Organ concerts are free

The Pipes Alive! series of midday concerts returns for a new season on Wesley United Methodist Church’s Skinner organ beginning tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. and continuing the first Sunday of each month until June. The half-hour concerts will be held in the church sanctuary at 114 Main St. in Worcester, Mass.

The International Year of the Organ will be celebrated this year with “Waffles and Widor at Wesley.” Brett Maguire, the new director of music ministries at Wesley, will be playing all 10 of the organ symphonies of Charles-Marie Widor, one symphony per month, with an inexpensive noontime waffle brunch preceding the 12:30 p.m. concert.

In addition to the regular first-Sunday concerts, there will be a special, two-symphony recital on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 12:30 p.m. as part of the American Guild of Organists’ Organ Spectacular festivities that day. All concerts are free and open to the public. For more information, call (508) 799-4191 or visit www.music-alive.net.

Festival concert by seniors

The Providence Civic Orchestra of Senior Citizens will hold its 32nd anniversary festival concert tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Center, 399 Fruit Hill Ave., North Providence.

Directed by Vito Saritelli, the 40-member orchestra will pay tribute to military veterans and members of the armed forces with patriotic music. It will also perform works from the first half of the 20th century. Admission is $8. Refreshments and door prizes will be given out.

Two blessings of the animals

The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi will be celebrated tomorrow with special services featuring a blessing of animals at Grace Church, 175 Mathewson St., Providence, at 8 and 10 a.m. and at St. Martin’s Church, Orchard Avenue, Providence, at 4 p.m.

Faith Walk is tomorrow

This year’s Faith Walk for Charity will be held tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Colt State Park in Bristol.

Panel will discuss breast cancer screening

National Council of Jewish Women/Rhode Island Section and The Rhode Island Chapter of Hadassah will sponsor a free panel discussion on “The Gift of Life: New Inroads in Breast Cancer Screening” tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Providence Marriott, Orms Street.

Looking for the real Mary Magdalene

Harvard University scholar Robert Kiely will present the first of two free public lectures as the 2008-2009 Rev. Robert J. Randall Distinguished Professor in Christian Culture at Providence College Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Moore Hall III.

His lecture, “Mary Magdalene and the Dignity of Woman,” will strive to “rescue” a believable and important disciple of Jesus from stereotypes attached to her by popular mythology and Church tradition, church teachings and artistic representations of Magdalene.

Guitar quartet in Westerly

The Concert Series at Dunn’s Corners begins its 5th season, “Of Chords and Strings,” with a performance by the Georgia Guitar Quartet tomorrow at 7 p.m. 221 Post Rd., Westerly. Tickets can be reserved by calling (401) 322-0655 or by visiting at www.westerlyconcerts.org.

“An Evening with St. Paul”

St. Maria Goretti Church, 165 Power Rd., Paw-

tucket, will feature “An Evening with St. Paul” pre-

sented by Deacon Tom Boutier and Frank and Rita St. Pierre Tuesday at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be available. For further information, call (401) 725-6548.

Annual Day of Recollection

The Christian Men’s Meeting Group will sponsor its 20th Annual Day of Recollection for Men and Women at Providence College, Stevens Hall, Room 400, next Saturday at 8:45 a.m. Rev. Peter Mongeon will discuss “Being Good when Sinning Is Easy: Virtue and the Seven Deadly Sins.” The day will conclude with a Mass. Tickets are $20 and will include a continental breakfast and buffet lunch.

Rosary Crusades set for next Saturday

Rosary Crusades will be held next Saturday at noon at the Cathedral of SS. Peter & Paul in Providence and from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at River Island Park, 100 Bernon St., Woonsocket.