A concert this weekend by the Women's Voices Chorus of the Triangle will feature music inspired by Jewish texts and composers and will premiere a new composition, "What You Are," by composer and Duke University graduate Caroline Mallonee.

The concert is set for Saturday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m. at Duke Chapel in Durham.

"There's a lot of great Jewish music out there that's not sung very often," said conductor Allan Friedman. "It's much more diverse than 'Fiddler on the Roof.' This concert will show the wide breadth of Jewish music and challenge the very notion of what makes a piece 'Jewish.' Is it the composer, the lyricist, the text or a mix of these?"

Friedman, who is assistant conductor at Duke Chapel, said the concert will include a mix of high culture and more folksy pieces, the sacred and the secular, all selected for their sound in Duke Chapel.

Friedman and Mallonee met a few years ago while singing in a choir at Duke where she was getting her doctorate and he was completing his master's in musicology at the University of North Carolina.

As part of its mission, Women's Voices Chorus commissions new work from composers like Mallonee. Recently, she visited to rehearse the chorus on her composition.

Accompanying the chorus will be accompanist David Heid; the string players, Ensemble Pro Cantores; Jordan Hutchinson, clarinet; Lisa Miller, percussion; and soloist Francesca Lomuscio, a junior from Durham School of the Arts.

Women's Voices Chorus is the Triangle's only community-based classical chorus for sopranos and altos. Its repertoire includes classical sacred and secular music, folk song settings, spirituals and a bit of jazz. Half its repertoire is by women composers.

Tickets available at the door are $15 for adults and $5 for students.

Panel will discuss faith and mental illness

Faith Connections on Mental Illness, a ministry group of about eight congregations in the Chapel Hill area, is sponsoring an upcoming panel discussion on Sunday, Feb. 22, for people of faith who care for individuals with serious mental illnesses.

"Such individuals are challenged daily by the harsh realities of brain disorders," said Donna Olsen, a Binkley staff member. "Whether professional or family caregiver, they regularly find their faith and that of those they are caring for, battered by the dark storms that mental diseases carry."

The event will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Binkley Baptist Church, 1712 Willow Drive, next to University Mall. A panel of professionals, each of whom is endeavoring to walk their faith, will tell real-life experiences of how they and their patients have met these difficulties head on.

The panel includes Dan Blazer, psychiatrist at Duke; Mike Gammon, psychiatrist at UNC; Shirley Brazda, psychoanalyst; and David Cox, psychologist. Tonya Armstrong will moderate.

The event is free and open to the public. Those planning to attend should register by calling 942-6227.

Faith Connections on Mental Illness, which meets monthly at St. Thomas More Church, was organized a year ago. This is its third major presentation.

Zen Center to dedicate new temple addition

The Chapel Hill Zen Center, 5322 N.C. 86, will dedicate its new temple addition on Saturday, Jan 31, at 6 p.m.

The service will begin with a short dedication ceremony, followed by a reception with live music, an art show and silent auction. Bidding on the silent auction will begin after the dedication ceremony and end at 8:15 p.m. Part of the proceeds from the sales will benefit the building fund. All are welcome.

Wednesday class series offers variety of programs

United Church of Chapel Hill, 1321 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., offers classes on Wednesday evenings. A light supper will be served at 5:45 p.m., and classes for adults and youth will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 over four consecutive Wednesdays.

Current classes are: Sacred Conversations on Race; Small is Possible: Localizing vs Globalizing the Economy; Jubilee Time: Celebrating Women, Spirit and the Advent of Age; Eclipsing Empire: Paul, Rome and the Kingdom of God; Exploring Clay in the Sacred Space Studio; and At Table Together: Sharing Meals Together.

See www.unitedchurch.org.

Theological discussion to address current issues

All 20- and 30-somethings are invited for lively discussion about how to make sense of current issues from a theological perspective at "Theology on Tap" Thursday, Jan. 29, at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall Grill in Southern Village.

The discussion will be led by Samara Joy Neilsen, a Duke Divinity School intern at Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian, a USA Presbyterian congregation that meets Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at North Chatham School, 3380 Lystra Road.

Series of classes will focus on metaphysics

The Rev. Bruce Milne of the Unity Center of Peace Church will lead a class on Metaphysics I, an overview of the fundamental teachings of Unity, on the four Thursdays in February and on March 5

The class, open to anyone interested in spiritual metaphysics, will meet at the church at 8800 Seawell School Drive from 7 to 9 p.m.

"In this five-week class, we will explore the metaphysical answers to such questions as 'What is the nature of God? What is the nature of humankind?'" Milne said. Also, such concepts as the Trinity, evil, sin and the devil will be discussed.

The book "Metaphysics I" is required and will be available at the church on Sundays or at the first class.

Pre-registration is requested by calling 968-1854 or by using the sign-up sheet in the church lobby on Sundays. A donation of $10 per class is suggested. For further information, call Milne at 968-7716.

Guest preacher for women's event

Margaret McWilliams, a Duke Divinity School student from Little Rock, Ark., will preach on Sunday, Feb. 1, for the 11 a.m. worship service at Lystra Baptist, a northern Chatham County church at 686 Lystra Road.

A woman in the pulpit will be nothing new for this Baptist congregation, however, because its pastor is the Rev. Virginia Taylor, a graduate of Duke Divinity School, who has served the church for more than two years.

McWilliams was invited to deliver the sermon to mark the Martha Stearns Marshall Day of Preaching, an annual event begun by Baptist Women in Ministry to encourage Baptist churches to invite women to use their gifts of preaching.

The event was named for the woman who was an 18th century Separate Baptist female preacher in North Carolina.

In February of 2007, 54 Baptist churches in the U.S. and one in Japan invited a woman to preach and in February 2008, 76 churches participated. The goal is for at least 100 churches to participate.

Even though Lystra has a woman pastor, the congregation participates in this special observance as a way of encouraging other women to claim their call to preach.

Please let us know what's going on in your church or faith group, so we can share your news with our readers. E-mail news and announcements to Flo Johnston at fjohnston3@nc.rr.com.