The time has arrived, and soon the choirs of St. John’s Episcopal Church will fly to the British Isles to sing their way through a three-week tour of Anglican cathedrals and churches.

According to a previous Bangor Daily News report about this tour, St. John’s is one of fewer than 12 Episcopal churches in the United States whose choirs are considered proficient enough at Anglican music to sing in the Church of England’s cathedrals, and is the only choir from this diocese to perform in Anglican churches.

The 68 individuals who will be making the trip, including chaperones and a number of choir friends, have been raising funds for some time.

As a way of thanking the public for helping make this trip possible, the choir invites you to its farewell concert, “Sing with Joy,” at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 15, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 225 French St. in Bangor.

The choir will be performing many selections from its tour.

A reception follows the free concert, which is the group’s way of thanking you for supporting its bake sales, bottle drives, poinsettia sales, benefit suppers and quilt raffles so choir members, from ages 9 to 70, can take advantage of this exceptional opportunity.

At the concert, you will also have one last occasion to help by taking a chance on a $500 gift certificate at the Old Town Canoe store. Chances are $1 each, six for $5 or 25 for $20.

The winning ticket will be drawn at the concert and all proceeds will benefit the choir scholarship fund.

It goes without saying that the choir and its traveling companions are eager for the trip to begin, said parish administrator Corky Smith.

But first, the group “wants to sincerely thank the community for its support” through this concert, Smith said.

She also pointed out that the departure date for the singers is approximately 11 a.m. Saturday, July 21, and that the public also is welcome to join in bidding them bon voyage.

Expected to participate in the send-off is Bishop Chilton Knudsen of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine.

“She will be here at 11 a.m., while we are loading our coach, to give a blessing,” Smith explained.

So you have two opportunities to wish the St. John’s choir members well as they head for England: You can attend their free concert Sunday, July 15, or their send-off the following Saturday, July 21.

Peggy Brown, service coordinator for the Bangor Housing Authority, invites older drivers to participate in an AARP 55-Alive Driver Safety Program at two sites this month and next.

The cost of the eight-hour course, which will be presented in two sessions, is $20 per person.

The first session is from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday, July 19, and Friday, July 20, at Brewer Housing Authority, 1 Colonial Circle in Brewer.

Interested individuals must call the Brewer Housing Authority at 989-7890 to sign up for this course.

The second session is 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Aug. 7, and Wednesday, Aug. 8, at the Bangor Housing Authority, 161 David Road in Bangor.

People interested in this session must call the Bangor Housing Authority at 942-6365.

Brown also provided information that, according to a new state law, some insurance companies may offer a discount on insurance premiums for individuals who have participated in an accident prevention course approved by the state’s Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Highway Safety.

Through the AARP 55-Alive Driver Safety Program, participants learn defensive driving techniques, new traffic laws and rules of the road, and how to adjust their driving to age-related changes in vision, hearing and reaction time.

For more information about this course, call either of the numbers listed above.

The Bangor Public Library invites you to hear new, contemporary Maine poet David Cray read from his recent work, “50/50,” 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 12, on the Garden Terrace of the library at 145 Harlow St.

Accompanying Cray will be fellow poet Terrell Hunter and local blues musician Michael Billings.

Refreshments will be served, and exclusive print copies of Cray’s book will be available.

Cray’s poems are based on the experience of growing up in rural Maine.

For more information on this and other library summer events, call 947-8336.

Speaking of the Bangor Public Library, congratulations are extended to its librarian, Barbara McDade, who was honored by the Bangor Noontime Rotary Club recently, along with some other very fine people.

Recipients of the Rotary’s prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award with McDade were Bangor Noontime Rotary Club past president Ray Bradford; Susan Carlisle, chairwoman of the capital campaign for the Maine Discovery Museum; and Eugene Syphers, who also received the Rotary’s annual Vocational Award.

The Paul Harris Fellow Award is given to people who have demonstrated the Rotary ideal of service above self, and is named for the founder of Rotary.

The recipients are honored with a commemorative medal and pin, and $1,000 is contributed in the recipients’ names to the Rotary Foundation, an international fund established in 1917 “for doing good in the world.”

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.