Baton Rouge Temperature: 92°
Saturday, July 5, 2008

FEATURES

 
INNIS — St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church near Innis has endured wars, floods, hurricanes and a dwindling membership, but it stands today almost unchanged from the way it was when it was consecrated in 1859. It is a church of firsts — the first church in the diocese of Louisiana to have a woman lay reader, the first church in the diocese outside New Orleans to have a women’s auxiliary and the first building in Pointe Coupee Parish to be named to the National Register of Historic Places.

Even with a collection of hymnals numbering close to 500, Paul Powell had more difficulty than he anticipated putting together a hymn sing that follows the life of Christ.

Empowering women in their Christian walk has long been a vision of evangelist Christine Banks. Banks heads the women’s ministry at Open Door Fellowship Life Center in Zachary. Banks and her husband, Apostle LeRoy Banks, founded the church in 1985.

Vacation Bible Schools

Religion Bulletins for July 5, 2008

When Lafayette radio announcer T.D. Smith got the idea to take World War II veterans from Acadiana to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., he knew it would be a big project. What he didn’t know was the program would keep growing.

Red, white and blue. It’s a color combination sure to stir whatever patriotic feeling an American has — especially on the Fourth of July. Why these colors? Presumably, Congress could have chosen any combination from the spectrum when it established an official design in 1777. It stayed, however, with the same three used in the British empire from which America was then rebelling, only arranged differently — 13 alternating red and white stripes, 13 white stars on a blue field “representing a new constellation,” according to the Congressional act.

When a tabby kitten named Louie came to live with us a year ago, we noticed that he took a special shine to the dishwasher and fridge, which both hummed so strongly that he counted them as next of kin.

Although Emily Seba had only worked on much, much smaller canvases, she didn’t hesitate when asked to paint a wall mural in a Parkview Baptist School classroom.

Each week The Advocate asks a different “quiz taker” for his or her current favorites in pop culture. QUIZ TAKER: Davis Rhorer, 52, executive director Downtown Development District.

With a firm handshake I bid a fond farewell to my doctor last week. Losing the primary care physician with whom I had a good relationship for decades was a surprisingly jarring experience.

At the Scott dinner table in Shreveport, politics often arrived before dessert. “Since I was a little girl I watched the political conventions,” said Ashley Scott, who at 24 will be one of the youngest delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver Aug. 25-28.

When Jill Rigby’s twin sons were in the first grade, a visit to their school inspired her to teach table manners to the students. A lot has happened in the 16 years that followed.

Last summer, Derek Elsey and his friends still drove to malls or other destinations alone and in their own cars. Gasoline cost only about $2.90 a gallon then. “Now, if we go to the mall, or movies or to a party, we’ll take turns driving,” he said.

In this week’s Style File, where we catch people out and about, our subject shows off her retro chic look.

LSU assistant professor Loren Marks was teaching a family studies class five years ago when two students approached him with a question he couldn’t answer. They asked him why there wasn’t any research done on strong, marriage-based black families like the ones they came from, Marks said.

When Baton Rouge insurance agent Fred Hilton is stressed about not selling enough insurance policies, his wife of 18 years, Connie, offers him a reassuring hug. In turn, when Connie, 56, is suffering from the effects of menopause, Fred Hilton, 60, said he “lays out the red carpet” in advance of his wife returning from her job as a receptionist and office assistant at a rehab hospital.

Every time a bicyclist or pedestrian is hit by a car, injured or killed, as was the case early this month on River Road, there’s a lively back and forth between bicycle riders and the city. Then, we slide back into complacency until the next injury or death.

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