook page or simply email burley_28@msn.com.

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Local Church to Host 5K

By Jovic Yee |Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines A World War II-era explosive device was unearthed at the compound of St. Jude Catholic Church in Malacaang Park, Manila, Monday afternoon.

Jefferson Larzan, a laborer of the Dynamic Construction Co., dug a heavily corroded 75-mm projectile while doing construction works at the church compound.

Arnold Santos, the chief of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Section of the Manila Police District, said that the bomb could still explode if not handled properly and cause damage to an area within a 20-meter radius.

The church compound, where a bell tower is being constructed in the area where the bomb was found, has been declared safe. However, theres still a possibility of other explosive devices buried in the compound. They should exercise caution and alert us if they spot suspicious objects, Santos said.

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World War II bomb unearthed at church compound in Manila

LAKE PLACID After 15 years of prayer, discussion and study, a god-sized project is being built to serve as a blessing to the community, according to Rev. Ray Cameron, senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Placid.

The 20,000-plus-square-foot hall/center, with a total cost of over $2 million, is being built by the church, located at 118 N. Oak Ave.

We hope is will be a great blessing to the community with its size and events, Cameron said. Its huge for us.

Its a God-sized project. We dont think we could do it if God was not in it.

The official ground breaking was held on Palm Sunday (March 24), 2013 before the winter residents left, he said. But the actual construction started around late August/early September. Construction should be completed in the second quarter of 2015.

We see it as a building that will be used often in our community, Cameron said.

The building, which will be called The Genesis Center, will have a full kitchen and will accommodate 700 to 800 in the main auditorium and 500 to 550 for table settings.

A large foyer, which can be serviced by the kitchen, will be utilized for receptions, intermissions and overflow, Cameron said.

The center is being built as a venue for fine arts performances and music concerts and to encourage and foster the arts in Highlands County that historically has been something that the church has very much fostered, Cameron said.

The past two years the churchs youth have participated in fine arts competitions at the state level.

More here:
LP church building large center for arts and recreation

LAC-MGANTIC Hundreds gathered in Lac-Mgantic on Sunday for a memorial mass to remember the 47 who died in a railway accident here last year.

As wind blew dust clouds past the church and through the construction site that has replaced the destroyed downtown here, firefighters, paramedics and police who responded to the explosion last year marched inside.

You have given us a beautiful message of dignity and strength. Yes, there have been tears and great suffering but at the same time there has been overwhelming generosity and love, Sherbrooke diocese archbishop Luc Cyr said, addressing the crowd inside the Ste-Agns church.

Amidst this individual and community destruction, there is a reconstruction to undergo, for the town and for us as individuals, Cyr said.

To each and every one of you: I urge you to keep your hope and faith. We will rebuild our town more beautiful than ever, Lac-Mgantic mayor Colette Roy-Laroche said after the mass.

Before the service, the town unveiled outside the church a monument to the victims a book carved in granite, inscribed with the names of the dead.

At the altar during the service, Cyr blessed Marie-Jose Rodrigue and Louis-Charles Lacroix and their six-month-old son Elliot. Lacroix and Rodrigue, who was pregnant with Elliot last July, narrowly escaped the accident.

We will never forget the victims, whose names are engraved in stone, but, at the same time, we know that life will triumph again in Lac-Mgantic, Quebec premier Philippe Couillard said, speaking before the crowd gathered outside the church.

The events of July 6, 2013, in Lac-Mgantic touched all Canadians deeply and no passage of time can erase from our consciousness the lives lost, the injured and the families torn apart by this tragedy, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement on Sunday. On this sombre anniversary, let us pay tribute to their resilience, determination and extraordinary strength of character.

Governor General David Johnston, who attended a memorial mass held in the town shortly after the explosion last year, also spoke briefly after the mass on Sunday.

More here:
Memorial mass of hope and faith

Wednesday, July 2

Rotary Club of Eastern York County Wrightsville: 7 a.m. breakfast meeting, The Wrightsville House, 129 N. Front St., Wrightsville. hclideafactory@aol.com.

Parkinson's Exercise: for patient and caregiver, 1 to 2 p.m., New Fairview Church of the Brethren, 1873 New Fairview Church Road, York Township. This program is free; no registration required. Wear comfortable clothes; no experience necessary. 717-851-5503.

Red Lion Area High School Class of 1943: 8 a.m. breakfast, Lion's Pride, Dairyland Square.

Kids Under Construction: support group for children who have loved ones with cancer, 6:30 to 8 p.m., H.O.P.E. office, New Freedom Community Building, 150 E. Main. St., New Freedom. Transportation from Apple Hill Medical Center, Suite 188, Monument Road, York Township, can be provided if notified in advance. 717-227-2824.

Rivertownes PA U.S.A.: 7 p.m., Wrightsville House, Front and Locust streets, Wrightsville. 717-684-2489.

Red Lion/Dallastown Area Rotary Club: noon to 1 p.m., Great American Saloon, 20 Dairyland Square, Red Lion.

Cub Scout Pack 93: 6:30 to 7:45 p.m., Christ Lutheran Church, 80 S. Main St., Loganville. There are groups for first- through fifth-grade boys. 717-428-3312.

DivorceCare: a support group for those considering or experiencing divorce, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 397 Tyler Run Road, York Township. 717-854-4276.

Card Club: for York Township residents, noon to 3 p.m., York Township Park building. 717-741-3861, ext. 177.

Originally posted here:
Calendar: Meetings in Dallastown, Red Lion and eastern York County for the week of July 2, 2014