LA Fitness is partnering with Allen Temple AME Church, Georgia Shape and the Cherokee County Health Department to provide “Pass It On – Good Health,” set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 29 at Woodstock City Park, 101 Arnold Mill Rd. The goal is to reduce child and family obesity. Attendees can enjoy games, activities, fitness and nutrition tips, demonstrations, live music and emotional and spiritual support to families. Volunteers, vendors and sponsors are needed to help with and provide health screenings (dental, vision), haircuts, live music, stage performances, food and “old school” games such …

Members of Big Springs United Methodist Church recently welcomed the Rev. James S. Garvin Jr. and his wife, the Rev. Ann L. Garvin. The pastor, who served Pleasant Grove UMC in Dahlonega since 2006, is a native of Ocala, FL, and earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech, and worked with several Fortune 100 corporations before entering the ministry in 2001. Ann is a licensed professional counselor and serves part-time as a private therapist with the Dawson County Drug Court in Dawsonville. She recently completed the certification process to be recognized …

Under the theme “Faithful People Praising an Eternally Faithful God,” St. Paul AME's 115th anniversary celebration will begin at noon today with an outdoor "Church Outside the Walls" service. Bring blankets and lawn chairs, then stay after service for a cookout. Other celebrations include: 7 p.m. Sept. 10: Rev. Frederick D. Forsh will preach. 7 p.m. Sept. 12: Service will be led by Rev. Andrew K. King. 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14: The 3rd Annual "Chastain @ St. Paul, An Evening of Gospel Jazz and Inspiration," will feature mime artist Elizabeth Allen, psalmist Rev. Natalie Jackson, saxophonist Jeff …

Each morning during the school year, 23 preschoolers fill the Feed My Lambs Christian preschool on Shipp Street in Canton. They’re given two hot meals, and taught a Bible based curriculum that not only shares the love of God, but prepares them for kindergarten. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s a very long waiting list of children whose parents want them to attend. And with only one school in Cherokee County, those eager students are likely to remain on that list. “We need another school building in Cherokee County,” said Elizabeth Weatherby, the founder of Feed My Lambs. “We…

Crafters at Celebration of Grace in Canton have been very busy this year crocheting colorful shawls to give people to remind them that they are being covered in prayer. The hand-woven garments start out as individual granny squares that are skillfully connected into prayer shawls. Once complete, they are brought into the church and to the altar for a prayer offered up by Pastor Ginny Krekling at the beginning of the regular worship service. The group has made close to 100 since the ministry began. The prayer shawls are available for anyone who asks, and are often given to infants, the elderly…

Each balanced meal served by Forever Fed is intended to offer more than nutrition. The mobile feeding ministry’s founders hope to nurture both body and soul of folks living in impoverished areas of Cherokee County. “We’re trying to create and build community, get neighbors to meet their neighbors,” Susan Vanderheyden said. “It gets them out of their homes and their isolation. Poverty is very isolating. There’s nothing to do with your time except maybe read a book, because you can’t afford much else.” Vanderheyden began Forever Fed in 2010 after working several years with Church on the Street …

St. Paul AME Church has received a worship renewal grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship to fund a year-long project in which the Canton church will invigorate its worship through creative arts including dance, mime, step, drama and visual arts. The grant St. Paul received is one of 31 totaling more than $300,000 awarded for 2012 by the CICW to churches, schools and seminaries across North America. “We are excited about the formative learning and theological reflection centered around worship that this grant will afford us,” said Rev. Lemora B. Dobbs, project director. “We are …

Imagine you’re an elementary, middle or high school student and it’s the first day of school. You walk through the doors, eager to meet your new teachers and see who’s in your classroom. But as you do, you notice the kids around you and you become embarrassed, self conscious. While they’re opening their new backpacks filled with fresh notebooks and supplies, you notice how yours are tattered and torn. And to make matters worse, your friends are wearing new clothes and have fresh haircuts—neither of which you could afford. Suddenly your self esteem plummets, and your school year has started on…

It is an oasis of green space in north Cherokee, east of Canton and one mile south of busy Ga. 20 toward Cumming. More accurately, it is a 40-acre, heavily shaded link to the past. Each summer since 1839, the faithful make the pilgrimage to Holbrook Campground for a 10-day outdoor revival. On the wooded lot, just across the street from Macedonia United Methodist Church, is an open-air arbor where visiting pastors deliver nightly sermons. The arbor is surrounded by a circle of 75 cabins, known as “tents,” that range from small buildings with sawdust floors and no bathrooms to air-conditioned …

City On A Hill United Methodist Church, a member of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, received the Denman Award for excellence in evangelism during the denomination’s Annual Conference, which was held this month. “Receiving the Denman award is a true honor,” senior pastor Chris Bryant said. “It represents … that we’re doing a good job as a church in the area of evangelism and that we should, event more importantly, keep it up.”  The Woodstock church’s flagship mission is a gasoline giveaway for single moms. Last month’s event was the sixth annual for the church, and…

