The first anniversary of Sept. 11 is approaching, and there is no shortage of religious observances commemorating the tragedy. But for some, that commemoration begins nine days early.

        A Catholic church and the College of Mount St. Joseph will join almost 150 parishes nationwide in marking Sept. 11 with a novena, or nine days of prayer and activities. The novena is a time traditionally spent focusing on mourning, yearning and prayer. On the ninth day, the observance calls for a celebration of hope and joy.

        St. Columban, at 894 Oakland Road in Loveland, and Mount St. Joseph will both have activities throughout the novena, which starts Tuesday.

        St. Columban distributed information about the novena to its parishioners in their bulletin, outlining activities for each day. They include prayer for victims' families, world leaders and for world peace in general; fasting; working for justice by helping others; and reading about other faiths and traditions.

        On Sept. 10, the church will have the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, in which the Eucharist will be on display with a prayer service after the 7 a.m. Mass on Sept. 10 until 2:15 p.m. on the 11th, when it will be placed back in the tabernacle.

        “(The exposition is) giving everybody a chance to spend some time in prayer, reflecting on God's grace in their lives in the last year,” said Ed Reising, an administrative assistant and deacon with the church.

        There will then be a Mass at 7:30 p.m.

        For more information about the St. Columban novena activities, go to web site.

        The College of Mount St. Joseph will follow the novena by distributing prayer cards on campus and sending e-mail prayers daily. The Mater Dei Chapel will be open daily from noon to 1 p.m. for personal prayer. There'll be a faculty forum for students on Sept. 10 concerning the attacks and current situations, and on the 11th, a campuswide prayer service that is open to the public will be held in the College Quad.

        For more information about the novena, visit web site.

A musical celebration

        In September of 1961, Larry Burdett started his own music group, a Southern gospel quartet, and he's been singing ever since. Next Saturday, the group, the Gospel Singing Travelaires, will gather with two other similar groups at his Fayetteville home to entertain about 300 people.

        “It's kind of a an old-time brush arbor meeting, like a tent revival. Although we don't really have the preaching,” said Tish Newland, Mr. Burdett's daughter who sings alto with the group and has been the only woman in it for 21 years.

        Ms. Newland's son, 15-year-old Michael, is the group's drummer. Mr. Burdett's brother, Denny, sings leads and harmony and family friends Tom Porttorf and Mike Cutsinger make up the rest of the group.

        Mr. Burdett's son sings with the South Ridge Quartet from Columbia, Tenn. Crystal River, from Cincinnati, will also perform at the free event, which starts at 5 p.m. at 2660 U.S. 50.

        For directions or information: (513) 459-7336 or (513) 578-2481.

A call for volunteers

        For the month of September, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a neighborhood-based ministry to provide help to those in need, is calling for volunteers to serve in neighborhood groups, at food pantries and thrift stores, and organizing food and clothing drives.

        Last year, more than 700 volunteers helped in 50,000 instances by providing emergency assistance for Greater Cincinnati and Hamilton County residents. To volunteer, contact the society at 562-8841, ext. 25.

        Send religion news to kvance@fuse.net or fax to 755-4150.

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