More than 15,000 devotees thronged the last large-scale annual outdoor procession in honour of Mother Mary at Novena Church on Sunday.

The Catholic church, which will be closing its doors for a $45 million upgrade, has been holding the procession since 1953.

Called Our Lady's Procession, it involved a thanksgiving mass and procession where church workers carried images of her through the crowd. The church is the only one here to conduct a procession on such a scale.

Many of the devotees, who could not squeeze into the church's Thomson Road premises, watched from across the road.

Devotee George Chow, 66, a warehouse manager who has attended the procession since he was 12, is sad to see the decades-old tradition end.

"I've been attending it, rain or shine, for 54 years. It has become a ritual for me, so I feel a sense of loss," he said.

The church's rector, Simon Tan, said the upgrading will take up some of the compound's open space and make such a procession hard to organise in the future.

"But this does not mean that we won't be able to do it on a smaller scale indoors," said Father Simon, 51.

While they will miss the procession, worshippers said they are looking forward to the new Novena Church as the revamp will help ease congestion in its packed sanctuary.

As many as 20,000 attend the church's daily sessions every week, and many often spill out onto its verandahs and carpark.

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Thousands turn up for Novena Church's last procession

Methodism will be celebrating over 150 years in Emanuel County with special revival/homecoming services slated for First United Methodist Church on September 24 - September 28, 2014.

The Methodist movement was started in England by John and Charles Wesley during the mid 18th century. Know for its emphasis on Gods redeeming grace, missions, helping the poor, and structured worship services, Methodism in Emanuel County can trace its roots back to small gatherings in members homes prior to the War Between the States. Land was given for construction of the first church in 1875 by J.J. Moring.

To celebrate the churchs distinguished history and traditions, former pastors and youth leaders will be preaching at the special services, which begin each night at 6:30 p.m. Current church members, former church and family members, and visitors are invited to attend all services. Special music will highlight each night, led by Choir Leader Ennis Bragg and Church Organist Connie Peebles.

The church has been making plans to celebrate the occasion for over six months. A special committee was formulated in January to begin making preparations. The church committee is led by Judy Wells. Other committee members include Elizabeth Gilmer, Cherry Curry, Judy McWhorter, Mitchell Fagler, Shirley Reid, Melinda Hall, Kay Peacock, Milton Gray, Connie Peebles, Bill Rogers, Jr., and the Rev. Scott Brenton.

Over the last four weeks, the congregation has enjoyed history moments during the 11 a.m. service. Historical information and important dates on Methodism in Emanuel County were provided by Dr. John Derden, member of the church and history professor emeritus at East Georgia State College.

On Wednesday night, September 24, the Rev. Jack Vanrell from Folkston United Methodist Church will lead the opening services. Rev. Varnell is the son of a former pastor, Rev. Benji Varnell and Mary Varnell. He was active in local Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) activities while in Swainsboro and is a graduate of Swainsboro High School. Dinner will be served in the churchs social hall prior to the service starting at 5>30 p.m. Reservations for dinner can be made by calling the church office at 237-7535.

On Thursday night, the Rev. Michael Lyons from Trinity United Methodist Church, Warner Robins, is the guest speaker. Rev. Lyons is a former youth worker at Swainsboro First UMC.

On Friday night, September 26, former minister Rev. Hale Bishop will preach. He currently serves as minister at Park Avenue United Methodist in Valdosta. While in Swainsboro, he and his wife, Meg, were active in MYF, choir and many other church activities.

Saturday, September 27, will be a day of family fun beginning at 12 noon. Hotdogs and hamburgers will be served by the Methodist Men. Childrens games and fun-filled activities for the entire family will highlight the day.

Closing celebration services will be held on Sunday morning, September 28 at 11 a.m. Preaching at the combined worship service will be the Rev. Ronnie Wills, pastor of Thomasville First United Methodist Church. The Wills family served in Swainsboro from 1993 - 1999. His wife, Carmine, was well known for her gifted piano talent.

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First United Methodist Church to hold revival

Published: Monday, September 8, 2014 at 5:20 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, September 8, 2014 at 5:20 p.m.

