• AMOS CHAPEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, 1307 W. 16th Ave., will host a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance at 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 16. The service will feature the youth department presentations on "How Dr. King inspires Me." Guests will include praise dancers, Marie and the Girls; saxophonist, Darnell Cannward; and King's "I Have a Dream Speech" by the Rev. Marcus Morton. The general public is invited to attend. Masks are required. The Rev. Robert Willis Jr. is pastor. Patrice Emerson and Tasha Woods are youth leaders.
• THE NATIONAL VIRTUAL JUSTICE SUNDAY SERVICE AROUND THE CLOCK will be held from noon Sunday, Jan. 16, through 12:10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 17, when the the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service begins. Two Pine Bluff pastors will be among speakers Sunday: Josue Martinez of Pine Bluff First Assembly of God and Leon Jones Sr. of Good Faith/Carr United Methodist Church. Justice Sunday Service can be viewed Jan. 16 at www.400yaahc.gov. The event is part of the 38th annual Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration Original Kingfest Celebration.
• ONE PINE BLUFF PRAYING TOGETHER services are scheduled. The community is invited to attend services from 6-7 p.m. Sundays on the following dates: Jan. 16 – Family Church, Pine Bluff campus, 2309 S. Poplar St.; Jan. 23 – Grace Evangelical Baptist Church, 4210 E. Ohio St.; and Jan. 30 – Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church – 2008 Vaugine St. For details or to host a service, people may contact Mary Liddell at (870) 643-2383 or Marylddll@yahoo.com.
• ST. JOHN AME CHURCH, 1117 W. Pullen St., will give away food boxes to those in need from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 15. Pickup will be done in a drive-thru setting in front of the church on Cherry Street. For safety reasons, recipients are asked to stay in their vehicles and open their trunks. State ID's are required to receive one box per family. The church's Soul Food for the Mind, Body, and Spirit Feeding Ministry is the sponsor. People may send financial contributions to St. John AME Church-Feeding Ministry, 1117 W Pullen St., Pine Bluff, Ark., 71601, or electronically through Givelify St John AME Pine Bluff. To volunteer, people may contact Pearl Matlock at pearl1948@sbcglobal.net. The Rev. Cecil L. Williams, Jr. is the pastor.
• HOUSE OF BREAD DELIVERANCE CHURCH, 500 S. Main St., will open its food pantry Monday, Jan. 17, from 1-2 p.m. or until all food boxes are gone. Only one box per household will be given out on a first come, first served basis. Everyone is required to wear a mask. All clients must fill out new intake forms for 2022. Everyone must bring proof of address (utility bills and driver's license.) People won't receive food boxes if they don't have the information required, according a spokesman.
• OZARK MISSION PROJECT (OMP), a non-profit ministry of the United Methodist Church (UMC), will conduct free minor home repairs for people in need in the summer of 2022. Projects include painting, yard work, building wheelchair ramps or making other minor repairs. People who need this assistance should submit an application by May 1. The group will be stationed at Pine Bluff at First United Methodist Church and work projects July 18-21. Applications and details can be found at ozarkmissionproject.org.
Church news is printed in The Commercial on Friday. The deadline to submit church announcements is noon Wednesday. Pastors, ministers or others interested in writing for the Devotional Page may also submit columns for consideration. Column writers should have connections to Southeast Arkansas. Articles should be submitted by email to shope@pbcommercial.com. Details: (870) 534-3400, ext. 5.