Construction began last week on the Charlotte and Dick Levin Jewish Community Center (JCC) on Cornwallis Road in Durham. The center is the final piece of a $10 million project that included the addition of an Early Childhood Pavilion at the Lerner School 14 months ago.

The contractor, Whiting-Turner, and architect Richard Gurlitz estimate the facility will be completed and ready for occupancy late in the spring of 2011. The completed Levin JCC will feature a full size gymnasium, fully accessible swimming pool, a health and fitness center and a food bank.

In addition, the JCC will house the new Center for Interfaith Dialogue and the community's first Holocaust Education and Israel Cultural Centers. The Durham Chapel Hill Jewish Federation and its affiliate organizations including Jewish Family Services and the Jewish Community Foundation will relocate their offices to the Levin JCC.

"We are very excited with the potential the Levin JCC holds for the entire community, regardless of race, religious affiliation, age or physical ability," said Shelly Katz, executive director of the Jewish Federation.

The Jewish Federation and the Lerner Jewish Community Day School are partners in the building of the center.

The Federation is the umbrella organization that represents the Jewish community of Durham, Orange, Chatham, Person and Alamance counties. The mission of the Federation is to strengthen and enrich the Jewish community locally, in Israel and throughout the world.

Delegation to attend music conference

A delegation from Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church will attend the Worship and Music Conference June 20-26 at Montreat Conference Center in western North Carolina.

"I have attend this conference for over 30 years," the Rev. Mindy Douglas Adams, pastor. "In a period of six short days, we experience beautiful voices, exciting classes, diverse music, interpretive dance, vibrant visual art, excellent preaching and moving worship."

This year's theme is "Proclaiming the Mystery of Faith: Daily Living the Sacramental Life." Adults will sing in a 700-person choir as well as attend worship and other classes throughout the day. They have the option of participating in areas such as handbells, drumming, dancing or other means of artistic expression.

"We hope to be renewed and to grow spiritually," Adams said. "In addition to bringing back music and worship ideas, the choir comes back energized, excited and better prepared to lead worship. This benefits the entire congregation throughout the year."

Chapel in the Pines meets Sunday for worship at 10:30 a.m. in the multipurpose room at North Chatham School, 3380 Lystra Road. Child care is provided. Sunday school for all ages begins at 9:15 a.m.

Professor will address Mennonite Conference

Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School, will be one of the speakers at the meeting of the Virginia Mennonite Conference, an association of 67 congregations in five states to which Mennonite churches in this area belong.

The conference will celebrate its 175th anniversary at the annual assembly at N.C. State University in Raleigh on Thursday and Friday June 24-25.

Events will be held in the ballroom of the Talley Student Center with worship beginning each evening at 6:45 p.m. A seminar is set for 3:45 p.m. on Friday.

Thursday's worship will feature stories of God's work in western North Carolina, in Rocky Mount and Raleigh.

Hauerwas will speak at the Friday seminar on the topic "The Difference Anabaptism Makes." In a statement about his recent book "Hannah's Child: A Theologian's Memoir," he wrote:

"That I have spent my life thinking about God has gotten me into a lot of trouble. I did not expect to discover that being a Christian might put one crossways with the assumptions that shape 'normality,' assumptions that make war unproblematic, but like it or not, I became convinced that Christians cannot kill. I even think that Christians must tell the truth, even to those they love. As a result, I have never found being a Christian easy."

The Mennonite Church along with the Church of the Brethren and Friends or Quakers are often referred to as "Peace Churches" because they advocate pacifism, a position Hauerwas supports.

Pre-registration is not required for the events. Parking permits are needed for Friday afternoon and can be purchased from the N.C. State University Transportation Department.

Binkley speaker to discuss Feminist Theology

Reta Halteman Finger, New Testament scholar who edited the Christian feminist magazine "Daughters of Sarah" from 1979-1994, will speak at Binkley Baptist on Saturday, June 26.

She will give reflections on the Women's Movement and Feminist Theology, sharing history and stories and will invite conversation about where the movement goes from here.

The schedule is from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with registration and coffee at 9:30 a.m. The lecture begins at 10 a.m. with lunch set for 12:15 p.m. The closing lecture, "Where Do We Go From Here?" will begin at 1:15 p.m.

The cost is $15 per person, cash or check. A light lunch is included. Deadline for registration is Friday, June 18. Contact Jan Clark at jeclark47@gmail.com.

Finger has been a professor of New Testament at Messiah College for 14 years. Her special emphasis has been on women in Scripture and on her commitment to make the Bible relevant to the life of the local church.

She is the author of two books and co-editor of another.

Advent VBS will have seafaring theme

Vacation Bible School at Advent Lutheran, 230 Erwin Road, will take to the High Seas Monday through Thursday, June 21-24 from 4:15 to 6:30 p.m.

Children kindergarten through 6th grade will sample Goodies from the Galley, go on a Bible Voyage, make crazy creations in Clipper Ship Crafts and race around at Ship Rec Games. Middle school and high school students are invited to help as crew leaders and station helpers.

Contact the church office at 968-7690 for further information.

Friends Meeting opens film series

A summer film series will begin with the film "Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home" on Saturday, June 19, in the Schoolhouse at Chapel Hill Friends Meeting on Raleigh Road.

The evening starts at 6 p.m. with a spaghetti supper followed by the film at 6:30 p.m. A donation of $10 for adults and $5 for children is suggested.

The beneficiary of this month's program will be the Rogers/Eubanks Road Neighborhood Association. The guest will be the Rev. Robert Campbell who was recently honored with the Pauli Murray Award for Human Relations.

RENA is a local neighborhood association that is the Orange County landfill host community. Its goals are to address the injustices that affect the health and safety of residents that live near the landfill.

"Garbage!" is a new feature length documentary by filmmaker Andrew Nisker. It portrays the threat to the environment as the McDonald family tracks their waste output for three months. As they discover where their garbage goes and at what cost to the environment, the household engages the audience with an open door realty check.

The summer series is sponsored by the Environmental Concerns Committee at the Chapel Hill Friends Meeting.