Some of the polling locations for the Spartanburg School District 5 referendum on $71 million in general obligation bonds for construction and renovations at Byrnes High School have changed.

Voters who usually vote at Cedar Grove Baptist Church will vote at Victor Mill Methodist Church in Greer.

Voters who usually vote at Holly Springs Baptist Chruch will vote at Friendship Baptist Church in Lyman.

Full list of polling places:

Rebirth Missionary Baptist Church - 2375 Racing Road, Greer

Friendship Baptist Church - 1600 Holly Springs Road, Lyman

Abner Creek Baptist Church - 2461 Abner Creek Road, Greer

Grace Baptist Church - 760 Gap Creek Road, Duncan

Victor Mill Methodist Church - 1 Wilson Ave., Greer

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Some polling places change for Byrnes referendum

The day after a Chicago woman was struck on the head and killed almost instantly by a piece of falling stone, contractors began working Friday to make repairs to the historic South Loop church where the incident occurred.

Dark metal scaffolding was placed around Second Presbyterian Church on Friday morning, and construction workers appeared to be carefully inspecting the exterior of the building to make sure the brick wall and stone decorations were secure.

The scaffolding and wooden cover provided a protective walkway around the Gothic revival structure at 1936 S. Michigan Ave. Sarah Bean, 34, was walking to lunch with her fiance Thursday afternoon when a piece of decorative metal came loose. The metal piece fell and knocked off a chunk of stone from a gargoyle that juts from a corner of the church's southeast tower, city officials said.

The stone hit Bean on the head and killed her almost instantly. Her fiance, Lance Johnson, fell by her side, screaming and holding his hands to his head, said a man who lives across the street and witnessed the incident.

Officials from the church refused Friday to discuss the accident or give details about the repairs being made. The Rev. David Neff said the church's regularly scheduled Sunday worship will continue as usual this week. The church canceled its Friday afternoon brown bag lunch session, a sign posted outside said.

"We are mourning and send our condolences to the family," said Neff, the interim pastor.

Johnson could not be reached, and Bean's family declined to comment.

The church was built in 1874 and failed a string of inspections between 2007 and 2011 for violations that included failing to remove obstruction from building exits and failing to maintain an interior stairway system in safe condition, city records show.

The building passed inspections in 2012 and 2013.

lbowean@tribune.com

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Repairs to church under way after fatal accident

TEMPE, Ariz. -- A Tempe church offered sanctuary to a 23-year-old Guatemalan man who is facing deportation on Thursday.

Luis Lopez came to America six years ago to escape gang violence.

"I requested asylum, but they denied asylum to me, and now I'm going through deportation proceedings," Lopez said through an interpreter.

When asked why the asylum was refused, Lopez said, "They didn't tell me why."

He is married to a legal permanent U.S. resident named Mayra Canales, and has worked in construction to support her and her two U.S.-born children, one of which is autistic.

Lopez has been in deportation proceedings since a minor traffic stop, but will be allowed to stay as long as he is welcomed by the University Presbyterian Church near Mill and Broadway. The church said Lopez will always be welcomed.

The church's pastor, Eric Ledermann, wants President Barack Obama to help Lopez and other people like him.

"We are calling on the administration to do what they can to fix our broken immigration system that is tearing families apart," he said. "There are 1,000 deportations a day, many of them mothers and fathers."

Lopez said he's thankful to the church for allowing him to stay.

"It's going to affect me a lot because of my children, but this is the place where I feel safer than being at home in Guatemala right now," he said.

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Tempe church offers sanctuary to Guatemalan immigrant

Sarah Bean was just a few blocks from her South Loop home, walking to lunch with her boyfriend before starting a late shift at Lurie Children's Hospital. After spending years and raising two children together, the couple had decided to marry, her family said.

Several stories above, a piece of decorative metal came loose from the outside wall of Second Presbyterian Church, a century-plus-old architectural jewel that in recent years had been hit with a number of building violations. The metal fell and knocked off a chunk of stone from a gargoyle jutting from a corner of the church's southeast tower, city officials said.

The stone hit Bean, 34, squarely on the head as she walked along the sidewalk outside the church around noon Thursday, killing her almost instantly, according to officials and witnesses to the noontime tragedy.

