Congregation

It has been years since her voice filled the vaulted sanctuary at Grant AME Church in the South End, but Donna Summer's name still rang out Sunday for many in the congregation who remembered her as "Sister Summer. " From the pulpit and in the pews, Summer was remembered as a kind woman whose fame never clouded her memory of the church. "I can just imagine her singing in the choir like all the other children here," said the Rev. Ellis I. Washington. The congregation has plans to honor her with a memorial service, but a date has not been set, Washington said.

It has been years since her voice filled the vaulted sanctuary at Grant AME Church in the South End, but Donna Summer's name still rang out Sunday for many in the congregation who remembered her as "Sister Summer. " From the pulpit and in the pews, Summer was remembered as a kind woman whose fame never clouded her memory of the church. "I can just imagine her singing in the choir like all the other children here," said the Rev. Ellis I. Washington. The congregation has plans to honor her with a memorial service, but a date has not been set, Washington said.

DALLAS -- A minister asked Harriet Miers's fellow worshipers yesterday to pray for her as she prepares for public scrutiny and intense political debate over her nomination to the Supreme Court. The congregation of the Cornerstone Christian Church, a group meeting at a Dallas hotel after breaking away from another local church, stood and applauded when the minister noted Miers's presence. She had attended services earlier in the morning at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, where her brother and other family members belong.

SHARON - Dina Rosenbaum's mother, Etta, survived the Holocaust by hiding in a hollow tree and a hole in the ground when Nazis searched the farm of the Christian family that sheltered her in Poland. Rosenbaum's father, Max, fled his burning Polish village and made his way to the woods of Russia, where he fought with the partisans and lost his left hand blowing up train tracks to cut off the German army's supplies. Both her parents made it to America - and taught Rosenbaum never to forget their stories, or those of the millions who died in the Nazi death camps.

A predominantly Latino religious congregation has filed a federal lawsuit against Lynn, saying the city's refusal to allow the group to use a building it owns as a church violates its civil rights. A lawyer for the congregation told The Daily Item that the city is in violation of a federal law that prohibits discrimination against churches through arbitrary zoning decisions. The suit says Iglesia Cristiana Renacer wants to use a former church it bought in 2009 to hold services. City lawyer Michael Barry said the building has 23 parking spaces and must have 95. (AP)

Lyle Lovett closed his splendid sold-out show at the Orpheum Theatre Friday night with the raucous country gospel outburst “Church.’’ But the long, tall Texan’s entire 2 1/2-hour performance felt like the best kind of soul-stirring church service, full of joy, solemnity, reverence, and contemplation. There’s rarely any other outcome when Lovett convenes his Large Band. The 14 players are all virtuosos in their own right, but always serve the greater good of the song and the communal spirit of a live performance.

A predominantly Latino religious congregation has filed a federal lawsuit against Lynn, saying the city's refusal to allow the group to use a building it owns as a church violates their civil rights. A lawyer for the congregation tells The Daily Item the city is in violation of a federal law that prohibits discrimination against churches through arbitrary zoning decisions. Attorney Carl King says it is "likely" that race also plays a role. According to the lawsuit, the Iglesia Cristiana Renacer wants to use a former church it bought in 2009 to hold...

Senior pastor Jeramie Rinne stood on the back of a flatbed truck outside the South Shore Baptist Church in Hingham last Sunday, silhouetted against the blue sky, the sun reflecting off the newly expanded white building and onto hundreds of upturned faces. "Open, you ancient doors," Rinne began. "So that He of the Glory may come in," the crowd finished with him. The speech marked the beginning to an end of a decade-long, often contentious campaign to expand the footprint of the Main Street church, whose population doubled in recent decades.

The exterior of downtown Gloucester’s newest building is simple brick, with a second floor roof that rises like a fishing boat’s bow. Inside, the top floor’s bamboo walls brighten from the golden sunlight that spreads through the sanctuary of Cape Ann’s only synagogue. It is a modest building for a congregation that, in many ways, reflects the spirit of Gloucester: fiercely independent, artistic, welcoming, and respectful of privacy. The temple’s congregants, however, wish the structure never would have had to be built.

Eziah Karter-Sabir Blake swiped the play debit card through a plastic reader during a game of Monopoly recently. Another multimillion-dollar sale. The buyer, Giftson Joseph, rubbed his hands together, a glimmer creeping in his eyes as he playfully nudged the Rev. Catharine A. Cummings. The three - one gay, one transgender, one straight - sat around a table at a new youth drop-in center at Union United Methodist Church, a historically black congregation in the South End, the heart of Boston's gay community.

