A Lenten series of fellowship and study at United Church of Chapel Hill, 1321 Martin Luther King Blvd., will be offered on four Wednesdays, beginning today and continuing on March 7, 14 and 21 in the church fellowship hall.

Dinner will be available at 5:45 p.m. followed by the studies at 6:30 p.m. Dinners are $7 for adults and $3 for children or $20 per family. All are benefits for church-related events. Dinner on March 28 will be a Seder meal.

Courses offered include: Being UCC, what does it mean to be open and affirming; Sharing Experiences of Race, with participants sharing life experiences; Creation Spirituality of Matthew Fox, a leading theologian of the day. (Fox will be coming to United Church April 27-28 to present a program on Ecospirituality.); a study of "Living Without Enemies" led by Jan Dodds of the book by Duke Chapel Dean Sam Wells and Durham activist Marsha Owen; The Pilgrimage of Lent, led by Brett Webb-Mitchell on the nature of life as a pilgrimage; Cracking the Guido Code: How to Read Music with Jenny Anderson on how to crack the music notation code.

Vespers service Sunday

Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, 8306 N.C. 751, Durham, will host the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers Service in this area on Sunday, March 4, at 5 p.m.

Following vespers, a light Lenten dinner will be served in the fellowship hall with a donation to International Orthodox Christian Charities. Louis Zagami, development officer for IOCC and special speaker, will offer the homily.

The public is invited to attend this ecumenical service where the combined voices of all attending clergy will fill the sanctuary with chanting of the beautiful Orthodox liturgy.

Divorce support

University United Methodist, 150 E. Franklin St., will offer a 13-week video seminar along with a DivorceCare support group for those struggling with separation or divorce, regardless of where they may be in the process, beginning on Sunday, March 4.

This is a divorce recovery support group that offers a safe and loving place to find help, discover hope and experience healing.

The seminar features some of the nation's foremost experts on divorce and recovery topics as seen from a Christian perspective.

Sessions run from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sundays and child care will be provided.

Call the church office at 929-7191 for information or to register.

Clothes closet open

The Take and Wear Clothes Closet at Lystra Baptist Church will be open from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 10,

Anyone needing clothes is welcome. There is no advantage in arriving before 8:45 a.m. Numbers are drawn to determine the order in which people may shop. Each family can get two bags of clothes and everything is free.

Lystra Church is at 686 Lystra Road, off U.S. 15-501.

Study local poverty

During March, Hillsborough Presbyterian Church is sponsoring a study of poverty with a focus on Orange County.

Sessions will take place on the four Wednesdays of the month, March 7, 14, 21 and 28 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Strudwich Hall at the church, 102 W. Tryon St.

Sessions, to which members of the public are invited, will delve into perceptions and facts about the cycle of poverty, public and private programs that work to alleviate it and those that don't and what we as individuals can do.

Sessions will include outside speakers. Call the church for further information at 732-3131.

Traveling Sons program

The Haw River Missionary Baptist Church is hosting the Traveling Sons Appreciation Program at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 4 . Area church groups will perform. Host pastor is the Rev. Dr. Junious Jones and the church is at 1099 Mount Gilead Church Road, Pittsboro.

Choir vocalist honored

Walker Harrison, a baritone member of the United Church of Chapel Hill Youth Choir, was selected as a member of the American Choral Directors Association Southern Region Junior High Honors Choir.

Walker competed by recorded audition with more than 1,000 students from across 11 states for the 175-voice choir.

He will attend four days of rehearsal with nationally acclaimed conductor Lynnel Joy Jenkins. The choir will give a concert at the N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem Saturday, March 3.

Director of music Jennifer Anderson at United Church submitted Walker for audition. He is a ninth-grade student at Carrboro High School and is the son of Craig Smith and Anne Harrison.

Children and faith

The Rev. Dr. John H. Westerhoff III, one of the most influential developers of modern Christian education, will be the keynote speaker at a seminar for adults on the faith development of children Saturday, March 3, at University United Methodist, 150 E. Franklin St.

The seminar, which will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in the sanctuary, is $10 and open to the public.

Westerhoff earned a degree in theology at Harvard and a doctorate in Foundations of Educations at Columbia. He is an ordained Episcopal priest and spent 20 years as professor of Theology and Christian Nurture at Duke Divinity School.

His book "Will Our Children Have Faith" is used extensively in college and seminary religious education classes and has been translated into six languages.

Register for the seminar by going to chapelhilluumc.org and clicking on the "This spring" link.