APRIL 14—New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1434 Juniata St., North Side, will host the 44th Pastoral Anniversary of Rev. Dr. Samuel W. Williams Jr. at 7 p.m. The theme is “44 Years of Vision, Obedience, Faithfulness & Dedication.” There will be nightly services with special guests, which include Rev. Thomas Holland, Rev. Wanda Sawyer, Rev. David B. Lee, Rev. William C. Calloway, Rev. Elton Allen and Rev. Lowell T. Williams. The anniversary will run through April 18. There will also be an anniversary banquet at Trinity AMEZ Church, 3105 Allendale St. Tickets are $25 for adults and $12.50 for youths. For more information, call 412-322-3838.

Every year  in March the men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity (Iota Phi Chapter) hold their annual Mardi Gras.

The “greatest brothers on earth” do some serious brain-storming and they come up with a theme.

DA RING MASTER, Bob Edison

This year on March 13 at the Greater Pittsburgh Coliseum in Homewood nearly 800 people gathered to clown around with the Qs.

After a brutal winter aren’t you just a little geeked about spring? I’m ready to celebrate the season.

Believe it or not I’m even excited about spring cleaning. I even volunteered to join the Green Team at work and assist in ridding an area in the city of debris and abandoned tires. We’re going to do this on Earth Day.

A friend of mine just completed a similar task and she told me about some of the crazy items that they found. She was most surprised about the number of parking meters.

A group of Hill District churches have banded together to raise $25,000 for the August Wilson Cultural Arts Center. Joined by the center’s interim CEO Marva Harris, pastors from the 5-N-1 Churches, as they call themselves, announced the financial commitment during an April 5 press conference at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

FINANCE—As Rev. Glenn Grayson of Wesley Center AMEZ and Rev. J. Van Alfred Winsett of Ebenezer Baptist look on, August Wilson Center Interim CEO Marva Harris explains how their $25,000 pledge, made with three other churches will help offset construction cost overruns at the center.

“We’re hopeful this will spur other churches and religious organizations to come forward with similar initiatives,” said Ebenezer’s Rev. J. Van Alfred Winsett. “We’re hoping this will unlock the doors.”