University United Methodist Church, 150 E. Franklin St., will feature the art work of Carol Buxton Hamon in an exhibit now through May at the Intersections: Sacred Arts Gallery on the main floor of the church.

The display, "Essence of Life: Picture Stories of Transformation," can be viewed weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Sundays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Hamon will hold a gallery talk with a reception on April 9, at 6:30 p.m. before the Maundy Thursday service.

"My work and my art are about the sacred essence of life and represent themes of our shared human spiritual experiences," said Hamon, who is the artist in residence at the church. "It seems to have common threads with everyone's autobiographies. My art, as my calling to ministry, centers around healing."

In addition to the "Essence of Life" display, Hamon's "HONOR design" will be available as an interactive prayer resource April 6-9 in the East Parlor at the church. Members of the church and community are invited to walk the 12-square-foot design as they would a labyrinth. Hours are from noon to 1:30 p.m.

The artist explained that the HONOR design, a sacred circle, came out of a healing experience during her morning prayer time.

"As I opened to praying and blessing my broken heartedness from my relationship with my sister, I found myself traveling back in time through different experiences we'd shared. My HONOR design was a witnessing to many of those times of joy and sorrow together.

"As I was experiencing that amazing love, there was a bursting golden light right out of the center of my heart and its rippling rainbow color that came created the design you see now."

Hamon earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Texas and a master of divinity degree from Duke University. She has more than 30 years experience in the arts and spiritual care professions.

On Saturday, April 18, she will teach a sacred arts series workshop from 1 to 3 p.m. in the church fellowship hall. The workshop is free and open to the public.

Series offers introduction to Buddhism

A course in "Discovering the Heart of Enlightenment: An Introduction to Buddhism" is offered on Wednesday nights during April from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Piedmont KTC Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center in Carrboro.

The center is under the direction of the Venerable Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, the North American Seat of his holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa. The purpose of the center is to provide a place for the hearing, contemplation and practice of the teachings of the Buddha.

All are welcome to come to weekly sitting meditation practice of Shinay on Sundays at 11:15 a.m.

Women's Seder set for Sunday

The 11th annual Women's Seder is set for Sunday, April 5, at 5 p.m. at Judea Reform Congregation, 1933 W. Cornwallis Road in Durham.

The Seder is the symbolic meal that is held in Jewish homes on the night Passover begins. It begins this year at sundown on Thursday, April 9.

The women's event includes a social action project in which participants are requested to bring packages of panty hose and gently used professional clothing for donation to Hold Your Head Up, a non-profit charity helping low-income women transition to the workforce. Favorite Passover recipes will be shared during the event.

Film explores reconciliation in Rwanda

A documentary film that enters into the lives of two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide will have screenings in Durham and Chapel Hill on April 2-3.

"As We Forgive" explores the idea of reconciliation. Can survivors truly forgive the killers who destroyed their families? Can the government expect this from its people? And can the church, which failed at moral leadership during the genocide, fit into the process of reconciliation today?

The screening in Durham is on Thursday, April 2 at 7 p.m. in Westbrook 0012 at Duke Divinity School. In Chapel Hill it is on Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. at the Extraordinary Ventures Conference Space, 200 S. Elliott Road.

Both screenings are open to the public and admission is free.

The events are sponsored by Duke Divinity School's Anglican Episcopal House of Studies, the Duke Center for Reconciliation and All Saints Church of Chapel Hill/Durham, a congregation of the Anglican Mission in America.

Holy Week labyrinth offered

An ecumenical Holy Week opportunity for Walking the Labyrinth is on tap next week in the sanctuary of Binkley Baptist, 1712 Willow Drive.

Sponsored by seven area congregations as a unique spiritual growth opportunity, the labyrinth is an ancient spiritual practice and a rich tool for pilgrimage and reflection.

The hand-crafted canvas labyrinth that is rented from the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South is a 40-by-40-foot replica of the 11-circuit labyrinth on the floor of the Cathedral at Chartes, France.

Times for entering the labyrinth are Sunday, April 5 from 4 to 8:30 p.m., Monday and Tuesday, April 6-7 from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 8, 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Thursday, April 9 from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On Good Friday, April 20, hours are from 6:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Good Friday service at the church is from noon to 1 p.m.

Walkers are asked to bring and wear socks. The walk takes at least 30 minutes. An offering will be received.

Sponsoring churches are Chapel Hill Friends Meeting, Chapel of the Cross Episcopal, Church of the Advocate Episcopal, St. Thomas More Catholic, United Church of Chapel Hill, University United Methodist and Binkley.

Procession and service begin Holy Week

Holy Week at the Episcopal Church of the Advocate will begin on Sunday, April 5, with a palm procession and a service including the Holy Eucharist at 5 p.m. at Chapel Hill Kehillah on Mason Farm Road.

Monday through Wednesday, April 6-8, Holy Eucharist will be observed at noon at 403 W. Weaver St. The church does not have a building of its own as yet, so the Weaver Street location houses part of its programs, with worship on Sundays being held at the Kehillah Synagogue.

