ELCA women to meet
The "Pine to Valley Cluster 3" fall gathering of the Women of the ELCA will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today in Fisher (Minn.) Lutheran Church. Dave Sena, executive director of the Northlands Rescue Mission in Grand Forks, will speak.
Love Feast
Members of Christus Rex Lutheran Campus Center at UND will prepare and serve a free meal, the monthly "Love Feast," from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in Zion United Methodist Church, 1001 24th Ave. S. Everyone is welcome; it's supported by Thrivent Lutheran.
Info: (701) 772-1893.
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Raftevold concert
Maryanne Manning Raftevold, of "Touch a Heart Ministries," will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 in Ottawa Lutheran Church, rural Aneta, N.D. Raftevold recently moved back to Fargo from Colorado. She formerly lived in Aneta and was known for performing country gospel music around the region for decades. Everyone is welcome; there is no admission cost.
Info: (701) 326-4251.
Aglow leader to speak
Roberta Preston, emergency preparedness coordinator from Chicago for Women Aglow's North Central United States region, will speak on getting ready if big things go bad in a seminar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 3 in Beltrami Electric Co-op, 4111 Technology Drive. N.W., Bemidji. There is no admission cost; lunch will be provided for $5.
The talk will focus on the book, "When All Plans Fail," by Paul Williams. The seminar is inspired by Jane Hansen-Hoyt, president of Aglow International, who says she was instructed by the Lord "to begin to get men and women prepared in case of an emergency or disaster ... by ministering help to others with spiritual, emotional, physical comfort before, during and after an incident happens, in the name of Jesus."
Info: Peggy Brekke at (218) 835-7226; online at www.touchofaglow.com .
Foundation Quartet concert
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The Foundation Quartet from Minneapolis will bring its Southern gospel music to a concert at 7 p.m. Oct. 4 in Roseau (Minn.) Community Church. The four, Bob Fault, John Bacstrom, Dale Tornell and Dester Kile, have appeared in concert across the Upper Midwest and recorded several albums. Everyone is welcome; there is no admission cost.
Info: (218) 424-7647.
Church fundraiser
Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 1515 Fifth Ave. N.W., East Grand Forks, is holding a Twin Cities'-junket fundraiser for women Oct. 3-4. The bus trip, which costs $175, includes shopping, a dinner cruise on Lake Minnetonka and a play at a suburban theater. The money raised will go to Compassion in Action, a nonprofit that helps people. All women are welcome to join in.
Info: Cindy Evavold at (218) 773-2769.
Pumpkin Patch benefit
Pumpkins in all shapes and sizes at low prices will be available at the Pumpkin Patch in Warren, Minn., from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 7-31 except Sundays, when it's noon to 4 p.m. It's a fundraiser for youth groups at Our Savior's Lutheran Church and Melo Lutheran. Hayrides, baked goods, face-painting, games, stories, a craft table and food also will be available at different times.
Info: (218) 745-4478.
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Young males top unaffiliated
The growing number of Americans who don't claim religious affiliation are more likely to be male, younger, living in the West and politically independent, a new report finds.
"American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population" takes a deeper look at data collected for the American Religious Identification Survey 2008, which was released earlier this year by Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
The report identified an estimated 34 million adult "nones" in 2008 -- up from 14 million in 1990. Those not affiliated with any religion accounted for 15 percent of U.S. population, up from 8.1 percent in 1990. Most of the gains took place during what the authors called the "secular boom" of the 1990s.
The religiously unaffiliated are beginning to more closely resemble the general population as their ranks grow, but distinctions exist on gender and age, the study found. Sixty percent of "nones" are male, and 40 percent are female; 30 percent are younger than age 30 and only 5 percent are 70 years or older.
Only 27 percent of "nones" profess belief in a personal God, compared with 70 percent of adults overall. But only a small number of the unaffiliated -- 7 percent -- are atheists.
If you have stories or announcements for Faith & Religion, contact Stephen J. Lee at (701) 780-1237; (800) 477-6572, ext. 237; or e-mail slee@gfherald.com ; fax, (701) 780-1123.
