Storms force cancellation of Shawnee's Red, White and Blue Celebration

The “Crocodile Dock” vacation Bible school will lead to a lot of fun and laughter for children ages 4 through fifth-grade age from July 13-17 at Wesley United Methodist church. 
All children and teen helpers, as well as parents, are invited to register now for the week of activities. There will be rotational classes, dramatic story telling, lots of singing, crafts, refreshments and games.

On Sunday, the Blackburn Chapel, 36305 Lake Road in Bethel Acres, will be having their annual God and Country Day.
The church would like to invite the community to join them. Blackburn will have regular Sunday School at 9:45 a.m. and  a patriotic service at 11 a.m. At 5 p.m., the church will have a special service from its children about the children camp experience at Cross Timbers.

The Amazon River is at the highest level in recorded history. That high water level is the reason a large boat carrying an eight-member team led by Shawnee Dentist Mickey Sehorn could make the trip to normally unreachable Brazilian villages last week.
Joining the Amazon Mission on the River, or AMOR, group with Sehorn were Larry Sparks, Diana Witten, Bill Roberts, Donnie Kuhn and Glenda Kuhn of New Beginnings Church, as well as Dr. Steve Woodson and Cameron Woodson from Stigler.

The Amazon River is at the highest flood stage in recorded history. To describe the river as “awesome” and “amazing” or “spectacular”, seems like poor adjectives but that must suffice. 
The mission team from New Beginnings Church traveled more than 430 miles one-way up the Amazon River to minister the gospel in the isolated villages of Lago Grande.

Broadway United Methodist Church in Tecumseh invites all children who will enter pre-K through those who have completed fifth grade to go to the edge this summer for vacation Bible school. Camp “E.D.G.E.: Experience + Discover God Everywhere” is an extreme adventure camp taking kids on exciting Bible treks to experience and discover God everywhere, every day. 

An internationally known Christian music group, Jon Stemkoski’s Celebrant Singers, will appear in a free concert 7:30 p.m. today at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, 632 N. Kickapoo.

St. Gregory’s Abbey in Shawnee will offer three retreats during the summer: A Pilgrimage with St. Paul, June 26-28; St. Benedict and the Way of Humility, July 10-12; and Let Your Life Speak, July 30-Aug. 2.

A friend of mine from Texas lost his wife to cancer a few years ago. His kids were grown, so he bought a Lab puppy for company. He named her Abbey. She was beautiful, smart and energetic. 
When my friend got too busy to walk the dog, she began to tear down his wooden fence, break out windows and essentially eat the house in which my friend lived.

The Sallateeska Baptist Church of Shawnee will sponsor a double-elimination volleyball tournament June 13 beginning at 9 a.m. The tournament will be held at Wesley United Methodist Church, 302 E. Independence.

Members of the Knights of Columbus Council 1018 of St. Benedict Catholic Church in Shawnee recently held fundraisers to help purchase electronic equipment for Project Gabriel Pregnancy Crisis Outreach.
Project Gabriel is a parish-based, pro-life outreach ministry designed to help mothers of all ages who find themselves in a crisis because of an unplanned pregnancy.

Oklahoma Blood Institute encourages all healthy, Tecumseh-area residents, age 17 and older to participate in a blood drive sponsored by New Hope Baptist Church 7:45 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Fellowship Hall, 37496 New Hope Road.

Trinity United Methodist Midweek Community Worship Service will begin a new Bible Study series for adults on “Spiritual Traditions,” taught by Dr. Jeffrey Johnson and theRev. Kay Smith.

The Rev. Donald J. Wolf, pastor of St. Benedict Catholic Church in Shawnee, recently celebrated his 28th anniversary of ordination into the priesthood.
Wolf grew up on a farm outside of Wheatland in south Oklahoma City. He was one of six children of Don and Rose Ann Wolf. He recollected that one strong tie that jelled the family together was life in the church. 

For the fourth consecutive year, the Immanuel Baptist Church of Shawnee is set to send a small team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and volunteers to Quito, Ecuador - the impoverished capital city of the coastal South American nation - where the missionaries are expecting to help around 1,000 local residents in just a week.
More than a dozen suitcases, each filled with a range of medical supplies and basic medicines, also will find their way through customs to be handed out to the Ecuadorians, most of whom have little means to purchase such items themselves.

A group of 22 students from the religious education program of St. Benedict Catholic Church in Shawnee recently received their First Communion at the 10 a.m. Mass April 26. First Communion is important to Catholic children because the Eucharist helps preserve, augment and renew the life of grace they received in baptism.

John Merrill, left, and Retired District Judge Glenn Dale Carter receive a foot basin inscribed with the member’s name from Ray Belford, interim co-pastor, May 3 at First Christian Church.

Church services were held at Pioneer Baptist Church Sunday, but only after its members spent several hours Saturday cleaning up a mess of graffiti and vandalism in the sanctuary caused by burglars.
Shawnee police responded to the church at 519 W. Farrall about 9:22 a.m. Saturday. Pastor Chuck Bascue told officers he locked the church about 10 p.m. Friday night and found it vandalized Saturday morning.

The Shawnee Aglow Lighthouse Meeting will be held 7 p.m. Saturdy at the Living Word Church, 3831 N. Kickapoo, in Shawnee.

A Swiss businessman named Henry Dunant, seeking to arrange a meeting with Napoleon, found himself a witness to one of the most horrific battles in history.
It was June 24, 1859, when the French and Italian forces attacked an Austrian army at the Battle of Solferino.

Saltcreek, bluegrass gospel group, will be playing at Broadway United Methodist Church in Tecumseh 11 a.m. Sunday.
SaltCreek plays good-hearted music that gets the blood flowing and the foot tapping, otherwise known as Bluegrass Gospel. If energy was ever contagious, then this group has found the key. There seems to be a therapeutic value to their music.
Come worship and sing along with SaltCreek this Sunday and stay for lunch. Jeff Sigman will be smoking ribs, brisket, pulled pork and beans. Sides and desserts will be furnished by the congregation. There is no charge for lunch.
Broadway United Methodist Church is at 302 S. Broadway in Tecumseh.