DUKE CENTER The Duke Center United Methodist Church marked its 50th anniversary on Saturday afternoon by unveiling the contents of its cornerstone placed 50 years ago.

Parish members and previous pastors all gathered for the celebration.

For 12 months preceding the celebration, church members had selected 12 different organizations they wanted to support to commemorate their 50 years. They set a goal each month to collect and donate 50 items to the selected organization for that month.

We were so surprised that we not only met our goal each month, but we exceed the amount every month, Sue Bennett said.

The 12 organizations the church selected were the Second Harvest Food Distribution, Genesis House, Duke Center Angel Tree, The Friendship Table, McKean County SPCA, Otto Township Fire Department Auxiliary, Ruth M. Smith Center, Camp Penuel, Bright Alternatives, To-Fill-A-Backpack, Boy Scout Troop 413, and the YWCA Bradford.

Guests and members of the church were welcomed to the celebration with tables of past news articles, photographs, and letters from members.The church also displayed the items saved from the previous church before it burned in 1962. Some of those items include a bible and cross that leans from the intense heat of the fire, but never melted completely. The bell from the old church was placed in the front lawn of the current church along with the cornerstone in 1964.

Pastor Gary Sheesley began the ceremonies by thanking all in attendance for being a part of the special day.After an opening hymn and scripture reading, Sheesley asked those in attendance to share their experiences of the church over the past 50 years.Many members recalled their memories and took turns telling their stories.

Pastor Robert E. Goode, who served as pastor from 1962 to 1968, was in attendance with his wife, Vera. He was the churchs pastor during the fire and rebuilding of the new church.

Ive reached the age where memories are hard to recall sometimes, but our hearts will always be here, because this church has meant so much to us, said Goode.He recalled the times they spent at the Masonic Building, which is where the church held services until the new church was built. Goode also talked about the planning and preparation of building and opening the new church, and also about the day the cornerstone was placed.

Also in attendance was pastor Seth McClymonds, who served in that role from 1999-2004.McClymonds shared his fondest memories of his time at the church, and jokingly talked about the time he almost burned the church down after an advent candle was placed directly under the large cross in front of the church.This story produced many chuckles throughout the congregation.

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A look back: Duke Center United Methodist Church unveils its cornerstone

Anna Williams/Fairfax NZ

RAISING MONEY: Jo Spooner, left, and Rob Cameron hold a stained-glass window, one of the items from Seddons St Andrews Presbyterian Church auctioned off on Saturday.

A wooden toilet seat was among items up for grabs from a demolished Seddon church at the weekend.

An auction was held on Saturday in Seddon to sell items and memorabilia that belonged to St Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

The church first opened in 1965 and was demolished on July 27 after suffering earthquake damage last year.

More than 80 items were up for grabs, including furniture, an electric organ, light shades, the wooden toilet seat, rimu door frames, and other parts of the building.

About 25 people turned up to bid on the goods, with more than 50 items sold.

Awatere Christian Joint Venture management committee chairman Rob Cameron said the biggest surprise sale was the light shades, two of which went for $100.

The stained glass windows also fetched a good price, however the church had put some of the windows aside to include in a new church they are hoping to build.

The auction was another step forward for the church, Cameron said. "This earthquake demolition has been going on a fair while now," he said.

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Quake-hit Seddon church holds sale

A Greek Orthodox church crushed on 9/11 is finally being resurrected.

Hundreds of people flocked to the future site of the St. Nicholas National Shrine for a ground-blessing ceremony Saturday to celebrate a house of worship that will one day overlook the 9/11 Museum and Memorial.

A $38 million, domed alabaster sanctuary will replace its modest 19th-century predecessor a tiny four-story building toppled by the collapse of the South Tower. It was the only church destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2011, attacks.

Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the Byzantine-style structure is scheduled for completion in 2016.

Church officials told The Post they have raised $7.2 million toward construction $1.2 million of that from an insurance policy.

I dont think [continuing fund-raising] is daunting, said the Rev. Evagoras Constamides, a church spokesman. Today is an excellent example that our community is ready ... to respond to this effort.

Officials said they have collected donations from around the world, including $260,000 from the Greek government, as well as Greek Orthodox parishes throughout the US.

After 13 years of tremendous non-stopping, non-sleeping efforts ... we start the process for the resurrection of the church, said Archbishop Demetrios, the leader of the Greek Orthodox church in the US.

The congregation was founded in 1916 by Greek immigrants, who held services at a tavern-turned-church at 155 Cedar St.

When the church was destroyed on 9/11, years of talks with the Port Authority over a land swap began. A deal was finally reached that would give the PA rights to the Cedar Street property and allow the church to rebuild at 130 Liberty St.

