The Rev. Barry Lynn and U.S. Rep. David Price will speak and two panel discussions will be presented during a program called “Political Values and Religious Convictions” on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Binkley Baptist Church, 1712 Willow Drive.

Lynn is director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. He will give two speeches Saturday — one on “Politics, Religion and the First Amendment” and one on “Reclaiming the American Vision.”

Price represents North Carolina’s 4th District, which includes Orange and Durham counties, in the U.S. Congress. He will speak on “Church and State in America Today.”

Panel discussions will address “Religion in the Public Square” and “Common Ground for the Common Good.”

The program is sponsored by Devout Democrats. Registration is $20. For information, call 967-5092 or e-mail rpm@radfordprofessionalmeetings.com.

Amity series will study meaning of Methodism

The Rev. Verson Tyson will lead a series called “What Does It Mean to Be a Methodist Christian in 2008” on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Amity United Methodist Church, 825 Estes Drive.

The series will continue through April 29.

For information, call 967-7546 or see amityumc.org.

Lenten services at First Baptist

First Baptist Church, 106 N. Roberson St., will recognize the season of Lent on Wednesday nights through March 12. Services will begin at 7 p.m. The First Baptist associate ministers will deliver the evening message. Everyone is welcome. For information, call 942-2552.

Services, events at Binkley Baptist

Binkley Baptist Church, 1712 Willow Drive, holds regular worship services each Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Church school starts at 9:30 a.m.

The Contemplative Prayer Group meets each Monday morning at 9:15 in the Binkley chapel.

Spring Adult Christian Classes are held each Sunday through May at 9:30 a.m. Classes include “Re-Thinking Basic Beliefs,” “An Active Faith in Daily Life,” “Emmaus Class” and “Learning About the Twelve Steps.”

The Lenten Art Display, featuring a variety of symbolic trees from the Celtic Christian tradition of seeing the sacred in nature, will continue through Lent in the sanctuary. For information, call 942-4964, or visit www.binkleychurch.org.

Primaries, politics to be topics of talk

Stephen T. Gheen will discuss the primary process and the political party system Friday at 8 p.m. at the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 4907 Garrett Road, Durham.

Gheen works for state government and has been involved in the political process since before he was old enough to vote. He is editor of a political Web site thepoliticaljunkies.net.

The event will be in classrooms 4 and 5. Bring a dessert to share.

The talk is sponsored by the Triangle Congregation for Humanistic Judaism.

Series on Buddhism held on Wednesdays

The series “Introduction to Buddhism” will be presented Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9 p.m. through March 5 at Piedmont KTC Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center, 35 Perkins Drive off Weaver Dairy Road. Everyone is welcome. Call 933-2138 or see www.piedmontktc.org. 933-2138.

Guidance workshop will be at Unity Center

Sunday services at the Unity Center of Peace Church, 8800 Seawell School Road, are from 11 a.m. to noon. The Adult Forum precedes the service each Sunday from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m.

Mark Malachi facilitates Jewish Erev Shabbat services on the last Friday of each month. The service begins at 7:30 p.m. and includes chanting, Hebrew prayers and music.

A healing circle meets weekly on Mondays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The Course in Miracles continues on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and on Sundays at 7:30 p.m.

Call 968-1854 or see www.unitychapelhill.org.

Children’s Choir will sing at United Church

Sunday worship services at the United Church of Chapel Hill, 1321 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., are held at 8:45 and 11 a.m.

The Children’s Choir will sing at the 8:45 a.m. service. The Chancel Choir will sing at the 11 a.m. service. Church school for all ages begins at 10 a.m.

Iglesia Unida, the Spanish language worship service, will be at 11 a.m. in the new assembly hall in the west wing of the building.

Evening worship reflecting the musical diversity of the congregation will be Sunday at 5 p.m. The service will be in the ecumenical prayer tradition of the Taize community of France.

Curly Stumb, director of Johns River Valley Camp, will speak Sunday at 12:15 p.m. about opportunities for children and youth at the camp this summer.

