Faith briefs

ACROSS THE AREA

Women's conference

Greater Faith Ministries' women's conference, JOY, will be held today at the church, 179 Calhoun St., Barnwell, S.C. Registration starts at 9 a.m. Call (803) 259-0405.

Retirement drop-in

The Edgefield Baptist Association will honor AnnaBelle Nicholson for 20 years of service as association coordinator with a retirement drop-in from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Edgefield Baptist Association building, 985 Highway 25 North, in Edgefield.

Terri Gibbs performs

Terri Gibbs, a blind country pop singer who hails from Augusta, will perform at Marvin United Methodist Church, 4400 Wheeler Road, Martinez, at 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $12. Call (706) 863-0510.

Double concert

The Byrd Family and The Crowns will perform at Silvercrest Baptist Church, 3431 Peach Orchard Road, at 7 p.m. Friday. Call (706) 793-7700.

Comedy for kids

Christian magician and comedian Keith Brown will perform at Midland Valley First Church of the Nazarene, 3526 Jefferson Davis Highway in Clearwater, at 6 p.m. Sunday.

He'll also deliver a children's sermon during Sunday services at 9 and 10:45 a.m. The performance is free. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Call (803) 593-3114 or see www.keithbrown.org.

Business lunch

The Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International meets at noon Wednesdays at Golden Corral, 227 Bobby Jones Expressway, Martinez.

This week's speaker is Jeff Rucker, chief meteorologist for WAGT-TV. Meetings are open to men and women. Call (706) 863-3392.

Fall revival

The annual fall revival of Historic Spirit Creek Baptist Church, 1783 Dixon Airline Road, starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and continues nightly through Friday. The Rev. James Kendrick of Hale Street Baptist Church will speak. Call (706) 798-0917.

Tutoring registration

Registration starts this week for the Southside Community Outreach Tutorial Program at Mount Vernon Baptist Church, 1930 Olive Road.

Pupils in grades 2-12 can register from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Additional registration days will be held Sept. 15 and 17.

Tutoring is free, but requires proof of income and progress reports at registration. Teachers will offer instruction from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Sept. 22. Topics include language arts, math, science and social studies. A computer lab and SAT prep are available. Call (706) 736-2242.

AROUND THE NATION

Muslim meatpackers claim discrimination

DENVER --- Federal officials say the JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant was wrong to fire more than 100 Muslim workers who walked out during Ramadan last year in a dispute over prayer breaks.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said that Swift did not provide religious accommodations to workers and retaliated against those who complained.

The workers on the evening shift wanted their lunch breaks to coincide with sunset so they could pray during the holy month of Ramadan and end their day's fasting. Swift says it has made changes so Ramadan goes smoothly this year.

Atheists OK some references to God

FRANKFORT, KY. --- An atheist group that won a court victory to have a reference to "Almighty God" stricken from Kentucky's homeland security law doesn't contemplate legal challenges against more than 30 other divine mentions in state documents.

Edwin Kagin, the national legal director for American Atheists Inc., said the group will mount challenges only in cases it believes it can clearly win.

Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled that references to a dependence on God in a law that created the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security is akin to establishing a religion, which the government is prohibited from doing under the state and national constitutions. The ruling prompted an outcry from Christian activists.

Judge Wingate said 32 mentions of God in the state constitution, various laws and regulations don't pose the same kind of problem as does the one in the court case he presided over.