Her boyfriend, Lance Johnson, fell by her side, screaming and holding his hands to his head, said Broderick Adams, who watched from his fifth-floor apartment across the street before running out to help.

I saw that crack on her head and thought, She's definitely dead,' Adams said.

Bean was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where some family members gathered.

She was a beautiful person, Bean's older brother, Michael Willis, said at the hospital's emergency room. This is not good. This is not something you expect, at all.

The church, a Gothic revival structure at 1936 S. Michigan Ave. built in 1874, failed a string of inspections between 2007 and 2011 for violations including failing to remove obstruction from building exits and failing to maintain an interior stairway system in safe condition, according to the city's Buildings Department.

All of the building's outside walls had fractures, washed out mortar at various locations, spalling (flaking) stone at various locations at (north, south, east and west) tower elevations, according to a citation record from February 2010.

In 2011, the city went to court seeking fines for code violations that included failing to maintain exterior walls from holes or other conditions that might admit rain or dampness. The case was dismissed in court after it was determined that the church had come into compliance, said Buildings Department spokeswoman Mimi Simon, as well as city and court records.

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Chunk of gargoyle falls from church, kills woman

A church that grew up with Maryland City will celebrate its golden anniversary in a big way on Sept. 20. Parishioners and clergy at Resurrection of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church have planned an afternoon Mass followed by a semiformal gala at Laurel Park that evening.

In his first visit to the parish since being appointed archbishop, the Most Reverend William E. Lori, of Baltimore, will be the main celebrant at the Mass. The Rev. Mark Bialek, senior pastor at Resurrection, said he and other priests who have or currently serve the parish will assist.

"I think the anniversary celebration is a tremendous opportunity to celebrate the many accomplishments of the parish as well as a springboard to a very bright future proclaiming the joy of the Gospel," Bialek said.

Michael Robertazzi, one of the church's longest-standing members and a National Security Agency retiree, said that Resurrection has been a "people's church" since its unique beginning.

In the early 1960s, the parish existed only in the hearts and minds of a small group of determined Catholics living in what the Maryland City Corp. had begun developing as "Meade City."

"Most of the people moving to Maryland City worked at NSA and that's why they settled there," said Corrine Mohnasky, a 35-year church veteran and chairwoman of the Anniversary Planning Committee.

At that time, the closest Roman Catholic churches were St. Mary of the Mills in Old Town and St. Nicholas on Contee Road, under the Archdiocese of Washington; and St. Lawrence Martyr in Jessup, under the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Lacking a home parish, they organized as the Catholic Community of Maryland City and began meeting at the Laurel Shopping Center's movie theater and worshipping in private homes.

Ray Syzperski another founding member who, like Robertazzi, retired from NSA said that Walt Smallets served as chairman of the original Finance Committee and led the early fundraising.

"The reason we picked him was because he was chief of finance at NSA," said Syzperski.

In 1963, the Rev. E. Gerard Huesman, pastor of St. Lawrence Martyr, agreed to serve as the Catholic Community's spiritual adviser and began celebrating Sunday Mass at the Daily Double Bingo Hall on Route 198, fondly known as "St. Bingo's" or, spelled in reverse, "St. Ognib's."

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A 'people's church,' Resurrection of Our Lord celebrates 50 years

Open call auditions held in Cape Girardeau for new movie Open call auditions held in Cape Girardeau for new movie

Updated: Friday, September 5 2014 9:32 PM EDT2014-09-06 01:32:05 GMT

Auditions were held in Cape Girardeau, Missouri for a new movie shooting in the Midwest next summer.

Auditions were held in Cape Girardeau, Missouri for a new movie shooting in the Midwest next summer.

Updated: Friday, September 5 2014 10:49 PM EDT2014-09-06 02:49:11 GMT

An Atlanta defense attorney says the district attorney in Cobb County would only have sought malice murder if he thought he had a chance to get a conviction.

One day after Justin Ross Harris was indicted on eight counts related to the death of his son, an Atlanta defense attorney says the district attorney in Cobb County would only have sought malice murder if he thought he had a chance to get a conviction.

