November 21, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 21 Religious Notes Veterans invited to Thanksgiving Tribute The Bergen Highlands Methodist Church of Upper Saddle River will host a nondenominational Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, Nov. 25. This 11 a.m. service is specifically for returned Afghan and Iraqi vets and their families who reside in Bergen and Rockland counties. The service will be followed by light refreshments and an invitation to participate in the church’s job club to assist any of the veterans who are seeking employment. The community is invited to join this service of thanks. The Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church is located at 318 West Saddle River Road in Upper Saddle River. For more information, visit http://www.gbgm-umc.org/bergenhighlandsumc. Advent Directed Retreat offered The Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River and Saint Paul’s Parish in Ramsey are offering an Advent Directed Retreat to members of the community who wish to deepen their life of prayer, but cannot get away for a retreat. This program allows participants to perform retreat activities at home. During the week of Dec. 1 through 8, a team of experienced religious and lay spiritual directors will provide individual spiritual direction for interested people in a “retreat” they can experience at home. The retreat will begin and end with group meetings on Saturdays, Dec. 1 and 8 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the Gathering Room at Church of the Presentation, 271 West Saddle River Road in Upper Saddle River. From Monday through Friday, each person making the retreat will meet with a spiritual director for a 30-minute session each day. Participants are required to commit to pray for approximately one half hour each day of the retreat, and to meet with their spiritual director. There is not charge to participate, but a freewill offering may be made at the concluding group meeting. Individuals who have made this retreat in the past are encouraged to join for another session. For more information, or to register, call Ruth Harrison at (551) 427-7440 or Miriam Leiser at (201) 825-0853 by Nov. 28. Caregiver support group plans meeting The Christian Health Care Adult Day Services at Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff will hold a Caregiver Support Group at noon on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The meeting is open to the public and reservations are not required. The meeting will be held in the all-purpose room in Building 1, 301 Sicomac Avenue in Wyckoff. Facilitated by Kerri Sherer, LSW, the meeting will provide support to people caring for a loved one suffering from dementia and other medical problems related to aging. In addition, information about area social services will be available, and attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions or vent their feelings and share knowledge with others facing similar issues. The Caregiver Support Group is held the first Tuesday of every month. For more information or detailed directions, call (201) 848-5830. For more information about this and other events, visit the www.chccnj.org. Christmas Concert benefit announced Christian music performer Steve Green will present a Christmas Concert to benefit Touch the World Ministries on Sunday Dec. 9. The concert will be held at Powerhouse Christian Church at 500 West Main Street in Wyckoff. Green’s music has garnered four Grammy nominations, 13 Number 1 songs, and seven Dove Awards, Christian music’s highest Steve Green honor. With 33 recordings to his credit, including children’s projects and Spanish-language albums, Green has sold over three million albums worldwide. He released a new Christmas EP earlier this year. Proceeds from the upcoming concert will benefit Touch the World Ministries in Allendale. Touch the World helps impact the lives of young people by taking them on mission trips around the globe. The organization works locally and in developing countries to bring transformation through sustainable community development, safe water, education, vocational skills training, medical care, ministry programs, and strategic social programs and services. A freewill offering will be collected at the concert to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy. Tickets are $20 and are available online at itickets.com or by calling (201) 760-9925, extension 27. For more information, visit touchtheworld.org. Ridgewood United hires youth director The Ridgewood United Methodist Church has announced the addition of Youth Director Christel Walker to its staff. Walker attended RUMC throughout her childhood and youth, and was an active member of the youth group as a teen. She sang in the adult choir and played in the handbell choir during her youth. Currently, she serves as a Sunday school teacher. “I want for this to be a fun group that gets involved, not only in our church, but in our community. I want to have a mix of volunteer and faith-based work, such as volunteering at a soup kitchen, along with just-forfun outings such as going to a drive-in movie theater,” said Walker. “This is a safe environment for all and everyone is welcome.” Walker is planning to take the youth group to a Christian youth event called “Acquire the Fire,” a two-day festival with workshops and performances by Christian bands. “Our youth group is meant to be a place where the youth of our church can meet on a weekly basis and enjoy fellowship as well as grow in faith,” Walker added. The Ridgewood United Methodist Church is located at 100 Dayton Street in Ridgewood. For more information, call (201) 652-2868. Winter Bereavement Group forming The parishes of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Catharine will jointly sponsor a Winter Bereavement Support Group that will meet on Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The program will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, located at 1 Passaic Street in Ridgewood, from Jan. 8 through March 5. Meetings will offer support to those going through the grieving process. The group stresses confidentiality and is open to all. For further information, or to register, contact Gladys Van Langen at (201) 652-8837 or gvanlangen@verizon. net.