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Many Americans are saving up to buy a home, and so are some Roanoke-area churches.

Startup congregations such as Journey Church, which has met at Valley View Grande Theatre since 2001, often scrimp and plan for years before purchasing a building or constructing a new one.

"It's a transitional thing until we get something of our own," said Gary Sandman, a member of the Religious Society of Friends -- known as Quakers -- which has rented space from Jefferson Center in Roanoke for its Sunday morning services since 2005.

Just as in the residential real estate market, the needs and goals of first-time buyers dictate how long a church must meet in temporary quarters. Roanoke's Quaker congregation, while growing, consists of only about 30 regulars -- up from 20 a year or so ago. "We don't necessarily need a big building. We have a few kids and we sometimes find it difficult to have Sunday school," Sandman said.

For Journey Church, with a burgeoning membership of roughly 450, the economic challenge to gain a home of its own is more daunting. The congregation's parking needs alone dictate that it have a site spanning several acres. Churches approaching that size are typically spending at least $4 million on new facilities in the Roanoke area.

Sandman and the rest of the Quakers probably need a home that's only a fraction of the size required by Journey Church. And unlike most of the so-called mega churches, smaller congregations are relatively modest in their architectural and design goals.

Sandman said the Quakers' eventual sanctuary will be "very plain" -- with no steeple, cross or stained glass.

And the Quakers won't be needing any of the expensive visual and audio equipment that are so popular with many churches today. After all, like many Quaker congregations, the Roanoke group meets largely in silence, sitting in a circle -- with the meditative quiet being broken only when congregants feel moved to share a spiritual thought or feeling.

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Elvis has left the building, and this earth, but one of his backup singers, Ed Hill, is still here.

The 74-year-old Hill, who performed with Presley at Madison Square Garden and the Las Vegas Hilton, is a touring gospel singer who will appear tonight and Sunday at churches in Franklin County.

"I do strictly Southern gospel. That's what I've always done except when I backed up Elvis, although I sang some gospel with him, too," said Hill, who lives in Hermitage, Tenn. He sings solo with recorded backup music.

Tonight he'll sing at Glade Hill Baptist Church at 7 p.m., and on Sunday morning at Redeeming Life Pentecostal Church in Rocky Mount. There's no admission charge. "They usually take up an offering. Somehow, over the years, the churches have taken care of me," Hill said in a telephone interview.

For additional information on his appearances this weekend, call (423) 926-4124.

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On Friday, Roanoke's chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority welcomes one of its own in a homecoming of sorts.

Cynthia Hale, founding and senior pastor of 5,000-member Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Ga., will be the guest speaker at AKA's centennial anniversary, which is also the 70th year of the Beta Chi Omega chapter in Roanoke.

Hale's appearance is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at Sweet Union Baptist Church, 521 Madison Ave. N.W. Admission is free.

Hale has long been active in Alpha Kappa Alpha, the oldest Greek-letter organization established by college-trained black women.

You're encouraged to comment about religion-related issues on roanoke.com's blog version of this column, "Focus on Faith."