This weekend’s church services for Sunday, Sept. 7

Sunday services are announced for South End churches.

Doug Benecke is Unity speaker

Doug Benecke will speak this Sunday, Sept. 7 at Unity of Whidbey. He will note that many faiths give a lot of attention to life after death, and Benecke will invite all to contemplate the importance of living life as our personal acknowledgment of the constant presence of God.

Services begin at 10 a.m. at Bayview Hall and all are welcome. Talia Marcus will provide musical support.

UUCWI holds water service

Rev. Kit Ketcham will lead an intergenerational water ceremony service celebrating the beginning of a new church year at the Sunday service for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island.

Children are welcome to participate. The service is at 10 a.m. and will be followed by a salmon bake/potluck lunch.

There will be information about and registration for the religious education program which begins next week, Sept. 14.

The service will be informal and outdoors on the church property at 20103 Highway 525, just north of Freeland. Check www.whidbey.com/uucwi for more information.

Guest preacher returns Sunday

Darrel Wenzek returns tomorrow morning for a sermon entitled, “Man Is Not an Animal,” based on Genesis 1:26-30; 2:4-19, at South Whidbey Community Church.

Wenzek is preaching a continuing series on creation, evolution and beginnings in the Book of Genesis. This series discusses the biblical alongside the scientific basis for who we are and how we got here and where we are going. Wenzek is a former pastor of Evangelical Free churches and holds a graduate degree from Western Theological Seminary in Portland, Ore.

All SWCC sermons are recorded and CDs or Windows audio attachments may be obtained by calling 221-8365.

Each worship service begins at 10 a.m. and is preceded at 9 a.m. by two adult learning forums: one is a discussion of the Book of Romans, led by Stan Walker; the other a study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, led by Jim Craft.

Midweek Bible studies continue in the Gospel of Luke, at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, led by Art Angst at Rick and Dinah Zapata’s home.

South Whidbey Community Church is open to everyone and gathers for worship each Sunday at the Deer Lagoon Grange, 5142 Bayview Road, Langley.

The church is a newly-formed independent, evangelical, non-denominational church. For more information on the church and services, go to www.swcchurch.wordpress.com.

Sunday school starts in Freeland

Sunday school starts this weekend at St. Augustine’s in-the-Woods.

All programs start at 9:45 a.m.

Children through age 3 will meet in the Childcare Center — Education Building.

“Godly Play” is for children 4 through 7. The Montessori-based program seeks to create a love for the stories of faith, and is built upon an understanding that children guide their own formation.

“Tween Time” for ages 8 through 10 also uses the Godly Play curriculum as a base, and the group will bring music and art into the exploration of the Christian story.

“Rite 13” for ages 11 through 13 will meet in the undercroft. The new Journey to Adulthood program seeks to honor the transition from childhood into adulthood within the context of the Christian Community.