Manger-building project gives fathers tools to teach children about Christmas.

The Rev. Donald Francis Joseph Scales was “a great role model and mentor for countless kids.“ The Rev. Donald Francis Joseph Scales served as pastor of St. Benedict Catholic Church in Richmond for five years, the last monk in the Order of Saint Benedict to do so. He retired from the position in 1999 as the Diocese of Richmond assumed responsibility for the church due to a shortage of priests.

Many worship through art. Others worship art for art’s sake. Still others worship art that mocks faith. The other day the Catholic archbishop of London made an intriguing point by referring to one of the most compelling paintings in the National Gallery as a “work of faith.“

A small Christian college in Chester will close this month, its 42-acre campus put up for sale and its students transferred to a similar school in North Carolina. Atlantic Baptist Bible College will merge with Piedmont Baptist College and Graduate School of Winston-Salem, N.C., at the end of December. The college will graduate its last class of five students next Friday. About 12 to 15 students will transfer to North Carolina for the spring semester, Piedmont Provost Beth Ashburn said yesterday.

Thanksgiving came a week early in South Richmond. Several hundred people gathered at Bringing God’s Word to Life Ministries Church on Bryce Lane last night to give thanks and take home bags of food and a turkey courtesy of officers of the Richmond Police Department’s 2nd Precinct.

There are thousands of children in the Richmond and surrounding areas who go to bed each night without a story read to them or even a pair of pajamas to wear. So on Saturday, October 25, 2008, Southampton Baptist Church will hold a drive to collect new pajamas, new books, new stuffed animals, and new underwear for children ranging in ages of birth to 18 years old.

The Rev. Herman “Holly” Hollerith IV, rector of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, has been elected bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia. He was elected from among six candidates on the sixth ballot Saturday during a meeting at Powhatan County High School. Hollerith, 53, will become the 10th bishop in the history of the diocese, succeeding the Rt. Rev. John C. Buchanan, who has served as interim bishop of the Norfolk-based diocese, which is comprised of 115 parishes and includes southern suburbs of Richmond.

MUSIC Unity Quartet, and The Horrell Family, tonight at 7, Gospel Chicken House, 14709 Greenwood Church Road, Montpelier. Details: http://www.gospel chickenhouse.org or (804) 883-6487.  6th Dimension Handbell Concert, tonight at 7:30, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1101 Forest Ave. Details: (804) 288-1911.  Virginia Choral Ensemble’s 61st Anniversary celebration, featuring

The Rt. Rev. Julio Holguin, bishop of the Dominican Republic, will visit the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia from Thursday until Oct. 6. During Holguin’s visit, the diocese will sponsor “D.R. Day” next Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church in McLean. The Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond will sponsor a showing of the film “Divided We Fall, Americans in the Aftermath” tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Virginia Holocaust Museum, 2000 E. Cary St.

A western Henrico County church prevailed last night against a challenge to its planned expansion. The Henrico Board of Supervisors voted 4-1, with Tuckahoe District Supervisor Patricia S. O’Bannon dissenting, to deny an appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of a two-story, 46,268-square-foot addition to Third Presbyterian Church.

Mention the Byrd Theatre and most folks in the Richmond area know its location. So beginning a nondenominational church in the historic building gave Chris Barras, its founding pastor, a head start. Barras, 32, is part of a new generation of technologically astute pastors with an entrepreneurial bent who feel called to “plant churches” in nontraditional facilities, such as movie theaters.

MUSIC Servant’s Heart, and The Oxendines, tonight at 7, Gospel Chicken House, 14709 Greenwood Church Road, Montpelier. Details: www.gospelchickenhouse.org or (804) 883-6487.  Classical music concert, presented by pianist Russell Wilson, 3 p.m. tomorrow, free, Second Baptist Church, 9614 River Road.

Catholics have a moral obligation to participate in the political process. That was the message about 150 people heard tonight during a two-hour program sponsored by the Virginia Catholic Conference, Office of Justice & Peace and the Richmond Sowers of Justice. The “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” program, which included greetings from Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, was held at St. Bridget’s Church.