On Friday, a group of area women will celebrate Mother’s Day weekend by coming together at a church event to listen to music, get their nails done, eat and get mammograms.

Organized by Grove Church, which is located just across the Suffolk border in the Churchland area of Portsmouth, the event will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Bon Secours’ Millie Lancaster Women’s Center in Harbour View.

It’s open to women 40 or older who have never had a mammogram, or haven’t had one since last April, according to a news release.

“Women are invited to come out for an evening of relaxing music, free manicures, food and fellowship while they get their mammograms together,” the release states.

Melvin O. Marriner, senior pastor at Grove Church, said the event will be a fun way to improve the health of women.

“We want to make sure the women in our community take care of themselves, he said.

“By their very nature, women are usually the nurturers and caregivers. Ladies’ Night Out was designed to turn the tables by nurturing and pampering our women, while they get a very important screening.”

The church is looking for “nontraditional ways to engage our women to get mammograms.”

“By any means necessary,” Marriner continued, “in order to alleviate a health disparity in our community.”

The mammogram party continues a series of Grove events designed to educate women on preventing cancer and encourage them to take the appropriate steps.

Grove is America’s only faith-based organization to be a flagship sponsor of the American Cancer Society, according to Marriner, and has raised more than $100,000.

Friday’s event is possible through a grant the church received from the society and Walmart, aimed at making women more aware about breast cancer, including the merits of early detection and the importance of self-examination and mammograms.

Marriner pointed out Portsmouth has one of Virginia’s highest breast cancer mortality rates.

The event, he said, will give women “a special moment to gather. We have people coming from all over the area, not just from our church.

“It’s for the general community. We are not trying to limit this to one denomination — it’s for the whole community.”

For appointments and details, call the church office at 484-4149.