"Christianity Explored" will meet Tuesdays from 7:30 to 9 p.m., starting Sept. 28, at North Shore Bible Church, 44 Maple St., Suite No. 1, in Danvers. An informal course to investigate Christianity. For more information, call 978-768-3539 or visit NorthShoreBible.homestead.com.
Alice and Benjamin Stebbings will hold a reception for their painting exhibit Sept. 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Preston Cutler Gallery at Christ Church, 149 Asbury St., South Hamilton. The exhibit runs throughout September and features an eclectic collection of media and subject matter. For more information, call 978-468-4461.
Cloister Gallery presents Costa Rican tribal and folk art from Sept. 12 to Oct. 14 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 135 Lafayette St., Marblehead. There will be an opening reception Sunday, Sept. 12, from 11 to 12:30 p.m. Artwork will be on sale until Oct. 14. For more information, contact dejames@bu.edu.
A conference on the topic "Justice and the Global Slave Trade," featuring the work of filmmaker Jody Hassett Sanchez, will begin Thursday, Sept. 9, with a 4 p.m. reception at the Ken Olsen Science Center, MacDonald Auditorium at Gordon College, 255 Grapevine Road, Wenham, followed by a 4:30 p.m. presentation of "SOLD: Fighting the New Global Slave Trade," and a discussion with the filmmaker. On Friday, Sept. 10, a 10:25 a.m. convocation, "Telling Stories and Seeking Justice: Making Films That Make a Difference," will be held at the A.J.Gordon Memorial Chapel. Events are free and open to the public. For more information, e-mail CCS@gordon.edu.
A rally day will be held Sunday, Sept. 12, at The First United Methodist Church of Hamilton, 391 Bay Road. The new fall schedule will be 8:30 a.m. Contemporary Service, 9:30 a.m. Adult Sunday School, 10:30 a.m. Traditional Worship Service, and 10:45 a.m. Children's Sunday School. Grandparents' Day is Sept. 12, and grandparents will be honored during the 10:30 a.m. service. Adult Bible studies will resume on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. For more information, call 978-468-1256.
St. James Parish, at 161 Federal St. in Salem, is adding a 5:30 p.m. Sunday Mass, starting Sept. 19, to the Saturday 4 p.m., and Sunday 7:30 and 10:15 a.m., Masses. For more information, call 978-745-9060.
The Rev. Jeff MacDonald of Swampscott will hold a book signing and conversation at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Northshore Mall in Peabody, for his new title, "Thieves in the Temple: The Christian Church and the Selling of the American Soul" (Basic Books, 2010). All are welcome at this free event.
"Salad, Salad, & More Salad," a workshop on creating salads, will be held Monday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Chabad of Peabody, 83 Pine St., Unit E. Recipes will be sampled and available to take home, and Tupperware salad products will be for sale. The cost is $10, RSVP to Raizel@JewishPeabody.com. A full schedule of ladies home club events for this New Year is available at www.jewishpeabody.com/lhc.
An open house will be held at Memorial United Methodist Church, 2 Dane St. Beverly, (corner of Cabot and Dane streets) on Sunday, Sept. 12. A free lunch at noon will follow morning worship at 11 a.m. and Sunday School registration and information about the ministries of the church will be available. Visit www.gbgm-umc.org/mumcbeverly for more information.
Winter clothing, new and gently used, for adults and children, will be collected on Saturdays, Sept. 11 and 18, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sundays, Sept. 12 and 19, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Dorman Gymnasium of Ascension Memorial Church, 31 County Road, Ipswich. The Winter Warm Up Sale will then take place Saturday, Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 26, from noon to 1 p.m. Proceeds from the sale will benefit local charities HAWC, Birth to Three and SAFE.
Ongoing events for adults at South Congregational Church, 60 Prospect St. in Peabody (across from Macy's at the Northshore Mall), include adult small group Bible studies, which meet at home throughout the week on various days (contact the Rev. Grant at 978-531-1964, ext. 2), and monthly men's and ladies' breakfasts that provide biblical teaching with the food. For more information, call the church at 978-531-1964 or visit www.southchurch.net.
The Calvary Episcopal Church of Danvers recently partnered with "Got Books?" and has placed a fundraising donation container on its premises at 46 Cherry St. to collect used books, CDs, DVDs, records and audiobooks. The church is paid on an ongoing basis for all items collected each time the container fills, and money raised is used in the general funding of the church. Donations can be made by anyone at any time. For more information, contact Got Books? at www.GotBooks.com or call 978-284-2500.
The Clifton Lutheran Church, in partnership with Got Books? has a drop-off location where town residents can donate books, videos, CDs and DVDs. Money raised from the purple container with yellow signs at the church, at 105 Humphrey St. in Marblehead, will be used for community charities, including youth scholarships for summer camps. The drop-off site is open to everyone, at any time.
St. John's Church Thrift Shop at 19 Chestnut St., behind City Hall, off Main Street, Peabody, has returned to regular summer hours. The store is open Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Winter items are on sale for $1 or less. Donations are accepted during hours of operation. All proceeds from the sale of clothing for the whole family, shoes, kitchen items, glassware, books, jewelry, pocketbooks, CDs, videos, toys, games, puzzles and small furniture items go directly to St. John the Baptist Church. For more information, call Jane Harris at 978-531-8659.
The North Shore Teen Initiative has launched a website, www.nsteeninitiative.org, as a resource for Jewish teens to learn about social action and community service opportunities, trips, and other sponsored programs. NSTI has also created a calendar on its website to post events of interest to Jewish teens. Community organizations that have events targeted to Jewish teens are encouraged to send them to adam@nsteeninitiative.org. For more information, call 781-244-5544.
There is space available in the Infant Toddler Group held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 4 Ocean St., Beverly. Group meets on second and third Wednesday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and is sponsored by St. Peter's Episcopal Church and WIC. It is staffed by professional educators and a WIC peer counselor. Enter through the side entrance off the parking lot. For more information, call 978-922-3438.
Alternative Church Service, open to all intellectual abilities, will be held on the third Sunday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at North Shore Community Baptist Church, 9 Hart St., Beverly. For more information, call 978-927-2014.
First Parish Church in Beverly, Unitarian Universalist, serves a meal to the needy at 5:30 p.m. every Tuesday that is provided by Beverly Hospital. A Yahoo group site has been established, for volunteers who work or would like to work at these dinners, at TuesdayNightDinners@yahoogroups.com. The church is at 225 Cabot St. For more information, call Diane Bianchetta at 978-921-0895 or e-mail auraleeddb@aol.com.
Maple Street Church at 90 Maple St. in Danvers holds a food drive collection for the Danvers food pantry on the second Sunday of each month. Members are encouraged to bring juice boxes, pasta, canned soups and vegetables, and other items and leave them in the Narthex or the shopping cart in the Social Hall. For more information, call Priscilla Curda at 978-777-0793 or e-mail phcurda@verizon.net.