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National Shrine to replace church destroyed on 9/11

NEW YORK (AP) Hundreds of members of New Yorks Greek Orthodox community attended a blessing ceremony today for a new church near ground zero in Lower Manhattan that will replace a house of worship that was destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In his remarks at the construction site, the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in America recalled his dismay when, on September 12, 2001, he and other pastors visited the spot where St Nicholas church had stood since the early 20th Century.

The tiny structure had been crushed in the collapse of the twin towers, making it the only church destroyed in the attack.

We stood there frozen, paralysed, said Archbishop Demetrios. There was a big hole instead of a church. It left a terrible kind of impression.

More than 13 years later, work has begun on a much larger, $38 million domed church designed by famed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava intended to serve both as the new home for the Greek Orthodox parish and as a national non-denominational shrine for ground zero visitors. The dome made of glass and white marble will be backlit from within so that it glows at night.

It will be a refuge for people in need of spiritual comfort regardless of their specific beliefs, or unbeliefs, the archbishop said. Above all, this resurrected St Nicholas church will be a monument declaring the victory of good over evil, of love over hatred.

Those in attendance included Calatrava, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, former Governor George Pataki, former Mayor David Dinkins and various other government officials from New York and New Jersey.

Pataki, who was New Yorks governor at the time of the attack, said the church was an important addition to the memorials and skyscrapers that have risen in recent years at the World Trade Centre site.

The original church was founded by Greek immigrants in 1916 and began services at its 1 200-square-foot (112-square-metre) location on Cedar Street in 1922. After it was destroyed, the rebuilding was delayed by a legal dispute between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America over the original site.

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Church rising from ground zero

Christ Community Church Construction Timelapse
This is a timelapse of the construction at Christ Community Church in St. Charles, IL.

By: Carlson Architecture

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Christ Community Church Construction Timelapse - Video

VILLAGERS are set to take the significant first step in the building of their new church after fundraising for more than a decade.

The community at Crossways has been working together for years to build their own church to house a growing congregation and a special First Turf Turning ceremony will be held to mark the construction finally getting underway.

The building of St Aldhelms Church is expected to be completed by Easter 2015.

Crossways resident Simon Hunt said: This most exciting step marks the beginning of a new chapter in the progress of Crossways parishioners to establish a permanent and lasting base for worship and associated activities. To have reached this point has not been without much effort, hard work and perseverance of many, many people.

Villagers have raised more than 100,000 towards the new church, which will be spent on maintenance and running of the building.

Mr Hunt added that people across the community had been involved, many of whom are a silent majority of stalwarts.

The new building will be sited at land at Frome Valley CE VA First School.

The Reverend Jacquie Birdseye, of the united benefice of Moreton, Woodsford, Crossways and Tincleton, was appointed to oversee the building of the new church around nine years ago.

She is currently on sabbatical until early November.

Planning permission was granted by West Dorset District Council in September last year.

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Al-lelujah chorus

Oct. 17, 2014, 4 a.m.

Darling Street between Wingewarra and Church street will be closed for two weeks from Monday for the construction of a new water main.

Dubbo City Council's Manager Works and Services Ian Bailey at the construction site. Photo: GREG KEEN.

DARLING Street betweenWingewarra and Church streetwill be closed for two weeks from Monday for the construction of a new water main.

Dubbo City Council Manager Works Services Ian Bailey said a new 150mm diameter water main will be constructed to upgrade the existing smaller 100mm-diameter main to meet the increasing demand from surrounding residents and businesses.

"Throughout this time, work along the eastern side of Darling Street to renew aged infrastructure as part of stage three will continue, leaving the northbound lane of Darling Street open between Church Street and Talbragar Street," Mr Bailey said.

"The footpath will still be open. All of the businesses you'll still be able to get to, it'll just be a little bit longer to walk."

Mr Bailey said vehicular access to Darling Street businesses, the DRTCC and the Civic Administration building, will be available for residents via Brisbane and Church Street before proceeding northbound down Darling Street.

Construction will halt on Saturday, October 25, for the DREAM Festival's Twilight Markets and Lantern Parade and parking for the event will be available on the northern end of Darling Street, in the council car parks beside the Civic Administration Building and on the corner of Darling and Talbragar Streets.

"It is expected both lanes of Darling Street between Wingewarra and Church Street will be closed until Monday, November 3, at which point a northbound lane will be reopened with the southbound lane to remain closed until December this year," Mr Bailey said.