On Thursday, a fellowship dinner, including foot washing and Table Eucharist, will be held 6:30 p.m. at Camp New Hope on N.C. 86. Diners are reminded to bring a flashlight.

On Good Friday, April 10, liturgy will begin at noon at the Weaver Street location, to be followed by The Way of the Cross, a procession that will move through the downtown area of Carrboro, stopping along the way for readings and prayers in both English and Spanish. Among the stops planned in the procession are in front of Tres Amigos to pray for immigrants; in front of Weaver Street Market to pray for the right use of creation, including food; and in front of the police station to pray for the criminal justice system.

The procession, led by a volunteer carrying a cross, will end the walk in the cemetery near an icon of Jesus. Walkers will cover the icon with flowers and later in the day will place the flowers on graves throughout the cemetery as a sign of faith and hope in the resurrection.

The community is invited to meet at the Town Hall at 1 p.m. to join in this procession.

Church members will also hold a wake on Friday night from 8 to 11 p.m. as they gather around an icon of Jesus in the sepulcher to share stories, hear readings and meditate on the events of Holy Week.

On Saturday night, Easter Eve, April 11, church members will gather at 9 p.m. at the Kehillah to renew baptismal vows.

On Easter Day, April 12, the church will have an outdoor Eucharist and baptism as well as an Easter egg hunt and an Advocate feast.

Speech to help black farmers

Dania Davy will speak on the work of the Land Loss Prevention Project today, as part of United Church of Chapel Hill's Lenten series "Sacred Conversations on Race, Relinquishing Privilege."

A 2008 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Davy has worked in Washington, Florida and Mississippi on laws having to do with poverty, housing and civil rights. She has been a Skadden Fellow with the Land Loss Prevention Project since last September. Her focus has been to promote financial education for black farmers and communities and to serve on the steering and hiring committees of the N.C. Sustainable Food System Coalition.

The Land Loss Prevention Project has been working since the 1980s to assist black farmers who were losing their farmland. In the early 1990s, the project's mission broadened to include a wider range of financial advisory services as well as advocacy work in opposition to predatory lending.

A light supper will be served in the church's fellowship hall at 5:45 p.m. with the program starting at 6:30 p.m.

The church is located at 1321 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. All are welcome.

Easter cantata to be presented

The choir of New Salem Church, 5030 Old Graham Road, Pittsboro, will present the cantata "In Christ Alone," a musical experience celebrating Easter, on Sunday, April 5, at 3:30 p.m. and on Saturday, April 11, at 7 p.m. Childcare will be provided and refreshments served after the program. All are welcome, and the event is free.

Duke to present Handel work

Rodney Wynkoop, director of Duke Chapel music, will conduct the Duke Chapel Choir, the Duke Chorale and orchestra in a Palm Sunday performance on Sunday, April 5, at 4 p.m. of Handel's "Israel in Egypt."

In anticipation of the performance, Duke Chapel is sponsoring two lectures about the Old Testament book of Exodus on which Handel's work is based.

The first lecture was this past week; however, the second will be given today, at 4 p.m. by Rabbi Michael Goldman, director of the Freeman Center for Jewish Life, in the Alumni Memorial Commons Rooms at Duke Divinity School. Tickets for the Sunday performance are $15 general admission.

Lenten events include drama

Mid-week Lenten supper and devotions are on tap today, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Advent Lutheran Church, 230 Erwin Road.

Devotions will include a short drama centered on a two-person encounter in the time between the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection. "When We Had No Hope: An encounter between Mary and Martha" is the title of the drama from a series of playlets titled "Encounters Before the Dawn" by Keith Madsen. All are welcome.

Easter Egg hunt set for Saturday

Christ the King, the only Moravian congregation in Durham and Chapel Hill, will hold its annual Children's Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4, at 10:30 a.m.

Plans call for more than 2,000 plastic eggs filled with goodies to be hidden on the church grounds by members of the youth group. In addition to the hunt, Pastor Leslie Venable will lead a special story time to help children understand the reason the Christian church celebrates Easter. A hot dog lunch will be served.

The church, at 4405 Hope Valley Road in Durham, has held these hunts for several years, said Pastor Frank Venable, but this year the church is reaching out in a special way to invite all children in the community.

"Easter egg hunts are a common celebration, but Easter means more than that," Venable said this week. "It will give an opportunity to talk about what [the season] really means. We are opening our doors to lots of young parents with kids who may or may not have a church home."

On Sunday, April 5, Palm Sunday, the church will hold its Easter Lovefeast during the 10:30 a.m. worship service. This is the feast of Moravian sweet rolls and warm coffee that many churches have imitated, but few have successfully replicated the special quality that Moravians bring to this worship event.

On Easter Sunday, Christ the King will hold its traditional sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. As usual, it will feature the brass band that has become synonymous with the way Moravians wake up the world to their loud cries of "Christ has risen!"

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.

FAITH IN FOCUS

Flo Johnston