The Monday Noon Book Group will meet Monday to discuss “God and Empire,” by John Dominic Crossan. A video called “Eclipsing Empire,“ with Crossan and Marcus Born, will be shown to introduce the book. Copies of the book are available at the church for $12.

The Lenten Series on Wednesdays includes sessions on faith questions, economic justice, grief, transformation, children’s faith practices and woodcarving. Sessions begin with a meal at 5:45 p.m., and the programs are from 6:30 to 7:30.

Sermon Shaping meetings are held Wednesdays at 7 a.m. in the library. One of the pastors leads a look at the lectionary texts for the next Sunday.

For information call 942-3540 or see www.unitedchurch.org.

Bereavement group meets on Mondays

A grief recovery group offered by the UNC Hospitals Bereavement Support Services meets on Mondays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. through March 10 at the United Church of Chapel Hill.

The group is free and open to anyone grieving a death regardless of faith background.

The group will focus on sharing and moving toward healing in a safe and supportive setting. Some people join a support group to help them through the initial grieving process while others join years after a loved one’s death. This social support facilitates healthy grieving and often reduces feelings of isolation and loneliness.

For information or to enroll, contact Heidi Gessner, UNC bereavement coordinator, at 966-0716 or hgessner@unch.unc.edu.

Lenten devotions at Advent Lutheran

Sunday services will begin at 10:25 a.m. at Advent Lutheran Church, 230 Erwin Road.

Classes for all ages begin at 9 a.m.

Lenten devotions will be every Wednesday through March 19. Soup suppers will be at 6:15 p.m., followed by services at 7 p.m. Choir practice follows. Call 968-7690.

Holy Eucharist at Chapel of the Cross

Sunday services at Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church, 304 E. Franklin St., will include Holy Eucharist at 7:30, 9 and 11:15 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. A service of Holy Eucharist will be held at 10 a.m. at Carolina Meadows Retirement Community. A service of Sung Compline will be held at 9:30 p.m. in the church.

A brief service of evening prayer will be in the chapel Monday and Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.

Adult Education on Sunday will begin at 10:20 a.m. with the third in a series of presentations titled “Reviewing the Baptismal Covenant.” Also during the adult education session, the Educational Stewardship Committee will focus on a “carbon fast” by offering a computer analysis of carbon emissions and providing resources to decrease carbon emissions.

The weekly Tuesday morning Bible study will meet Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. in the parish library. This self-led study welcomes newcomers.

An adult inquirers’ class for those wishing to join the Episcopal Church or learn more about it will meet Monday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The class will meet most Mondays until April 20.

Centering Prayer Groups will meet Monday at 10 a.m. and March 5 at 5:15 p.m. in the parish house.

Lenten programs for adults include the final session in a four-part series called “Christological Highs and Lows: A Theological Exploration of the Christology in the Gospel of John” on Monday; a six-week Christian yoga class on Mondays; and weekly lectio divina prayer groups using passages unique to John’s gospel. Registration forms are available in the parish dining room and the office.

Episcopal Campus Ministry will meet Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the campus center for dinner, fellowship and worship.

A social hour begins at 12:20 p.m. each Sunday, following the conclusion of the 11:15 a.m. service.

See www.thechapelofthecross.org or call 929-2193.

Series continues at Stone Center

Joshua Jacobson, professor of music and director of choral activities at Northeastern University, will present “Jewish Music and All That Jazz” Monday as part of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies lecture series in the theater of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at 150 South Road. The program begins at 7:30 p.m.

Jacobson will examine the impact of American life on Jewish composers and the impact of Jews on American music.

On April 14, Richard Elliott Friedman, Ann and Jay Davis professor of Jewish studies at the University of Georgia, will present “A Brief History of 3,200 Years.” Freidman will discuss why understanding present-day Israel involves exploring its history dating back to biblical times. For information, visit www.unc.edu/ccjs or call 962-1509.