Updated: Saturday, September 6 2014 12:25 AM EDT2014-09-06 04:25:37 GMT

A 44-year-old woman who is accused of pointing a gun at a pregnant woman's stomach outside a home in Cane Bay wanted to kill the victim and remove her unborn child, according to newly released court documents.

A 44-year-old woman who is accused of pointing a gun at a pregnant woman's stomach outside a home in Cane Bay wanted to kill the victim and remove her unborn child, according to newly released court documents.

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2 juveniles accused in Freemont Church burglary

A group of retired men has been doing construction work recently at Old Liberty Baptist Church east of Conway.

The Masters Builders, a group ranging in age from their early 60s to early 80s, is a volunteer organization affiliated with the Baptist Missionary Association that travels the country six months out of the year doing ministry-related construction jobs of all kinds. Carol and Eddie Sikes of Gilmer, Texas, are among the couples who parked an RV on the property of Old Liberty, like so many churches before.

We organized in 1990. Our first job was in Delores, Colo. Some years we do maybe four jobs. This year when we finish our last two jobs we will have done eight, Carol Sikes said. Weve done 131 jobs since we were established.

Churches contact the Masters Builders when they get ready to build and get on the groups schedule. They do not work during November through February, when it is too cold, or July through August, when it is too hot. The average age is 74, and the oldest active members are 82. Members come from Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, Carol Sikes said. When they have a job, their office coordinator sends out the details in a letter to all the members, telling them when and where to arrive.

The church furnishes the material, and we furnish the labor, free. Everyone goes at their own expense. We ask if the church can feed us one meal a day, but sometimes if its a small church they cant, Carol Sikes said. Weve built sanctuaries, classrooms, family life centers, fellowship halls. Weve even built a parsonage. Any ministry-related project, we will build.

She said the group has traveled as far as Post Falls, Idaho, Plano, Ill., and Fort Meyers, Fla., but most of their builds are in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Missouri. Following their stay at Old Liberty, the group had a job scheduled in Hattiesburg, Miss., followed by their last job of the year in Charleston, Mo., she said.

As the men are on the road half the year, the majority of their wives travel with them. They try to find a volunteer project of their own in each town they visit. This time the women worked at Lifeword Ministries making Christmas shoebox gifts to be taken to children in third-world countries who will not receive anything else for Christmas.

Eddie and Carol Sikes said after spending so much time together, the group is like one big happy family.

You might hear us picking at each other, but its all in good fun, Eddie Sikes said.

Dot Bowie, a member of Old Liberty Baptist Church, said the congregation has needed a new building for some time due to steadily increasing growth. She said the new building is at least three times the size of the old one. When the new building (located right next to the old one) is complete, the church will use both buildings for its ministries, she said.

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Retired volunteers travel country building churches

A. Reed Halversen and his wife Luana were called as the first temple president and matron of the Ogden Utah Temple.

Provided by the Halversen family

Luana Halversen still remembers how she felt when members of the First Presidency of the LDS Church called her and her late husband, A. Reed Halversen, to be the first matron and president of the Ogden Utah Temple in 1971.

President Harold B. Lee asked if I was worried. I said, Im scared to death, Halversen said in a recent interview with the Deseret News. But Ill go in that temple and do my best, give it all I got. His answer was to go in and be yourself. So we went in and we worked.

The Halversens served in that capacity until 1976. Looking back four decades later, it was a special assignment during a lifetime of service in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In late August, Halversen toured the recently renovated Ogden Utah Temple with members of her family.

It will be a beautiful symbol of the Lord for all who live in the Ogden area, Halversen said. Those who come to visit the temple and serve there will feel a tremendous spirit.

Halversen is one of many individuals who honor the memory of the Ogden Temple while admiring the beauty and splendor of the newly renovated temple set to be rededicated on Sept. 21.

The Ogden Temple has a rich heritage and set a new standard for accelerated temple work. Elder Kent F. Richards of the Seventy, and recently appointed executive director of the temple department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, feels a special connection to Ogden and the temple through one of his ancestors.

A couple from Brigham City remember the day that temple work was performed for several famous Mormon pioneers. For another couple, the Ogden Temple has been a central part of their lives for many years.

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LDS Church members share experiences, admire renovated Ogden Utah Temple