The Temple Ner Tamid Social Action Committee is collecting winter coats, hats, gloves and other warm clothing for women, men and children to be distributed to area shelters. Donations should be dropped off at the Temple Office at 368 Lowell St. in Peabody prior to Nov. 8. For more information, contact Adele Lubarsky at lubarskya@hotmail.com.
"Make a Joyful Noise," an interfaith event featuring violinist Jourdan Urbach and The Dances of Universal Peace will be held Sunday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m. at Congregation Shirat Hayam, 55 Atlantic Ave., Swampscott, to celebrate our shared humanity through music and dance. Radio personality Jordan Rich will host this event, which is sponsored in part by the Council for Spiritual Connection, members of which belong to a variety of faiths and are dedicated to creating a more compassionate world. Tickets are $15 in advance, $10 for students and seniors, $25 for preferred seating. Tickets at the door are $20, $15 for students and seniors. Group sales are available. Call 781-599-8005 for tickets and more information, or e-mail csh@shirathayam.org.
Close study of the libretto to Handel's "Messiah," including its biblical origins, the historical context of its composition and the contemporary relevance of its message, will be pursued in a six-week program beginning Sunday, Nov. 8, and running through Dec. 6. Sessions will meet at Pilgrim Church, 302 Cabot St., Beverly. For more information, call 978-922-5526.
"SoulQuest: The Journey Through Life, Death, and Beyond," a course on the twin mysteries of life and death, will be taught by Layah Lipsker of Chabad of the North Shore at the Chabad Community Shul, 44 Burrill St., Swampscott, for six Wednesday mornings, starting Nov. 4, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and evenings from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The course is designed for people at all levels of Jewish knowledge. For more information, call 781- 581-3833.
"Holy Habits," an educational seminar on developing spiritual disciplines will be held Saturday, Nov. 7, at Middleton Congregational Church on Route 62 in Middleton. With continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m., followed by the seminar from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the speaker will be Gigi Busa, who serves with The Navigators, an international mission organization. All men and women are invited to attend. The cost is $10 per person, and group rates are available. Call Susan Moody at 724-513-5359 for tickets and directions.
South Congregational Church will hold its annual holiday fair on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 60 Prospect St., Peabody (across from Macy's). Attic treasures, baked goods, homemade apple pies, candy, crafts, used jewelry and a silent auction will be featured. Lunch will be available. For more information, call 978-531-1964.
A sermon series on activist and controversial figures and issues in Unitarian Universalist history is being presented by Rev. Frieda Gillespie and Fred Mills Sundays at the Northshore Unitarian Universalist Church, 323 Locust St. (Route 35), Danvers. Upcoming sermons will address Sophia Fahs, Nov. 8; the history of UU multiracial, multicultural awareness, Jan. 17; Northshore UU Church history, March 7; and the Prophetic Sisterhood, April 18. For more information, contact the church at 978-774-7582 or visit www.nsuu.org.
The Jewish Federation of the North Shore needs volunteers for its annual fundraising event, Elaine Rotberg Super Sunday, on Nov. 15 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., to be held at the Jewish Community Center in Marblehead on Community Road. Volunteers can choose to make calls, help with pledge cards, baby-sit or serve refreshments. To sign up, contact Andrea Mann at amann@Jfns.org or 978-564-0724. For photos from last year's Elaine Rotberg Super Sunday, go to www.jewishnorthshore.org.
Collections for the Ipswich Food Pantry will be accepted at Our Lady of Hope Parish, 1 Pineswamp Road, Ipswich, in baskets placed near church entrances. Only nonperishable donations will be accepted. The church can be reached at 978-356-3944 or www.ipswichcatholics.org.
All-you-can-eat dinners are held every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for $6 at the First Congregational Church in Boxford. Dinner is followed by classes, prayer and "Hour of Power" for youth. The church also offers the "Friday Night Hang" for young people in middle school and high school every Friday from 7:30 to 10:45 p.m.
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.
Dinner is served every Sunday at 6 p.m. at St. Peter Episcopal Church, 4 Ocean St., Beverly, for those in need. For more information, to volunteer or to make a donation, call Dena Lisle at 978-922-3291.
The Our Space group at Ascension Memorial Church meets the second Sunday of each month for grades six and seven, and the fourth Sunday of each month for grades eight and nine, at 6 p.m. The church is at 31 County St., Ipswich. For more information, call 978-356-2560 or visit www.amcipswich.org.
Congregation Sons of Israel in Peabody will have three 100th Anniversary Celebrations this year. A gala dinner/dance at the Danversport Yacht Club will be held Nov. 14, and on Dec. 13, the annual congregation meeting will celebrate the original charter. For more information, contact the Shul at 978-532-1624 or www.peabodyshul.org.
Christian Renewal Church, 556 Cabot St., Beverly, will host "Pursuing Peace in a post 9/11 World" on Nov. 15, featuring speaker Dr. Richard Booker, who writes on biblical scriptures and about threats from radical Islam. Also featured will be Ilya Feoktistov, research director for Americans for Peace and Tolerance. The event is free, but an offering will be taken for Booker. Call Denette Abers at 978-502-8101 or the church office of 978-921-4141. www.crcnorthshore.org
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.
The North Shore Teen Initiative has launched a Web site, 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 Web site to post events of interest to Jewish teens. Community organizations that have events targeted to Jewish teens are encouraged to send them to Adam Smith at adam@nsteeninitiative.org. For more information, call Adam Smith at 781-244-5544.
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.
