The Womens Pregnancy Center of Sugar Land wishes to thank each of you who participated in their recent Baby Bottle Bonanza by saving money in one of their baby bottles. Our congregation donated a total of $646. Thank you!

The church recently held a garage sale to support programs for our youth ministry. Earl Bentley and Jesse Soto organized the event. Many thanks to those who donated items and those who helped by serving at the event. After expenses, we realized a total of $350.

The Ronald McDonald House of Galveston posted a thank you to those organizations who donated funds or who donated pop-tops to their ministry. Our congregation donates pop-tops from soda cans on an ongoing basis. If you have not been involved in this, it takes very little effort to save your pop-tops and give them to Walter Hawkins who will deliver them for us.

Our Ladies Saturday Lunch group will meet at the home of Irene Wright on September 12 for a potluck lunch and fellowship. Please contact Irene for details. Her email is imwell@juno.com.

Karen Quinn recently graduated from the Inspire Women Leadership Institute. Inspire Women is an organization that supports training for women in ministry. Karen completed two years of training which included classroom study, community service, and a service project. She graduated in a class of 22 members. This was the first graduation class since the institute was founded just over two years ago.

In addition to the institute which is taught by founder, Anita Carmen, Inspire Women provides scholarships for women to train in ministry and also provides local opportunities for encouragement through its annual conference. Set aside Friday evening, November 6, to attend this year's conference. Details and discounts will be announced.

All women are invited to attend a fall retreat at the St. Bernard Abbey Retreat and Conference Center in Cullman, Alabama. The retreat begins Friday evening, October 16, and ends Sunday, October 18, following lunch. The theme is "Sharing the Journey". Ann Hartmann will be the guest singer (and it's worth going just to hear Ann!).

The cost of $125 per person includes registration, two nights lodging, and five meals. Registration closes August 30. Please email ruth.miller@wcg.org or call her at 205-979-7321 for an application form.

We will be joining with Southway to present a Christmas program again this year. Anyone who would like to participate is welcome. Our kickoff meeting, called "Christmas in August", will take place at the home of Southway's music director, Larry Burleson, on August 28 at 700PM. He will provide the Christmas decorations and the turkey. Participants may bring side dishes to complete the Christmas dinner. Larry's home address is 1815 Fulton St., Alvin. Please let Karen Quinn know if you plan to attend, that way you can be notified if there are any last- minute changes. You may email her at karenquinn5@comcast.net.