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On the eve of a national holiday to honor the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., members of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ community gathered Sunday evening for an intimate candlelight ceremony in which guests shared stories of how the slain civil rights leader's message touches them today.

Luminarias bathed the Â鶹ÊÓƵ campus in a soft yellow glow Thursday evening as students, faculty, staff and community members filled Scott Plaza for the annual Holiday Celebration and lighting ceremony, which featured Christmas carols and a visit from – who else? – Mr. and Mrs. Kris Kringle.

Plan to celebrate the season this week with Â鶹ÊÓƵ's annual Holiday Celebration at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 3, on Scott Plaza. The traditional event includes sidewalks lined with luminarias, carol singing, hot chocolate, a train ride for children of all ages, and the festive lighting of thousands of lights along Â鶹ÊÓƵ's central quad from Alamance Building to Moseley Center.

Loura Burnette and David Olson hosted the quarterly meeting of the Commission on Ministry in Higher Education (CMHE) of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. Almost 30 lay and ordained volunteers and staff representing active campus chaplaincies at more than a dozen private and public institutions of higher education between Raleigh and Charlotte met at Â鶹ÊÓƵ on Nov. 14.

Four people who make a difference in the lives of others were honored Monday by Â鶹ÊÓƵ in the 16th annual “Hometown Heroes” awards ceremony on campus. Freshmen class officers selected the honorees for “making a positive difference by touching lives and strengthening their home communities” in a program sponsored by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.