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Wingewarra and Church streets will be closed for water main construction

An employee with the City of Aztec points on Wednesday to where a sidewalk will go on the corner of Church Street and Mesa Verde Avenue in Aztec. (Alexa Rogals / The Daily Times)

AZTEC Residents along the 300 block of South Church Street will soon have new neighbors: construction crews rebuilding or replacing sidewalks, curbs and gutters along the roadway just east of Main Avenue.

On Tuesday, Aztec City Commissioners approved spending $69,000 to have the road improved between South Mesa Verde Avenue and East Zia Street.

Bill Watson, the city engineer and public works director, went door-to-door to discuss the project with effected residents. On Sept. 17, he hosted a public meeting to share information and take questions about the roadwork.

Watson will also hold a pre-construction meeting on Monday with city officials and the contractor for the project, Carreon Construction.

A sidewalk is seen on Wednesday at the corner of Church Street and Mesa Verde Avenue in Aztec. (Alexa Rogals/The Daily Times)

Aztec Projects Manager Ed Kotyk said roadwork will start soon. Work to replace the roadway is expected to begin in the spring.

"(Monday's) pre-con meeting is with the city and the contractor not for the public and they'll go over the design plans and do a field visit (to Church Street) to make sure there are no surprises," Kotyk said. "They'll either start construction next week or the week after."

Church Street is typical of many of the older residential streets in San Juan County. It has cracked, sunken and intermittent sidewalks that often lack wheelchair ramps and a roadway layered with decades' worth of asphalt repairs.

On Wednesday, city workers started preparing for the upcoming project by moving a fire hydrant six feet east, away from the street. The hydrant, placed more than a half-century prior, was precariously close to the curb at the corner of Church and Mesa Verde Avenue. It was moved to make way for 4-foot wide sidewalks along the east side of the street, which is currently covered with lawns, shrubbery or yucca plants.

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Roadwork along South Church Street is expected to begin soon

When the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ holds its 147th annual meeting Friday in Cheshire, it will be asked to consider a resolution calling for the church to divest any investments in companies "profiting from the occupation of the Palestine Territories by the State of Israel."

The resolution, submitted by the board of deacons of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, also calls for church members to boycott Israeli products made in the occupied territories.

It is one of two resolutions that the conference will review, the other being a call to end "mass incarceration for nonviolent offenses," which was submitted by several New Haven churches.

The divestiture resolution states: "Past General Synods have identified the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian land and its human rights abuses committed therein to be a major source of conflict and have called for the end of construction and expansion of settlements," and that "Palestinians in the West Bank have lived since 1967 under Israel military occupation which subjects them to many human rights abuses."

It calls for "the Connecticut Conference to divest any Consolidated Trust Fund holdings in companies profiting from the occupation of the Palestinian Territories by the state of Israel," listing Caterpillar Inc., Motorola Solutions, Hewlett-Packard Development and several other companies as examples of those that would be affected by the action.

It also asks "local church members" to support a boycott of goods produced by Israeli companies in the "occupied Palestinian territories." Examples listed were Ahava skin care products, SodaStream products and Hadiklaim dates.

Steven Jungkeit, senior minister of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, acknowledged Thursday that the resolution would be controversial, but said that his congregation proposed it after members made numerous trips to Israel and Palestine through the years.

"We believe it's the right thing to do," Jungkeit said. "It's a tricky issue to talk about, but I think that it's one that we need to raise our voices on."

The Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ is one of 39 regional conferences in the U.S. that makes up the 1.5 million-member United Church of Christ. The Connecticut Conference comprises 253 churches with more than 97,000 members.

Conference officials did not return telephone calls Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

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Resolution Asks UCC Conference To Divest Interest In Certain Israel Companies

VILLAGERS are set to take the significant first step in the building of their new church after fundraising for more than a decade.

The community at Crossways has been working together for years to build their own church to house a growing congregation and a special First Turf Turning ceremony will be held to mark the construction finally getting underway.

The building of St Aldhelms Church is expected to be completed by Easter 2015.

Crossways resident Simon Hunt said: This most exciting step marks the beginning of a new chapter in the progress of Crossways parishioners to establish a permanent and lasting base for worship and associated activities. To have reached this point has not been without much effort, hard work and perseverance of many, many people.

Villagers have raised more than 100,000 towards the new church, which will be spent on maintenance and running of the building.

Mr Hunt added that people across the community had been involved, many of whom are a silent majority of stalwarts.

The new building will be sited at land at Frome Valley CE VA First School.

The Reverend Jacquie Birdseye, of the united benefice of Moreton, Woodsford, Crossways and Tincleton, was appointed to oversee the building of the new church around nine years ago.

She is currently on sabbatical until early November.

Planning permission was granted by West Dorset District Council in September last year.

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Villagers to begin building new church after decade of fundraising