While summer brings a needed break from the classroom, there’s a vital part of the school’s schedule that shouldn’t be missed: the mid-day meal. That was the concern of Carol Hunt, a teacher who, in 1995, asked MUST Ministries to provide sack lunches for her impoverished students. She promised to deliver the meals all summer, 25 each day. Today, she’s still making deliveries, with help from thousands of volunteers. Last year in Cherokee, MUST Ministries arranged for 40,047 meals to be delivered to the county’s students. Children in six counties—Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas, Gwinnett, North Fulton …

Area churches are pitching in to make sure Cherokee residents don’t have to travel far for fresh homegrown fruits and vegetables and homemade specialties this summer. In fact, it has become another avenue of ministry for two congregations. On Tuesdays from 2-7 p.m., the field in front of Sixes Presbyterian Church is filled with vendors selling everything from homemade soaps to hot tamales and empanadas. “We would like to create a space for local farmers and craftsmen to sell their products. We also would like to make available to our community these great homemade and home-grown products,” …

In just 28 days, the Second Chance Thrift Store morphed from an idea to a reality. On April 16, the doors opened for the first time. Within four days, there were enough sales to pay the month’s expenses, which meant the rest of the proceeds go back into the community. “That’s a great feeling and great affirmation that this is the right thing,” said Gary Lamb, the pastor of Action Church in Canton. The nonprofit store, which relies strictly on donations, was started by Action Church as a way to fund the congregation’s community outreach efforts. And it’s a step toward establishing the Action …

In the last 18 months, 14 of the boys who live at the Goshen Valley Boys Ranch in Waleska have been adopted. That alone is a remarkable statistic. What may be more noteworthy, however, is the fact that two of the young men who found adoptive homes were 17 and 20 years old. The Waleska nonprofit currently serves 34 young men ages 9-20 in Georgia’s foster care system. The 300-acre cattle ranch has six residences that each accommodate six boys and house parents. One home, the Hope House, is occupied by boys in their late teens and early 20s who are pursuing a college education and work …

For many people, the two are like oil and water. They don’t mix. But is it necessary to make a choice between following religion or science? Does having faith in an all-powerful Creator mean rejecting science? Each Tuesday evening in May, representatives of Reinhardt University, Heritage Baptist Fellowship and Faith Presbyterian Church are inviting the public to join them in exploring the relationships of modern science and religion. A grant from the John Templeton Foundation Science and Ministry Initiative has enabled the institutions to plan a series of weekly discussions featuring scholars…

Jennifer Simonis has found a way to combine her passions in life: ministering to hurting children and abused horses. What might seem like an unlikely match has lead to a path of hope and restoration for both. At Healing Hands Youth Ranch, kids who have lived troubled lives are paired with horses who’ve suffered abuse, and miracles start to happen. “Whatever hardships life has dealt these kids, coming alongside a horse which has been beaten down in life, they are able to identify and pour out love, trust and healing on these broken animals,” Simonis said. “By the grace of God, these kids come …

Rabbi Gary Maxted doesn’t bat an eye when he’s asked to speak to groups of Southern Baptists, cowboys or even an Iranian Christian church filled with former Muslims.  He readily accepts invitations to lead Bible classes and Vacation Bible school sessions at local Protestant churches. At this time of year, his calendar is filled with Passover Seder events. “I get to cross a lot of boundaries as a Messianic Jewish rabbi,” Maxted said. “We have so many problems and are so close to the return of the Lord that it’s time to knock off all of the nonsense between denominations. I don’t think it …

Close to 20 people gathered at Canton's Church of the Messiah on a windy Friday morning to pack a 20-foot container with nails, batteries, tractor tires, kitchen sinks and major appliances. The destination is Reformation Hope Inc.’s Haiti orphanage, home for 63 children and the 12 staff members and volunteers who care for them. The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 destroyed a makeshift kitchen and dining area, which was space underneath the main floor of a structure under construction. On the day of the earthquake, the cooking fires went out, delaying the 5 p.m. meal. …

What’s the next step for young adults who have aged out of the public school system, but aren’t able to follow the path of fellow graduates? The children need help with basic activities, getting around, and sometimes, communicating. Attending college or finding a job aren’t options for them. That’s the question physical therapist Lori Baker often heard from parents during 12 years of working in the Cherokee County school system. And that’s the need that prompted her to create Next Step Ministries. “The Lord just laid this program on my heart. It really has been a process, with the Lord …

Once a month, the Cherokee Christian Ministerial Association (CCMA) hosts lunch and a time of fellowship for pastors and ministry leaders from different denominations. They support and encourage one another, and work together on mission projects. President Fred Goodwin, senior pastor at Canton’s Church of the Messiah, describes the CCMA as a church without walls. “We are a Christian organization,” Goodwin said. “We’re about Jesus.” The group includes Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal and nondenominational churches as well as nonprofit organizations. It …