Church offerings
The following is a sampling of events and is not meant to be comprehensive.
Community Fair: 1-3 p.m. today. West Milton Church of the Nazarene, 151 W. Baker Road, West Milton. Free. (937) 698-5207.
“Oh, Jonah!” The Cherub and Calvin Choirs: 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Children’s production tells the story of Jonah and the whale with music, mime and merriment. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 125 N. Wilkinson St., Dayton. The church also will host a mini-concert series this summer, with dates to be announced. (937) 223-7285, www.westminsterdayton.org.
St. Christopher Festival: June 15-17. St. Christopher Catholic Church, 435 E. National Road, Vandalia. (937) 898-3542, www.stchristopheronline.com/festival.
Building 429 concert: 6 p.m. July 9. The Dove Award-winning Christian rockers will perform, with openers A New Creation and Renasence. Tipp City United Methodist Church, 8 W. Main St. Tipp City. (937) 667-2318. Order tickets online at www.itickets.com/events/285341/Tipp_City_OH/Building_429.html
At one time, “church entertainment” conjured images of bake sales, potlucks and Christmas plays featuring sheet-clad shepherds. While those events are still traditional, many churches are branching out into the bigger world of entertainment, offering everything from rock and rap concerts to “American Idol”-style competitions.
“A lot of people like live entertainment, but they’re tired of going to bars and clubs. Church is a place they can come, even if they’re not members, to enjoy a show without all the ‘worldly’ distractions,” said Relisca Carpenter, coordinator for the God’s Got Talent competition at Calvary Baptist Church in Dayton.
Beginning in February, three elimination rounds pared the original 50 or so comedians, dancers, mimes and singers down to the two dozen that were scheduled to compete in the finals, which were held Friday night.
Carpenter was inspired to create God’s Got Talent after watching TV shows such as “American Idol” and “Sunday Best” — and by her desire to provide a wholesome, fun activity for kids and teens. “I really wanted to do something for the youth. There’s so much going on in the world that they can get into,” she said. “It’s a really nice event with people from all different denominations and walks of life participating, it’s not about Baptist or Methodist and so on. After all, we’re all serving one God.”
Teen girls and female empowerment is the focus of another church-hosted event this weekend at Mount Zion Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God in Dayton. The three-day conference began on Friday. The conference also includes guest speakers, a mother-daughter brunch and fashion show, makeovers, food vendors, raffles and prizes.
For more infomation about the conference, call (937) 321-2825.
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