The Right Rev. John Shelby Spong, the controversial retired Episcopalian bishop of Newark, N.J., will offer a workshop at Unity Church of Hawaii, 3608 Diamond Head Circle, at 10 a.m. Aug. 11.

Cost is $25.

Spong, who wrote "Jesus for the Non-Religious," will also speak at the 9 a.m. service Aug. 12 at Windward Unity Church, 160 Mo'okua St. in Kailua.

Information: 735-4436 or www.unityhawaii.org.

FIRST ASSEMBLY MARKS 60TH YEAR

The First Assembly of God, which started in 1947 with a handful of members in a school auditorium and has since grown into one of O'ahu's largest Christian churches with five regions and more than a thousand members, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this weekend.

Festivities began yesterday with a service at the Red Hill church and continue with a lu'au to be held on the upper field of the Red Hill site at 4 p.m today.

Information: 836-2300.

SPIRITUAL ECOLOGY LECTURE AUG. 1

The University of Hawai'i Outreach College will present a free lecture, part of its Sakamaki Lecture Series, on "Spiritual Ecology: Exploring the Relationships Between Religions and Environment," by professor Leslie E. Sponsel, director of the UH ecological anthropology program.

The lecture will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 1 in the Yukiyoshi Room (Krauss Hall 012) on the Manoa campus.

Information: 956-8246, or http://outreach.hawaii.edu/summer.

LUTHERANS SALUTE HORMANN LEGACY

The Lutheran Church of Honolulu is helping Irmgard Hormann celebrate her 90th birthday, as well as the contributions of her family to the church, beginning at 9:15 a.m. July 29, followed by a brunch in the church's central courtyard, originally named the Hormann Cloister Walk.

Her father, the Rev. Dr. Arthur Hormann, arrived in July 1916 with his wife, Maria, to serve the largely German-speaking congregation that had been founded by the Isenberg and Hackfeld families in 1900.

Information: 941-2566.

NEW HOPE LISTED AS INFLUENTIAL

Church Report magazine has listed one Hawai'i church among its 50 most influential churches in America, a list compiled by John Vaughan, who tracks Christian megachurches.

New Hope Christian Fellowship, with pastor Wayne Cordiero, ranks No. 20 on the list.

The No. 1 church is Bill Hybels' Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill. Second is Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, in Lake Forest, Calif.

FORGIVENESS DAY A FAMILY EVENT

Hawai'i International Forgiveness Day is slated for 1 to 5 p.m. Aug. 5.

The family event will be held at the Kaimuki High School auditorium, and the theme is Children and Forgiveness.

Information: 781-7617 or www.hawaiiforgivenessproject.org.

BUDDHIST EVENT MARKS ASALA PUJA

Wat Buddhajakramongkolvararam, a Thai Buddhist temple in Pearl City, is celebrating Asala Puja, the Theravada Buddhist celebration known in some quarters as Buddhist Lent Day. It's also known as Sangha Day.

The event begins at 10:30 a.m. July 29 at the temple with chanting and the Five Precepts, and ends with a Wian-Tian ceremony. There will also be a sermon on Buddha's first message.

Information: 384-9730.