Many churches face challenges pulling people into their pews on Sundays, and while church attendance may never break past records, Washington Street Baptist Church Pastor Eric Nelson said Lynn's faith community can continue growing if churches work together to address common needs. Nelson's perspective on local worship is rooted in his 30 years working as a minister in the big red brick church at Washington and Essex streets. Nelson said 900 people attended services at Washington Street Baptist a century ago, compared to 80 congregation members who now regularly attend Sunday services.

Gathering for a Passover seder in a temple is a tradition that goes back centuries, when Jews first landed on these shores. And in recent years, there's been an uptick in the number of people attending synagogue seders, rather than observing the holiday ritual in their homes. On Friday and Saturday nights, when the Passover meals are held, more than 15 public seder gatherings will take place in area communities. Spiritual leaders and congregation members say the increase can be traced to everything from more diffuse Jewish families to people wanting to celebrate...

It had been a painful week in Mattapan, and as the community gathered at local churches Sunday, the talk was all about the verdict. And the lack thereof. Days after a hung jury derailed the trial of one man accused of the gruesome 2010 slaying of four people and acquitted his alleged accomplice, the pain of the long trial and its outcome was palpable as the city's black community gathered to worship. At the Greater Love Tabernacle Church in Dorchester, Pastor William E. Dickerson addressed the so-called Mattapan massacre from the pulpit, asking God to...

The Planning Board has approved construction of a Jehovah's Witness Church on 11 acres of former farmland on Wire Road. The one-story, 4,000-square-foot Kingdom Hall will be the first home for the congregation, which has held services in neighboring churches and homes for 25 years. - Tom Long

Eziah Karter-Sabir Blake swiped the play debit card through a plastic reader during a game of Monopoly recently. Another multimillion-dollar sale. The buyer, Giftson Joseph, rubbed his hands together, a glimmer creeping in his eyes as he playfully nudged the Rev. Catharine A. Cummings. The three - one gay, one transgender, one straight - sat around a table at a new youth drop-in center at Union United Methodist Church, a historically black congregation in the South End, the heart of Boston's gay community.

BEVERLY - Steps from the church severely damaged by a fire a week ago, members of the small congregation gathered in the parking lot yesterday to worship, looking forward to a new beginning and giving thanks that no one was injured in the blaze. The fire broke out at the First Assembly of God Church on Dolloff Avenue at about 4:40 p.m. last Monday. Firefighters arrived quickly, but the blaze caused $400,000 to $600,000 of damage, said the church's pastor, the Rev. Chester L. Gray III. Gray said that insurance will cover the rebuilding costs and that a...

The Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd, , former rector of Trinity Church in Copley Square, is returning to Boston after spending nearly seven years as dean of the National Cathedral in Washington. Respected for major fund-raising efforts and for leading Trinity Church through a 25 percent growth in membership during his 12-year tenure there, Lloyd’s decision to return, announced yesterday, pleased his former congregation. “The reaction that I’ve seen has been overwhelmingly positive,’’ said Robert Cowden III, senior warden of Trinity’s vestry, who oversees finances and church...

Many churches face challenges pulling people into their pews on Sundays, and while church attendance may never break past records, Washington Street Baptist Church Pastor Eric Nelson said Lynn's faith community can continue growing if churches work together to address common needs. Nelson's perspective on local worship is rooted in his 30 years working as a minister in the big red brick church at Washington and Essex streets. Nelson said 900 people attended services at Washington Street Baptist a century ago, compared to 80 congregation members who...

Members of a Dorchester congregaton are rejoicing after selling historical artifacts from the church for more than $1.7 million in a New York City auction yesterday to raise funds for renovations. The First Parish Church in Dorchester, which dates back to 1896, is in need of a $5 million restoration project, and church officials hope to fund those repairs in part from the sale of the collection of silver dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The collection includes items donated to the church by members over the years, mostly in wills.

Cambridge Artist Catherine Tutter holding the Torah dressed in a carefully crafted mantle that she designed for the congregation Eitz Chayim. Photo by Brock Parker. By Brock Parker, Town Correspondent The Torah is at the center of her Cambridge congregation's gatherings, so when Catherine Tutter was asked to design a new mantle to cover the Hebrew scroll, she said she was honored but she wasn't ready to start right away. While Tutter, 52, had been a member of the Eitz Chayim congregation on Magazine Street for several years, she said she...