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BY PATRICE A. KELLY NEWS NOTES The 49th Annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Convention themed "One Nation Under God, Striving for the Common Good" will be held August 31 - September 3, 2012 at theWashingtonDC Convention Center inWashington,DC. The 132nd Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. will be held September 3 - 7, 2012 at theGeorgiaWorld Congress Center inAtlanta,Georgia.The Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. is the major business meeting of the boards, auxiliaries andmember churches of the Convention, and it is held annu- ally in September starting on Labor Day in various cities across the country. This meeting typically draws 10,000 or more delegates. A festive and educational event for anyone involved in Catholic media, the 5th Annual Catholic New Media Conference will be held at the Arlington Convention Center (Arlington,TX) onAugust 29-31, 2012. For the first time, the CNMC will be meeting in the same location as the Catholic Marketing Network trade show and the meeting of the CatholicWriters Guild. All interested in Catholic communication, new media, and social media are invited, including young adults (18+), ministry leaders, and priests and religious, to whom Pope Benedict appealed in his 2010World CommunicationsDay message, to "become an ever more pastoral presence on the web. Speakers include writer, Jennifer Fulwiler, Benedictine oblate and managing editor of the Catholic Portal at Patheos.com,Elizabeth Scalia, and founder of the Generally Speaking Production Network, Cliff Ravenscraft. The 2012 National Black Nazarene Conference will be held July 5 - 8, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel inAtlanta, Georgia. The theme of the conference is "The Power of One." The three-day program includes workshops or strengthening family and the church and include, "What's Love got to Do with It?", which will explore God's call for themarriage to be aministry of love; "Credibility Counts," a workshop that defines and expands the importance of credibility for effective leadership in the church; and "Before There Was Email, There Was Female," a work- shop that encourages women to transmit God's message. Scheduled keynote speakers include Dr. Samuel Vassel, Dr. Eugenio Duarte,Dr. Butler By'No'te and Rev. Barbara Allen. 28 WORDS AND DEEDS On April 14, 2012 the City of Faith Church of God In Christ held its Pastoral Banquet at the Hofstra University Club in Hempstead Long Island.The black tie affairwas held in honor of Elder OdolphWright on his seventh anniversary as pastor and his 33 years of ministry.Honored guests included Bishop Frank O. White, Bishop Frank A. White, Bishop James E. Gaylord, Sup. Robert L Madison, Sup. Robert Washington, Sup.Amos F.Kemper,PastorDonaldMcClurkin,PastorWillie J.Williams, Pastor DavidAncrum and PastorMichael Durso. The Long IslandMarriottHotel inUniondale,NewYork pro- vided overnight guest accommodations. OnMarch 31, 2012 the ChicagoMass Choir held a concert at the historic Victoria Theatre for the KeyBank African American Arts Festival in Dayton, Ohio. Attendees were treated to a live choir concert filled with anointed singing and music from the ChicagoMass Choir.The festival encourages diversity and artistic expression throughout the community. KeyBank has supported the festival for five years and believes in a well-rounded community. The Dayton community also had the opportunity to par- ticipate in aGospelMusicWorkshop hosted byChicagoMass Choir, prior to the live event. The Gospel MusicWorkshop was held at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing ArtsCenter andwas led byChicagoMassChoirmember and director,ProfessorWilliam Hamilton. Religious meeting professionals, representing a vast array of denominations and facilities, convened in Kansas City, Missouri, January 24-27, 2012 for the 40thWorld Conference and Exposition of the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA). This annual multi-faith event attracts key meeting planners and industry representatives from throughout the USA and overseas who manage over 10,000 conventions and meetings that annually attract 8.3 million attendees. The conference focused on the theme "Dare To Dream." Juliet Funt, daughter of Allen Funt of Candid Camera fame,made the opening address. Daily education modules ranged from "Using Social MediaToCreateAMoreEngagingConferenceExperience," "Menu Planning On A Tight Budget," and "Identity Theft: How To Protect Yourself" to "Obtaining Maximum Value Through Effective Negotiations," and "Creating Greater Balance, Success and Happiness InYour Family Life." Aspecial hands-on activity on the opening day of the con- Black Meetings & Tourism May/June 2012: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com